Mark woke up early in the morning just before the sun rose. The air was cool; he added a log to the fire to warm it up just a little bit more. Pulling out the stone he got yesterday, he looked it over. He thought it would make a great knife blade. Remembering the way Cora had shown him, he crafted a blade just a little bigger than the ones he made yesterday.
His plan was to find a higher-level trapping area; he would go explore more of the dense grove and see if he could find more there. After he ate some food, he gathered up his tools to take with him. He had a shovel, an axe, and a knife. And a large pile of fiber strings and cords. His plan was to scout farther while looking for tracks and trails. Then when he had a good lay of the land, he would set traps in the higher-level area.
As he traveled, he watched for signs of animals. The farther northeast he got, the larger the prints he found. He could see the trails and the paths the animals took. He found a small spring where they came to water. He found locations where smaller animals were hunted by larger predators. The vegetation was getting denser as he moved through the trees. The sounds of the forest here were different. Quieter, as if the animals were worried about predators.
It was too quiet, with no small movements and no birds. That wasn’t normal; then he heard a sudden crashing sound. He could hear limbs snapping and brush being crashed through. His first thought was that it couldn’t be Cora; she was quieter than that. But then he realized it was not an animal, and it was getting closer. He could hear panting like someone was out of breath. There was a movement in the trees, wrong and uneven. Then a person burst out.
It was not Cora but a younger girl. She was ripping limbs off trees and throwing them behind her. She tripped and fell face-first into the ground. Finding a rock, she picked it up and tossed it behind her. She was limping and had a cut on her left leg. Mark moved; she was in trouble, and then he saw it. A razor rabbit was chasing her. It was slowly gaining ground on her, and then she fell again; this time she did not get up, and the rabbit was about to bite.
He didn’t hesitate or slow down; he had already decided. Without thinking, he pulled out his bow and let off a shot. It was too far and fast for him to hit. He had no time to think and fired again; this time the arrow hit it, but it was not a killing shot. The girl was scrambling on the ground, trying to get away from the still-moving rabbit. Then Cora seemed to appear out of thin air, and the rabbit was dead on the ground with a spear wound through it.
The girl looked at him. “I didn’t need help.”
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Mark looked back, stunned. “You were going to die.”
The young girl said, “I said I had it handled.” She stood up, limping and favoring her good leg. Mark looked at her trying to move; she could hardly stand.
Mark said, “Can I give you a hand, help you in any way?”
The young girl said, “You know, you’re old enough to be my grandpa.” She tried to walk off and failed. She then got frustrated and refused to look at him. Cora just stood there quietly, not joining in at all. Cora then bent over and looted the rabbit and headed back into the forest. Mark watched the young girl struggle to limp away. She made it only a few feet and stopped.
Turning to look at Mark, she spoke. “Fine, I’m lost. I don’t know where I am.”
Mark learned that Ava had arrived only minutes earlier and had barely seen the system message before the rabbit attacked.
Mark said, “For now, let me help patch up your leg and find you a walking stick. We can head back to where I built a camp and we can talk there.”
Mark spent the next few minutes cleaning up her leg. She was not the most cooperative patient. After finding her a walking stick, he slowly directed her back to his camp. The trip back to camp was long, and she could not move fast. When they finally arrived, he looked around. He realized his camp was not really set up for guests. He had only one chair, and he offered it to her to sit on.
Mark said, “To start with, let me introduce myself. I’m Mark.”
“So?” she replied.
Mark sighed. “What is your name?”
She said, “Ava.”
Mark said, “Hello, Ava. I can tell you what I know.” He then explained what he knew about the system, the animals that attack, and the rules he had learned the hard way. She didn’t interrupt much. She just listened. He found out that she was level 1, and she had only been here a few minutes before he had found her.
Mark said, “So I have told you what I know.”
Ava said, “Who was that lady that popped in and killed the rabbit and then popped away?”
Mark said, “Well, her name is Cora.”
Ava said, “Is she with you?” She asked in one of those tones that meant, are you two a thing?
Mark said, “I met her a couple days ago. She has not talked much. I honestly don’t know more than her name.”
Ava said, “So she does not live here?”
Mark said, “To be honest, I don’t know where she stays. I don’t have a lot, but if you want to stay here, it’s safe.”
Ava said, “Are you some kind of perv?”
Mark said, “No, just someone that has kids, and if my kid were lost in a forest, I would hope someone would help them. If it would be alright, I can make you a lean-to to stay in so you’ll be safe.”
Ava said, “Here?”
Mark said, “Well, if you would like me to take you back where I found you, I could.” Ava agreed. Mark went and started to build a lean-to for Ava to sleep in. He built it a short distance from his own shelter, on the opposite side of the fire. This girl was going to be a handful. She would not make it alone out here. But she did not seem to want to be here either. Mark supposed he would not want to be stuck with a stranger in a forest either if he were her age.
Mark had planned for himself only. That wasn’t going to be enough anymore. He had someone who needed help now, even if she didn’t want to admit it yet. This just got more complicated for him.