[OC POV]:
A beam of sunlight pierced the mouth of the cave, scraping against my eyes.
My eyes flitted, as I was dragged back to the land of consciousness, while reality caught up to me.
...
'I'm still alive!'
Exhilaration and relief filled my psyche.
'This must be what it feels like to chew 5 Gum.'
...
The fire had long been extinguished, yet I survived nonetheless.
I quickly sobered up.
'I'm still not out of the woods yet.'
Standing up and stretching, I put on my socks and shoes, and made my way to the cave's entrance.
A picturesque view graced my eyes.
...
With much clearer visibility, and a higher elevation, I could appreciate the true scale of the snowy taiga, that extended as far I could see.
In the distance, I spotted a range of white mountains and hills- much smaller than the mountain I was currently camping in.
The air was still chilly, but tolerable- as opposed to the previous night's blizzard- sprinkled with the occasional snowflakes.
At least now I wasn't shaking like a leaf.
I looked up the mountain I was on, to see if I can see the peak, but it was still obscured by clouds and snowstorms. The steep angle I was viewing it from didn't help either.
'I should check the time.'
I pulled out my phone, glanced at the screen, and immediately felt concerned.
...
The sexiest man alive stared back at me.
...
'I forgot to shave.'
Powering on my phone screen for a brief moment, I noted the time.
2024-10-24T15:37:51Z
While I didn't have GPS to sync with an atomic clock, the internal quartz oscillator in my phone still works.
It would take 10,000 years, continuously running, for the time to err by margin of a few seconds.
The battery unfortunately does not last nearly that long; currently it read 71%.
I quickly switched my phone into sleep mode.
...
Time to rise and grind.
...
The first order of business is reconnaissance.
I've gotten a general understanding of the environment I'm in, but I needed to find a source of food.
My stomach grumbled at the thought.
'I wish I could have a juicy steak right about now.'
My hunger subsequently led me on an epic quest outside the cave and into the great beyond.
...
As I walked, I pondered a mystery that had been plaguing my subconscious.
'Where the hell are all the animals? Hibernating?'
I saw no birds in the sky, though to be fair, there was a blizzard not too long ago.
I thought back to the moment before I fell asleep, when I felt I was being watched.
It was eerie.
It still is, to some extent. There should be at least some animals or insects in the general vicinity.
All I could hear was the crunch of the snow under my shoes, and the occasional wisp of the wind.
Right as I completed that thought, I spotted a flash of silver in the corner of my vision.
I jerked my head to see what it was, but it vanished before I could properly view it.
...
'Maybe I'm starting to lose the plot...'
...
A few minutes of arduous walking in the snow, I found something interesting.
A bush.
Not just any bush, however; this bush had berries.
'Are they edible or poisonous?' I wondered.
They looked big and juicy- colorful too.
They were yellow, speckled with dots of orange.
When I saw the berries, I felt like a few dormant neurons in my brain were firing.
It was enough to get me to try a sample of them, despite the risks.
I plucked one from the bush and took a bite.
...
A surge of electricity jolted through my spine, as I felt like I chugged an entire energy drink.
'Holy shit, that was incredible.'
'Who needs drugs, when berries like these exist?'
I felt rejuvenated, and far more energetic- a distinct citrus taste was left in my mouth; it reminded me of a cross between an orange and a lemon, though the berry had the texture of a pear.
I don't recall any poisonous berries having a citrus taste, so they were good to harvest, as far as I was concerned- it was too late to worry about that anyways.
I plucked as many as I could carry in my hands, and headed back to my man cave
...
I could always come back for more later.
...
5 minutes later, I found myself back in the cave with 6 big berries in my hands, and 2 in my shorts.
I realized that I had a new predicament- I needed storage, as well as other tools.
I placed the 6 berries down on the floor of the cave temporarily, and set out to get materials.
...
I came back outside to collect more wood, and returned with two armfuls of twigs and branches.
I set most of them aside in the firewood pile, and sat down with the second biggest branch in my lap.
Taking out my pocket knife, I quickly got to work.
...
...
*thwip*
...
*thwip*
...
*thwip*
...
Whittling is an art.
It's also hypnotic and meditative.
When I started whittling for the very first time back in Yellowstone, I was hooked.
My creations were very crude, and my hands were covered in cuts, but I improved very quickly over the course of a few months.
It became almost second-nature.
Presently, my hands moved deftly in a rhythmic motion, the knife gliding along the wood.
As I whittled away at the branch, I thought about life back home.
Various topics came to mind.
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My job- I'm fully remote, and mostly work alone, since I'm way more efficient than most of my peers. I get along very well with my boss, and most of my coworkers, but my boss' boss doesn't like me.
She intentionally ignores me, even on the rare occasions I decide to work in-office. It's quite funny, actually.
If I make it back, I'll probably be fired now for being a no-show for many important online meetings- I'm sure she's been looking for a reason to can me anyways. She's a quintessential corporate sociopath, and I'm one of the few people that doesn't kiss ass or need to due to sheer skill alone- a wrinkle in her perfect world, a nuisance.
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My family- We've drifted apart over the years due to irreconcilable differences. My parents got divorced a long time ago, which devolved into various petty disputes, while my brothers and I were never particularly close from the start. We had a neutral standing with each other at best. Given how rarely we contact each other, I doubt they'd be worried about me, or at least this soon.
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My health- pretty good all things considered, even with the recent events.
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My bills- ...
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My love life- ...
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*thwip*
...
"Ow!"
...
I was torn out of my line of thought as I accidentally cut my leg.
Luckily the cut was shallow so the bleeding stopped fairly quickly.
I finished the last utensil I was whittling.
Altogether, I had produced a fork, a knife, and a spoon.
'Nice.'
All I needed now was a bowl.
...
I took the largest branch into my lap and got to work again.
...
One wooden bowl later, I found myself banging rocks together, like a guy without an ad blocker.
I needed a pot that could withstand fire as I planned on making berry stew.
I chipped away at a large rock, finalizing a pot with two holes, that I could thread some twine through to make a handle.
'Done!'
...
I went outside to fill the pot with snow, then went back inside for the berries.
'1, 2, 3, 4, 5... where's number 6?'
'Am I having a stroke? I could've sworn I brought back 6.'
...
I turned back to face the entrance of the cave, only to narrowly spot a flash of silver dart out of it.
'Hmm,' my eyes squinted.
I walked towards the entrance, and peered out, only to be met with the same scenery I've seen before, sans the silver creature.
I thought back to the first night in the cave.
'Maybe it stuck around...'