Planet Tetro ~ Page 14

Splash! We fell off a cliff into a river. It was narrow and in between the forest. That must be why we didn’t notice it before. We probably were tricked. It seems like they expected us to fall to our deaths. Luckily neither of us smashed into any rocks. The water was too deep to walk in, and If anything, that saved our lives. Or maybe just mines. These brutes probably lost a leg or arm falling about 50 feet. The river stream had a gentle current going down. After locking our eyes and regaining our composure, we decided to go with the draft.

Bulls Eye then pointed forward as we swam and said, “Right there.” I looked in the direction he pointed in, and there was another small cave we could get shelter from. We climbed out of the water, removed our bags, and inspected the cave. When examining a cave, I like to check for three things. How deep it goes, what’s already living in it, and if it’s in danger of collapsing or wet. The cave checked out. It was a little deeper than the last one and dry. It looked sturdy, and I only saw a few small animals with the glow from my drill. I’ll have to design a light attachment later for drilling at night anyways. The moss and most of our other things were laid to dry out.

They made dirt pillows and then passed out. They couldn’t use anything we packed as everything was wet. They helped me hang everything using the stints we used to make our camps. I figure I’ll wring everything out while they sleep. The slight breeze that runs through the cave can help dry things.

Hours later, I was doing the final wringing on our clothes when I saw something small run in. The clouds from earlier had cleared, and moonlight shined the only light available at the entrance. Then I felt something run past my feet. Without even thinking, I instinctively grabbed a large metal bowl; then, I smashed it down to where I predicted its trajectory to take it. Yes, I could feel something small and robust moving around. Whatever or whoever it was. It seemed to be in a frantic panic. It wants to get free. The ground isn’t completely level, so there is a chance that air is still seeping in. However, an intelligent creature would be smart enough to spare their oxygen instead of thrashing around when placed in this predicament. It was probably just a small animal. I thought as I sighed. I’ll sit on the bowl as I wring this cloth off.

After the mystery creature stopped moving around, I decided to wait for a while. I wanted to ensure it was dead before examining what I had caught. Even though it’s small and weak. I’m too tired to have to fight anything of any size. I carefully dragged the bowl and the creature along the cave floor. The way I could feel the body hitting the bowl indicated it was limp. I wanted to go near the entrance for some moonlight, but I knew to be quick. The last thing I needed was to be spotted by the little people. I LIFTED THE BOWL when I got to a spot I felt comfortable near the entrance. It was a medium-sized forgo. (Rodent-sized bear creature) I decided to pierce it with a small stick and threw them both in the water.