The frozen lake cracked beneath his feet. Panic set in instantly, and Andrew West was forced to make a break for it. At first, he burst into full sprint across the remainder of the frozen lake, pulling his small shed as best as he could. Then he remembered something his brother taught him.
Jonathan West was a survivalist, and had once told Andrew that the best thing to do is to get ahead of the crack and walk slowly, never letting your feet leave the ice. Once the panic subsided, he slowed his pace and awaited the dreaded possibility of falling into the freezing water below. After a few more moments, it became clear that the break in the ice was not going to reach him.
Satisfied with his chances of survival for now, Andrew kept going, making his way back to camp. For the past three weeks, he had managed to stay hidden in the woods, checking his trap for fresh meat every two days or so, which kept him well fed. Luckily enough, no one from his hometown had managed to find him.
Andrew had been on the run, and had not seen his brother since his down had been overrun by a mysterious disease that seemed to come out of nowhere. The feeling of loneliness had set it just two days in hiding, and it hadn't gotten any better ever since, even though he had plenty to focus on just surviving in the woods.
Having finally crossed the frozen lake, Andrew searched for a few large rocks in the snow and placed them at the point in the water where he had crossed and positioned them as a marker, to make sure he didn't take that path again. There was no sense in taking the chance of forgetting where the ice was risky.
The next course of action was to get back to camp and skin tomorrow's meal and get tonight's meal started. Two hares would mean he had to leave camp again the next day to check one of his other traps. All the same, at least the food would be sweet. His only regret in the haul was that his brother would not be there with him to share it.
The forest where Andrew had taken refuge was as thick as pea soup. Even with a fire going in the dead of night, one would have to be pretty close to his camp to even catch sight of the fiery glow. This gave him the confidence to cook at night and not worry about anyone finding him. Absolute isolation. A bittersweet perfection for his current predicament.
While dragging his sled through the forest, Andrew caught wind of some predatory sounds in the distance. He could not tell whether the sound was coming from the trees or the mountainside above, but the idea of a wild animal mauling him gave him a rather unsettling feeling in the bottom of his stomach.
The trees themselves were surrounded by a mountain, whose clifftops stood around 200 feet tall. The perfect height to conceal his location in combination with the 100 foot evergreens surrounding the cave where he had taken residency. Until tonight, no animal had wandered in his direction, and he hoped that it would stay this way.
The moment Andrew arrived at his campsite, he prepared his dinner and placed the two hares on the drying rack, cutting their necks to let the blood drain into a small trough. This was used to attract bigger game to his traps, and most of the time it worked. Well enough to pardon the days it failed, at any rate.
After finishing both of these nightly chores, he began to prepare his bed. For optimum heat preservation, Andrew found that it was best to tuck in three of the four corners and let the fourth corner be left just loose enough for him to slide into bed, while making sure that he will be snug beneath the covers. By the time this was done, dinner had cooled off enough to eat. Out of fear of attracting the animal that made noise earlier, he wolfed down the seared venison and settled into bed for the night. Today was going to have to be an early start if he wanted to stay on top of food storage.
Daybreak struck, and Andrew grabbed the remains of last night's dinner before returning to the woods with his sled, eager to find out what today's bounty might hold for him. No sign of any more unwanted sounds coming from any direction so far. Good, he told himself as he continued towards the frozen lake.
Once he tracked down the rocks that marked the unsafe route, Andrew chose a different route, and headed across the sheet of ice. Slow and steady, Andrew muttered to himself. Slow and steady.
After crossing the lake, he marched towards the location where yet another trap had been placed. Pulling the sled in one hand, Andrew fiddled with the small vial of rabbit's blood that was meant to be bait for the next round of food. He returned the vial to his pocket and steadied his course. Suddenly, he heard what was suspiciously similar to footsteps. Human footsteps.
Needing to make a quick decision, Andrew left the sled on the trail and tucked himself into a nearby bush. It was there that he waited for about five minutes before poking his head out. Seeing no one around, he resumed his course, withdrawing his knife from his belt. No sense taking any chances. After what happened back at his home town, there was no telling who was after him.
It was about noon by the time he reached the next trap, and it was his lucky day. Yet another deer was caught, and its neck was caught in the sling that held the salt lick in place. With a swift grab of the snout and an equally swift slice with the knife, the cries of the deer came and went in a matter of moments. Another successful day for gathering meat. Andrew sliced off a piece of the deer's leg and sprinkled the vial of rabbit blood over the sling. This should be enough to attract a wolf.
On the way back home, Andrew heard the footsteps once again, and decided to stand his ground this time. He knew he had to take his chances, for a deer on his sled would surely be reason to suspect human occupation nearby. A sled in the woods could have belonged to an irresponsible child, but a dead animal would be harder to explain.
After a minute or two had passed, a man had called out from behind a tree, asking who was there. His voice was somewhat familiar.
“None of your business, that's who, now I suggest you get out of here before I blow you away. I'm armed, you hear me?” Andrew threatened the man who was out of sight, hoping that his bluff would go unchallenged.
“With that little poker? No worries, there, little brother, I've come to bring you back to town. Dad's been missing you.”
Suddenly, it hit him. This was the voice of his brother. Jonathan managed to track him down after all this time.
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