Fun fact, while this body does feel pain while rolling down a hill, it does not get damaged for doing so. As the vertigo fades and the pain sneaks to the edge of my consciousness, I manage to get up and stagger over to the forest. I don't know how long until the storm hits, and I'm not going to waste time finding out.

I'm not entirely sure what kind of shelter would protect me from a storm, but I at least know how to make a simple lean-to. It might not be enough, but I can always build upon it. In any case, I need wood.

I wandered around the forest looking for three things. First, large fallen branches that can be used to make the shelter. Second, any fallen trees, which would reduce the work needed tremendously. Finally, a good rock or two. You can do a lot with a rock.

After about an hour of searching, I was able to gather 7 fairly large, straight branches and found a couple nice rocks. They're nice because they're flint, I think. By hitting flint against another rock, I can chip and shape it into a tool. Unfortunately, I don't have time to learn how to do that, so instead, I randomly smashed it a couple times until I got a sharp shard that I can use as a blunt knife.

It's already getting dark now, which will make collecting resources hard. Time to build a storm shelter then. First step to building a lean-to, lean a piece of wood against a tree. Next step, lean other pieces of wood on the leaning piece of wood. Final step, cover in roofing/insulating material.

Yeah, that's an oversimplification. The first step is easy enough. I take my longest branch and lean it against a sturdy looking non-birch tree. To anchor it so it doesn't collapse or anything, I hammer the branch into the ground using a rock, then cover it with some nearby dirt. If I had water, I'd use mud instead of dirt.

Next up, leaning wood on the leaning wood. I evenly spread the remaining 6 branches across the leaning branch. Sometimes the branches rolled down, so I also had to hammer them down while releaning them against the leaning long branch. I am being redundant here out of frustration. Last time I made one of these, I had rope to hold it together. Oh how I miss convenience.

Final step, covering it up. First I used random small sticks to weave into and around the wall of leaning sticks. This basically turns the group of unconnected branches into a single solid wall. From there, I just need to add some actual coverings, like leaves. Minor problem though, the leaves on the ground are too small. They'll just fall off if I try to put them on. The solution to this problem is to just grab the whole leaf-covered branches. Though I can't get the bigger branches, small ones that I can break apart will have enough leaves to act as roofing, and since it's all connected to the branch, weaving it in would add to the structural stability.

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Unfortunately, it's too dark to see beyond my hands, so this is as best of a shelter as I can make right now. It's not like I can sleep now either, since I don't know when the storm will hit and if the shelter will hold up. So instead, I'll spend this time to try and make a fire!

I gather up some tinder, leaves and twigs, a stick, a piece of bark, and a larger stick. Using the knife, slowly carve the two sticks into a drill and fire-board; the smaller stick is smoothed and the larger stick carved into a small rectangular plank. Then I just have to spin the drill into the fire-board until I get embers, then transfer those to the tinder and hope it catches fire. Truth is, I've only ever seen others do this, so I have no idea if my methodology will be correct. Undeterred, I begin spinning.

The first problem appeared immediately. The drill won't stay in place. Alright, I'll just make and indent into the board, and carve the drill into a... more drill-like shape? In hindsight I think I was supposed to do this. With this, the drill won't wander around while spinning. And so I continued drilling.

I drilled for what felt like hours. Then I realized something. I'm supposed to stop drilling once I see smoke. I can't see smoke in pure darkness. Removing the drill from the board, I can see the faintest of red glowing in the indent. An ember! I move it over to the tinder and start blowing on it. My lack of mouth causes no air to be blown. The ember dies out, leaving me with more darkness than before.

That's alright, I still have the drill and board. I can just try again, except this time I'll fan the ember. Um... where did I drop my drill? No matter, I can make a new one... my knife is also on the ground somewhere. Alright, operation find my stuff is now active; get either my knife or drill. Getting down on my hand and knees, I start patting around for any abnormal items.

Then I feel a sting on my back, followed by a slight burning sensation. I turn around uselessly and see nothing as expected. Another sting on my shoulder, more burning. I reach a hand up to the burning area, and it seems to spread to my hand. Could it be...? I face upwards anxiously, and am met with a sting to the cheek. I dash to my shelter. It's starting to rain, and it's a lot worse than I expected. Rain seems to hurt me, a living dirt statue. I can only hope this shelter will protect me.

As the faint sound of rain fades in, my exhaustion catches up to my anxiety. I don't know how long I've been awake, but it definitely feels longer than what I'm used to. As I stare out into the darkness, I see less and less. Eventually, I don't even hear the storm around me. I dreamt a nice dream.