Page 34 of Sohut's Protection

Pausing, Cleo stared out through the cave entrance at the night sky.

It was coming to an end, wasn’t it?

A deep feeling of sadness overcame her.

She didn’t want to leave the cave.

This was home.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she exited the cave and slid down the vine hanging over the edge of the cliff. Swinging onto the landing on the side of the mountain below the cave, she stopped to take a breath.

With light footsteps, she padded through the undergrowth in the direction of the water hole.

She knew where to go, even in the darkness, having walked the way many, many times before.

As she approached, the dim glow of light caught her eyes and made her spine stiffen.

He was still there.

Creeping closer, Cleo peeked through the bushes, careful to be silent.

That light source that lit up the small clearing seemed to be coming from a gadget set in the center of the clearing on the ground.

It almost felt strange looking at artificial light again. The glow reminded her of the fluorescent bulbs that used to hang in her apartment back in California.

Back then, life had been simpler in her regular bartender job.

Those days, living hand-to-mouth hadn’t quite taken the same meaning as it did now in this new life.

With the light source illuminating the area, it wasn’t hard to spot the blue intruder and her eyes fell on his broad back.

He was there.

Awake.

And as she stared at him, she realized she’d been holding her breath the entire time since she’d reached the edge of the clearing.

He was still frickin’ there.

And drinking her water.

The alien was crouched near the rock pool, droplets of water running down his face and dampening his shirt.

A few feet behind him, against the wall, rested his bag with things. She could see a few items, gadgets she didn’t know the purpose of, brimming from the top.

It probably had tools too and other useful items.

Things like a firelighter, maybe a knife…a gun possibly?

Even his little light gadget was enviable.

She bet he had things in that bag that she could use. Things that would make living in the wilderness so much easier—that is, if she somehow managed to survive this.

Over the past few months, she’d used all the knowledge her father had passed down to her to craft as many items as she had the skill to craft.

She still had the piece of metal, which served as her trusty blade now. She could make a fire using a board, some kindling, and a swindle. She’d used vines and some of the large leaves to fashion things she needed to live like her mattress and pillow. There were even some husks from some huge nuts that fell within the jungle that she used for bowls too, whenever she managed to find them.

If he had a knife though, a real one, it would make life so much easier for her. And a lighter? What she wouldn’t do for something that could make a fire easily and on the go.

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