The first thing Austin and Maya decided to do was find a place for shelter. They could not be sure of the weather in the area and knew they needed to find a place that would help protect them from extreme weather if it happened. Not to mention, they were unsure if that clearing they were in would even be safe. They were unsure what sort of beasts or people could find them in that area. To the pair, it seemed like it was a very vulnerable spot.
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Luckily, they realized their stroller and their baby supplies were brought with them when they teleported to the forest. They dug out a few necessities for Elliot, including a couple of toys, and put them in their packs. Most importantly, they had a baby carrier for him.
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They strapped Elliot into the carrier, and Maya used it to carry him while having one of the packs on her back. Austin carried the other two packs as they walked through the forest. They decided they would alternate between carrying packs and Elliot if needed.
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The two started walking through the forest. They were not completely sure what they were looking for, but they hoped they could find someplace for shelter. Austin was not sure he had ever walked through such a dense forest. He felt twigs scrape against his skin each time they walked forward. His choice to wear shorts that day seemed to be a colossal mistake as he felt his legs get cut up.
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Austin looked at Maya to see how she was doing, and she was faring much worse than he was. Her dress kept getting snagged by the branches, and she had to rip it off to break herself free. She did this repeatedly until she got extremely frustrated and started to cry in anger. Elliot started to cry in response to Maya’s cries.
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Austin walked over to Maya and gently rubbed her shoulder while he rubbed Elliot’s head. He tried his best to calm the two down, and it did seem to work. Their cries quickly started to stop and they both started to sniff their noses as they got over the tears.
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“We might have to cut your dress, Maya,” Austin suggested as he continued to rub her shoulder in comfort.
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“But I don’t want to. I love this dress,” Maya began to protest. “You love this dress. You always tell me how beautiful it makes me look.”
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“I know, but you make it beautiful. Not the other way around,” Austin insisted as he looked deep into Maya’s brown eyes. He could tell how frustrated and sad she was as she looked at him with her big eyes. “Once we get home, I’ll get you a new one. I promise.”
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Maya wiped her face and nodded. “Only if you promise.”
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“I promise,” Austin smiled gently.
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Afterward, Austin set their packs on the ground and began searching through them. He took out the knife and removed it from its leather sheath. Once they found a place to stay, he realized that he needed to fasten it to himself somehow.
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“Just stay still, please,” Austin asked Maya and Elliot.
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Maya nodded as Austin grabbed her dress. He pulled the dress tight and started to cut into it with the knife. It definitely was not as easy as he imagined, and he had to saw with the knife to cut through the fabric. As he finished cutting it, he heard Maya breathe out heavily. Like she was holding her breath the entire time that Austin tried to cut it.
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“All done,” Austin said as he started to fold the cloth and returned the knife and cloth to his pack.
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“See, not so bad,” Maya said to Elliot as she rubbed his head.
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Elliot seemed to cheer up now that Maya was not frustrated. After Austin returned the packs to his back, they continued forward. This time with a bit of a better pace now that Maya was not dragged down by her dress.
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After walking for a while, Elliot started to speak and pointed towards a tree. “Purple!”
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“Yes, that is purple,” Maya said to Elliot. “Good job. But we need to whisper.”
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“Purple,” Elliot repeated in a whispered tone.
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“Thank you, honey,” Maya whispered. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
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“Very pretty,” Elliot whispered as his attention was focused on the surrounding leaves.
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Austin’s lips formed into a faint smile. Amongst all his worries about this Survival Game, it was nice to have Elliot break the tension. His childlike wonder was always amazing to watch. While Austin just saw the danger of the world around them, Elliot could see the beauty in it.
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Eventually, the group made it out of the forest into a new clearing. This was massively different from the small clearing within the forest, though. In front of them was a building made out of tan stone. It looked like it once had two floors, but the top floor was now crumbled and weathered away. The building looked ancient in design, something that Austin felt like he would never see in the United States. Red and purple vines had grown into the stonework. It was like the forest had swallowed up a lost civilization that once lived here.
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“Let’s take a break inside,” Austin suggested to Maya as they arrived.
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Maya nodded in agreement, and they walked through a hole that looked like it used to hold a door. The building was made up of one room and there were pieces of fallen and broken rock throughout. Austin was shocked to see that there were books within the building. While the covers looked worn, the pages somehow had survived in pristine condition.
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“Maybe this could make a good shelter for us,” Austin suggested as he kicked some of the broken rocks to the side of the room.
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“I think so,” Maya agreed. “It can protect us from the weather, and it hides us a little bit. At least to the point where we can be ready for things.”
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Austin nodded along with Maya and said, “Then we’ll stay here for now. Maybe after we set up camp, I can try to forage for something. That way, we can save those nutrition bars for an emergency.”
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“That’s a good idea,” Maya said as she removed Elliot from his carrier and sat him on the floor.
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The two began to set up the area to make it at least a little comfortable. They moved rocks to the side of the room as best as they could so they could create an empty space. Afterward, they set their sleeping bags within the empty space so they could have a comfortable place to sit. Then Maya arranged Elliot’s toys on his sleeping bag. As Maya arranged Elliot’s toys, Austin moved the water and nutrition bars into one pack. That way, when he went out, he would have a lighter pack and could carry things home more easily.
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After arranging the room, the family sat on the floor. Austin and Maya removed their shoes to give their feet a moment of rest. Luckily, the pair did wear walking shoes for walking around the zoo, but their feet still hurt from the amount of walking they did to find this shelter. As the pair rested, Elliot was content playing with a toy truck.
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“I think it might be best if you rest for the night,” Maya suggested as she looked over Austin.
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“There is so much we need, though,” Austin groaned. “I should probably get back out there.”
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Maya moved closer to Austin and grabbed his hand. “We’ve been through a lot today. You need to at least take a break.”
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“Let me at least see if I can get some wood. That way we can have a small fire,” Austin tried to compromise.
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“Okay, but that’s it,” Maya said. “I expect you back soon.”
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Austin nodded and grabbed a pack from the floor. He pulled the hatchet from the pack and then put the pack over his back. Before he left, he walked over to Elliot and gave him a gentle pat on the head.
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“Dad will be right back, buddy,” Austin smiled.
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Elliot stood up and gave Austin a deep hug before he said. “Work hard, daddy!”
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Austin hugged Elliot back and gave him a kiss on top of his head before letting go. He then gave Maya a kiss before he left the building and started back towards the forest. He was happy that Elliot was mostly unaware of what was going on. He even thought that Austin was just going to work. Elliot even repeated what he said every morning to Austin as Austin left for work.
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Austin decided that he would make some distance from their camp to collect wood. That way, there was less surrounding evidence of their stay there. As he walked, his mind began to wander and make sense of the situation. It was all so fantastical that it was hard to believe it was real.
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Austin went from taking a break from work with his family to being teleported to this strange forest. He was not sure what was stranger, the teleportation or the forest. It reminded him of some sort of alien world. He was honestly not even sure if he could find something to eat out of the strange plants. He would have to look at those books to see if they had any information on the plants.
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As Austin thought through these things, he picked up fallen branches and carried them under his arms. After he almost had enough, he took his hatchet to cut a few branches off some nearby trees. He was shocked that it took him a few swings to cut through the branches. They seemed to be absurdly stronger than any trees that he knew on earth. He decided that he would bring an especially thick and long branch back with him. If these branches were as strong as they seemed, he might be able to make a spear of some sort out of it. Not that he wanted to use a weapon, but he figured that he should be prepared.
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The sun was starting to set as Austin made it back to camp. As he entered, he saw that Maya was reading through the books while Elliot played with his toys. Elliot saw him come through the door first and ran over to hug him, almost tripping as he did.
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“Whoa, buddy be careful,” Austin said as he tried to move the branches out of Elliot’s way. “I wasn’t even gone that long. Here, let me put these down.”
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Austin pushed Elliot slightly away so he could lay the branches on the center of the floor. He made sure to separate the larger branch from the others. After doing so, he grabbed Elliot and lifted him in the air. Elliot laughed as Austin lifted him up and down. He eventually set Elliot down, and Elliot went back to playing with his toys. Austin walked over to Maya to give her a kiss.
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“I’m going to get a little fire started,” Austin said as he started to gather the material to start a fire. “Anything interesting in those books?”
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“Well, it’s kind of strange,” Maya began to explain. “The books are in English, or at the very least, I can read them. The only thing I can assume is that there is some sort of magic translating it. I don’t think that’s hard to imagine with the fact that we got transported to this otherworldly forest.”
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“I agree. I definitely don’t think magic is out of the question,” Austin said as he arranged the rocks from the side of the room into the center. He decided it was best to make a fire pit before he started a fire.
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“Yeah, which the books sort of go into,” Maya explained more. “While there are books that identify edible things in the forest. Which is good, since this forest is so strange to us. The really strange thing is it talks about Aether and Essence.”
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“What’s that supposed to be?” Austin gave Maya a confused expression as he arranged branches into the fire pit.
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Maya giggled before responding. “I don’t know why, but you are such a know-it-all that I expected you to just know somehow. I guess Aether is all the energy around us. It just sort of exists in the world; some places have it more dense than others, but generally speaking, it is everywhere. Essence is your own personal energy. Apparently, it can align itself with a specific element based on your personality and experiences.”
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“This all sounds like New Age spirituality goofiness,” Austin commented. “I mean, this basically sounds like how they talk about auras and all that.”
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“I won’t disagree with you,” Maya said. “But with everything going on. I think these things may be important.”
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“Fine, I’ll listen to what else you have to say,” Austin sighed. “Just all sounds weird to me. So what else does it say about Aether and Essence?”
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“Thank you. Apparently, most people are not aware of their Essence. But becoming aware of it and learning to take in Aether can make you stronger,” Maya continued to explain. “They call it the Path to Gold. A person who can take in Aether is referred to as a Lead, and then there are ranks up to Gold. Each rank indicates a different degree of mastery of someone’s Essence.”
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“Reminds me of alchemy. At least the terminology,” Austin commented. “How are you supposed to become aware of your Essence and take in Aether, though?”
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“Well, I’m not quite sure what it takes to become aware of Essence,” Maya said. “I probably will have to do more research. But taking in Aether requires meditation and breathing exercises. I guess you sort of breathe Aether into your body.”
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“Interesting,” Austin said. “Maybe while I’m out tomorrow, you can read more of it.”
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“I plan to,” Maya said. “I really think it could help us survive in this so-called game.”
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“I’ll trust your judgment on the matter,” Austin finished arranging the branches and started a fire.
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“Ooh, pretty,” Elliot looked up from his toys at the flames.
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“Yes, flames are pretty, but you can’t get near them,” Austin warned Elliot as he kept a watchful eye on him.
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“Don’t touch pretty,” Elliot said to himself. “Okay, daddy!”
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“It’s probably about time for you to go to sleep, actually,” Austin suggested.
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“But not home,” Elliot seemed confused.
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“I know, honey,” Maya spoke up. “We are camping. So we are sleeping away from home for a while.”
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Elliot yawned and then shook his head back and forth. “I’m not tired.”
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“Well, you need to try to sleep,” Maya said as she walked over to Elliot and rubbed his head. “Come on, get in your sleeping bag.”
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Elliot stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout as he walked over to his sleeping bag. Maya helped Elliot get into the bag. Once he was inside, she rubbed his belly gently until he started to fall asleep. During that time, Austin tried to carve the end of the large branch into a sharp spike.
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“What’s that for?” Maya asked.
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“Just some protection if we need it,” Austin said. “I’ll get you a branch too.”
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“Good idea, we have no idea what we will encounter,” Maya responded as she moved closer to Austin.
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Austin continued to sharpen the end of the stick as Maya lay against him. He wanted to make sure he got it done before he went to sleep. He figured they might need it in case something dangerous came over the night.
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Soon Maya was asleep against Austin. He could feel himself getting tired, too. As he finished up the spear, he woke Maya up so she could sleep in her sleeping bag. Afterwards, he decided that he needed rest as well and got into his own sleeping bag. As Austin lay, he soon fell asleep. It was quicker than he had ever fallen asleep before. Almost as if the events of the day caught up to him and fully exhausted him.
