The Other Earth by Derek Schumacher (reading like a writer .TXT) 📕

liquid being pulled from his hands and into his mouth. The fresh, cold drink began to flow into his mouth and down his throat, finally reaching a soothing relief to his painful throat.

Neil wasn't sure when the last time he had drank, but it didn't matter. He had finally gotten something to fill his stomach, sadly not food, but something is better than nothing. After a good few drinks, the man got up to his feet, wiping his mouth off. His stubble beard had become damp from the moisture in the river, and drops of liquid fell from his soaked hands.

At some point, he would need to come back to the river. But for now, his next goal had set itself in his mind. Neil needed food, and badly. He was sure he wasn't going to starve to death for another few days, but his strength was minimal. Things that should be a breeze are a struggle, and this weakness could be fatal if a situation gets out of hand. Thing is, how would he get food? He hasn't seen any animals, or any fruit bushes. Looks like he'll need to move a bit farther away then he had hoped. But in the end, survival is the goal.

As he stood up, brushing the gravel and dirt off his pant legs, something alerted him. Something that he had hadn't had happen in a very long time, even since he had begun his journey. He had heard something, a noise behind him. He hadn't heard anything in a very long time, and this was enough to drive him into anxiety. What was that, what did it want? If it was a being, or an animal, was it friendly? But, most important, was it food?

That thought was enough for Neil to investigate, pushing past his fears. If this thing could be eaten, then it would prove incredibly important for his continued survival. He searched his pockets, and then stopped for a second, and remembered. He doesn't have any sort of weapon or tool that he could use to kill said animal. Maybe then, he would walk and stay low, and just scout, before he would come down on his prey.

Neil began to slowly climb back up the ridge, watching the shadows grow longer around him. He would need to find a way to light up his little area, and his best bet would be to light a fire. But, he would need fuel, tinder, and other things. What was more important at this point? He rattled his head, trying to make a descision.

Finally, he decided to settle down, and begin to gather materials to create a flame. The fire he wanted to make wouldn't be anything spectacular, but just something to ward off the darkness of the night, and to keep him warm. The nights on the planet were suprisingly cold, and with winter slowly approaching, things were only going to get worse. Neil piled the tinder and branches together in a small hole he had dug with a fallen log nearby.

After that, he walked back to a seperate hole, naturally in the side of a hill, holding multiple jagged rocks. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of rocks they were, or even if they were rocks at all. But, they were solid, rough, and made sparks if banged together. Neil had heard stories about people using certain rocks to make fires, and this might be his ticket.

Taking two of the jagged rocks back to his little hole filled with materials, he began to bang the rocks together. He was surpised just how loud of a sound this created, and glanced around him every now and then to make sure he wasn't drawing any unwanted attention. After a few minutes, a spark or two began to show off of the rocks, and the man smiled. He kneeled next to the pile of twigs and began to scrape against the two rocks.

Eventually, the sparks flew and caught onto the tinders, and began to smolder, the flame gently beginning to form before Neil's eyes. It was truly a beautiful thing to see, fire. Mankind's discovery that lead to the survival of the very early beings thousands of years ago. And now, still being used to this day, by a lonely man on a planet all by himself.

He chuckled a bit at the thought, and went up from his knees, dragging over a log to sit on near the fire. Resting his body near the flame, watching it grow into quite the sizeable campfire. Neil smiled slightly as he laid down on the log, his eyes growing heavy, as the sky began to blacken even further. Night had come, but the light from the fire was enough to keep things well lit.

As Neil drifted off to sleep, the last thing he heard was the gentle crackling of the flames nearby. He was still famished, but with the water within his gullet, at least he wasn't completely with nothing. Tomorrow would be the day that he would return to his search for food. But first, he would need to make himself a weapon, in order to take down any animals roaming the forest.

But, all that could wait for the morning. Neil closed his eyes, and slept soundly. He might just be able to survive.

Shade

Good Morning, Today is September 13, 2118.

 

Neil had awoken from the slight sunlight beaming through the trees at dawn. The man yawned and stretched, looking around the area. The fire was finished, and most of the leftover ashes had blown away overnight. He slowly made his way up from the log he had slept on, and glanced towards the direction he had heard the noise the day before.

The best idea Neil thought of to get himself started with a hunting tool was to sharpen a well built twig with one of the jagged rocks he found in the small hole on the hill. Taking the rock in hand, he found a lowly limb and hacked it off, grasping it with his right hand, and holding the rock in his left. Then, he would begin to shave the excess appendages of the limb, and then begin to shave the end, to sharpen it.

It would end up being an incredibly primative weapon, but it was better than having no weapon at all. He didn't have a firearm, or any sort of knife, only what he could end up with in the wild. So, it seemed this pointy stick would have to do the trick.

Being alerted by his own upset, growling stomach, Neil would take up the stick and begin to make his way towards the area of the noise. He approached the region quietly, and kept close to the ground. He decided to check for any signs of tracks first, before trying to explore and find the thing. His years of hunting and living off the land had paid off after all, at least that's what he always would think to himself.

Staying close towards the dirt, Neil looked for any showings of movement. He wasn't exactly sure what to look for, but from his knowledge of forest animals, he figured paw or hoof prints, or something of the like. But, as he searched, he did find a track. But it wasn't an animal track. It was the track of a boot.

This boot track was much different than his, which meant someone had been through this area before him. Kneeling down near the mark, and feeling the track, he could see that it was relatively fresh, as it was still wet, and smelled of grass, which meant the that whatever had moved through, had done it recently.

The thing that confused Neil the most, was that there wasn't just a boot print. A strange substance seemed to be in part with the mark, a black, hazy liquid that filled in a few of the parts of the print. Neil had never seen something of the like, and decided it was best not to experiment with it, let alone touch it.

 The print seemed to headed in the opposite direction of his camp, which meant it must have passed by while he was still asleep. Neil held onto his wooden stake and slowly began to follow the tracks. As he followed, he noticed that whoever had made these prints, was walking at a very slow, and almost sluggish pace.

As the trail came to an end, Neil had noticed that more and more of said black substance had begun to overtake the tracks. And, as the trail continued, the pace had begun grow even slower, the footprints dragging heavily across the muddy ground. The end of the trail was at a small clearing in the woods, fit with a few bushes, and a lone tree. Neil looked behind him, making sure he would remember which way to go, when he had to head back towards his little camp.

Pressing on into the clearing, the man glanced around with each step, wondering why the tracks have stopped appearing. The last ones were completely engulfed with the black substance, and after that, there was nothing. It was like the stuff had wiped away the rest of them past that area. So the question arose, what was it, and why was it there?

Neil took a few more steps into the clearing before seeing something out of the corner of his eye, in the middle of a patch of rocks. A figure, a person. A real person, something he hadn't seen in years. It was incredible, to finally have contact after all this time! He took steps towards the person, and waved and smiled. But, the figure seemed to have no reaction. In fact, there seemed to be something off.

The person had a blackish aura around it, almost as if the black of night had clung to their body. The person was wearing what seemed to be a dark colored jacket, with jeans and what be the same boots which made the prints Neil had followed. The distance between the two was around 7 meters, or 24 feet. Still, the person infront of Neil remained stationary, motionless, showing no signs that they even acknowledge that he was there.

Confused, and at the same time interested, Neil took another few steps foward. This is where he finally got a response, but not one that he had probably hoped for. The person looked up, and just stared at him. The eyes of the person were gone, their skin clammy and dark, and what seems to be a substance begins to drip from it's face. A black substance, which Neil figures was probably from the prints he had followed.

Suddenly, the figure took a step forward, and it put it's hand up, spreading it's fingers out, in a gesture towards Neil. This is where an overwhelming feeling began to overrun his mind. He stumbled backwards, and grabbed at his head, scratching his temple. His eyes began to shake, and his body quiver. In his vision, he slowly began to see as shadowy figures surround him, as well as other people. Then, in this scene, he watches as the figures drag the people around him into the ground, into pools of the black substance, in which they