《As Luck Would Have It》


 Felix - 1 - What a Pickle

    Felix was in a little pickle.


    He was currently in a cave, alone, hungry, cold, and with absolutely no clue how he got there, wherever there was.


    He had been hiking by himself, one of his favorite pastimes as of late. He wasn¡¯t camping, so his pack wasn¡¯t filled to the brim like past hikes, but he still brought his standard fare: a box of some homemade protein bars (mostly peanut butter and oatmeal bars mixed with some other stuff since he loved the stuff), two bottles of water, a small hunting knife, a lighter for emergencies, his phone, and a portable charger. He also had brought a small sketchbook and a few of his pencils, but he would only use that once he found a nice spot to sit and draw the scenery.


    He took in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of pine and the undertones of slightly rotted leaves as he walked along a lightly trodden path. It wasn¡¯t really an unmarked path, he had seen it clearly on the map on his phone, but it had obviously been unused in a while as it seemed most people either stuck with the main trail or didn¡¯t hike in this area to begin with. Not that he minded. Felix kinda liked the quiet like this. He began humming mindlessly as he walked on the trail, drinking in everything around him when he suddenly felt the earth shake underneath him.


    He let out a small yelp (one that when recounting he will swear he did not do or that it sounded oddly like a small dog yipping) as the ground gave way beneath him and he was falling as mounds of dirt and rocks thundered around him. He scrambled for some purchase around him, clawing at the dirt only to slip and fall further in this impromptu landslide. He began to roll down, and while he tried to curl up in a ball to minimize the damage he still felt rocks and gnarled roots bump into him and bruising his body. He felt the air knock out of him and he choked out a cough as he came to a rolling stop. Just as he began to slow down and he thought the worst was over Felix felt his head hit something rough, most likely a rock, and he blacked out.


    When Felix woke up again, it was dark and he was cold. The sounds of insects, mostly mosquitos and other unknown flies buzzed around his head. He was staring up at the sky, where the stars stared back down, cold and unfeeling to his plight. They looked different to him, bigger and brighter, as if decades of light pollution hadn¡¯t smothered their brilliance. Their patterns were also unrecognizable and it took him a moment of trying to piece them together before he realized they made no sense as he sat up from his spot. Looking around, Felix began to feel a sense of dread. The park where he had gone hiking was more of a forest, where the majority of trees were pine and a few oaks but all around he saw were large gnarled jungle trees, with palm fronds and vines everywhere. To his immediate right was the mouth of a small cave, big enough for a person to sit in out of the rain but not deep enough to make a home. A pile of rubble made the back wall of the cave and Felix wondered somewhere in the back of his head if that was the leftover of the landslide that brought him here.


    He looked down at his watch and paled; he had been unconscious for at least a solid five hours. Which meant that even if he had been called in missing and someone was to look for him, they wouldn¡¯t have found him. He shook his head for a moment as he remembered that you had to wait 24 hours before calling someone in as missing. So maybe he still had a chance. He fished out his phone, hoping he had some service to call someone but it gave a gentle trill as it said there was no service.


    Groaning he held his face in his hands.


    ¡®What am I gonna do?¡¯ he thought in a moment of despair. He had no way to call for help, no clue where he was, nor did he know where to go. He curled up in a ball, worriedly biting his lips. He knew he couldn¡¯t stay like this, it would spell death for him, especially since he could feel the chill creep up and bite into him. He forced himself to get up, wincing at the pain he felt where he had gotten bruised all over. Making sure his bag was on hand he made his way towards the small cave, hoping it¡¯ll keep him safe from most of the elements. He pulled his backpack to his lap, rummaging through it to make sure everything was there. With a sigh of relief he pulled out his lighter from the bottom and looked around to see if there was anything to build a fire with. There was more than enough dry leaves to act as kindling, but he still needed to collect some firewood.


    Nervously, Felix got up and out of the cave, collecting the small dry twigs that were strewn about the jungle forest floor. He looked back apprehensively at the cave and then back at the wilderness and took a deep breath. He was going to need to venture farther out to collect some more sizable wood, and with that in mind he grabbed the small hunting knife he had kept in the front pocket of his bag.


    ¡°Deep breath Felix, it¡¯s gonna be fine, nothing¡¯s gonna come out and attack you randomly,¡± he muttered to himself, quietly walking along in the darkness. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, and soon enough he was carrying an arm full of small fallen branches and some vines he cut from the trees. He turned around, precariously holding his phone on top of the pile as a flashlight and tried to make his way back. He nearly tripped once or twice, causing the pile of wood to jostle and his phone move a skittering nervous fashion.


    He carefully sidestepped a large boulder before coming back to the cave and he breathed a sigh of relief once more.


    ¡°Safe,¡± he muttered to himself as he all but collapsed on himself.


    His relief was short lived as the noises around him grew stronger, the sounds of monkeys screeching, insects buzzing, and the foreign sounds of birds calling to each other. Felix tried not to shudder as he hurried to making a fire before him for safety. Especially since the droning of the mosquitos made his skin just itch in the thought of being bit.


    Using some of the rubble behind him, he built a small ring around the wood just like he saw in the movies and then tentatively lit a dry leaf on fire with his lighter. He quickly put it with the bundle and began to gently blow on it. He wasn¡¯t sure he was doing the right thing at first but soon the rest of the kindling began to smoke gently, glowing with soft small embers. It began to grow and Felix stared with wide eyes as a fire began to take form before him.


    ¡°Woah,¡± he said in awe. It¡¯s not like he hadn¡¯t seen fire before, of course he had, what person hadn¡¯t? It was just, he never built one with his own two hands before. Is this what his ancestors felt when they had built their own fire? The sense of pride and wonder. He rubbed his hands over the now crackling fire and felt relief at the sense of warmth. He could survive this, he thought. He could survive the night, be found by tomorrow, and be home in less than a week. It was going to be ok. It would be like camping, he thought. Just¡­ a little bit more extreme that was all.


    When he had first started hiking as a hobby, he had hears all kinds of horror stories of men getting lost in the woods or having their legs broken in sudden landslides but this was fairly tame in comparison. At least he came prepared and he once more sighed in relief as he slipped the lighter back into his pocket. Deciding that now was a good as time as any to eat something, Felix dug out his protein bars from his bag and carefully ate one. He didn¡¯t know how long he was going to be stuck here, so he needed to ration his food.


    The night wasn¡¯t as quiet as he thought it was going to be as Felix heard the sound of indistinct animals chattering away in the distance and insects communicating to each other in chirps and buzzing. Despite all the time he spent hiking, he never really spent a night in the woods long enough to enjoy the sound of the local wildlife at night. It was nice, in its own harmonious way, but that didn¡¯t stop Felix from still feeling paranoid. He had no idea what was out there and how to really defend himself, but damn it he was going to try. Hugging his knees as he sat in front of the fire, Felix thought what he was going to do.


    First things first was to figure out where he was, but there was no real way to tell. He had pulled out his map on his phone, but it merely said it couldn¡¯t find his location and instead had pinged in random areas in order to try to find where he was. Then another thought, a truly unsettling thought, made its way into his brain. What if he wasn¡¯t at the park anymore¡­ or on Earth anymore? After all there was no logical explanation for how he went from a pine studded forest to a jungle straight out of nowhere. Even the smells were different; no fresh crushed pine needles, the distant scent of smog from the city, the wet earthy smell of the soft dirt. No it was dusty, dry hard packed ground, wet scent of rot and mold from dying trees, the fresh scent of rain that had just passed days prior.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be happening,¡± he whispered to himself, eyes closed shut. He prayed that when he opened them he¡¯d be lying on the park bench, having caught up in a wild dream, or better yet, at home, in bed, ready to wake up for the next day.


    What he saw next only cemented the fact he wasn¡¯t home anymore. He bit back a large scream as he saw the slow walking form of a large predatory cat. But it wasn¡¯t the large tusks that jutted out from its upper lip, nor the way the very shadows seemed to bend around the cat¡¯s rich dark fur, nor even the way it stared at Felix, wondering if he was a meal or an enemy. No, it was the single horn, jutting out of its forehead, curved to a wicked point; a horn that was biologically made for one purpose and one purpose only: to gore any living being to shreds that got in its way.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It silently stalked Felix¡¯s little shelter, never getting close enough to fully step into the light, but just close enough that he could see the color of its¡¯ eyes: a beautiful rich emerald. He gulped and shakily raised the arm holding the protein bar in hand.


    Normally it was illegal in the park for people to feed the local wildlife, but Felix realized with sudden conviction he was no longer in the park and laws be damned if it kept him alive. So he threw the protein bar as hard as he could, tapping into his years being in soft ball when he was nine. The big cat stared at the arcing meal and pounced after it, walking away with a treat it didn¡¯t think it would get.


    ¡°Toto I don¡¯t think we¡¯re in Kansas anymore,¡± he said to no one in particular, letting out a shaky breath that turned into sobs. For the first time in the entire day, Felix broke down crying.


    When Felix woke up, he was crouched over his backpack, protectively holding it. The fire had long since died out and his face felt tight and dirty from all his crying last night. Sun blared brightly on the world and momentarily blinded him as all his senses came too. Luckily nothing else had come to bother him during the night but he knew it would only be a matter of time before his luck ran out.


    Armed with the knowledge he was not in his own world anymore, Felix figured the first step was to find people. Barring that, the second step would to be making a settlement as he figured out how to go home. He looked back at the cave and suddenly a new thought hit him. If he fell in a landslide into this new world, and that cave seemed to be blocked by that very thing¡­ could his way back be through that cave? Figuring out he had nothing to lose and everything to gain, Felix began to make a plan.


    First he would make a house. Then he would dig out the cave. Meanwhile he will try to find some people and see where exactly he was. That way if he was wrong about the cave then he could find another way home from the people he would find. But the problem was Felix had no idea where to look for people, or how to build a shelter without any tools save for his small knife and lighter. He groaned and rubbed his head in thought.


    ¡°If my ancestors can do it, so can I,¡± he said to himself, standing up and dusting his pants. He tied his windbreaker around his waist, already feeling warm in the jungle heat as he set out to find a way to build a home. He figured it was fall in this new jungle world, as it wasn¡¯t too hot nor was the humidity as unbearable as the times he had visited his family in Central America. With knife in hand and the determination that only a bullheaded 17 year old could have, he went out to look for¡­ and he stopped. What was he looking for? Wood? Big rocks to build a hut with? Just sudden building materials that some random woodsman left behind for him?


    He groaned at rubbed his forehead. He was gonna need wood, but to do that he was gonna need an axe. His small knife wouldn¡¯t be able to do that. He thought about the ancient primitive tools and remembered that axes were just large sticks with a piece of rock embedded in it. He could do that. He wasn¡¯t sure how it worked but he knew how it was supposed to look like and that had to count for something.


    He went back to the cave and began pulling out random rocks that looked generally like what he wanted. Just as he was going to pull what he felt was the perfect specimen, he saw a large centipede quickly scuttle away from underneath the rock. He screamed loudly, dropping the rock in surprise and it broke in half. He shuddered at the large insect before going back to digging, albeit carefully. He settled for a flat-ish rock that had been cracked at an angle, leaving a nice stone blade effect.


    ¡°I can do this, I can work with this,¡± he said quietly, holding onto the rock as he looked for a thick enough branch. Grabbing about five large branches, the length of his arm, he brought them back to the cave for inspection.


    ¡°This one¡¯s way too skinny,¡± he said in realization as he threw the first one in what he dubbed the ¡°loser turns into firewood¡± pile.


    ¡°This one¡¯s ok but it¡¯s a lil long,¡± he continued, putting the next branch in his ¡°maybe¡± pile. He knew he was talking to himself, but he was alone, with no one to talk to, and he figured it was fine as long as he didn¡¯t turn a volleyball into his new best friend.


    The third branch as also respectively put into the maybe pile while the fourth was pushed in the loser firewood pile immediately when he realized it was rotted in the center. The last one was also in the maybe pile and from there he whittled it down even more until he finally got a long sturdy looking branch that felt ¡°perfect¡± in his hands. Nodding in satisfaction, Felix grabbed his rock and tried to figure out how big of a hole he would have to carve out for it.


    ¡°Makin¡¯ an axe to make my home, so I can find out of this hell hole~!¡± Felix sang as he chipped a hole in the branch.


    ¡°Gonna make an axe, gonna make an axe, it¡¯s gonna be cool, ¡®cause I never made an axe before. Gonna make a really cool caveman axe, gonna chop some wood, gonna make a house outta that wood.¡±


    His voice was offkey and loud, singing to a tune that even he didn¡¯t understand but he didn¡¯t care. Right now he was working on his cool new caveman axe. He drilled both sides of the wood with his knife to make a hole big enough for his finger.


    ¡°Hell yeah makin¡¯ an axe, I¡¯m makin¡¯ an axe. It¡¯s gonna be so cool, my cool new axe.¡±


    He pressed the stone against his makeshift handle, trying to gauge the size before another idea hit him. Didn¡¯t some cavemen smashed rocks against each other in order to make a better sharper blade? His rock, while nice, was a little too big for what he needed and he could probably make it sharper. Finding another palm sized rock, Felixed switched gears and set his stone axe head on the ground.


    Holding it an angle, he smashed the other rock against it and was disappointed to see it only chip slightly. He brought it down again, smashing harder and brought another sizable chip with it.


    ¡°Ok slow and steady then. Just chip at this bad boy ¡®till he looks like an axe.¡± He smashed the rock over and over again, keeping a controlled rhythm. Or at least, tried to. At times his hand skidded and merely scraped the surface of the rock or bruise his knuckles. Still he worked meticulously and didn¡¯t let up until he saw that the other edge was chipping away at a decent enough rate, leaving a nice edge to his axe head.


    Felix grinned and turned back to his handle before he realized if he made a smaller stone chisel he could probably carve at it better than with his knife, which was made for slicing, not carving. He looked for another thin flat rock, and found just what he wanted near the pile of previous rocks he had collected. Looking it over he nodded to himself as he smashed the sides, delicately forming a chiseled edge to the stone. He wasn¡¯t trying his best on this one as he was on the axe but before he knew it, hours had slipped by. According to his phone, and the sun¡¯s intensity, it was around noon. He decided a break was in order and he pulled out his water bottle and took a large chug from it.


    That was another thing he just realized, he was going to need water to survive. With all this foliage, there had to be a stream nearby. Especially with that big cat lurking about. He shuddered at the thought of encountering the predator again but knew he had to risk it for his survival. He chewed on his protein bar as he thought what he would need to do to get some water and come back without getting lost. Maybe tie some markers around some trees like they do on the mountains in order to get back. He didn¡¯t really have any string to mark the trees though, nor anything colorful except¡­ He looked down at his t-shirt. It had somehow managed to be soaked in sweat despite him only sitting in the cave or collecting some wood. It was a faded bright yellow and was thin in some edges. But¡­ it was also his only shirt. He knew he didn¡¯t really need it in this jungle but he didn¡¯t want to lose it either.


    Still, he was going to need to mark his territory somehow to make it back home, until he realized where everything was without getting lost. He sighed and ripped the shirt off, trying to think how he could cut the shirt without completely damaging it. He figured starting from the bottom and the sleeves would be best, leaving him with a crop top of sorts. But hey, he didn¡¯t really have the luxury of fashion right now. Using his knife, he carefully cut thin but long strips of his shirt, counting 20 in total. Standing up, he pulled his backpack on his back, and set out to find some water. He figured going where he saw the cat last left off was a good idea and put a strip of cloth on a nearby tree. Every time he made a tricky turn or was almost out of eyesight of the last strip, he tied a new one, and soon enough he was down to 5 strips left.


    What Felix was mostly looking for was the sound of rushing water, and he tried to turn in its direction every time he thought he heard it. He paid attention to his nose as well, trying to smell for the fresh water and the mud it would surely churn up. His careful attention was paid off when he found himself next to a small but lively stream. And down to his last strip no less. He grinned as he drank greedily from the stream, already thirsty once more. It was cold and burned his lungs, but he kept drinking, happy that he found a source nearby. Though the term nearby was relative at this point. After he drank his fill, he grabbed his two water bottles and filled them up to the brim before dunking his head in the water. He let out a happy shriek and shook the water out of his hair as he sat down on the river bank.


    With his shoes off and sitting in the shade, it was cool and relaxing having his feet in the water. He felt at peace for once and pulled out his sketchbook from his bag and got to sketching the riverbank. This was nice, he once more thought to himself. He could survive here. He knew he could. He just had to be careful, that¡¯s all. When he realized the sun was beginning to set down and the air got a little cooler, he packed up his stuff and put his shoes back on. He followed the small hike back to the cave, a sense of pride filling his heart as he saw his small encampment. Sure it was small and just a glorified hole in the ground that he was sprucing up, but it was his hole in the ground, his cave, his little home.


    He had no idea the hell he would soon go through, the trials he would face, the way the nature would take this city boy with a penchant for hiking and forge a man out of him. All that would come in due time. For now, Felix was enjoying his sense of content and purpose as he continued to work on his tools and makeshift home.

 Felix - 2 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Other 80鈥檚 Songs to Help You Survive the Jungle

    Felix woke as the sun rays hit him squarely in the face. He blinked and groaned, turning around as he tried to get a few more minutes of rest. But it was useless, as the sun was relentless and was working in tandem with the jungle, creating a cacophony of noise and light all in order to wake him up. He stared at a rock in front of him as he groaned once more before decided that he should indeed wake up. It was technically his third day in this new world seeing as he spent most of his first unconscious, and he was determined to spend as much time as possible building a new home for himself.


    Sitting up he scratched his arms and legs, which despite being mostly covered by his thin windbreaker, were still covered in bugs bites that happened early in the morning and late at night when he was asleep. ¡°I look like I have the chicken pox,¡± he cried as he looked at his red arms with a sigh. He didn¡¯t really have a remedy for them other than to gently wash them with water and to try not to scratch them, so he forced himself to get up and get going with his day.


    He had spent all of the last rays of sunlight yesterday building that new axe of his and he hadn¡¯t really had a chance to test it out. He had used some of the vines to tie it to the handle after he gently hammered it into the hole with another branch just to be on the safe side, so Felix believed in the craftsmanship of his axe. He looked towards one of the smaller trees that had made up the general area in front of his cave and began to whack at it with his axe. It landed with a solid thump, and he practically beamed in pride as he pulled it out of the tree, wood chips flying. He carefully tested the axe head and it had stayed put. It seemed the more he used it, the more it would be hammered into the wood, keeping it secure. He grinned and with a determined gleam in his eye, Felix played woodcutter. The tree was down for the count after ten minutes of solidly chopping away and fell down with a satisfying snap and crash.


    The thin tree wasn¡¯t as tall as the other monstrous jungle trees, but it was still as thick as Felix¡¯s forearm, making it perfect building material. He looked at the other trees, and the wind made them look as if they were shuddering in fear at him. He took them like a madman, chopping them left and right, laughing loudly and singing any songs that flit through his head; mostly 80¡¯s pop.


    It was in the middle of Cyndi Lauper¡¯s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun that Felix stopped. In a larger tree he caught sight of what he swore were bananas and his stomach rumbled just on cue.


    ¡°Girls just wanna have fun,¡± he sang with a large grin as he put his axe down and rubbed his palms, ready to climb that tree. He jumped as high as he could, practically hugging the tree as he climbed. He hadn¡¯t stopped singing either, though it was mostly just him repeating the chorus and humming in a facsimile copy of the synth pop song. Soon he found himself on the branch and grabbed onto the first bunch of bananas. They were smaller than the ones he were used to, and looked more orange than yellow, but he didn¡¯t care. He peeled one, revealing an equally orange, albeit lighter, meat and a sweet smell that reminded him of potpuri. He shrugged and took a huge bite.


    It was sweet, almost too sweet, and soft as he scarfed the not-banana down hungrily. It smeared over his face and a bit on his hands, leaving a gooey mess but he didn¡¯t care as he ate another, and then another, and after his fifth did he finally stop. There were three left and he threw them down the tree, fully intending on eating them after he was done. He climbed down the tree, jumping off when he was at a sizable height and picked up his not-bananas and his axe, taking them home with the largest grin he had all day.


    Back at camp he carefully placed his bounty on his backpack and windbreaker and pulled his fallen trees in front of him. He was feeling just flush with energy and began to chop the large trees into sizable logs to build his new home. Since he was back at his cave, he grabbed his phone and dutifully played some more trashy 80¡¯s music. He knew logically he should conserve the energy on his phone, but fuck it, sometimes you needed the dulcet tones of Whitney Houston to help you survive a jungle in another world.


    The sun was now at its zenith and Felix was working up a sweat trying to cut his logs to all the same height. He was aiming at least a foot or two taller than him, which would help since he was 5¡¯10 and knew he would have a few inches in him to go. Wiping the sweat from his face, he turned towards the cave, looking for his water bottle when he saw a small monkey staring back at him, his not-bananas in it¡¯s tiny simian hands. Its eyes grew wide and let out a screech as he yelled back at it.


    ¡°GIVE ME MY NOT-BANANAS YOU NOT-MONKEY!¡± he yelled loudly, chasing the small simian across his camp.


    The reason Felix had called it a not-monkey was because even though it looked exactly like a capuchin monkey, it had two devil horns protruding from its forehead. It was small and more like lumps than horns, but they were clear as day. The not-monkey screeched loudly as it jumped up a tree, making away with his food. Felix cursed loudly as he grabbed a nearby rock to throw at it, but it was already out of range. It seemed to laugh at him and he stomped his foot in frustration. He knew he was at fault, he left the food right out in the open, but it still made him upset just the same. He groaned and sat down on a large boulder, trying to figure out what he was gonna do.


    He had limited food as it is, and those not-bananas had been a boon, especially since there really wasn¡¯t any food he could find readily available, meaning he¡¯d have to go foraging soon, or try his hands at fishing in the small stream. He shook his head and stood up on his feet once more, readying himself. He needed to finish working on his home. He wasn¡¯t starving yet, and he needed to get this thing done. Of course he wasn¡¯t actually sure how to get it done, but he¡¯d find a way.


    He had to.


    He looked over at his stack of logs, all slightly different heights but generally the same. Maybe he could build some sort of log cabin? He immediately put that idea to rest though, as he had no idea nor the skill to actually create one from scratch. Especially with only the primitive stone tools at hand. He thought back to his history classes, on how primitive cultures created their homes using only mud and sticks. He could do that, but he wasn¡¯t sure how.


    Once more looking over his tools at hand, he figured the best method would either build a wooden frame with mud walls or try to build mud bricks like the ancient Egyptians. Thinking about the stuff he would have to do for the bricks, the first option was the best. After all it would take ages to build and dry all those bricks, something he really didn¡¯t have seeing as he was just one person and the Egyptians had thousands to build their empire.


    He hummed a tune under his breath that sounded suspiciously like the Pi?a Colada Song as he arranged the logs into a square, giving him an idea how big this shelter was gonna be. He bit his lip, trying to envision the finished piece as he marked the corners with some large stones from the cave. As he thought about it, he decided lining the entire perimeter with stone was a good idea.


    ¡°Everyone says you need a good foundation or whatever,¡± he half muttered to himself, clearing out more and more rubble from the cave. He lined them up carefully, trying to keep to only rocks around the same size. After half an hour of constant work, Felix was rewarded with a square of stone surrounding the logs. It was only then that he realized belatedly he needed something to carry the water back from the stream in order to make mud. Using his two water bottles would be grossly ineffective, no matter how large they were.


    Scratching his head, Felix tried to think how he could do that. He knew waterskins were made out of animal hides, but he didn¡¯t even know how to do that, let alone have the capacity to kill anything right now. So making waterskins out of the question. Next would be pottery but he had no clay whatsoever. He wasn¡¯t even really sure how to look for it nor how to fire it properly, so he kept that one on the backburner as well. The only other option would to carve a bowl out of wood or stone. Of course wood was the obvious easy choice, easy being a relative term here, but he thought stone might be a good backup plan.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Sighing, Felix picked up his axe and looked for a large stump of wood to cut down and carve. He didn¡¯t really want to go after the bigger trees so he looked for something that had fallen over, a log or a particularly thick branch. He fell face first into the very thing he was looking for when he tripped over a vine. He was about 15 minutes away from camp when he fell on top of a small sizable log. It looked like the remains of one of the bigger trees and he grinned as he began to dug some of the dry dirt and leaves away from it. The log was as wide as his chest and came up to his knees, so it was more than perfect. Using the very vine that tripped him, Felix made a makeshift rope in order to pull the log back to camp.


    What had been a normal 15 minute trek turned into a grueling half hour plight as he had to tug with all his might in order to get the log back home. He placed the axe embedded on top for safekeeping but now he was regretting it, as the log wobbled from side to side, threatening to throw off the axe as he pulled forward. Still with every inch he was getting closer to the camp and when he finally got back Felix collapsed onto the ground, letting himself relax for a moment. He took deep gasping breaths and lay there for what felt like an eternity and a second all in one. Before long though the sun began to lower and Felix forced himself up. He lugged his log back to the cave where his other tools where and got to work.


    He decided he was going to build it like a backpack; hollow it from the top instead of the sides and use vines to make straps through keyholes he¡¯d carve out. Grabbing his stone chisel and a leftover branch for a hammer, he set to work by debarking it and carving out any rotted parts. Lucky for him, most of the damage was on the outside and the pale wood was soon to be revealed. There were odd chip marks here and there where he had hammered his chisel in a little too hard and a little too deep but he could live with it.


    Gripping the log between his knees, he took one of his pencils and drew a circle in order to get an idea how large he wanted to carve. Satisfied he set to work, slamming the chisel into the wood and hacking away at it. Wood chips flew haphazardly and he had to stop every few minutes just to dust himself off. Rubbing his nose he kept hacking away, only getting about an inch worth of thickness before he had to stop, his wrist killing him.


    ¡°I wish I could just burn out all the wood and just have a vase already,¡± he complained to himself. He drank some water from his bottle before stopping, staring at the log as an idea took form in his head. It was risky, but if he pulled it off it would be amazing. He just needed to use fire to burn away the excess material instead of chipping away at it. The sun was moving quickly and the animals and insects would be waking up anyways so he should build a fire regardless. Especially to keep the mosquitos away. He unconsciously rubbed his arms at the thought of them before getting to work.


    Just as he had done the first time, he lit a small bundle of dried crushed leaves and put it in the center of his small fire pit. Within minutes he had a roaring fire and the gentle smoke already put him at ease knowing he¡¯d be safe from the insects for a moment. Using one of his left over branches, Felix used his stone chisel and his impromptu branch hammer to crack it in half. He was trying to make some tongs to grab some burning coal, well charcoal, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he was doing it right. It looked sort of like unfinished chopsticks and they weren¡¯t staying open like he hoped they would. He wedged his finger into the gap experimentally and the wooden tongs opened up without wanting to snap back. So he was going to need a rock to keep it open that wasn¡¯t too big, he thought.


    Grabbing one of the smaller rocks that were kicked around when he was clearing some of the cave¡¯s rubble he tried to wedge it into the wooden tongs without snapping one of the sides off. He grunted as the rock skidded to the side and plopped back on the ground.


    ¡°Shit,¡± he cursed, trying one more time. This time around he was holding the thing open his fist to give the rock some wiggle room before he pushed it in. It was still sticking out to the side but he could live with that, he¡¯d just hammer it in. Laying its side he did just that and when he was done he realized that the sun had begun its finally cycle and was ready to set. He took a steady but determined breath as he used the tongs to reach into the dying fire, looking for a suitable chunk of ember. It was at the bottom and it was still cherry red and he carefully placed it in the wooden log vase. He blew on it carefully and added some crushed leaves on top as well as tiny twigs the size of his fingers. He needed to keep it controlled if he didn¡¯t want to lose all of his progress.


    He added another small log of wood into his fire as he went back to his wooden backpack vase creatio. Using a larger stick, he pushed the fire towards the center, making sure it burned outwards, not inwards. Felix rubbed his nose as he accidentally inhaled some smoke, practically sneezing it out when he caught sight of something staring back at him. He froze, terrified for a moment that it was the big cat coming back to eat him this time around. He slowly reached for his axe, hands grasping at the ground fruitlessly as he kept his eyes directed at the forest line. He finally grabbed the axe, but just as he did, the eyes disappeared and he was left alone, shivering as the cold and his fear set in.


    Felix looked back at his project and swore, rushing to control the fire so it wouldn¡¯t get out of hand. Carefully breathing on it and fanning the fire, Felix sighed in relief as the fire dropped deeper into the wood case instead of wider. Nervously he set it back down and gripped his axe. He had a feeling he wasn¡¯t going to get much sleep that night and that the only keeping him safe from potential predators was his fire that was slowly dying out. He paled and swore again.


    ¡°Shit¡­ shit I really need more firewood but¡­ it¡¯s so dark,¡± he whispered to himself, hoping the sound of his own voice would calm him down. He fed his campfire the small bits of scrap wood he had collected here and there, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Shakily he stood up, gripping his axe tightly.


    ¡°I-I can do this,¡± he told himself. ¡°I can get some wood and not die and trip over and get eaten by a big horny cat.¡± He giggled at his own joke, but it did little to ease his nerves. With a deep breath he walked towards the edge of his camp, where the light of his fire was the weakest. Maybe he could collect firewood there from the leftover trees he had cut down earlier. There were at most three, and the light around them was sparse. Still, he knew it had to be done. He chopped at them with all his might, wanting the work to be done quickly.


    The squawking of birds overhead grew loud then quiet at the sudden intrusion of his work. He shuddered; he didn¡¯t know what was creepier, the night getting louder, or the animals suddenly getting quiet. He held his breath for a moment, waiting for something to happen.


    A single monkey cry came somewhere behind him, and then another. He prayed it was a good sign and chopped down at the tree again. Sweat began to collect behind his back and shoulders, and his palms felt clammy with his nerves.


    ¡°Sometimes I feel I¡¯ve got to, dun dun, run away I¡¯ve got to, dun dun, get away.¡± He was singing again. He sang when he was happy and when he was sad, when he was nervous and excitable and fearful, music was his instant outlet, and right now was no exception.


    ¡°This tainted love you¡¯ve given, I¡¯ve given all a boy could give yo--¡± He turned around quickly when he swore he heard a crack come from behind him. He held up his axe in front of him defensively.


    ¡°D-DON¡¯T FUCK WITH ME, I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE,¡± he shouted reflexively.


    Silence greeted him and he stood there for several minutes, still holding the axe defensively. When the light from his fire began to fade even further, he paled and turned back to the tree he was chopping. It took two more cuts to get it down and when it was done he quickly dragged it back to the camp. The fire in his log had long since died out, but luckily it hadn¡¯t gone too far off course when he was away. The fire in his camp wasn¡¯t too far off from it¡¯s last few minutes though and he worriedly stoked it back to life.


    Sitting back down in front of it, Felix took his axe and began chopping the wood into sizable chunks before putting it on the flames. At first nothing, and he was afraid the fire had all but died out, but then it began to blaze once more. Thick hot smoke began to pour, and he coughed loudly as it filled his lungs and burned his eyes.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck,¡± he coughed out, waving the smoke away. He forgot the number one rule about campfires: fresh green wood burned bad. He would have to live with his mistake but at least he had a burning fire. He moved at least a solid foot away from the smoking fire and stared out into the darkness. Pulling his windbreaker on to keep him warm, he curled up, trying to force himself to sleep.


    Felix''s Current Inventory: