Chapter 2: Lion Chow

I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm running through the forest, wearing nothing but a loincloth made out of vines and leaves, it is the middle of the night, lions are chasing me, and I'm going to die! Man, I should've remembered that lions hunted at night! That's what I get for skipping the zoology portion in science class! I end up being stuck in stone for who knows how long, only to wake up and become lion chow! And what are lions even doing in Japan?!

I guess I'll find that out some other time, cause I gotta hide! I quickly dodged through the trees, broke through some thick vines and foliage, climbed over some large roots, saw a rotting log that looked like I could fit in there, and dove for it! Fortunately, the lions were too big to get through, and I was able to crawl into the middle of the log! Outside, they were swiping, clawing, and biting, trying to break open the log! After a few minutes, they got bored, and began stalking around it, waiting for me to make my move.

However, that wasn't going to happen; I was tired, and I needed to sleep. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I tried falling asleep, but the log was extremely uncomfortable, and I couldn't get in the right sleep position. Well, if I'm not going to sleep for a while, I might as well go over the day's events.

I continued traveling upstream, until it was evening, and the sun was starting to go down. I decided to try and build a shelter, but first I needed resources in order to do so. So, I needed to build an axe, which was pretty easy, as all I needed was a thick stick, a large stone, and some vines. I gathered up my materials and, after some trial and error, was able to craft an axe. I then began hacking away at a tree, but by the time I knocked it down, the sun was almost gone.

Apparently, in order to make the walls of a log house, you needed to make grooves in the end of the logs. So I tried doing that with the first tree I had knocked down, but night started falling by the time I had finished; when you don't have the right tools for the job, it just makes it extra hard. And all the hard work I had put into it was tiring, so I decided to sleep under a tree. But just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard movement.

At first I thought it was a person, and I awoke with a start. But upon closer inspection, and looking into the darkness of the bushes, I saw pair of harsh yellow eyes staring back at me. Instantly, my mind began processing what creature had yellow eyes, and the first thing that entered into my mind was a lion!

Upon remembering that you shouldn't turn your back on a lion, and figuring that the animal had probably seen me, I began backing up slowly. And then, just when I was a good distance, I made a break for it! I began speeding through the jungle, leaving the log and makeshift axe behind! I continued running, hearing the lions coming behind me as my lungs began to burn and my chest began to tighten!

In the middle of running, I accidentally slammed into a stone figure and knocked him over! Fortunately, I didn't break the trapped soul, but boy did that hurt! Having smashed into a stone statue, and with my lungs burning and my chest tightening, I was becoming a sorry sight! And then, after spotting the rotting log, I dove in, and well, here I am now. Wait a minute, what's that cracking sound?

Oh crap, the lions are breaking through the log! Now that I had a brief rest, it was time to run again! I quickly began scrambling out of the rotting log, and then made a break for it! I continued running and, realizing that running wasn't going to do no good, decided to a climb a tree and hide there for the night.

I quickly ran to a tree, grabbed a handful of vines, and began pulling myself up quickly. Behind me, I could hear the lions roaring and panting, but I didn't bother to look back; one moment's distraction, and I could end up falling into the group of lions! I then pulled myself up onto a large limb, and watched as the lions surrounded the tree, all licking their chops hungrily. In their eyes, I was a steak dinner!

"Get out of here!" I yelled, hoping to draw attention, and maybe scare off the lions with loud noise. "Shoo! Leave me alone!"

But the lions weren't leaving, and they didn't seemed scared. Not only that, but they were climbing the tree to get me! But why weren't they scared when I tried making noise? I remember reading somewhere that making loud noise scared them off, but it wasn't working!

Was I so far into time that lions didn't even know human beings? At what point of time was in, to be exact? Whatever time it was, it was where human beings were no longer the dominant species; we had become prey, and lions were the predators! But I wasn't going to go out like this, as I didn't just wake up from a stone coma in order to become lion chow!

As the lions continued getting closer, I quickly scanned the large limb I was on for a weapon! And, seeing a small, yet strong, branch growing from the limb I was on, I quickly crawled over to it! I began yanking on it, trying to break it off! Finally, it broke off, and I now had a weapon! Or at least, something to keep the lions at bay with.

As one large, male lion got close to me, I quickly whipped him across the snout with my new weapon! The lion let out a yelp of pain, but still continued climbing! So I did it again, and again, and after the fourth time, he fell off! Now I knew their weakness: just quickly whip them across the snout a couple of times, and they'll back off!

For the next two hours, I continued whipping at the lions as they came close! And after a couple of minutes, it actually started to get funny. The reason why was because they started trying to be sneaky; one would start climbing up the tree, wait a minute, and then move again. Once I realized what they were doing, I would tease them, wait for them to get close, and then I would let them have it!

Finally, they got bored and left me alone, as they had decided that I was not worth the trouble. And that was good, because the adrenaline coursing through my body had worn off, and I was tired. So, I put my stick weapon down, I leaned up against the trunk of the tree, and I fell asleep.

I awoke to warmth on my face, and I opened my eyes to see one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen in my life. I thought that not only because it was, but because I had made it through the night! I officially survived my first day in this new world! I then stood up, stretched, and began climbing down the tree. Fortunately, the lions weren't out anymore, so that meant I was safe… for now. I had to go back to where I was building my log house, and then plan my next move. Not only that, but I was also hungry, and I needed to get something to eat.

It's funny how scattered my mind was at this point; I had to build shelter, get food, or I could just follow upstream and find out if I could find any civilizations or anything like that. But then again, I might've just been the last human being on the face of the earth. At least, the only human being who wasn't stone. I kind of felt like I was in that movie I Am Legend, only there were no vampires, and I wasn't in a city.

I made it back to where the log and my makeshift axe were, untouched since last night. I picked up the axe, and began deciding my next move. I could either stay here, continue building the shelter, and then live here. Or, I could continue onward, and try to see if I could find anybody who wasn't a statue. Honestly, I would rather just stay here and just… try and continue life as I knew it…

No… the life I once lived was over, as there was no more technology, no more of anything that existed before. The entire journey of civilization was wiped out in a flash of green light, and that meant that things couldn't go back to the way they were. I wasn't going to just stop and try again. I needed to find other people, or at least, find a way to bring people back from being statues. I decided to follow my original plan; follow the river downstream.

But first, I needed to prepare. Using my makeshift axe, I began hacking away at the log. I was able to get off some long, large pieces of wood, which I was able to trim down using a sharp stone. At one point though, I ended up cutting my hand on the sharpened wood, so I had to wash it in the river and wrap a vine around my palm to stop the bleeding. But it was a start, and once I built a spear, I would be able to defend myself from the lions, and whatever else was out there.

After I had carved myself a spear, I decided to test it out, which I did by spearing some fish in the river. The spear worked pretty well, and I was able to kill a fish. I was so hungry that I didn't bother to cook it, and I ate it raw… which I then proceeded to throw up. After being stuck for so long as a statue, I had forgotten that I don't like sushi. But I had to power through the taste of raw fish. I needed food to survive, and despite my dislike of it, it was going to help me. So, I began eating it and swallowing it quickly, knowing that if I had a fire I could cook it.

Fire was another factor, as if I had some, I would be able to cook my food. And, I would at least have some light when I traveled at night, and something else to defend myself with when the lions came out. Still, there is the fear that I might burn down the entire forest on accident, so that kept me from going into a sense of pyromania. Not that I'm a pyromanic to begin with…

Alright, enough with my thoughts; I have to get moving. I picked up my wooden spear, tied a vine around it, and then slung it over my shoulder. I also picked up my makeshift axe, and slipped that in between my back and my spear; who knows what else I could use it for. After I did all that, I began walking through the forest; building a shelter was going to have to wait.

I had been walking for a few hours, stopping only to eat some berries that I had found growing. They were sweet and juicy, which was a good thing. After eating several berries, and taking some along in a large leaf, I continued walking. I then left the stream and decided to head deeper into the forest, as I wasn't getting anywhere by going upstream. Then, in the evening, as I made my way passed a tree, I came upon… a treehouse!

It was a small wooden hut, built onto a tree. It had grass for the roof, stone for the walls and floor, a ladder in order to get up to it, some clay pots, and a couple of spears against a wooden post. Somebody had been here, and they just left all of this!

I climbed the ladder and went into the hut, only to find it in a state of dishevel, which meant that somebody looted it and then left. That meant that there were people out here, but judging by the state that this place was in, there was a good chance that these people weren't friendly. But still, a place like this was better than being out in the open.

As I settled into this new place, I began thinking about my family. My thoughts went back to my mother, my father, my two brothers. I remember their names, despite being in a stone coma for so long; my father's name was Theodore, my mom's name was Catherine, and my brothers' names were Tom and Abraham. I also remembered some of the students I went to the university with, but it didn't really matter anymore; they were all stone, and who knows? They were probably broken.

No, I couldn't think that, especially not about my parents, or my brothers! If I was going to have hope, I was going to have to hold on to the idea that they were still alive, and that they were somehow freed from the stone! I didn't know for sure, but still, it would give me hope.

I placed my wooden spear and makeshift axe in the house, and then went down to look in the clay pots. Fortunately, there were some mushrooms in there, and I ate them hungrily! So now I had a food source; if there were mushrooms around here, and maybe some wild game, I wouldn't go hungry. And, I would probably be able to make some clothes from said wild game, that is, if I could catch and kill them.

But I still couldn't help and wonder who made this treehouse in the first place. And, I also wondered who looted this place, when they did it, and why? It just seemed to add onto the mystery of this new world that I was in.

As I was thinking such things, I looked over and saw some footprints; somebody had been here alright, and it looks like they panicked and ran off. Then, I heard something, and my blood ran cold; there were footsteps! Somebody was coming, and they probably wouldn't be to happy with me being in their home!

I quickly went into the treehouse, grabbed my wooden spear and makeshift axe, went out of the treehouse, ran into the woods, and dove into the bushes! In a few seconds, the owner of the footsteps came into view, and when I saw him, I felt as if I had just seen a wild animal!

He was eighteen, and he was tall, with long brown hair that was flowing, brown eyes, fair skin, and incredibly muscular physique. He also had markings like mine, except they were on his face and body. His clothing consisted of a red tunic, a tan belt, and a lion pelt. In a weird way, I was both afraid and glad; I wasn't the only one who wasn't a stone statue, but this guy didn't look too friendly.

The guy went to the curtain that acted as the door of the treehouse, and for a second I thought he lived there. But, he only looked into the treehouse, and then went to look at the footprints. After a few minutes of looking at the footprints, he disappeared into the woods. But what this guy didn't know, was that I began following him from a distance.

I don't know if this a good idea or not, following a guy who looks like he could crush my head like a watermelon. But hey, he might be part of a group or something, and maybe I could join up with them. I could get some clothes, some food, and that would definitely help me with my survival. Besides, now I know there are more people in this new world, and now I have hope that my family has survived!

Plus, I don't want to become lion chow…