What should I do? Is there no way to make a fire? The rain was so heavy that our bags got soaked and everything inside them as well.
I racked my brain for a solution in this situation. I didn't want anything bad to happen to my friends, Julia and Silvia. Although we had just become friends, they were still my friends.
"What should I do?"
"What should I do?" I muttered, holding my chin with my right hand.
I kept pacing around, still holding my chin, trying to think of an idea. I needed to come up with something quickly.
"Wait, didn't we have bags given to us by the government when we were about to go to the surface? I hope those bags have a special function," I thought, feeling a spark of hope.
I could only hope that what I was thinking was correct. If not, I wouldn't know what to do with this situation. Maybe I would just wait until tomorrow and hope the items dry out by then.
I grabbed my other bag, hoping it hadn't gotten wet from the rain.
"Thank goodness, it's still dry inside."
"Time to make a fire," I murmured after opening the bag.
My hope was realized. The bag had a special waterproof layer. It was essentially a waterproof bag. I then used the portable stove provided by the government to start a fire and took out the clothes that were inside.
I took out some clothes, leaving only a thick jacket, and used the rest as fuel for the fire. I also took clothes from Julia and Silvia's bags, which had been provided by the government, and burned some of them as well.
"Julia! Quickly change into these clothes and help Silvia change hers too," I said to Julia, tossing two thick jackets at her.
"Thanks, Eric. Could you turn around a while, I change and help Silvia change too?" Julia replied.
I turned around and changed into my thick clothes. Warmth started to spread through my body, a comfortable feeling after the cold that had seeped into my bones.
"We're done, Eric," Julia informed me.
"How are you feeling? Better?"
"Yes, much better than before."
"What about Silvia?"
"She seems to have fallen asleep from exhaustion. Hopefully, she'll wake up tomorrow morning."
"Alright, let's get some sleep."
I took one of the bags to use as a pillow. Julia seemed to fall asleep immediately after I suggested it. She must have been very tired.
"The first day was already exhausting. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Will there be another storm? This world is not as easy as I thought, but it's also a very valuable experience," I thought as I reflected on the day.
Shortly after, my eyes grew heavy, and I suddenly fell asleep.
***
The next morning, the sound of birds chirping and insects buzzing woke me up. I looked around and saw that Julia and Silvia were still asleep.
I decided to walk outside, letting Julia and Silvia sleep undisturbed.
As I stepped outside, the morning sunlight hit my eyes. I squinted and shielded my eyes with my hand, already accustomed to this.
After my eyes adjusted, I opened them. The morning air was fresh, and the sunlight felt warm, providing a comforting feeling as if my body had been rejuvenated. I felt healed and very refreshed.
I looked around, noticing that rainwater from the previous night still lingered in some places. I walked to a small depression filled with water and drank from it.
"Ah..!, this water is so refreshing," I said.
"I'd better get Julia and Silvia's water bottles and fill them up. We'll be heading back in today," I thought.
I walked back into the tunnel and grabbed Julia and Silvia's water bottles. I had forgotten to bring such simple things. Luckily, my friends were very meticulous.
I was so excited to go to the Earth's surface that I forgot important things like this.
I filled both bottles to the brim and drank again directly from the depression.
"Silvia, are you okay?" I asked, noticing she was awake.
"I'm still a bit sore, but I feel a little better," Silvia replied.
"Here, drink this. I filled your water bottles," I said, handing the bottles to Julia and Silvia.
"Thank you, Eric," they both replied.
"How about you, Julia?" I asked.
"I'm fine after resting," Julia responded.
"Glad to hear it. After drinking, you can go outside. The sunlight will warm and refresh your body," I suggested to Julia and Silvia.
"I'm going to take the bags outside to dry," I told them.
I carried the bags on my arms and shoulders, taking them all at once.
Outside, I placed the bags on the grass. I then took the survival knife given to me by the government and cut small branches from trees the size of my hand.
The branches were small, but they felt like substantial pieces of wood to me.
I then made a drying rack from the branches and hung the bags on it.
The sun shone brightly today, with white clouds moving across the blue sky. A gentle breeze blew, making me feel very comfortable.
I felt that if there weren't any disasters like the rainstorm, the Earth's surface would be very comfortable to live on.
But I also thought about the wild and dangerous animals. So far, they hadn't bothered us, but that was because we hadn't ventured far into the Earth's surface. Who knew what awaited us deeper in?
Noon, the sun was directly overhead. We prepared to leave and try again for today, hoping nothing would go wrong.
"Let's go," I urged them.
They nodded in agreement, and we started walking into the forest again. Our bags, which had been soaked by the rain, were now dry and usable.
"Let's go to the place we were at yesterday. Your tents are still there," I suggested.
This time, we walked a bit faster since we were familiar with the initial area. After a few hours, it was already late in the afternoon.
We arrived at the first place we had been. Julia and Silvia's tent were not visible again. It had probably been blown away by the wind, I thought.
"It looks like your tents were blown away," I said to them.
"It seems like it. What else can we do?" Silvia replied.
"Should we rest here?" Julia asked.
"Yes, we should rest here," I answered.
I took the survival knife from my bag and went to the grass and bushes, cutting them to use as our bedding.
I then searched for some tree branches a bit further from where we would stay. I decided to make a bivouac [a temporary shelter made from available materials during an outdoor trip].
I made one for Julia and Silvia to make their rest more comfortable. After about an hour, the bivouac was done.
"Hey, Julia and Silvia, you can rest here. It's enough for two people," I told them.
"What about you, Eric?" Julia asked.
"I'm fine. My body is used to the weather out here," I replied.
"Thank you, Eric," they both said.
I nodded and then started making a campfire. Julia and Silvia were busy cooking their canned food, and I, as usual, waited for the leftovers.
Then we began to rest. I hoped nothing would happen today. We hadn't moved anywhere since our first day, and we had made no progress in finding a safe place for humans or determining if the surface was habitable.