Live Or Die

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Live Or Die

Chapter 2: Keep Your Friends Close, And Your Knife Closer

After I tied the flimsy plant-based ‘clothes’- even if they were just fibrous messes around my no-touch zone, I took some of those berries again and ahovelled them down my throat. I shovelled some down the Dodo’s mouth- or rather, it almost took my hand off in its feeding frenzy. The lizard didn’t want any, so it went without a snack except that disgusting lump of off meat- but it seemed to enjoy it. We decided to follow the sand tracks, and judging by the footsteps it was 2-3 people. Friends? Enemies? Well, humans. That’d be a start. As we tracked their steps, we saw half-chewed berries and spear-like weapons, and one had a bloody tip. We went further, and saw smoke. my little Dodo ruffled its feathers, and made its way to a nearby rock, where it squarked and panick-strickenly looked at me, back over the rock and almost fainted. The impact of it falling off the rock woke it up again. My dino sniffed the air and flapped its frills- and so I took a peek ober the rock. There was a campfire, and 4 people sat around it, with proper fibre clothing- as in, not my mess by my waist. As the centrepiece was a suspended, roast Dodo on a spit. I found a nearby stick and walked over the rock.

As I walked closer, one of them noticed me- and they picked up one of the sharp spears and pointed it me. Then, a girl picked up a clumsy bow and pointed what looked vagely like an arrow. I knew it wouldn’t fly. The first person, who turned out to be a he, grunted and snarled at me. My dino was keen to fight for that roast, and rushed over the rock to help me. The Dodo followed more out of fear that they might sneak up behind it rather than courage to help me. I didn’t blame it, either. Then a male voice spoke from behind the campfire:

“Hey! Don’t just kill them! Look,” he said, revealing himself- a man in his late 30s with greying hair and cracked glasses. He had a rock to sharpen the sticks, and no other weapon. “They’re a friend, another person- not an animal.” He approached me, and the dino drew back, ready to pounce. The man reached out to shake my hand and I waved the dino down. We shook hands and the Dodo fainted AGAIN, falling onto my foot. I nudged it awake, but it slumped its head on the ground and made a weird, half-asleep squark by breathing in through its beak. I frowned at it and shook the man’s hand. “I’m Harvey.” he said.

“Isiah.” I said, and saw the others ease. My Dodo rolled down the hill next to their campfire, where it woke up, saw the roast, and fainted. I picked it up and sat down with it on my lap where the man offered me, and the dino slowly edged towards the cooked bird. The Dodo dribbled on my bare chest and I sighed grumpily.

-Hope you liked! In Direbear, I’ll keep writing and decide a name for the Dodo. See you there!

-Nightfall

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