Morning came without ceremony.
No birdsong announced it, no warmth seeped through the canopy to wake them gently. The forest simply continued, indifferent to the fact that three lives were now trying to anchor themselves within it.
Vernon woke first.
The ground Beneath him was cold, the thin layer of cloth and fur barely muting the damp chill that clung to the earth. He lay still for a moment, listening-not for danger, not even for sound, but for a pattern. The forest breathed in slow, uneven rhythms. Leaves shifted where there was no wind. Somewhere far away, something moved with too much weight to be a deer.
He sat up slowly.
Bruce was still asleep, curled up on his side with his hands tucked close to his chest. His breathing was shallow, uneven, the way it always was when exhaustion overtook him completely. Vernon reached out hesitantly, then gently nudged him with the back of his fingers.
Bruce groaned softly but didn't wake.
Derek was already gone.
That, more than anything, told Vernon how fragile their situation still was. That without Derek they were as good as sitting ducks, an easy target.
Derek returned near midday, moving through the forest as if he had memorized every detail with quiet certainty-of a man who no longer trusted the world to give him a warning. He carried no blood this time, no sign of a fight- but his expression was tight, eyes scanning the treeline restlessly even as he stepped into the camp.
"Come eat," Derek said simply, entering the cave with carefulness, setting down a bundle of roots and dried meat with pinches of salt from all the water they purified.
Bruce stirred at the sound of his voice and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Did you find anything?"
Derek nodded once. "A extra water source to the east. Animal trails nearby. No signs of people."
No signs of people did not mean safety. Both Vernon and Bruce learnt that now.
They ate in silence. The food was bland, Barely filling, but it grounded them in a way nothing else could. Survival was a sequence of small, unglamorous acts, and hunger had a way of cutting through grief and fear alike.
Bruce finished first.
He stood and lingered near the edge of the camp, soon after Derek went ahead to re-arrange their supplies with meticulous care. Every movement had a purpose. Nothing was wasted.
"Dad," Bruce said quietly.
Derek looked up.
"How do i... not mess things up?"
The question wasn't dramatic. It wasn't tearful. That made it worse.
Derek didn't answer right away.
Vernon watched in silence, quietly listening in on the answer himself. The pause stretched on for longer than anyone had expected, Derek got up with a silent puzzled face.
"..You'll mess up," Derek finally said. "Everyone does. The trick is to survive long enough to learn from these things and build yourself up further from it."
Bruce frowned. "That's not-"
"I know." Derek cut him off, exhaling slowly. "We'll talk later."
Bruce Sulked, finally nodding-though disappointment lingered in his eyes.
Vernon said nothing. He felt something settle from what Derek had said in his chest-an awareness, quiet but persistent. Strength wasn't something that arrived all at once. It grew unevenly, painfully, often in places you didn't expect.
The evening came around, it was Bruce's turn to set the trap and try catch something that night.
It was small. Almost invisible.
A snare set too close to a known trail. A knot tied just slightly wrong.
they went to two trap locations where Bruce set them up, at one location there was nothing-not even an inch was moved. At the second location the trap was gone-dragged several meters into the undergrowth, snapped cleanly in half. Whatever had triggered it hadn't been caught. It had simply learnt.
Bruce stared at the broken cord, his hands clenched into fists. "That was my fault."
Derek examined the ground, Expression unreadable. "It was."
The words hit harder than any scolding.
"But," Derek continued, straightening, "You set it where something would pass. That matters."
Bruce swallowed.
The loss meant less food. More risk tomorrow. A longer stay near the same area.
The cost of staying alive was never paid all at once.
Night rolled around, Vernon couldn't sleep.
The forest pressed closer after dark, its presence thick and watchful. He sat near the fire, staring into the embers as they pulsed faintly with heat. something stirring around him-not responding as it should, not aligning, just moving. wrongly.
He didn't mention it.
Derek adjusted the perimeter stones silently, shifting their camp just enough to matter.
Bruce watched, absorbing every motion-not yet understanding what they were used for or why Derek moved the stones so often.
The stars glowed ever so brightly this night.
Marking yet another day survived.