name Rebekah has the nickname Bekie?” I nod. “Do not ever call me that. I will kill you in your sleep, ich verspreche . So then, Molly, let us begin right away. Tell me this: if I left you in the woods only with a simple weapon, how long do you think until you will ie?”
“Um...I don’t know.”
“Give me an estimate.”
“Maybe several weeks?” I honestly have no idea of my survival capabilities, but that seems like a reasonable enough guess.
“Not good enough. You should survive forever. Do you know how to make a fire using...What is the word?”
“Friction?” I supply.
“Yes, exactly, good. Do you?”
“Yes, of course.” That was the first thing my parents had taught me after the Eruption.
“Good. Do you know how to hunt or fish?”
“Not really,” I admit.
“Can you distinguish the foods you can eat from the ones that will kill you?”
“Some of them.”
“Enough to survive?”
“Maybe not.”
“Not good enough. You need to learn to live using the forest. Can you find a water source?”
“Sure.”
“You do not sound very certain.”
“I’m not.”
“Uncertainty is not good enough in the wild. Tomorrow, we will get you a proper weapon and I will teach you the easy survival skills. I will just explain the important things now, because I don’t want to use more time than we have to. Your deadlines are: three weeks until you starve, three days until you die because you had no water, and it will be only hours until you freeze if you stay stationary. Remember that three days and three weeks are only estimates, and your body may not be able to handle so much time. Even if you can, you will be in a critical condition and almost dead much sooner than that. Find a shelter near a water source. I will teach you how to do that soon. Find food and water as soon as you can, so that you always have resources. Tomorrow we will go on a trip through the woods. You should get to know what these woods are like, so you will always be able to find your way back home. I will point out the edible mushrooms and plants to you. You must memorize. We will begin after breakfast, so be ready.”
“All right,” I say. “So, um, what do I do now?”
“Now is our break time.Talk to people. These are your only people. Anyone who is not in the Rebellion is the is the enemy.”
“Oh, um...Uhuh. Thanks.”
“Do not thank me.” She says and walks away. I can’t decide if that sounds ominous or humble. I walk back to the fire. I don’t want to appear cold and aloof, and besides, I’m not sure where to go if I’d want to avoid people, but at the same time, I’m terrified of conversation. I don’t want to talk about my past, but I don’t want to lie and deny it. I guess what I really want is to come to terms with it, but I don’t even know what my future will be like yet.
I think about Hopetown. I called it home for so long, but I don’t regret leaving it behind. Or I don’t think I do, anyway, but I am afraid of heading into the unknown. I hope my parents are alright. I hope I’ll be alright.
I have a chance to start over. I have a chance to build myself up anew, but I know that no matter how hard I try, I’ll always return back to being myself. But the problem is, I’m still not really sure who I am.
“Hey, Molly.” I turn around. Nathan is smiling at me.
“Oh. Hey.”
“So, how are you doing so far?”
“Good.”
Nathan waits for me to elaborate, but I’m afraid that the more words I say, the more there’s a chance of them being wrong.
“I’m Nathan, by the way, in case you don’t remember.”
“I remember.”
“Oh, um...Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
“So, um, how do you like this place?”
I wonder if I’m being too cold and shoot Nahan a smile to balance out my kurt, emotionless sentences.
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
“Hopetown was beautiful too. Or the area around it was, anyway.”
“Hopetown,” I say heavily, “is in the past.”
“Oh, I’m
“Um...I don’t know.”
“Give me an estimate.”
“Maybe several weeks?” I honestly have no idea of my survival capabilities, but that seems like a reasonable enough guess.
“Not good enough. You should survive forever. Do you know how to make a fire using...What is the word?”
“Friction?” I supply.
“Yes, exactly, good. Do you?”
“Yes, of course.” That was the first thing my parents had taught me after the Eruption.
“Good. Do you know how to hunt or fish?”
“Not really,” I admit.
“Can you distinguish the foods you can eat from the ones that will kill you?”
“Some of them.”
“Enough to survive?”
“Maybe not.”
“Not good enough. You need to learn to live using the forest. Can you find a water source?”
“Sure.”
“You do not sound very certain.”
“I’m not.”
“Uncertainty is not good enough in the wild. Tomorrow, we will get you a proper weapon and I will teach you the easy survival skills. I will just explain the important things now, because I don’t want to use more time than we have to. Your deadlines are: three weeks until you starve, three days until you die because you had no water, and it will be only hours until you freeze if you stay stationary. Remember that three days and three weeks are only estimates, and your body may not be able to handle so much time. Even if you can, you will be in a critical condition and almost dead much sooner than that. Find a shelter near a water source. I will teach you how to do that soon. Find food and water as soon as you can, so that you always have resources. Tomorrow we will go on a trip through the woods. You should get to know what these woods are like, so you will always be able to find your way back home. I will point out the edible mushrooms and plants to you. You must memorize. We will begin after breakfast, so be ready.”
“All right,” I say. “So, um, what do I do now?”
“Now is our break time.Talk to people. These are your only people. Anyone who is not in the Rebellion is the is the enemy.”
“Oh, um...Uhuh. Thanks.”
“Do not thank me.” She says and walks away. I can’t decide if that sounds ominous or humble. I walk back to the fire. I don’t want to appear cold and aloof, and besides, I’m not sure where to go if I’d want to avoid people, but at the same time, I’m terrified of conversation. I don’t want to talk about my past, but I don’t want to lie and deny it. I guess what I really want is to come to terms with it, but I don’t even know what my future will be like yet.
I think about Hopetown. I called it home for so long, but I don’t regret leaving it behind. Or I don’t think I do, anyway, but I am afraid of heading into the unknown. I hope my parents are alright. I hope I’ll be alright.
I have a chance to start over. I have a chance to build myself up anew, but I know that no matter how hard I try, I’ll always return back to being myself. But the problem is, I’m still not really sure who I am.
“Hey, Molly.” I turn around. Nathan is smiling at me.
“Oh. Hey.”
“So, how are you doing so far?”
“Good.”
Nathan waits for me to elaborate, but I’m afraid that the more words I say, the more there’s a chance of them being wrong.
“I’m Nathan, by the way, in case you don’t remember.”
“I remember.”
“Oh, um...Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
“So, um, how do you like this place?”
I wonder if I’m being too cold and shoot Nahan a smile to balance out my kurt, emotionless sentences.
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
“Hopetown was beautiful too. Or the area around it was, anyway.”
“Hopetown,” I say heavily, “is in the past.”
“Oh, I’m
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