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

Compared to the other areas of the forest, this one seemed to be more than plentiful with green. Which gave Neil hope that one of these bushes held something of value, unless the sticks and leaves tasted good and held some sort of nutrition value. But, he didn't feel like trying it now, or anytime in the near future.

While making his way through the eastern region, he decided to tear off a bit more cloth from his shirt, and begin to weave a little pouch together. If he came across any edible fruits or the like, it would be best to take a good surplus of them with him, and keep them semi-shielded from the elements, if the problem would arise.

Attaching the pouch to his belt, Neil continued his walk, and ran his hand gently across every promising looking bush he could find. So far, only fifteen minutes or so in, he has yet to see a single bit of anything that resembles fruit. It was mildly frustrating, since practically every step was growing more and more painful. But at least it seemed the bleeding had began to slow down in his chest wound. So hopefully the chance to bleed out would be a little more forgiving.

Still, the loss of blood was impairing his actions. Occasionally he would stumble, or have large spurts of fatigue. Looking down at his hands, he noticed just how much his skin had paled over the course of time. His body had also grown relatively cold since then, which alarmed him more than anything. At this time of year, it wasn't as bad. But soon, it could become an incredibly dangerous problem.

While scanning the local green for any signs of food, Neil was also making sure to glance down every now and then to see if any small creatures had left prints, but to no avail. The man sighed, and scratched at his scruff beard. He wondered to himself just how long his facial hair could grow, if he just left it to it's own devices. He chuckled a bit at the thought of a beard that covered practically his entire lower body, and for a second, he felt something almost like a faint memory.

But it wasn't long before it was gone, and the search for food continued. To pass the time while looking around, Neil decided that he would try and count just how many trees there were in the side of the forest. This, of course, was an incredibly stupid, and also a nearly impossible to complete task. Like he examined earlier, the east is denser than any of the other regions, so this would be even more difficult. Not even Neil himself could understand why he thought of such an idea. Maybe it was just the thought that counted, just a chance to distract himself from the slog of a expedition he was on.

Another half an hour passes, and still nothing. At this point, with each bush, Neil began to grumble, along with his pissed off stomach. He'd probably be upset to if his body didn't eat in weeks, practically gave up on living, and then got attacked by some weird shadow creature.

But obviously the stomach had no mind of it's own, therefore it couldn't think for itself. Or did it, and he just didn't know it? Neil knew basic anatomy, or at least whatever they taught him in the junior high years. But, at the current age of Thirty-Five, sometimes things fade after a while. But stomachs with brains? Don't think that was part of it. Unless Mr. Brandley was hiding something from him all this time. Wait, how did he just remember his Health teacher's name? Who knows.

It's been an entire hour, and nothing has turned up. Not even a turnip. Get it? Turned up, Turnip, they sound the same? No, that wasn't funny? Neil was smiling for a minute straight at that one, his own joke. But then again, there wasn't exactly anyone to share the moment with him. Not even Mr. Brandley.

What was the last thing he ate anyways? If it was weeks ago, then it must have been some form of scraps or something of the like. Unless after that meal, the depression had set in. Neil couldn't remember. All he knew was that food tasted good, no matter the kind. Except lettuce, because that stuff was disgusting. Who in there right mind would eat a salad anyways? He would rather stuff his face with wild fruits than dine at some fancy eatery and eat a salad.

Now that he thought about it, Neil began to wonder what was the last returaunt he was at. Years ago, that had to be. So, So many years ago. Actually, had he ever ate at one? Ever since he can remember, he had lived out in the wild by himself. Maybe when he was really little he had done something of the like. Was it good? Probably.

This is unbelievable. An hour and a half and all Neil has seen is trees, trees, and more trees. And bushes, of course. With absolutely nothing besides leaves and twigs. At this point, he wondered just how tasty those leaves might just be. But each time he reached toward one, he stopped himself. He wasn't insane yet, only crazy people liked to eat leaves and stuff. Or vegans.

All this indepth thought of complete nonesense was sure making Neil hungry, along with the weeks worth of starvation. Life sure is rough in the middle of nowhere on a planet in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of that, where even is this place? It must be in some sort of solar system, but one probably without a name. Unless those fancy people with glasses and white coats decided to name it. He remembered what they called this planet. It was "Other Earth".

But then again, after living here for quite some time, Neil could certainly see the differences between the two planets. Sure, both have breathable atmospheres, liquid water, and energy sources. All the things that usually add up to sustain life. Thing is, the original Earth didn't have strange terrifying shadow creatures dragging people into the depths of hell, or where ever they take them. Neil wasn't too keen to find out himself.

Suddently, there was something in the corner of his eye. A bush, with something on it. Neil moved closer, and stared deeply into the plant. There seemed to be little blue spheres attached to the outer leaves of the plant. The man laughed and hollared to himself. He finally found something, after all this walking and talking to himself! Except he had been doing that for years.

Pulling one of the things from off the plant and tossing it into his mouth, Neil looked around at his surroundings. He would chew gently, trying to see what kind of flavor the sphere had. A smile grew wide onto his face. The taste, suprisingly, was similar to a grape and an apple.

"A grapple", Neil proclaimed in his head. He knew it was a stupid name, but he didn't think anyone would judge him. He hadn't had that problem for a good long time.

Thing was, he had no idea what exaclty was in these little grapples, but he didn't exaclty have the equipment to run any tests on the things. So, he decided to elaborate on his discover. They tasted good, and that's about it. Perfect, he'll grab all of them that he can carry in his little woven pouch.

An average grapple was about three by three centimeters in size. This allowed him to fit around a hundred in his travel pouch. At least, that's probably how many went in there. He wasn't going to count them all, he just tossed as many as the thing could carry and smiled. Finally, something good to come his way.

And with that, Neil began to make his way back towards his little site. It had taken just under two hours to make it to the food. He left some of the bushes alone, just in case he needed some more down the road. The best bet would be to search around for more grapple bushes, and stockpile the fruit somewhere. He's not sure how long they last in the elements, so maybe he should make some sort of enclosed place to hold his lifeline.

While on his way back, Neil began to hum a gentle tune. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had heard it at some point in his life. He wished he could explain it better, so he could try and remember. But he couldn't seem to understand anything about it, other than he knew it, and he was making the noise that it was. If only he had someone that understood.

The real question was, does anyone actually understand what's going on? Neil still wasn't sure if everyone was dead for sure. But, if you haven't seen people in over four years, you start to get a feeling that you might just be the only one. But, what little hope there is for human contact, he would hold onto.

Neil wondered where everyone was now, if they had found a new place to call home. He also wondered what they would call that planet. If Other Earth was the name of this one, was the next one going to be Other, Other Earth? The thought gave him a chuckle.

Now that he thought about it, would anyone really talk about this planet? It was an utter faliure in means to house humanity. Most of the time, whenever something went bad, everyone just covered it up and acted like nothing had happened. Would they do that this time to? Would they cover it up, and forget about everything, including him?

Oh, who was he kidding? Neil couldn't tell if anyone cared about him anyways. Not being in contact with anyone probably made it seem like he kicked the bucket at some point, and everyone could go on with their lives. People die all the time, and when the shades invaded, he was sure death wasn't a rarity.

 Time flies, and after another good hour or so if critcal thoughts of the past, Neil arrived back at home, or at least whatever the name is of this log and fire hole. The man sat down on the log and took a breather. He had been practically walking all afternoon. But it was better to attempt to find a way to get food than to wait and see if his wounds would heal. That was what tonight was for. He would eat up, drink up, and rest up. And hopefully by tomorrow, things would be in the progress of recovery.

After taking a minute or two of rest, Neil got back up to his feet, and limped over towards the southern region. Slowly making his way down the slope, and to the river bed, he watched the sky grow darker and darker.

It used to be such a beautiful thing, the sunset. But now, it was a thing he couldn't even see, because of the thick woods. And even if he could see it, the only thing it would bring him would be dread. The dread of the night approaching, the darkness slowly creeping over all that the surface has to offer. The world will go black, only for a time, but still. The terrors of the night are unknown, and unseen. No one knows what's out there, till it finds you.

Neil took a good few slugs from the river, and wiped his mouth dry. Then he headed back up towards his small little site. Then, he manuevered to gather sticks and twigs once again, for a fire. He glanced down into the small fire hole he dug, and then tossed the materials in.

The man walked back over to the hill, and reached into the small crevice to grab two of the jagged rocks. Neil sat down on his log and began to scrape the rocks together. A few minutes