The Flint Knappers - Chapter 1

There's a strange numb feeling throughout my body. What happened to me? I can feel a breeze on my skin but I can't remember how I got here. Hell, I can't even remember who I am. No choice but to lie here and wait for my head to clear. Why am I feeling the wind on my entire body? I want to sit up and take a look around but it's just not happening. Have I died? Why can't I move? So many questions and I can feel a growing sense of panic. Just relax...focus on breathing. Slowly...don't panic...you trained for this.

But what is this? And why did I train for it? My vision seems to be returning. What started as a bright blur is starting to come into focus now. I can feel something warm on my face. I think it's sunlight. Sounds are starting to come in like echoes in a tunnel. I need to move but still can't feel my hands or feet. Breathe...

I can remember something but it's vague. A sense of mission, purpose...and exuberance. I don't understand what I'm feeling but it is helping me to relax somehow. My breathing is starting to regulate. A subtle tingling sensation now I think in my extremities. Yeah...there are my hands. Now the feet. Still confused. I need to stay calm. Breathe.

After some time passes I can feel my body again but it's as if I'm an outside observer looking in. It's a struggle but I manage to move my arms and try to sit myself upright. Whew...that was not easy but the cobwebs are starting to clear. I can remember now that this was expected and a single thought is starting to crystallize. "Move!!! Get up!" Like the voice of another inside me, screaming.

I am starting to see different shapes now in what was just a field of light a few moments ago. And I can hear nature sounds. Familiar and alien at the same time. Birds and other animals greeting the day I think. But where am I? I think my vision is starting to clear up. The world is slowly coming into focus. I'm outside...seems like a wooded area. I can feel my strength coming back. Can't get that voice out of my head though. "Move!!!"

Everything is still a little blurry but I am starting to realize what's happening. I'm sitting upright in a forest, completely naked. Judging by the angle of the sun it is most likely morning. And I can remember who I am now. How strange to lose track of myself like that. I remember preparing for this moment for a long time. For years? A long time preparing...anticipating something...this here and now.

I manage to lift myself to a kneeling position and notice a brilliantly colored bird in a tree nearby staring at me like a curious sentinel. It's beautiful. I've never seen colors like that. Another of the same species flies in and lands on the branch next to it. I need to stand up and get moving. Not sure why yet but the urgency keeps screaming to me.

Standing now. Vision almost normal. I remember now what I'm doing here. I just made a jump and have been suffering from the side effects. I made it! It worked! And now I remember why I need to move. There could be dangers around from predators to who knows what else. First priority is to acquire fresh water. A close second will be shelter and then food. I think I can hear flowing water in the direction of the colorful birds. My head is still woozy but I have already started walking in that direction. A soft layer of moss covers the ground and feels like carpet under my feet. The temperature is slightly cool but not cold. The forest is lush green with splashes of color from across the palette. The stunning beauty of it all is beginning to sink in. Iridescence and harmony in a masterpiece of a landscape. I can see mountains in the distance towering over the trees near me. The water I can hear must be flowing down from those snow capped peaks.

I remember everything now. Time is of the essence. After a jump the most dangerous time by far is the first day/night cycle. I have to get busy. All of the training I did is now coming back to me. Fire starting, first aid, flint knapping and a range of other skills I would need to survive once I arrived on the other side. The more advanced skills like smithing, pottery and electronics will come later. Right now it's 'stick to basics' time. I need to focus. I'm already making mental notes of my surroundings. I notice the birds have chosen that particular tree because of a small fruit that they apparently love to eat. It looks like clusters of blueberries except they are a golden yellow color. Some of them have fallen to the ground so I pick up as much as I can carry in my hands. Basket weaving will come in handy later but for now...water. I continue onward towards the sound of the brook. It's getting louder so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

About 500 meters from my landing spot I come upon a crystal clear stony brook. It's almost whimsical in appearance, like a Currier and Ives painting. I recall another one of the side effects of the jump is dehydration and realize I am really thirsty. I want to drink my fill but I know that would be a bad idea. I would hate to pick up some deadly parasite in my first day so I begin looking for what I need to start a fire and boil water. There's a small clearing that will make a perfect camp site so I take a moment to collect my thoughts and then start collecting wood for a fire.

A memory from my training comes to me. The day we learned how to build a fire the old fashioned way. How frustrating it was at first and then the primal sense of joy in seeing the first flames leap from the tinder. Later that night we all sat around the fire that we had made and ate rabbit that our instructor had trapped in a snare. We felt that we had begun a journey of remembering who we really were. Well, it's not training any more. This is the real deal so I put reminiscing aside and focused on the task at hand.

I set up a crude sun dial and started counting the hours so I would know the length of a day under this strange sun. After about 10 hours the daylight began to fade into dusk. By then I had managed to fashion a crude outfit from large soft leaves of a tree that resembled a plantain. The same leaves laid over a lattice of branches would make for a fine shelter for my first night and the fire should keep predators at bay. In the morning I will try to find some clay suitable for making a few crude pots and other utility items. There is an ample supply of firewood so keeping a fire going around the clock will be no problem.

Settled into my shelter on a woven grass mat I finally feel that I can allow myself some time to think about the big picture. I'm finally here...wow...should I be more excited about having my own personal planet? I'm just happy to be alive. We still know so little about how the jump works. There's never been any contact with any who crossed over aside from the stone tablets found in the Mombacho cave. Well, I'm here now and for better or worse I am a pioneer in a strange new world. Tomorrow I will begin the rest of my life in this mysterious frontier. For now I need to get some rest.

Read Chapter 2

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