Chương 21: Follow the Signal

Mark looked in the direction the sound came from. Looking at the map, he saw there was a point of interest.

"Dense grove." Most of the map going east was misted out. He had placed most of his traps between camp and stream to the west.

"Let's see what's out there." Mark first headed directly east. As he looked around, he realized how much more he now saw. Paths were obvious. He followed the tracks on the ground. He saw where many gathered. As he followed one of the paths going east. One particular spot—he had a feeling that a simple snare would be best here. He could tell that his skill upgrade was making him more aware.

"Great spot, but we are exploring for now." He continued east until he felt that he was nearing the edge of the zone. He opened the map to see that his camp was east of the center of the zone. The map showed that the dense grove covered most of the northeast corner of the zone. It started just north of his camp and went all the way to the eastern boundary. He started north, taking a wandering path. He found another location for a trap. This place needed one of the anchored snare traps. Larger animal.

More fight to it. He was surprised how much he now could perceive on what type should go where. As he moved farther towards the north, the vegetation changed. He could see, through the tracks, that the types of animals in the area were changing. The trees were getting taller. They looked older. The trees looked more solid. Opening up the map, he could see he was at the edge of the area labeled dense grove. He could see why it had a name. It was not the simple forest he started in.

As he moved north, the trees continued to grow in height. There was more than one type of tree now also. Stopping at one that had died and fallen, he examined it. It was harder wood. His skill told him it would make stronger traps. He could sense that his traps would be better with this wood. He sat and shook his head.

"Just exploring, plenty of time later to gather." As he passed a tree, something felt off. He stopped and started to really look around. Something in his new senses tingled. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He saw something out of the corner of his eye that was wrong. He turned and looked in the direction that felt wrong. He saw something under the edge of a bush.

"Oh, just an animal track." Bending down, he looked at it.

"Wait."

"That's not right." It did not look to be an animal track. He saw signs of a bush; one of its limbs was broken. Shaking it off, he continued. Heading deeper into the area. He identified more places that would be great for traps. More signs of animals that he had not seen before. Mark then found a limb lying on the ground. It seemed out of place. Then he could see the tree that it must have come from. Something had pulled it off. Looking closely, he saw that the limb had been trimmed. Then he saw another track.

Not animal. The limb was cut, similar to what he might have done. He picked up the limb and examined the cut. Clean cut, not torn. Using a tool. But he had never visited this area before. Then he noticed more details. Something had come through here. Purposeful.

"Something is here."

"Something like me is here."

"…And it knows what it's doing." He realized he could sense a slight trail heading east. He found another limb cut. More tracks in some soft dirt. A plant sitting to the side of the path, upside down.

"Something pulled it, then discarded it." He continued to follow the trail. Plants, limbs, prints. Some places looked rushed. Others like they were sneaking along. Then the trail abruptly ended. No fading. No branching. Just… gone. Mark looked around. He was now deep into the grove.

"I'm not tracking prey."

"Something out here thinks like me." He had the feeling of being watched. But he could not see or hear anything that was not expected.

"I'm not alone out here." He had now seen the grove. He could tell this would be a good new resource area.

"I need to get back to camp." As he traveled, he thought over what he had seen. There were new places to trap. A new source for wood. Stronger wood. But he could not shake the feeling. Something was still out there. Back at camp, Mark started a fire and cooked some of the meat. When it was done, he put it in his clay bowl and sat to eat. He felt like something had changed. But he could not put a finger on it. After he put out the fire, he cleaned his bowl. Looking around with the bowl in his hand, he mumbled.

"I really need to find a place for you." Then he sat it down on the edge of the fire ring. Mark decided that it was time to check the trap lines. Walking to the first trap, he looked at it. It was like he had never seen it before. He could see frays that needed to be fixed. The wood on the top would break the next time it caught something. But even without changes, he could tell it was more effective today than yesterday. That skill had changed things.

As he checked his traps, he did some minor repairs and upgrades. He got to one trap and realized he had not placed it where it's currently sitting. Looking around, he found the spot he placed it. Or at least where he thought he placed it. He frowned.

"... No."

"I didn't put it there." Mark finished going through all of his traps, gathering his new kills. But his mind was elsewhere. Back in the grove. What was that going through the trees? As Mark approached camp, something felt off. Stopping at the edge of camp, he saw nothing out of place.

"I'm just getting jumpy." He started moving again. He grabbed his chair and sat down. Mid-thought, he got distracted and fell over with the chair. Looking at the crafting table, he saw his bowl.

"That's not where I left you." He froze. Mark looked at the sky. The sun was setting. He looked into the forest. Then back at the bowl. Picking back up his chair, he sat down. As the last light of sunset dimmed, he started the fire. He added a little extra wood to make it bigger tonight. He did not feel as safe as when he woke up this morning.

"Someone has been here."

"Recently."