5. Song of the open road

"Hey! I see one!" I yell to no one in particular. Maybe the nocturnal-eyed spikey thing, digging in the pale brush.

Hungy-Pungy: It digs. It digs at night. Dont make it mad or you'll have to look for a career as a pincushion.

It seems hard to impress, but boy, this is the first critter I recognize from the book. I look at the drawing, trying to understand the little squiggles beneath it. I recognize some letters, but my brain hurt from trying to put the sounds together. What made it more complicated was that there were two different languages on every page. I couldn't begin to interpret some of the alien symbols. The hungy-pungy passed gas and looked at me. I don't think I'd ever seen a more bored looking animal. It stank, too. It was just eating grass and passing gas.

What a simple life it has. Lucky.

The puffers had gathered in a nearby tree and were chittering. Now that I think of it. I've never seen them eat. Or poop. Maybe they were just really shy about it. They sure are cute, though. Hopping around on the branch they're sitting on makes it look like they are dancing. I take a breath of fresh air. I'll have to hunt some game eventually. This book would probably be useful for that if I could only understand it. Ever.

I don't have anything that constitutes an appropriate weapon. That feather I got from the puffers is deadly. I'd just pop small game like a balloon, so I I guess I'll make a trap. I gathered branches and slotted them into a cage with some wire I packed, then I strung it up. I placed one of my last chunks of dried mystery meat directly under the trap and created a trigger by stretching the leftover rope around the tree, tying it down with more strings, and placing the loop around the meat. There. This should catch something. The extra rope can be cut to drop the trap manually. Hopefully, I won't have to do that cause I'm dead exhausted. Look at me! I'm hunting for my own food. I could survive out here if I just think about what other demons do and then do the opposite. That sounds like a smart strategy. I hope.

I hunkered down in a soft patch of grass. The terrain in these hills is uneven, so finding a comfortable place to sit was a challenge. As I wait for the sound of the cage falling, I watch the sky. It's a dark violet, crimson in places, and the colors blur into one as they come together. I wonder how long it'll take for some critter to come. This had better work. I sacrificed my dried meat for this. My dried meat. I wait anxiously. The three moons disperse in their respective directions, moving through the sky to make room for the sun demon to chase them away like boar. I gaze at the swirl of the galaxy, mesmerized. What would it feel like to swim in the skysea? The puffers land on my chest, making cooing noises. I reach my arm out for the stars. They're so far away. If the circles of hell are on top of one another, what would happen if I kept going up? Would I hit the third level's floor?

The sound of a whip jarred me back to reality. I kicked up and ran to the trap. The cage had fallen. There was a large rodent inside. It was a mean looking fucker. It had big tusks, filthy pale fur, and eyes that glowed red in the dark. It was gnawing on the trap, trying to get out, and it was really chewing through the trap. I hadn't thought this far ahead. I needed to kill the thing somehow. I shrugged and acted without thinking. I chucked a puffer at it. A piercing cry caused me to cover my ears. The puffer had mangled a good deal of that critter while trying to free itself. At least I had meat now. I'd never cleaned my own game before. I wasn't sure what tools I'd need, but it's not like I had much choice. That thing didn't look very appetizing. I tried not to close my eyes as I made the first cut. I had tanned before since I made my nice homemade boots. Getting the skin off proved simple enough. I cut that ugly head off so I wouldn't have to look at its murderous eyes. I swear, that thing was dead and still wanted to kill me. Once I had the meat prepped, I made a fire pit. The puffers flew down and started basking in it. I was floored. They were just sitting atop an open flame, cuddling. It was so adorable. I still needed to eat, though. I tried to touch them, but I burned myself. In the end, I decided to work around them. I dug the pit wider and threw more kindling in there. Not that I needed it. The puffers were hotter than anything in there. I wrapped the meat with leaves and layered the packets of meat onto a makeshift grill, made of stone. Then I piled dirt on the whole thing to let it cook underground. Ah. I can't wait. I sat down by the glow of the campfire to look through my book some more. The amount of time it must have taken just to draw all of these. These were all real plants and animals? Some of the plants were scarier looking than the animals. The glow of the fire gave the drawings a bit more life. They looked like they would jump right off the page. The puffers hadn't moved, still sitting on the fire. They'd turned from silver to crimson. How can anything be so happy sitting on fire? The puffers had piled onto one another and looked utterly peaceful. The embers popped around them, and they didn't care. Geez, it must be nice to be that easy-going. The puffers suddenly started squawking. It wasn't a cry of distress, but more like they were trying to tell me something. I went over and checked how the mystery rodent was cooking. It was done. The puffers knew somehow. The meat would have burned if I'd waited any longer. I unwrapped the packets. The meat smelled nice. It had turned pink, but it looked cooked through. I tore off a piece and offered it to the puffers. They didn't care. They were too busy enjoying their cuddle time on top of the fire.

I tried the meat. It was a little tough and gamey, but I was hungry, so I ate my meal in peace. There was a rustling in the grass on the opposite side. Maybe some critter smelled the cooked meat. I chewed my meat, but I was alert in case a predator showed up. The grass continued to shuffle, and a strange little animal waddled out. I think I saw its picture in my book. It's a round critter with big nocturnal eyes that are glowimg gold in the fire's light. It has little stubby limbs that make it look like an old toy as it hops. It doesnt have ears or a snout. It has slits on its face that are for smelling and breathing. I didn't know what to call it, but it hopped over to me.

I took pity on it and gave it a piece of meat. It sniffed the meat then grabbed it with its little teeth and ran back into the grass.

I went back to my dinner. After a few more minutes, I looked up and there are more of them. I'd say six. All looking at me, the giver of meat. Fine. I tore some more chunks and scattered them. They grabbed their trophies and ran off into grass again. I was running out of meat, but hopefully those critters were having a good meal. I went back to my dinner. After a couple of minutes, I heard a piercing hissing noise. That... didn't sound friendly. The little critters from earlier came rushing out of the grass. They didn't so much as look at me. They were running for their lives. I stood up. Camping was over, I need to gather my shit and run. The puffers got the message because they soared into the air. They rose up into a tree, but since the puffers had been sitting in the fire, the tree was now on fire. Fuck! That fire's gonna catch. I hear that loud, high-pitched hissing sound again. Great. I stuffed my book in its sling, packed what I could, and started running. Other trees are now starting to burn. The puffers are flying above me. I need to make distance from whatever is making that hissing noise and these raging flames. I head for higher ground. The hillside terrain looks similar, but the ground is uneven and rough, so I try not to fall on my ass. I run up the hill, and when I get to the top, I find that it has a good vantage point, so I scan the surrounding area. The fire is definitely spreading. That's not the only thing that gave me pause as I saw the massive beast bounding through the grass beneath me. Shit. Shit. Shit...I needed to run. It's a Nega'la. I don't need the book to tell you about that thing. A large serpent with a massive head that can swallow most herd animals. It has no eyes, but it doesn't need them. That thing sees better than I do, thanks to its hissing. It can figure out where anything is with that blasted sound it makes.

It's fast, and it has quick reflexes. I have to keep myself on higher ground, and I can't let it get close to me. The smoke in the air is getting heavier, so Im not breathing as easily. I sprint up another hill, trying to keep to the highest elevation I can for better air and to be aware of what's around me. I heard that loud hissing noise, and I know the Nega'la spotted me. It's safer to assume that than to let myself get eaten. I scanned the area, and my suspicion was proven as soon as I saw that blasted thing powering up the hill. I knew it caught my scent. I had to keep moving. That thing would be on top of me in no time if I let my guard down. The puffers were keeping up with me pretty well, considering they were navigating a wild fire that they caused. The nega'la was gaining on me. I wasn't suicidal enough to fight that thing, but I wasn't naive enough to think I could outrun it either. I grabbed onto a tree that wasn't on fire and started climbing. The tree wouldn't protect me for long. A nega'la could bulldoze its way right through. I just needed to travel faster. My hands were cut up, and my body was sore, but I didn't have a choice. I grabbed my feather and cut the tree I was on. It was on a hill, so gravity took over. I just couldn't lose my grip, no matter what. The tree slid down the hill, picking up speed. The tree was dragging other debris downhill with it. I held on so tight that I think my fingers were leaving a trail of blood in the wind. The tree was now picking up even more momentum. I'm going to crash. The tree curled up a cliff, and I was thrown forward as the tree and I were both sent flying.