Chapter 4: Home, Sweet Home

There was no way I was actually in charge of my situation. No man with my lack of knowledge gets this lucky on a regular basis.

My second day on “New Terra” began on a pretty sour note. The fire had gone out overnight (or rather, I hadn’t built it to last and whatever tend-the-fire skills evolution normally imprints on humankind didn’t take root in my case) and I woke up feeling like one half of a popsicle. The upside was that there was plenty of firewood waiting for me to re-kindle the fire. Finally feeling warm, I decided to forgo a morning bath in the river, and instead head directly towards the caves. I ate half an energy bar as I started my hike, feeling a little better about wasting them now that I had proven I could feed myself.

I wasn’t in any hurry, so the eastward hike took about three hours. Along the way I managed to identify and gather a few vegetables by following my alien guides. Herb-type plants were relatively plentiful, and I munched on them as I found them, getting to know their flavor. I was pleased to find a few were very strong, and should go a long way towards making a diet of fish palatable. I also noticed a few deer (as they ran away from me) which boded well for my future hunting trials. The hike was slightly uphill as I followed the cliff face. The cliff edge rose as I walked, towering ten meters above me at times. Just as I started to feel overheated from the rising sun and the exercise I crossed into a wide meadow pushed into a corner caused by the cliff face turning suddenly south-east.

Three openings stood in the cliff face, looking out into the meadow. The curved cliff formed a sort of alcove, making the meadow a natural courtyard fenced in by the forest. From the outside the caves looked perfect, but I quickly remembered the hibernating bears and cautiously dropped by pack at the edge of the woods. Readying my rifle, I approached cave number one.

I immediately wished for a flashlight as the morning sun left all three entrances in shadow. I crept inside and waited, terrified, for my eyes to adjust. As my surroundings became visible, I started to form my “keep Chester from dying” conspiracy theory. You see, there was just no way that this cave, placed this close to my arrival point, nestled in this perfect of a setting was natural. Clearly the deck had been stacked in my favor. I wasn’t complaining, but I did start to worry about what I would be facing later if they considered this a gift on par with an axe. The cave featured a flat, sandy floor under a four-meter ceiling. Formed from one large room it stretched about ten meters to the left and almost fifty meters back into the cliffside. Aside from the truly spectacular dimensions, along the back wall was an honest-to-god freshwater spring running from a crack in the wall near the floor and exiting in the same manner. It wasn’t all chocolate and rainbows, as several creatures seemed to have learned of this amazing shelter. The rear half of the cave was filled with detritus, droppings, and carcass remains. Luckily, no one, aside from various insects, was using the cave at the moment.

Cave number two was filled with the same critter leftovers and was shaped more like you would expect. It was a nebulous area of about 100 square meters. The floor was flat and sandy, but the ceiling was lower, causing me to duck reactively at times, and the walls formed pockets and tunnels throughout. I also discovered the source of the first cave’s fresh water. Cave number two sported a spring welling up from the floor, filling a large basin before draining through the adjacent wall. I was excited about the first cave, but cave number two was starting to look like nueva casa de Chester.

I had gotten a little cocky thinking that my benevolent masters had created the perfect home for me and I walked straight into cave number three. I was immediately evicted by a family of badger-like creatures who gave me a face and chest full of evil scratches. I was surprised enough to fall on my ass and drop the rifle as momma and the three little piggies launched themselves at me. I had made it several meters inside, walking straight through some type of bedding before I became aware of the danger. I had to scramble out on my hands and knees while kicking blindly at the attacking balls of fury. I got all the way to the tree line before realizing they weren’t following me anymore. Chester zero, uncivilized, prehistoric nature, one.

I assessed my situation while cleaning my wounds with some canteen water and a clean cloth from my pack. I also had to sacrifice some antiseptic for the deeper ones, and the other half of the energy bar for lunch. I formed and dismissed several plans for clearing the cave as the sun neared its apex. I thought about smoking them out, but I couldn’t get far enough inside the cave to keep the fire from preventing their escape. I could head back in with my pistol, but the revolver only held six shots and I remembered at least four of the bastards. I didn’t trust my aim anywhere that well. I came to two conclusions: first, I needed to recover my rifle, there was no guarantee the critters would be ousted anytime soon and I needed the protection. Second, fire was probably my best weapon in this situation and although building one at the entrance probably wouldn’t scare them out, I could prep a fire to keep them from reentering should they ever leave.

The rifle was about three meters inside the cave entrance, and in the increasing sunlight, I could just make it out from outside the cave. I stayed well back of the entrance, however, as I could also occasionally see the reflections of beady eyes. I had 100 feet of rope and a forest full of rocks and sticks to play with but it still took me hours to find a combination that finally hooked the rifles sling. By tying the end to both a stone for distance and weight, and a stout stick to catch the sling, I was able to pull the rifle to safety. It seemed undamaged aside from the new “idiot” marks on the stock. I didn’t want to scare the rabid fuckers into the cave any further, so I had to hike out a few minutes before testing it on a large stump.