Home sweet home

Marcus stared up the cave's ceiling, observing residue drip down like a leak. The sound had woken him about five minutes ago. Warm sunlight illuminated the entrance so Marcus felt a strong need to crawl out and bask in it.

The nights were cold without a blanket. He went outside after changing into a new set of clothes and began to wash the one he wore yesterday in the river. He bathed using the soap sparingly although it was still a large chunk.

Once he was done washing and hung the clean clothes from a tree, Marcus made the decision to explore the base camp a bit more. First checking out the forest on the East side, Marcus found trees with bulky nuts growing from them.

After inspecting them with the system he found out they were walnuts. He could crack open the shell to find a bumpy, irregularly formed nut that was filling even after only eating a handful or two.

That was his breakfast sorted so he continued to explore until he'd discovered rabbit warrens under a large tree's roots, fruit trees (they went down well after eating the nuts) and a second smaller cave closer to the ground which was protected by the trees.

It was here that Marcus found a solution to his water problem. A dainty spring coming out the side of a wall filled a sink-shaped concave below it. The sink was full of clear, potable water.

Marcus filled his flask up by catching the water from the spring like a tap and took a long draught from the pool as well. This would definitely be easier then having to filter the river water. He'd still keep the filter in case of emergency situations but otherwise this would be much less time consuming.

Suddenly, Marcus realised he hadn't marked his new permanent home on the map. "System map," he requested bringing up the map and marking the centre of the valley 'Georift'.

He changed the colour of the marker to a light blue and even found that he could add a house icon to honour it as his home. Every time he found something new, it gave him excitement to be that little bit more sure of himself.

Now Marcus had exited the woods and was on his way to the opposite end. To get accross the river, Marcus traversed the deer trails over to the water fall. His suspicions were correct as behind the curtain of water was a hollowed out section which was more or less another cave. He squeezed through the gap and popped out on the other side completely dry.

The forest on the west side was full of brambles covered in black berries at the edge of the trees. On both sides of the valley, Marcus had recognised many of the edible plants he'd found on his short journey.

Along with more rabbit warrens, Marcus discovered a variety of other habitats including those of foxes, badgers, many species of birds, goats who dwelled halfway up the mountain, monkjack deer, slightly larger roe deer, wild boars that Marcus kept well away from to be safe and a range of other small mammals with respective predators.

He drew a food web on a blank page in the back of his survivor's handbook with a piece of charcoal so he knew what to hunt and what to stay away from.

Marcus also discovered more orchards as well as lone fruit trees/bushes/plants/vines and nuts including pears, apples, plums, slow berries, strawberry plants, chestnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, hips, gooseberries, raspberries, grapes, olives, sunflowers, oranges, cherries, Marcus could go on but the list was too long and he'd filled up the last blank page in the handbook. The system gave him the names to all of them.

They mostly grew in sunnier patches but it was peculiar to see such a variety of species that usually grew in different countries all together. Had this been organised before the collapse in hope it would be found later? This place was so perfect for a large group so why couldn't he be in one?

Marcus opened up the system map again and found he could place smaller markers. He used these to name different parts of Georift. He named them 'west forest', 'east forest', 'south waterfall', 'north mountain side', 'main cave', 'water spring cave', 'Eden', 'river', and 'crops'. Crops was where the pea plants grew and he planned to grow more things there if he could. Eden was what he named the area where most of the orchards lay (after the garden of Eden) and the rest were self explanatory.

Marcus soon had to name another zone though as he realised the west forest actually didn't go further up the mountain and instead broke into a sunny clearing. It was here that he found a small field of fox tail growing! It wasn't all foxtail though. There was also rapeseed that mostly resided on the opposite side but had over the years mixed in with the foxtail and vice versa. There were many other wild grasses too. Marcus just named it 'field' on the map.

Floods of memories rushed in from news articles and documentaries he'd seen. He wondered, 'could the collapse have been something unexpected?' That could be why the survival program he'd been put into had failed. Or at least not completely... he was alive and should be grateful for that at least.

Marcus soon made his way back to the river now. Satisfied that he'd explored every corner, he had plans to make the valley into an actual home. Sleeping on a stone cave floor every night was giving him bruises. Looking towards the edge of a forest clearing, Marcus spotted some oak trees that gave him an idea.

Their branches reached up to form an archway and behind those were some forks he imagined placing some long supports accross. Before he had to make a lean-to, diagonal style of roof but now he could spend more time to make a less slanted roof with more space to stand up instead with plenty of insulation to stop the rain.

Starting with the frame, Marcus lay fallen branches going accross the top wedged in the forks of the tree's arms about a foot apart. He also lay some on top of those that were perpendicular to the first set. More sticks were leant against the sides for walls and the archway was filled in until there was only a tiny space to crawl inside. The next step was to add insulation.

Remembering the first thing he saw after he woke up, Marcus stuffed moss into the cracks and crevices of his den. The rest he fitted on top like bedding with a mixture of dead leaves. He also placed a bunch of small pine needle branches.

Another layer was made up of dry grass, clumped together to thatch it. Before dark clouds began to roll over, he used a small rock to dig up turf which he used to turn the shelter into a cosy hobbit hole that blended in with the earth. This also kept the thatch and other insulation from blowing away.

On the inside, the ground was already mostly made of moss so it was already much more comfortable than the cave. However, Marcus went the extra mile to pack it with tall, yellow, dry grass.

It was almost the same as sleeping in a barn full of hay and straw. Somewhat scratchy but warm and cushioning. To stop drafts, he tied one of the parachutes to the entrance with its own para chord. Using a slipknot at one end Marcus copied from the handbook, it was easy to open and close.

It was raining now but Marcus had to do one more thing before he clocked in for the day. He went to check the fish trap with low expectations. Although, he counted three meal worthy fish. Marcus removed and culled the entire lot. Taking them back to the main cave, he lit a fire inside as it was late lunch time now.

The rain clouds blocking out the sun hung a freezing blanket over Marcus which seeped into his bones so he huddled closer to the fire. After basking in the summer sun for nearly the entire time he'd been here, he'd let his guard down. He thought it would only be cold at night but now the dread of winter coming one day presented itself to Marcus.

Once he'd gutted and cooked all three fish, Marcus took them back to his new shelter where he ate them all and slept for the rest of the day until night came and he continued to sleep.

The cosy shelter was a shield from the elements. Protecting him like a father would his son. In that moment, Marcus truly believed the shelter was indeed his father holding him in his arms and so he drifted off with all the tranquility of a hibernating squirrel.