Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit Read Online Free PDF Page B

first.
    Where did I put the other leg, he wondered. One of them is gone. Even though he was pretty sure that he'd placed them side by side, he still
started looking around him. Something got it, he thought. The thought of
something out there that liked to eat meat began to weigh on John. From now
on I'll have to be more careful, he thought. He picked up the remaining
leg, and carefully ran one of the sharpened sticks through it.
    After positioning the skewered meat
across the fire, he walked over to the water. Time to get some of this blood
off, he thought. He squatted beside the calm pool. Before dipping his hands
in, he saw his reflection. It was like seeing a stranger. He had always kept
himself clean shaven, and never allowed his hair to get long enough to cover
the top of his ears. What he saw now, reminded him of some of the homeless
people he used to occasionally see in the city. His hair hadn't seen a comb
since he'd been here. He wasn't just filthy looking, he was scary looking, and
he didn't like what he saw.
    He took his right hand and swiped it across the surface of the water, so he
wouldn't have to look at his reflection. He started scrubbing away at the blood
with his hands, but it wasn't coming off easily. He needed soap and a scrub
brush, but had neither. He thought for a few seconds, then turned around and
grabbed some leaves from a bush. Wadding them up into a ball, he then used the
ball of leaves to scrub at the blood. It wasn't a perfect solution, but was
better than nothing. After working on it for several minutes, he decided that
his hands were as clean as they were going to get. Scooping water with his
cupped hands, he splashed water on his face several times.
    John could already smell the meat
cooking. He began to imagine what it might taste
like. Turning it over so it could cook on the other side for a while, he
finally had some time to unwind. He sat on the ground, then stretched out on
his back. He knew he would have to resist the urge to sleep, even though he
wanted to give in to it. The missing leg helped keep him awake. He found
himself looking around more now, wondering what was out there.
    John planned on sleeping outside
tonight, because it had been a little too warm in the hut the last several
nights. Now he was rethinking that plan, since there was a carnivore out there. Is it big enough to kill me, he wondered. That and other questions were
going through his mind, so he sat up. Thinking about it was starting to get to him. He caught himself looking over his shoulder,
worried about what was behind him. His knife was lying about four feet away. He
got up on one knee, and reached out and gathered it, along with his spear. He
carefully placed one on each side of him.
    John had so many things going through
his head but at this moment, he was just going to let his meat cook. He rose to
his feet and turned the meat over again. Another fifteen or twenty minutes
should do it, he thought. His stomach was already growling with
anticipation. He had an idea of how to hurry things up a little.
    Carrying his knife with him, he
walked over to a nearby bush and cut a stick about four feet long, and as big
around as his little finger. As with the larger sticks, he sharpened one end.
Pulling the meat from the fire, he sliced off a thin piece about six inches
long. He poked his newly-sharpened stick through it, then pulled the stick part
way out, and stuck it through again. Holding it over the hottest coals, he
cooked it like he used to cook hotdogs over a campfire when he was a kid. After
about five minutes, he checked his work. It looked burnt on the ends, but the
center looked pretty good.
    Gently pulling the meat apart with
his fingers, he cautiously bit into one end of the mouth-watering meat. The
burnt part was crunchy and tasted burnt, but the tender meat next to it was
delicious. This is better than any T-bone I ever had, he thought. After
quickly downing the first piece, he repeated the process,