Chương 9: Chapter 8- The First Hunt

The morning passed fairly uneventfully with only the occasional bird sighting or distant animal call echoing up from the deep forest. Elias finished braiding the last of his stock of reed fibers which netted him a few more loops of cordage. If I can find a sturdy enough material for a pocket I can hopefully fashion a sling. One of the few advantages of being barefoot is that, for the most part at least, Eli was fairly silent when moving through the trees.

The benefit of which became clear as he heard a muted shuffling and lapping ahead through the brush on the river bank. Spear in hand he crouched into the brush and silently crawled forward until he spotted a small young boarlet stopping for a drink along the river bank. Damn almost as many wild pigs as back home. The animal looked a little young to be alone, but Eli's stomach let him know in no uncertain terms that he will need to eat soon or face the consequences.

Thankfully the low rumble did not alert the animal as Eli slowly approached from the boarlet from behind, padding through the ferns growing thick with the gentle mist wafting from the river. Gently easing forward in preparation to pounce, Elias observed the situation warily trying to spot if his prey had any company. As the animal continued to drink, any time its ears flicked backward Eli would freeze, only creeping closer when they would flick away back towards the open water.

As he edged closer Eli paused once he was within striking distance with his spear. Eli tightened his grip as his pulse quickened and with the building tension coiling in his chest Eli could feel his focus narrow until the world faded away, leaving nothing but his spear and his prey before him.

Surging forward like a striking viper, Eli could feel his spirit soar as the moment crystallized in his mind, and he could almost feel his speartip being drawn towards the spot where the spine met the cranium, as the point split the flesh and shattered bone time resumed as Eli descended on the animal. A squeal pierced the air as the boarlet cried out, but his spear struck true, severing the spinal column rendering its back legs immobile.

As the animal dragged itself down the riverbank on its front legs squealing in fear, Eli grabbed a fist sized stone and brought it down on the animal's skull to put it out of its misery, hoping to halt the clamor from its struggles from broadcasting the sounds of their tussle further into the forest. Ding A soft chime echoes in Elias's mind. Pinning the carcass to the ground under his foot, Eli pulled out his spear and crouched, straining his ears to see if he had gathered any unwanted attention.

After a few moments of silence Eli heaved a sigh of relief, and turned to regard his catch only to hear a roar of outrage way too close to his location. Eli quickly glanced around and found a tree to clamber up into, and after getting a dozen feet into the air, Eli paused and to flatten himself on one of the lower branches.

Crashing sounds trailed through the brush, and with another angry roar, a creature Eli could only assume was the parent came crashing onto the riverbank and rushed over to the corpse of the boarlet. Squealing in anguish the larger boar spun about clearly searching for signs of whatever killed its offspring, and after not immediately finding a culprit it began snuffling over the ground looking for the scent of the killer.

Eli cursed silently to himself realizing that, given the animals likely excellent sense of smell, it was only a matter of time before it found him, and while Eli doubted it could climb a tree, the sound of it discovering Eli would definitely attract other predators to the area.

I already don't feel super confident winning against something at least half my body weight, as tall as my waist, and at least three feel long with improvised weapons, but the last thing I want to find out is if there are mountain lions or bears out here. I would rather take my chances with her and flee the scene quickly than to chance an encounter against whatever resides deeper in the gloom. Eli slowly took a deep breath and let it out as silently as he could while studying the creature.

What I know about hunting boars would barely fill a teacup, but I do remember that they primarily charge to gore opponents with their tusks, and are slow to pivot. If I can set the butt of my spear and bait a charge I should be able to win, I'll need to anger it a little more though. With a grim expression Eli slung his spear on his back and hefted his hatchet, watching as the boar approached following his scent trail to the tree he was sheltering in.

As it approached Eli could feel the tension rising again, and this time with very real mortal danger in the air, the tension in his chest did more than gather and narrow his focus. Eli's heart began to pound like a war drum and, as his adrenaline spiked, he could feel energy rush through his veins as adrenaline circulated throughout his body. Inhaling one last breath, Eli could feel his focus narrowing again as he burst into motion.

Eli looped a hand around the bough beneath him as he fell down, circling under the limb, he coiled his legs between him and the branch. With a mighty kick, he launched himself downwards while swinging his hatchet with all the force he could impart, to bury the blade into the shoulder of the boar before slamming into its back and wrapping his legs around its waist.

Eli wrenched his hatchet free as a hot spray of blood showered him, and as the stench of iron filled the air Eli brought the hatchet down for another swing while trying to lock his feet beneath it. The boar let out an ear splitting squeal of pain and spun launching Elias from its back, but not before his second strike landed. The hatchet was ripped from his hands as he landed with a hard tumble on the river bank snapped ferns as he rolled through the brush.

Eli leapt to his feet while wiping a sleeve across his face to clear the cold sweat beading his brow, and whirled towards the boar where he found the hatchet appeared to be lodged in the shoulder blade, leaving the animal favoring the limb while it circled to face him. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The blows did not appear to have crippled its movement like Eli was hoping for.

Elias silently cursed his luck and readied his spear as the enraged beast reared around to face him before charging with a furious roar. Eli dodged, leaping into a roll to his left behind a thick tree, and as the boar barely cleared the trunk of the tree he attacked from it wheeled around to face him again, backing away slowly to gain a little distance for the next charge. The reprieve gave Eli a chance to let him dig a quick divot in the earth with his toes, flicking a clod of soil behind him.

Eli held off on bracing the spear to avoid giving away his plan, and he swung his arms wide in an invitation hoping to bait another charge. The boar narrowed its eyes and, with another squealing roar, launched its charge in his direction again. As it committed to the charge Eli jammed the butt the spear into the divot he had created and crouched low aiming the point toward the oncoming animal.

The beast's eyes widened in surprise and fear, but its momentum carried it forward onto the point, Eli dodged clear as soon as the spear bit into the chest of the boar. The leap came too late as a searing pain tore down his left forearm as one of the tusks ripped a gash along the top of his arm from his wrist nearly to his elbow, thankfully missing the tendons and bones.

Behind him Eli heard a sharp snap, and as he coughed in the dust and rising to his feet, Eli found that his spear had been snapped in half under the pressure. Turning to face his opponent, Eli found it heaving and gasping for breath with just shy of two feet of stone and hardwood spear haft buried in its lungs. With a frenzied look in its eyes the boar barked, coughing a red tinged foam from its muzzle in Elias's direction while bleeding profusely from his weapons still embedded in its flesh.

As the boar glared at him, Eli could almost swear that it seemed to take on a shallow red glow before rushing towards him in a stuttering gait that seemed far faster than it should be capable of with its injuries. A feral grin split his face as Eli spread his arms and snarled, "Bring it motherfucker!" before dodging to the left at the last moment and ripping his hatchet out of its shoulder as it thundered past.

The creature shambled to a stop and wheeled around as Eli launched forward bringing his hatchet down on its brain pan with all the force he could bring to bear with one injured arm. The blow seemed to stun the creature for a split second, this momentary delay sealing its fate, as Eli rained blows onto it one after the other, only stopping well after it stilled and he could see brain matter peeking through.

Lungs heaving, soaked in blood, and splattered with flecks of bone and gray matter Eli raised his arms and, with a full body flex, roared his victory into the sky above. Eli could feel his spirit soar as he felt energy pour into him and a faint Ding was lost in the cacophony as he laughed in relief at his survival, as the sweet song of adrenaline and bloodlust washed through him.

The power Eli felt flowing through him, circling and coursing through his veins felt both unusual and oddly familiar, even if he couldn't quite place what it reminded him of. Eli shook off the sense of deja vu with a laugh and smiled. Eli could swear he had never felt more alive than in this moment. Alone, far from the place of his birth, he had never felt more at home, never more assured of himself than at this moment.

Eli could feel a sense of strength in knowing that he not only could, but would, do more than just survive here. In this foreign world lost with nothing by my own two hands I can thrive. Ok, time to the get the fuck out of here before anything else shows up.

Realizing that the noise of the battle and the pungent scent of blood and offal in the air may attract unwanted attention, Eli tried to move as quickly as he could to secure the spoils of his victory and clear the area. Eli performed a quick and dirty field dressing as best as he could with a dull stone hatchet, he hung both carcasses to bleed by propping them at a slanted angle over a downed log, cut open their abdominal cavity, and dumped as much of the organs he could quickly scoop out.

The fifteen minutes it took to bleed and gut the carcasses already felt like a huge risk, so Eli skipped any attempts at skinning or trimming until he could get some distance from the kill site and hopefully avoid any predators in the area. Eli used some of his cord to tie the rear legs of both corpses and tossed them over his shoulder before hustling back upstream, sticking to the shallows where he could to try and disrupt the scent trail he was leaving as much as possible.

As Eli worked his way back to his glen, his tension easing as the distance mounted, he took stock of his situation. I now have food secured, and provided I can get a fire going probably far more than I need for now, but I am down a primary weapon. I was able to retrieve what was left of the spear, but until I can replace the haft, the remaining length is only a little over 3 feet, and given the small improvised spear head, reach was really all it had going for it.

The hatchet however stood up far better than expected, and after cleaning the blade he only found a few chips in its edge, most likely from bludgeoning it repeatedly against the boar's brain pan instead of aiming for a softer target. As Eli traveled his mind wandered, and he found himself examining the whole experience with a far more critical eye in hindsight, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

I had been incredibly lucky, the situation could have turned for the worse in a heartbeat, but it seemed that I had an edge in the exchange that I couldn't explain. The boarlet should definitely have noticed me creeping up to it a little earlier, I was pretty good, but not that good? Eli could feel the stealth skill kicking in on the approach, but with the adrenaline and his growing hunger it never occurred to him to test out the effect of the skill.

The spear strike I had only practiced for a few minutes that morning felt far more sure than it should have. Granted I do have some improvised weapons experience since it was considered a tertiary part of being a well rounded warrior; however, it almost felt like the strike was being guided, like in the moment the muscle memory from a decade ago became fresh in my mind, just when I needed it. Finally my saving grace, my hatchet surviving long enough to not only put the larger animal down but with very little wear.

Eli did get a better feel for the primitive construction he vaguely remembered after finishing his spear and running the skill, but the spear broke under the first serious load while the hatchet performed like a tested design handling the stress of combat much better. Minute and nearly imperceptible though it was, the edge was clearly still there and for the life of him Eli couldn't fathom how so many small moments could turn in my favor.

Did building the hatchet under the effect of the crafting skill really make that much of a difference compared to the spear? That seems pretty wild, but the only real difference outside of the skill was how they were handled. Maybe it was the hyper vigilance of the series of inexplicable events of the last few days that was causing Eli to make more out of the unusual situation than was warranted, but as he ran his thumb over the blade of his hatchet he couldn't let the thought go.

The edge, still keener than it should be, occupied his thoughts as he stalked forward taking once again to the treeline.