Ah Friday, we have found you at last. This was a fairly good week, just a bit unexpected. The warmer temps brought out allergens I wasn’t expecting for a few months and wasn’t prepared for. Of course it is supposed to be cold tomorrow, so I guess we get back to winter? Regardless, the morning prompt is here. so lets get on with it. Timers set and off we go.
I like this one. Need some more details and I would have to slow down and flesh out the world a bit more, but I like it.
Friday, February 7th: He delicately picked the mushroom.
He delicately picked the mushroom. It was one he knew well and he smiled at the sight. Earlier he found a nest of goose eggs. He took a couple, leaving the rest for the nesting birds to return to. With those eggs, some herbs he found and now these mushrooms he was well on his way to a decent meal. Jake smiled to himself.
He hadn’t been doing so badly out here. He managed to catch several fish. They were of decent size and he was able to eat some fresh, make a fishy soup from parts and dry the rest so he would have some fish at a later point. He was looking forward to a break from the fish however.
‘Soon there will be other things as well, hopefully,’ he thought.
His Uncle insisted on survival training for all of them. Jake remembered when his older half brothers and cousins were each sent out on their training. He sat in on their lessons as well as learning on his own. He listened to their stories and practiced for his time in the cabin.
Jake knew that of the boys, he was not only the youngest but he was the one his uncle didn’t really like. Something about him rubbed his uncle the wrong way. Jake wasn’t surprised. His brothers and cousins all seemed like stamped out copies of his uncle and their fathers. Technically Uncle was Great Uncle Dave.
‘Maybe because my father was a step child,’ Jake thought. He wasn’t like the others because he wasn’t really Matheson blood even if they did raise first his father and then him. Dave was the only one who seemed to hold it against him. Jake also knew he often had different ideas from the others. He tried to keep most of them to himself. He suspected Dave still saw them.
Because of that Jake worked a little harder to learn what he needed. He knew he would have to prove himself well to earn a place in the family or he would have to leave. He didn’t think it would impress Dave but he thought he might, in the end, get at least a little but of respect for surviving. When they came of age each of the boys was sent to the cabin for a month. The cabin had been in the family for generations and was located in the middle of the wilds. When sent, they were able to bring a little bit of gear, but they had to find all of their own food and survive the month on their own. Then they came back and were counted as adults by the others.
Jake chewed his lip. He was the last one left and before he was sent Uncle pulled him aside and told him that they decided he needed to do two months. Jake remembered the snickers and dark amusement on the faces of the others. He was different so he had to do double. He knew that complaining wouldn’t change anything so he accepted it.
Jake stopped walking, automatically hunkering down. He was nearing the cabin and heard something. He lowered himself so he was hidden and low to the ground. He quieted his breath and waited. He heard it again, the sound of a twig snapping. Jake looked for the sound and let his eyes scan the woods. He had seen deer but they were not this close to the cabin.
Then he saw it, him. He picked out the human shape. Saw the gun. The figure was moving towards the cabin. There was a shift and Jake recognized his cousin Luke. Luke had always been his biggest tormentor. Jake was able to pick out several more figures, all armed and all advancing on the cabin. He knew they were not here to help him with his wilderness trial. As carefully as he could, Jake faded back into the woods. It was time to leave, not only the cabin, but the Matheson family.
Ten til Midnight 