chewed until all the flavor was dissolved. Almost immediately upon finishing my little sandwich, I felt a rumbling in my stomach. The combination of the snake bite and my head wound nauseated me. The acidic taste of vomit filled my throat. I managed to crawl a few feet from my home base and threw up. There wasn’t much in my stomach, so when the food was all out, I had the dry heaves for about ten minutes. I was finally able to recuperate and crawl back to my place. The stench of vomit filled the air.
I glanced at the area below the hole and the snake was gone. It had slithered back to its hiding place. I made a pillow of my towel again and laid my head back, totally drained. I fell into a fevered sleep.
I don’t know how long I slept, but I was awakened by squeaking noises. I looked to the source of the sound and saw three rats eating the vomit. My stomach rolled again, but there was nothing in there to come up. I threw a rock at the rats, and they scattered.
I laid my head back on the pillow and passed out.
I opened my eyes as thunder pounded the sky. Rain poured through the hole twenty feet above me. The drops bounced on the floor of the cave. It was just rain, but it lifted my spirits. I crawled closer to the hole and let the soothing rain drops wash my face and hair. The small puddle of water was growing. I cupped my hands, dipped them in the puddle and brought the life-giving water to my lips. I repeated the action many times until I was full. Maybe God does care if I live or die. I frantically looked around to find something to catch as much of the rain as possible, but all I had was the empty sardine can. I just hoped that the puddle would grow large enough to sustain me.
I crawled back to my home area filled with new hope of survival. Now there were two rocks in the space that I had cleared out to keep count of my days. I was extremely hungry, so I finished the can of Vienna sausages with the remainder of the crackers. The meal stayed down this time. I checked what was left of my food. All that remained was one bottle of water, one can of Vienna sausage, an apple, two slices of bread, and one packet of mustard. I didn’t think I could make that last even two more days. Other than the helicopter hovering above earlier, there was no sign of anyone looking for me.
I had almost forgotten about the half-dead man lying at the former entrance to the cave, so I decided to check on him again to see if he was still alive. The rain soaked his clothing and a small puddle of water was under his face. I crawled to him and checked his pulse. He was barely alive. His lips moved slightly trying to drink from the puddle of water under his face. I lifted his head. His right eye was closed and the grotesque left eye still stared blankly as it hung from its socket.
I heard movement to my right and jerked my head around in time to see the wolf crawling toward me. His hunger was overcoming his pain. I threw a rock at him, but he kept coming. I moved back ten feet to my safe area and again brandished the knife. When he arrived at the puddle of water, he began to drink. Strings of slobber ran down his jaws as he lapped up the muddy water. After getting his fill, he began sniffing Cherokee’s body. Then he bit the unconscious man’s exposed left arm, attempting to rip off the flesh.
I yelled and started throwing rocks at the wolf. The first rock hit his head, and he lifted it from Cherokee’s mangled arm. I picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it as hard as I could. It connected with his broken leg. The wolf let out a loud yelp and crawled backward to his place ten feet from Cherokee’s body. He lay there licking his broken, bleeding leg. It was just a matter of time before his hunger caused him to go for human flesh again. I’m sure that he didn’t care whether it was my flesh or Cherokee’s; he needed to satisfy his hunger.
Night was falling on my second day in the cave. The cool night air made me shiver. I could
I glanced at the area below the hole and the snake was gone. It had slithered back to its hiding place. I made a pillow of my towel again and laid my head back, totally drained. I fell into a fevered sleep.
I don’t know how long I slept, but I was awakened by squeaking noises. I looked to the source of the sound and saw three rats eating the vomit. My stomach rolled again, but there was nothing in there to come up. I threw a rock at the rats, and they scattered.
I laid my head back on the pillow and passed out.
I opened my eyes as thunder pounded the sky. Rain poured through the hole twenty feet above me. The drops bounced on the floor of the cave. It was just rain, but it lifted my spirits. I crawled closer to the hole and let the soothing rain drops wash my face and hair. The small puddle of water was growing. I cupped my hands, dipped them in the puddle and brought the life-giving water to my lips. I repeated the action many times until I was full. Maybe God does care if I live or die. I frantically looked around to find something to catch as much of the rain as possible, but all I had was the empty sardine can. I just hoped that the puddle would grow large enough to sustain me.
I crawled back to my home area filled with new hope of survival. Now there were two rocks in the space that I had cleared out to keep count of my days. I was extremely hungry, so I finished the can of Vienna sausages with the remainder of the crackers. The meal stayed down this time. I checked what was left of my food. All that remained was one bottle of water, one can of Vienna sausage, an apple, two slices of bread, and one packet of mustard. I didn’t think I could make that last even two more days. Other than the helicopter hovering above earlier, there was no sign of anyone looking for me.
I had almost forgotten about the half-dead man lying at the former entrance to the cave, so I decided to check on him again to see if he was still alive. The rain soaked his clothing and a small puddle of water was under his face. I crawled to him and checked his pulse. He was barely alive. His lips moved slightly trying to drink from the puddle of water under his face. I lifted his head. His right eye was closed and the grotesque left eye still stared blankly as it hung from its socket.
I heard movement to my right and jerked my head around in time to see the wolf crawling toward me. His hunger was overcoming his pain. I threw a rock at him, but he kept coming. I moved back ten feet to my safe area and again brandished the knife. When he arrived at the puddle of water, he began to drink. Strings of slobber ran down his jaws as he lapped up the muddy water. After getting his fill, he began sniffing Cherokee’s body. Then he bit the unconscious man’s exposed left arm, attempting to rip off the flesh.
I yelled and started throwing rocks at the wolf. The first rock hit his head, and he lifted it from Cherokee’s mangled arm. I picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it as hard as I could. It connected with his broken leg. The wolf let out a loud yelp and crawled backward to his place ten feet from Cherokee’s body. He lay there licking his broken, bleeding leg. It was just a matter of time before his hunger caused him to go for human flesh again. I’m sure that he didn’t care whether it was my flesh or Cherokee’s; he needed to satisfy his hunger.
Night was falling on my second day in the cave. The cool night air made me shiver. I could
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