It’s my turn now to watch over the group as they sleep. Thane wakes me to have me take over his shift. He throws a couple more logs on to the fire and tells me, “Nothing to report. The night’s been clear so far.”

I rub both of my eyelids, heavy from only a few hours of sleep. Trying not to seem too tired I reply to him, “Well, let’s hope my shift is just as uneventful as yours.”

Thane chuckles quietly to himself. “Yeah, let’s hope so.”

He lays down on the ground and readies himself for a night of sleep. With nothing else to say, he turns over and and goes to sleep. I stand up and begin walking around the perimeter of our small camp to ensure no one can attack us. Doing this helps me wake up a little more and leaves me alone with my thoughts.

The past few weeks have been chaotic and I haven’t had much time to really think. Each moment has involved me either running or fighting for my life. Stranded at sea, held prisoner, and fighting off gigantic wolves--what more could life throw at me? Perhaps it’s best not to even ask that question. Don’t want whatever it may be to come true. Life has a funny way of tormenting you like that. I can handle it, though. Despite everything I have been through, I always make it to the other side. I always manage to survive even the worst situations I could be in. It’s who I am, it’s what I was born and raised to do. A fighter ‘til the very end.

Not only I was raised this way, but all my friends were, too. Despite knowing all of them are very skilled fighters, I can’t help but wonder if they are faring better than me. I’m confident they are alive, no doubt about that. I still find myself wanting to ask, what are they doing right now? Are they searching for me too? Will we actually find each other any time soon? So many questions and no one to answer them.

I still don’t even remember much of what has happened to me recently. I don’t know, maybe it’s best that I don’t even think about--wait, what was that? I could have sworn I just heard a noise.

Snap!

There it is again! I’m not alone out here. Someone is nearby. I look out into the surrounding area but can’t see a thing. It’s too dark to tell who’s there or how many there might be. I slowly inch my way forward into the shadows to hopefully get an idea of what I’m up against. My sword is ready to strike at a moment's notice.

So far I see nothing. They must not have any archers or I would have dropped by now. Still moving forward one step at a time I quickly look left to right, scanning the area. Everything becomes much clearer as I step away from the fire and into the shadows. My vision isn’t as obscured by the light anymore.

Maybe I’m just hearing things. If someone were out here waiting for me, they would have attacked by now. I guess no one is here. Better get back to camp and continue my shift.

Just as I go to turn around, I bump into something that causes me to trip. I quickly lunge one leg forward and catch my fall. As I regain my balance a racoon scurries away and disappears behind a tree. I stand up straight and he peeks around the trunk at me. He must have been the source of what I heard.

“Are you the one out here making all the noise?” I ask. He stays right where he is and watches me. Should I expect any different? Why did I even talk to him? Obviously he can’t understand me. Even if he could, it’s not like he could talk. You need to just get back to camp and finish your shift so you can get back to sleep, I tell myself.

As I begin to walk back, the racoon darts out from behind the tree and stops right in front of me. He looks up at me, sits back on his rear end, and puts his hands up. It looks almost like a child wanting to be held by their mother.

“What do you want?” I say. He opens and closes his paws as if trying to grasp the air. His feet begin to move and he starts rotating around in circles. I’m starting to get a little confused now. “What are you doing?” I mutter to him. He just ignores me. Instead he starts spinning faster and faster until he loses control and falls over flat on his back. All four legs start kicking until finally he stops and falls asleep.

“What just happened?” I quietly mumble to myself as I step over him and walk away. I’ll just leave him alone. I have more important duties at hand anyway.

I make my way back to camp and continue to walk around the perimeter. I see that the fire is starting to go out so I throw a little more wood on it. The flames climb and wrap around the logs. Heat warms the air to fight back the cold. I watch the flames jump up and down and dance for a bit before returning back to my watch. The distinct crackle of fire flies through the air and keeps me company as I continue to walk in circles.

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Time begins to pass and the fire shrinks down a couple more times before my shift comes to an end. I walk over to Erik and wake him so he can take over. “Hey, get up. It’s your turn to stand watch,” I say to him. He rolls over, sits up and looks at me.

“You want me to watch over the two of you? I can’t handle a sword. What if something happens?” he says.

“Nothing will happen,” I assure him and continue on, “and besides, even if you happen to see someone, you would just wake us. I don’t expect you to fight.”

He stands up and dusts himself off a bit. “Alright, I can manage that.”

I bend down and pick up the short sword he has resting by his feet. “Good, now hang on to this.” He grabs hold of it and gives me a slight nod. I walk over to my spot and lay down. “Dawn is only a few hours away,” I say to him. “I’m going to get a little more sleep before we head out. Oh, and one more thing--be mindful of a strange racoon out there.” It doesn’t take long before I manage to drift off into sleep.

First light peaks over the horizon and the sound of birds singing nearby can be heard. I wake up and see Erik sitting down by the fire, staring into it. I sit up and look around. Thane isn’t anywhere to be seen. I ask Erik, “Hey, where’s Thane?”

“He got up not long after you fell asleep. He said he was going out to get us something to eat.”

“Finally, some good news. I haven’t eaten in days. I could really go for some food right now,” I say, eagerly waiting.

He perks up a bit. “Yeah, he said he would be back around dawn.” I don’t have anything else to say so I keep silent. Erik, however, continues to speak, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“What about?” I ask.

“About back at the base. I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. I could have ended up with my throat ripped open and you pulled me out of there.” I let him continue as it appears he has more to say. “I certainly didn’t make things any easier on you before the attack. You could have very easily left me behind. I appreciate it.”

I don’t really know what to say to this. It’s not like I was doing any favors. Erik doesn’t say anymore and he begins to gaze off into the fire again. This man is deeply troubled right now. You can see it in his eyes. They are painted with the terror his life has been filled with recently.

I try to ignore it and ask, “So, you don’t still think I was responsible for what happened to your home?”

He breaths in deeply and lets out an aggravated sigh. “I know what I saw. You were there that day, everything points to you. Yet as much as I want someone to blame, I just can’t shake the feeling that you’re not responsible.” I’m relieved to hear this. He continues on, “That doesn’t change the fact that I want answers and that nothing adds up. Are you sure you don’t remember anything?”

“Trust me, I want to know just as much as you do. Unfortunately, that whole memory is nothing more than a haze,” I reply.

“That’s not the answer I was hoping for.”

I’m not used to dealing with someone emotionally. In situations like this, I never know what to say to someone. Despite knowing this about myself, I reluctantly stammer,  “I’m--I’m sorry about your wife. I know this must be difficult for you right now. As soon as I know anything, you’ll be the first one I tell.” I hope that helps in some way.

He lifts his head up a bit and looks at me. “Thank you.”

Not long after this, Thane arrives, breaking this awkward conversation. The sun hasn’t fully risen, leaving a bit of darkness. Thane walks into the circle of light holding two large rabbits, each having a leg caught in a snare. They look fresh, as if they were killed no more than an hour ago. He drops them on the ground and pulls out a small knife attached to his belt.

“Hope you’re hungry,” he says as he drops down to one knee and pulls over a flat piece of wood from the pile. He proceeds to slice down both their bellies, gutting and skinning them. The process only takes him about five minutes before they’re done and ready to be cooked.

“Wow, that was actually pretty fast.” I hurry and put together a quick spit so we can begin roasting them over the fire.

Thane throws the guts out and says, “I can’t count the number of times I’ve caught my own meals. I’ve had to learn how to get good at it over the years.”

“Lucky for us,” I say, eagerly waiting for my food.

Thane skewers both rabbits and places them over the fire to begin cooking. Slowly he turns them in circles, browning the meat more and more each minute. The fat begins to melt and drips off into the fire. The drops start off slow but rapidly increase in number, creating a constant sizzle that makes my mouth water. Just a little more time over the fire and... There, they are ready to eat. Thane pulls the meat off the bones and separates it into equal piles. We each get our portion and begin eating.

I waste no time, it’s been days and I’m starving. I lift up a leg, take a bite and wow. It’s delicious--of course, I would imagine after not eating for days, anything would be delicious. I’m just happy I get to eat something that can at least fill me up for a while. I continue to eat and so does everyone else. Nobody is talking and that’s fine with me. They both seem just as preoccupied with their meal as I am. We take our few last bites and throw the bones into the fire.

As I wipe off a few small droplets of juice from the corner of my mouth, Thane says to me “Oh, I almost forgot. I found something for you. Funny, actually,” as he reaches down into his pocket and pulls out something I can’t quite make out.

I lift my head up to see what it is he is holding. “It’s funny you found it?” I ask.

“No, not that I found it. I meant that I forgot about it. You see, this is coon moss,” he says as he holds up into the light a tuft of moss that is a mix of blue and red that spiral into each other. He looks up into it as he holds it suspended in air. “This stuff right here can help you with your memory problem. It’s an old herbal remedy that has been used to help people recover from amnesia.”

Erik perks up after not having anything to say for a while “Really! You think it will work?”

“Yeah, I believe so,” Thane replies. “Guess we won’t know until he tries it out tonight.”

Erik immediately questions, “Tonight--why tonight? Why not now? The sooner the better, I say.”

“It’s said to work best at night just before you go to sleep. We only have a limited supply and I doubt I’ll be able to find more. Best that we make sure it reaches its highest potential,” he says as he reaches over and hands me the moss.

I grab it and tuck it into my pocket to use later. “Coon moss, eh? Bit of an odd name.”

“Yeah, it got its name from the effect it has on racoons when they eat it. They start hallucinating and acting like a drunken baby,” he explains. “Funniest thing to watch,” he adds, all the while chuckling.

I guess last night makes a little more sense now.