Chapter 5

The afternoon brought him to more treacherous country, with small hills to climb and rocky outcrops to navigate. The trees grew more closely together and the undergrowth was thicker, in places, almost impenetrable. He came across a river, and after drinking his fill, he splashed water on his face and refilled his bottle. He had thought about following the river to see where it would take him, though when he saw it curving slowly back the way he had come, he abandoned that idea and waded across to the wilderness beyond.

He had traversed many more miles of forest when the evening shadows began to grow longer. Cody needed to find a place to rest for the night. There were no more clearings, though when he came to a rocky overhang, he found a place between two trees to pitch his tent. After a small meal, he crawled into his sleeping bag and was fast asleep in an instant.

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