Traps

For most of the afternoon, Sven was dedicated to removing the remaining rubble in the adjoining room.

The room was three times the size of his current shelter, it also looked like it had been used as a large cellar, but most of the things that still remained were damaged by what appears to be time.

Without losing hope, the first thing Sven did was check the product dates. He selected the ones that seemed to be in better condition, among them were some preserves and medical supplies.

After checking the labels of most, Sven could only sigh, it was worse than he thought, each and every letter was illegible and disappeared.

— First I need fluids, then I'll see the other thing—

Taking one of the tin cans he opened its lid to see inside, to his surprise the contents were indescribable to human taste.

Shaking his head he selected ten more cans, but all of them looked expired.

Angry, he grouped them all in one corner. Sven didn't want to get rid of them, he had another use for those cans that he would implement later.

Among the medical supplies, gauze, gloves, and clothing of various sizes were helpful.

Sven felt uncomfortable using only sheets to cover his body, most of the time he was dressed like in ancient Rome.

The new room had no other entrances, so Sven dedicated himself to going through every corner of the place to see everything that he could use.

After four hours, he was only able to clear less than half the room.

The place was completely covered in dust and humidity, causing more than half of the things he found to be useless.

Among the things he found were pieces of computers and screens that were very different from what Sven remembered.

— This seems to be of a much better quality than those of the university, a pity they are completely useless—

Considering that the preserves were in poor condition and the level of technology higher than what Sven remembered, it was clear that many years had passed since he lost consciousness, but because he did not want to accept the possible death of his grandparents he decided not to think on it until I find someone else.

Taking two metal boxes, Sven carried a portion of the tin cans outside the shelter.

— I just hope it works—

With the makeshift blade, Sven cut through the plants leaving a path to escape in case he was surrounded.

Selecting some sturdy stems, using the Sven blade I sharpen the tips of them creating a set of spears.

— With this I already have half the work, it only remains to make a hole and bury the spears—

Moving away from the entrance to the shelter, Sven's idea was to make two holes to hunt small animals or protect himself from a predator that gets too close.

The time to make the holes took longer than he had estimated.

As night fell, he finished burying half the spears in a six-foot-deep hole.

Covering the trap, he opened a few tin cans and emptied them over a group of leaves that he had prepared.

Throughout the day, in the forest the creatures hidden among the trees stalked Sven, but none attacked him at the moment, they were just curious.

At night, only the flames from the bonfire lit the room, Sven needed to get some grease to make some torches to continue clearing the next room, which was now his new refuge.

Elsewhere in the forest, the two wolves were undergoing a transformation, the energy they had absorbed from the flesh was modifying most of their bodies giving them such great pain that they lost consciousness.

Other beasts were undergoing the same transformation, but by not taking the proper measures they were surrounded by other animals that were watching them with vicious glances.

Of the initial dozen survivors, only four were able to finish their transformation, the others were devoured by their companions, but the energy in their bodies was not enough for the attackers to evolve.

When morning came, two wolves over four meters long began hunting in the forest.

With the transformation they both obtained a bone armor that protected part of their body, in addition to increasing their size.

But the most noticeable change was the color of its fur, it was thicker than before.

The electric blue wolf released small rays in its jaws every time it breathed, the other wolf was black with an aura of miasma around it.

Both had improved their physical strength and in just a few moments they covered a kilometer of distance surrounding their prey.

If Sven was watching the wolves tear apart a lizard over five meters long, he would think better of it before trying to catch those kinds of beasts.

After eating the last remains of the boar for breakfast, Sven took the blade and some ropes that he found the night before walking towards the trap he made.

Most of the things he used up to now had been taught to him by his grandparents, so he was convinced that he had to get out of that forest alive.

As he walked close to the trap, Sven stopped his steps and approached avoiding making noise.

In the well, a purple rodent was pierced by spears, but it was still alive.

With a twinkle in his eyes, Sven took a spear and pierced the rodent's throat causing it to suffocate.

— This will have to hold for now—

Removing the body from the well, Sven cleaned the traces of blood and covered the trap again, but this time without leaving any preserves on it, he did not want to attract the attention of more animals and the other trap had yet to be made.

Returning to the shelter, Sven threw the body on a table and began to slaughter it.

The body weighed more than eighty kilos, and what Sven was looking for most was fat, he did not like having to stop at night due to lack of light.

After an hour of working around he got more than twenty kilograms of fat.

— If I only had salt, I could hunt and keep more meat—

Sighing, Sven could only grab the tools and headed outside to finish the second trap.

Upon reaching the well, he could see that there were traces of footprints surrounding the place.

Lifting the knife from him, Sven skirted the area looking for possible predators among the trees. Only after twenty minutes of waiting did he get under the knife and set out to make the second trap, yet he kept an eye out for any changes between the blades.

To the north of the forest a large range of mountains could be seen blocking the view to the other side. Most of the strongest predators in the forest lived in them, not counting the presence of the young dragon.

To the south of the forest, there were archaic structures that formed small towns. The distance from that town to Sven's refuge was over twenty miles and if he was lucky, he could find them in no time.

After finishing the second trap, taking the tin cans, Sven set the trap ready and went to the shelter.

There were still a few hours before nightfall, so taking advantage of the time, Sven used the grease and with some clothes I created a couple of torches.

With the torches finished, he went to the place that remained to be cleared and began to work.

Every time he went exploring, Sven would pick fruit to quench his thirst, but in the end he would stop worrying about it.

Among the things he found, there was an air recycler that generated a glass of water in half an hour.

Although the amount it generated could not satisfy a family, it was enough for him to live for the moment.

With more enthusiasm, Sven continued to clear the place hoping that better things would remain between them, but in the end he was disappointed to see that the last of the debris had been cleaned up.

Feeling the fatigue in his body, Sven decided to sleep and continue the next day.

In the middle of the night two creatures approached Sven's traps, without making sudden movements, both beasts kept a safe distance and extended their limbs taking the bait and then leaving the place.

These creatures were a very curious species of ape, they kept watching Sven all day while he was cheating.

In the morning, hundreds of strange screams echoed through the forest.

Worried, Sven climbed to the top of the shelter and looked in the direction of the screams.

In the distance you could see a mob of animals running in the same direction with a wild look destroying everything in their path.

Sven was clear that if that group of animals ran in his direction he could only leave everything behind and find a new refuge.