The next day, with the sun stinging my eyes, I wake up still sleepy.
— …What a horrible night — I mutter, rubbing my face. — As soon as I fall asleep, I hear a strange sound and wake up… I don’t even know how many times this has happened.
With a long sigh, I get up, feeling the pain in my feet and the heat that’s already starting to fill the room.
— Haa… What time is it now? Around eleven? It’s getting too warm to keep sleeping…
Still sleepy, I stretch a little and stand still for a while, looking out at the sea through the window.
I don’t think about anything, I just watch, feeling my breath and knowing this isn’t a dream. The lack of a good night’s sleep is clouding my mind a bit; I can’t seem to focus properly.
— …Let’s go.
I look around, grab what’s left of the makeshift spear, and head out of the hut. Right after that, my stomach growls, as if demanding immediate attention.
— Yesterday I found a water source, but I still need food… I hope it’s not an insect.
I decide to go back to the spring, taking the small bucket with me to bring some water back to the hut. My body is tired and I feel sleepy, but getting water and food is more important.
On the way, I try to look at the trees more carefully, searching for something that might serve as food.
— What kind of trees are these? They don’t seem to bear fruit…
As I walk the entire route, nothing catches my eye, but I also don’t see any dangerous insects. So, I end up just drinking a little water, filling the bucket, and heading back.
On the way back, I come across a group of ants, each nearly thirty centimeters tall, carrying pieces of the cockroach I killed yesterday. They march in an orderly fashion toward what is likely their nest.
— This place is an insect’s paradise…
I decide not to waste energy needlessly and simply go around them, crossing the group in silence and continuing on my way to the cabin. The intense sun burns my skin, forcing me to walk close to the trees to take advantage of any shade I can find.
I don’t know if I’m just distracted or if I found a good path to the spring, but this round trip seemed much faster than the day before.
But since that’s an advantage for me, I put it aside and think about something more important.
— Twenty-nine days… I just need to survive for twenty-nine days… — I murmur, feeling the weight of exhaustion even though I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary. — I need food!
My voice echoed across the island. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep, but I realize I’m screaming alone, like a madman. Luckily, I’m already in front of the cabin, the safest place I have.
— Calm down… Breathe… Let’s think of another way.
Looking behind the cabin, I realize the beach stretches even further ahead. Since I’ve explored deeper into the island before, I decide to follow the beach this time, to avoid getting lost.
I walk for a while without finding anything interesting until the sand ends, giving way to the end of the beach. However, something catches my eye right near the shore.
— Those bushes in the water… Something’s moving in them.
As I get closer, I notice the water’s surface rippling, and soon a transparent shell glistens in the sun.
— Is that… a shrimp?
It’s huge, at least the size of the cockroach I killed yesterday. Its long antennae sway lazily among the seaweed, and every movement of its legs makes the water bubble.
— They say shrimp are the cockroaches of the sea… Finally, a meal! — I think as my stomach growls for food. — But… how am I going to catch it?
It stares at me with black, spherical eyes, while its claws move slowly, producing a muffled snapping sound. With every sudden movement of the creature, small waves spread across the shore.
Its enormous claws send a chill down my spine, but they also give me an idea.
— If I can find a piece of wood long enough for it to cling to, I can pull it onto land and wait for it to die.
With a plan in mind, in which I’m completely disregarding my own safety in case I’m attacked, I return to the hut in search of a piece of wood, but I can’t find any.
— ...No choice, I’ll break a piece off this cabin.
The cabin was tied together with some vines that I had no idea where to find on the island. So, I try to untie them carefully, but when I realize it’s impossible, I use the tip of the spear to cut through a part of it and free some planks.
Thanks to that, I now have another hole for the sunlight to wake me up.
— Okay, now let’s get him!
Putting the board on my shoulder, I head toward the shrimp, feeling hungrier and hungrier. Seeing that it’s still there, I try to provoke it by poking it with the board.
After hitting it three times, it finally clamps its claw onto the wood, and I pull it out of the water with all my strength.
Due to its weight and for my own safety, I drag it further and further into the island by pulling the plank. After managing to pull it completely out of the water and seeing its size, I realize this is more dangerous than it seems.
— …Alright, now I just have to be careful of the antennae and claws while I keep it on land.
I walk closer to the water while holding the wood and then push it, causing the shrimp to move even further away.
— Those claws… Why are they so big!? They’re bigger than a board!
After trying to push it for a brief moment, I step back and try to come up with another plan.
— I need to be quick, it’s already started jumping…
Noticing that probably won’t survive if it stays there, the shrimp starts jumping to try to get back into the water, since the sand won’t let it walk properly.
Seeing its desperation and the way it jumps, a certain idea comes to mind, but it also carries a risk.
— Just stay calm and strike at the right moment…
With my feet in the water, I watch the shrimp carefully. It’s standing still, trying to walk, while it’s baking in the sun.
Then, it finally takes a jump, all clumsy, and, taking advantage of that opening, I shoveled it with all my might using the piece of wood I brought. Since it’s in the air, it can’t hold on or use its claws properly and ends up going further inland.
Watching it get back up, I realize it isn’t injured, and since the sand gives way to firmer ground further inland, it seems to be preparing to jump back toward the water.
— This is going to be harder than I expected…
During the first few jumps, I stay constantly on guard so as not to get caught by his claws, but after some time out of the water, the shrimp begins to weaken.
Now, instead of being transparent, it has a whitish color, indicating that it’s nearly dead.
— Finally… I’m exhausted.
My hands hurt, my feet hurt, my body aches, my skin burns, my mind is foggy, my eyes are heavy, and my stomach is rumbling.
I never thought I’d go through all of this at once in my life, but here I am, fighting to survive.
I approach the shrimp to get a closer look at it.
Just to be safe, I push it with the stick and poke it several times before getting closer and pinning its claws and antennae under some nearby rocks.
With them pinned, I bring the tip of my spear close to its head and look at its forehead. Something pointed, as hard and sharp as a blade, would be perfect for making a new spear.
— For now, let’s take this home.
I pick up a large rock, lift it, and hurl it at the shrimp’s face. Its body twitches a few times, but since it’s pinned down, there’s no problem.
The blade on its forehead breaks loose with the impact, and I carefully hold it, trying not to cut my hand in the process.
— I can use this as a knife too…
I turn my gaze back to the shrimp and decide to test this blade. I cut off its claws and antennae with relative ease, and can now carry its body back to the hut.
— I think it’ll take me about three trips to carry everything… Well, at least now I have some good items to survive on.
Unlike the cockroach and the slug, what the shrimp offers is much more useful. Besides its meat, it has this knife on its forehead, sharp claws I can use as a weapon, and huge antennae that can serve as a rope.
— ...And its exoskeleton can be used as armor... I’m going to hunt shrimp on this island and survive!
And that’s how I never found another shrimp on that island.
[To be continued…]
[???]:
— There was only one shrimp on the island? That’s weird.
— Hey, have you eaten any shrimp lately?
[+++]:
— Shrimp? I remember eating a few days ago.
[???]:
— Do you know where they came from? And how big were they?
[+++]:
— I’m not sure… Demo gave them to me… And they seemed a little bigger than usual?
[???]:
— …Demo?