Morning all. I hope your week is going well. This morning I was woken up by the feral neighborhood cat’s fighting. I had to get up early to water anyway. They were still there and both so intent on claiming dominance over my back garden bed that they didn’t see me. Or the hose. They were more startled than anything (I had the setting on shower). But it is my garden bed. And last night we picked up enough chicken wire to go around the back bed. I am resisting the urge to plant a flag and claim it in the name of the humans, So dominance restored, plants watered, feral cat’s temporarily banished and coffee brewing. Shall we jump into the morning prompt? Excellent. Timers set and we are off.
I need to figure out why everyone was sent on this trip, but I like the premise. I just need to figure out what sort of hardship takes the guides away.
Tuesday, June 18th: The snake was coiled in the shadows.
The snake was coiled in the shadows. He didn’t know much about snakes and all he could see of this one was it’s shiny eyes and dark scales. They caught the light filtering through the overhead leaves and made the scales glisten as though they were wet. He thought he saw some markings on the snake but would have to get closer in order to be certain. He decided he didn’t want to know.
‘It wouldn’t help anyway,’ he thought. He didn’t know enough about snakes to tell the difference between them. He had a guide book in his pack. Several in fact. One listed all of the snakes, birds, insects, reptiles and animals that he might find in this area. Another featured details about plants and mushrooms. A third was a book of maps showing waterways and other helpful features. And the final book was more of a survivalist’s guide book. It showed handy things like how to make fire and purify water.
All of the books were wrapped in a nice neat bundle in the bottom of his pack. They were wrapped in cellophane and he hoped dearly that he would not need to use any of them. He backed away from the snake slowly. The snake seemed content to let him go. He felt watched, but the further away he got, the less interested the snake became. Feeling he was safe now, he looked around for the others.
He saw the huddled around the campfire. None of them looked happy and even their permanently smiling guide had begun to droop. Somehow despite the packet that explained that this was a wilderness hike through mostly desert terrain, the others assumed it would be a resort of some sort and that they would just get to wander around the resort grounds with someone spending an afternoon pointing out the native plants before releasing them back to lounge by the pool.
He saw the paperwork, read through it and came prepared. the others seemed more intent on complaining. Not wanting to stir up trouble, he sat down on one of the logs that had been rolled to the edge of the fire for seats. While he didn’t know anything about the wild world, he found it fascinating. Knowing he didn’t know anything, he was thrilled the guides were there to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid, like eat a poisonous mushroom, but he was happy to learn.
‘Can you even grow mushrooms in the desert?’ he thought. It seemed unlikely. Everything he knew about mushrooms pointed to them liking damp and dark environments. Here there didn’t seem to be enough water to make it damp and the bright sun during the day felt like a spotlight.
He looked around. Three of his fellow campers were trying to get cell signals and one was poking the fire with a stick. The others just looked bored.
“Dinner’s ready,” the cook called. Plates were passed around. It looked like some sort of stew and when he tasted it, he decided he liked the flavor. He ate. He was one of the few. There were complaints almost immediately and he decided to ignore them and keep eating. He had heard Kellan’s complaints before and even thought he was a year older, he knew Kellan was not above through things like a toddler having a temper tantrum. He was hungry enough not to want to risk losing his dinner
Ten til Midnight 