The Other Earth by Derek Schumacher (reading like a writer .TXT) 📕

That's why he would cross any flooded parts with extra weight, to make sure he wouldn't be pulled along. This would hopefully solve another part of the bridge crisis. But, there was still one thing that bugged him, how he would move the trees. Sure, he could cut them down with enough swings with his axe, but was he strong enough to carry, less move one of the logs? Guess there's also only one way to find that out as well, and that's to try it out.

Hopefully this entire plan isn't a giant waste of time. But he wouldn't know until he put it into action.

Nearly half way back to the camp site, Neil takes a small break, downing a few leaches, and take a few slugs from the river. Wiping his mouth off and smiling to himself, the man gets back to his walk. Speaking of walks, he wonders just how long, since he started this entire thing, he has walked. Must be a huge number.

After a good while of pondering steps and time of exploration, Neil finally arived back home. His mud hut looked as exciting as ever. But, now that he has his axe, he has a plan. A fancy plan, at that. He was going to try and roof his house. But, before he could do anything like that, he would need to quickly make his way to one of the eastern caves and gather a bunch of vines for rope making.

Neil quickly ran over towards the east region, and stopped at one of the isolated cavern entrances, beginning to amass a collection of vines, grasses, and other strong, long green things. After gathering for a good few minutes or so, the man decides he's gotten enough, and headed back towards his camp.

This was exciting, a chance to once again spice up his little home! If only he had enough time to remake his entire house out of wood, that would be the day! But, a roof was essential, especially if it were to rain again, Neil needed something to keep him, and his equipment, and his fire wood dry.

Thing was, he needed to hack down a tree, and he hasn't done that in a good long time. But at least it's not the most complicated thing in the world. Not exactly simple either, but he knew enough to the point where he pulled out the axe and began chopping away at a smaller tree.

He figured he wouldn't need one of the thicker, larger, and older trees. At least not yet, he would use some of those to create boards for the bridge. But, for now, all he needed was wood to weave together to make a roof to cover his head for the night.

Neil chopped at the tree for about an hour before the mighty wooden titan fell and crashed into the ground with a mighty sound. It made him feel a lot stronger than he actually was, and nothing was better than feeling good about yourself. Especially in Neil's case, because if he didn't, no one else was going to for him.

Moving to the fallen tree, Neil began to hack off decently thick slabs of wood, and then tossing them gently to the side, making them into a fine stacked pile, sort of. It good a little under a half an hour to chop up enough wood to cover the roof area of the home. And, after he was finished, he sat by the stump of the fallen tree, and rested for a few minutes, popping a few grapples, and panting. It was tough work, but important work.

After the quick break, the man got back up, and got to work. He took the boards, and began to weave them together using the vines he picked up earlier. These things were actually surprisingly tough, and could be very useful in the long run. Being able to tie things together could become an essential skill in the future, probably. Neil had absolutely no idea if it would be helpful, but it sure was when it came to combing wood together.

After a few slabs here and there, another board there, and another there, the roof was complete. Now there just came the task of installing it. Good thing Neil left a set of mud and rock steps in the back of his little hut to gain access to the high parts of the walls. He would use these to his advantage, hauling the roof up, and laying it across the gap. A nearly perfect fit, but the extra edges can stay, who cares about perfection here?

After the installation of the roof, Neil began to pack mud in between and around the roof, to make sure it would settle together with the walls. And after that, he used rocks to sturdy the areas where the two meet. It was a beautiful creation of architecture, one that would probably get at least an average grade in school. Neil would probably pass one of those classes. Probably.

With the roof finished, there was finally a chance to rest, for real this time. The dark had slowly begun to creep in, as the evening hours began to show up in the day. Neil strolled inside of his home, and pulled some of the wood from his trusty pile, and tossed it into the pit. He struck a rock with the knife, and lit the fire once again.

With the roof now in place, the light was no longer going to escape out the top, nor was the heat. It had become a bit more cozy, and home-like than before. Sure, it didn't have a proper door. But Neil didn't think he was capable of creating a door, so he figured to just leave the hole in the wall open.

Finally, the man layed down on the log, and began to drift to sleep instantly. He was tired, but also very excited. Over the next few days, he would attempt to cut down enough trees to create a bridge to cross the river.

Good Morning, Today is September 25, 2118.

Today was the day, the day to cross the river. Neil had finished the construction in the span of around four days, and it was sturdy enough to hold him down, weight down enough to stay put, it was ready. Sure, some of the spots were flooded over from the weight, but it didn't matter too much. The man would use a rock to weigh himself down, to cross without any problems.

The day was gusty, much more windy than other day, even more than the day of the storm all those days ago. As Neil stepped outside, the wind howled, and the trees around him groaned and danced in the wind. It was almost a beautiful sight, if it weren't so aggressive. The man shrugged his shoulders, and made a few last checks. He had his food pouch, his knife, and his axe. Neil was pretty sure everything was all set to cross to the other side, and finally see what's on the other side of the river. A little wind wouldn't stop him.

The man grabbed the heavy rock beside him, having now enough weight to be able to brave the current. He steps out and onto the bridge, the water running at his ankles. It bothered him none, as the additional weight made it so there wouldn't be any worries of falling in. Which was good, because the water had grown very, very cold.

The river was a few meters in width, so it would take a good while to make it across safely. But then again, once across, things would get much easier on the way back, once the storm had finished.

As Neil continued to slowly make his way across the river via bridge, he noticed something on the other side of the bridge. The air was hazy and the wind blurred his vision, but it almost looked like something was there, something that caused the air around the end to darken. But, then Neil realised what it could be.

The man stopped, and then made an effort to try and turn around. He was about halfway to the otherside of the river, but now with this obstacle, there was no hope to cross at this moment. But, he couldn't move. His body was frozen in place, and his eyes gazed towards the thing in the distance, beginning to slowly close in on him.

It floated over the water, it's empty eyes stared through the man. It had caught him right where it wanted it. There was no hope of escape this time, as the way forward was blocked, and the man was under the effects of the visions, which impaired his movement.

Neil struggled to push the things out of his mind, but the noise grew louder and louder, even worse than before. He stumble, still holding onto the rock, trying to still turn around to get away. If he tried to reach for his knife and cut himself, to rid of the visions, he would have to drop his rock, which would cause him to go over the edge.

Tears began to fill the man's eyes, as he watched over and over, a familiar man standing infront of him. He couldn't remember who exactly it was, but it seemed like they had met before. The man continued to sob infront of him, screaming because of something Neil had done. What did he do, what did it all mean? He had no clue.

Stumbling backwards, he began to lose his balance, as the wind increased with each passing moment, the current growing more and more treacherous. Neil began to cry harder, shivering from the cold, and the presence of the shade. The air grew thick, and difficult to use to breathe. He would cough and wheeze, watching the thing grow closer and closer.

The shade then extended it's arm, closing in on him, and moving towards his throat. This was it, there was no way out of this one. Neil couldn't move, couldn't defend himself. If he was grabbed, it might just be over with for him. There was only one way out of this, and that was to die.

But, it seemed that nature had other plans. A exceptionally strong gust of wind blew through the riverside, and was enough to cause Neil to lose balance, and grip of the rock. The man screamed in horror as the stone fell from his hands, the extra weight now gone from his body, and the current in full force. After this, he felt his foot be pushed aggressively off the edge of the bridge by the water. The last thing he saw was his own body flying from the bridge, and the shade watching him fall into the cold drink.

After hitting the water and sinking downwards, Neil struggled against the current, but to no avail. He quickly looked around, and noticed his knife's sheath and his berry pouch had detached