Disclaimer: Squawk! Thorn Wolf doesn't own Lost in Blue! Squawk! Me: Thank you, Polly, have a cracker.
Chapter 7: More Lessons and a Surprise
Summer looked around cautiously. She was standing where the tiger had attacked them and wasn't looking forward to another encounter. "All clear," she said out loud and walked forward.
She was suddenly in a jungle. It was overgrown with plants of all sorts, and fruits that had fallen from the trees were scattered on the ground. She walked forward and tripped over something. Looking back, she saw she had tripped over some vines. "John could use this to make rope…And I can use it for traps and weaponry!"
Gathering some, she looped it around her shoulder and continued on. She followed a path to the east that soon turned to the south. Up ahead was a small grove of bamboo trees. "This is perfect for making baskets with. I'll take some back." Looking up she realized that she should go back before it got too dark. Summer collected her finds and started off for home.
In the cave…"And that's how you make rope," John said, triumphantly holding up a piece of newly made rope. Looking at Summer's, he was quite impressed. "You're a fast learner! With an exception of a few kinks here and there, that's pretty decent."
"Not bad for a first try?"
"Not at all! You should've seen the first one I ever made. It looked like a giant knot. How's my basket?"
"Wonderful!" she said upon inspection. "You need to make each weave a little tighter, but that's pretty good for a first try. It gets easier with practice."
"Same goes for making rope. Do you want me to make some more with the rest of it?"
"No, I want to save some. It's good for making traps and bows as a vine. See, I've already made a few. I left one trap out there. I often see a lot of big game up there, and hopefully a deer will get its leg caught in the loop."
"I have to admit, some real meat would be wonderful right now."
"I know. Tomorrow morning I'll go up and see if anything's caught."
"It is pretty late now isn't it. We should get some rest. Goodnight."
"Night."
"Today's the day," John said cheerfully after breakfast the next morning. "You better bring back something good."
"If there's anything to bring back, you bet I will. I'm also going to set up a basket trap near it. There's all sorts of small critters up there that it should be easy to catch a few of those if I don't get any big game," Summer replied, picking up her bow, a spear, a few arrows, and an extra vine. "See you tonight!"
Summer entered into the clearing and set up the small trap next to the tree. "I should be able to catch plenty of food here."
A rustle made her freeze. Out of a bush a hen came clucking over. It didn't notice the girl at all and walked right into the trap. Summer carefully reached down and lifted up the basket. As the chicken ran out Summer grabbed it, but didn't kill it. "I'll keep you. You'll be good for eggs," she said to the hen, which looked up at her and clucked. Summer smiled and gently put it into her bag.
"Oh and thanks for the test run. Now I know the trap worked," she said as she set up the trap again. Continuing on to check on the other trap, she saw that she had indeed caught something, but it wasn't what she had expected to catch. "Oh my god…"
Back in the cave…
John was getting restless. Summer had been out for a while now, and he was starting to worry. While he was waiting, he tried again at making a basket. This time it worked a lot better. His stomach growled. "I know, I know. She'll be back soon," he tried to reassure himself and his tummy.
"Who are you talking to?" Summer asked as she crawled into the cave. Without even waiting for a reply, she continued on. "The basket trap worked beautifully, I caught plenty of food. I even caught a chicken. She'll be good for laying eggs."
"That's great! Finally something that's normal for breakfast. So how did the loop trap work?"
"It worked good as well."
"Awesome! Did you catch a deer?"
"No, but I did catch something even better! I'll go get him," she squeaked as she left the cave.
" 'I'll go get him'?" John asked himself. Outside he could hear Summer talking to something, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Okay, John. She said coming back in. "I'd like you to meet our newest friend. Come on in, Tomo!" And in trotted a furry, four-legged animal that nearly made John scream.
"You brought home a wolf!" he yelled.