Post by account_disabled on Dec 26, 2023 1:51:50 GMT -5
Through the brambles I saw my salvation. In the land beyond, a small wild pig rootled as if nothing had happened, unaware of the curse that had descended upon the planet, of the life that was dying out with no way out. It wasn't a full-grown beast, but it could have fed me for a few days and given me back my strength. The problem was how to capture it. I didn't have any firearms, but otherwise I would never have used them. I had a knife and carried a large stick with me and an ice ax hanging at my side. I was also downwind, so if I had managed to approach the animal silently, it wouldn't have smelled me. Pig I looked carefully at the ground where the pig was grazing.
He also had “his back” to me, while he chewed fallen berries, maybe acorns. I decided to take off my shoes and hid them in the bushes. Then I walked around the ground looking for an opening to enter. A little Special Data further on the shrubs thinned out and allowed a passage. But I didn't go in right away, because from that position the pig would have seen me. I waited a few minutes and finally the poor animal turned away. So I advanced in silence, placing my feet on the cold grass and convulsively gripping the stick. The pig perhaps sensed something, because it turned towards me instinctively. I was quick to strike him, but I only managed to wound him on the thigh as he lunged to escape.
However, that blow made him lose his balance and, before he could get up, my stick fell on his head several times, until he lay motionless on the ground now red with blood. I went to get my shoes and then, using some ropes I had with me, I put the animal on my shoulders like a backpack, to have my hands free and be able to use the stick again. I had made haste and had found a good supply of food. Now there remained the way back, long, uphill and with almost forty kilos on my shoulders. I arrived at the shelter when it was already dark. I was in pieces. I had to stop continuously, put the animal's carcass on the ground, and catch my breath. Sometimes I had eaten a little snow to quench my thirst.
He also had “his back” to me, while he chewed fallen berries, maybe acorns. I decided to take off my shoes and hid them in the bushes. Then I walked around the ground looking for an opening to enter. A little Special Data further on the shrubs thinned out and allowed a passage. But I didn't go in right away, because from that position the pig would have seen me. I waited a few minutes and finally the poor animal turned away. So I advanced in silence, placing my feet on the cold grass and convulsively gripping the stick. The pig perhaps sensed something, because it turned towards me instinctively. I was quick to strike him, but I only managed to wound him on the thigh as he lunged to escape.
However, that blow made him lose his balance and, before he could get up, my stick fell on his head several times, until he lay motionless on the ground now red with blood. I went to get my shoes and then, using some ropes I had with me, I put the animal on my shoulders like a backpack, to have my hands free and be able to use the stick again. I had made haste and had found a good supply of food. Now there remained the way back, long, uphill and with almost forty kilos on my shoulders. I arrived at the shelter when it was already dark. I was in pieces. I had to stop continuously, put the animal's carcass on the ground, and catch my breath. Sometimes I had eaten a little snow to quench my thirst.