The Other Earth - Derek Schumacher (good novels to read .TXT) 📗

later, and the flames were arisen once again, and the cozy warmth of the fire settled in. He polished off a few grapples and layed himself down on the log. As the darkness took over everything he could see, besides the fire, Neil shivered.

He wasn't cold, he was nervous. After encountering that shade, he wasn't going to look at night the same way. He moved the log a smidge closer to the fire, just so that aura of light was closer to him. The light repels the dark, and it was the only thing he wanted once the night fell.

Laying back down, Neil began to close his eyes. It had been a long day, and had put him in an interesting situation. But, as he was once told, "The only thing that matters now, is tomorrow." Who said that line? He wasn't sure, but whoever did, he wish he could thank. That motto was a driving force in his life.

Knife

Good Morning, Today is September 16, 2118.

 

After a good few days of rest and recovery, Neil had begun to notice the bleeding of his chest wound decreasing. A stable diet of fresh river water and grapples, the man had started to feel himself growing in strength. It would be an incredibly long time before he would be able to reach his full potential, but it wasn't that important to him, at least not right now.

Today was going to be a change of things. A day of exploration, a day to scope out a new region. So far, this is how the region map is, according to everything Neil had mapped out in his head, and on the ground. He looked around, and thought about every direction around his little camp.

To the north was the shade, and a decently wooded area, full of small clearings, fit with bushes and piles of rocks. To the south was the river, the source of drinking water for Neil, a necissary commodity. To the east was the dense, rich woods, full of vegetation, and deep within, grapples. There was only way that Neil hadn't gone, west.

Well, at least not in the woods, and at this location. Going far enough west would lead him back into the fields in which he had gotten up from days ago. But he had entered the woods farther south, so he hadn't explore this area of the west region just yet. Who knows what untold potential this area held. Guess Neil was going to find out for himself.

Grabbing his pouch of grapples, the man headed out of his little camp site, and out towards the westward unknown.

Going west always would remind him of all those old stories about the westward expansion of the United States, and how people from all over flocked to move out into the plains and mountains of the new world. Fascinating, how exciting it was to go and see new places, have new experiences. But now, there was nothing new. It was all the same eventually, the world had grown dull. The Earth had became stale, and it's people strived to go new places. That's why the trips to the moon and mars were so thrilling. Passed that, going from the end of the solar system, and back again. And now, travelling across massive distances in space to reach new places never before known till now. Human kind, space pioneers.

Neil had got up extra early, to make sure he had plenty of time to explore, and plenty of time to return. He wasn't sure at all what this area had to offer. Nor did he honestly know about the east or south. He knew that north would eventually lead him to the mountains, but other than that, he didn't know. Guess he would have to continue having expeditions to find out.

Right away, he had noticed that the west held lower elevations than the others. The north had sloped up slightly, while the east stayed practically flat. The only other that went lower was the south, which made sense, because of the river. Question was, at lower levels, would there be different kinds of plant life?

Neil's question was answered soon enough, as he noticed the increased number of bushes and the like around his feet. It was all low growing vegetation, and it could be caused by the lower elevation's tendancy to have more water flow through it, mainly because it's closer to sea level than the others.

A few minutes passed the discovery of the low plant life lead to an increase in wet ground. Practically every step was a moist squish, the dirt below Neil's feet had all become mud, the grass mushed together with said mud to create a strange kind of concoction. The area had slowly become a marshland, and trees began to become farther and farther apart, leaving more room for the wet areas to grow.

He noticed that as the ground became more saturated, the plants overtook even more of the ground. No wonder the trees are spreading apart, the ground is littered with so many bushes and vines that there would be no place to start growing, as the sapling could practically be overtaken at any moment. Fascinating, the circle of life when it comes to plants. And it some times, brutal and unforgiving.

As time progressed, Neil began to hear something, besides his own footsteps. The sound of what was assumed to be water, swirling around itself. And as the man walked farther, he saw exactly what he was hearing. The western region was home to a great marsh, one spanning an impressive area. If it were possible to get an overhead view, the trees are cleared far and wide for this wet area to grow, which must mean that at some point, the river to the south must combine with this marsh.

Question is, just how deep is this water? Neil really wasn't sure, and didn't really want to find out, either. Getting soaked didn't sound like the most exciting thing at this time, or really, any time. Being wet is one of the most uncomfortable feelings ever, and it would be even worse when the only way to dry off is to make fire, which Neil only saves to make at nightfall. No point in wasting wood for anything else.

Deciding to not traverse the water, Neil decided to try and find a way around the marsh. But, it seems that everything he tries, there only seems to be more and more wetlands. This entire region is drowned in water. If he wants to get passed this junk, he'll either need to get soaked, or build a bridge. One sounds awful, and the other sounds incredibly time consuming and difficult to pull off.

At least Neil figured out what was over in this area, but it doesn't seem like he'll be getting too far into the thick of it. Nice thing is, because he left early, it won't take too long to reach the camp site once again, and he could do something else in the meantime.

But, just as he was ready to turn around, his foot hit something. Neil glanced down and kneeled, poking at the mud. There was, what seemed to be a leather grip for something, which was stuck in the mud. The man thought for a moment, and then shrugged. He grasped the grip, and pulled outwards. The object slid out with ease, and revealed itself as a knife. A hunting knife, it seemed to be. Must have been made with some sort of steel alloy, and one with incredible rust protection, since this blade was in pretty decent condition for being stuck in the wet mud for who knows how long.

How did this even get here? Maybe someone lost it a long time ago, and Neil just so happens to be the lucky person to find it. Sure, it was probably useful for whoever used to own it, but Neil has plenty of things he could use this for. One thing in particular, which he had been thinking about for days. He grasped the knife and walked towards one of the pools of water, sticking the blade in, and washing it gently with his hand.

The blade was still mildly sharp, as it sliced Neil's finger slightly. This was perfect. After the weapon was clean, Neil smiled happily, and began his walk back towards his site. He figured once he got back, he would make himself a little sheath for his belt to keep the knife in, similar to how he made the pouch for any food he had come across.

Speaking of that pouch, Neil had decided to snack on a few grapples on his way back. If only there was a way to have a portable source of water. But the water would soak through his cloth, so he would need to find some other material in order to make a canteen.

After a good hour of walking, he had arrived back at his camp. As mentioned before, Neil sat down on his log, and tore a bit more cloth from his shirt to make himself a sheath for his newly acquired knife. Once finished, he tied it onto his belt, and stuck the knife inside of it.

The things he could do with that knife is almost limitless. So many oppurtunities, so many things that have opened up for him. One thing for certain, that will come in due time. But for now, there is something a bit more important to tend to. His little camp could use a bit of touching up. Neil pondered for a bit, trying to think of ways to do so. Maybe an outside wall could be of use.

Finally decided on something to do, Neil began to gather up materials for his building project. Making sure to use the least amount of wood possible, he gathered large amounts of mud from the west to use as packing for the walls, and rocks from the southern area near the river to stabalize the walls.

The walls would only be around a meter and a half by the end of the construction, which took hours. Packing together mud and rocks isn't as easy as it sounds. Shaping and molding the stuff was difficult, but Neil pulled it off in the end. Once finished, he took a break, sitting down on his log, and glanced up at his work. He smiled happily, for now, he finally had a bit more of a home. Sure, it didn't exactly have the features of a house, but who cares? Nothing like a mud hut to keep the heat in from the fire.

After a good half hour of rest and relaxation, Neil got back on his feet, and stretched. Before he finished up his little project, he wanted to add a little defensive capability to it. He wasn't exactly sure how useful it would be, and if it turned out to be useless, at least it would make his home look cooler.

He grabbed as many decently long sticks he could find and began to sharp the ends with his knife. Before long, he had a pile of what looked like primative spears. But these were going to be used as spikes for the walls. The best part was