By the time we stopped to set up camp, the sun was dipping behind the mountains, casting long shadows over the valley. The temperature was dropping fast, and the cold bite of the evening air was starting to creep in. We needed to find a place to sleep and something to eat before it got any darker.
"Alright," Daisy said, scanning the area with her usual no-nonsense expression. "We're camping here for the night. Jake, Ethan—go gather some wood. Liza, Yabe—you're on food duty. See what you can find. I'll see if I can hunt down something for dinner."
"Sure thing, boss," Ethan said, shooting Daisy a mock salute before nudging me with his elbow. "Come on, man. Let's go find some firewood before it gets too dark."
We grabbed our katanas—useless for chopping down trees but decent enough for cutting smaller branches and twigs—and headed toward the edge of the forest. The ground was covered in a thick layer of dead leaves, twigs, and pine needles, making it easy to spot potential firewood.
As we walked, I couldn't help but glance at the towering trees around us, the dense forest making me feel like we were a million miles away from the world we used to know. Everything had changed so fast, and now here we were—surviving in the wilderness, hunting for food, and building makeshift shelters. It was surreal.
"This katana's not gonna cut it," Ethan muttered as he swung it at a particularly thick branch, barely making a dent. "I mean, it's cool and all, but it's no axe."
I chuckled, slicing through a smaller branch with ease. "Yeah, but it's still better than nothing. At least we can get the twigs."
We gathered what we could—small branches, twigs, and ferns—enough to build a fire and put together a makeshift shelter. The cold was settling in fast, and we needed warmth if we didn't want to freeze our asses off tonight.
"You ever think about how fucked up this is?" Ethan asked suddenly, his voice quieter than usual as we worked.
I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "I mean… we're out here gathering firewood with katanas, trying to survive a goddamn zombie apocalypse. This isn't exactly how I pictured my life turning out, y'know?"
I smirked. "Yeah, I get it. But at least we're alive. Could be worse."
Ethan snorted. "Yeah, I guess. Could be zombies gnawing on our bones right now."
With our arms full of wood and ferns, we headed back to camp, where Liza and Yabe were already hard at work, picking through various plants and mushrooms they'd gathered.
"Hey," Liza called out as we approached, her voice surprisingly chipper. "Look what we found. These mushrooms are edible. Well, most of them. I made sure Yabe didn't pick any of the toxic ones."
Yabe smiled shyly, holding up a handful of small, orange mushrooms. "Liza's really knowledgeable about this stuff, Senpai. She taught me how to tell which ones are safe to eat."
Liza grinned, her usual bratty attitude taking a backseat for the moment. "Yeah, I'm kind of a biology nerd. Took a few classes in high school, and my mom used to take me hiking all the time. She was obsessed with mushrooms, so I picked up a thing or two."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "Well, shit. Good to know we've got a mushroom expert on hand. What's safe?"
Liza pointed to a cluster of mushrooms she had separated from the rest. "These ones are chanterelles. Safe to eat, delicious in stews. Those over there—don't touch 'em. They'll kill you faster than you can blink."
I nodded, grateful for the knowledge. "Good work. That'll help a lot."
Meanwhile, Daisy had wandered off with her rifle, her sharp eyes scanning the forest for any signs of movement. She was the best shot among us, and if anyone could catch us dinner, it was her. A few minutes later, we heard the crack of a rifle shot echo through the trees, and a moment later, Daisy reappeared with a small, limp rabbit hanging from her hand.
"Got lucky," she said, tossing the rabbit onto the ground. "It's not much, but it'll make a decent stew."
Liza wrinkled her nose. "You're gonna make rabbit stew? That's like, medieval or something."
Daisy shot her a look. "You want to eat, or do you want to bitch about it?"
Liza held up her hands. "Hey, I'm not complaining. Just saying."
Daisy knelt down, pulling out her hunting knife and getting to work skinning and gutting the rabbit. She was efficient, quick, and precise, clearly having done this plenty of times before. The rest of us watched in silence, a mix of awe and mild disgust as she cleaned the rabbit, setting the meat aside for the stew.
"Damn, Daisy," Ethan muttered, his face slightly pale. "You're scary good at that."
Daisy shrugged, wiping her knife on a cloth. "My dad taught me when I was a kid. You learn how to survive when you grow up in the middle of nowhere."
With the rabbit cleaned and ready, we set up a small fire using the wood and ferns we'd gathered. Daisy rigged up a makeshift pot with some scavenged metal from the wreckage of our truck, and soon the rabbit and mushrooms were simmering together in a stew over the fire.
As the smell of cooking meat filled the air, my stomach growled loudly. We hadn't had a decent meal in days, and the prospect of hot food was enough to make my mouth water.
"Smells amazing," Yabe said quietly, sitting beside me as we waited for the stew to finish. "I didn't know rabbit could smell this good."
"Anything smells good when you're starving," I replied with a grin. "But yeah, this'll hit the spot."
Ethan stretched out next to the fire, rubbing his hands together for warmth. "Who would've thought we'd be making rabbit stew in the middle of the apocalypse? Life's weird, man."
Liza sat cross-legged near the fire, her arms wrapped around her knees. "I mean, it's better than nothing. At least it's not canned beans again."
Daisy stirred the stew with a stick, her face illuminated by the firelight. "Shut up and eat when it's done. We need our strength for tomorrow."
We all sat quietly, watching the fire crackle as the stew cooked. The flames flickered in the darkening sky, casting shadows on the trees around us. For a moment, the world felt… normal. Like we weren't in the middle of a nightmare, like we were just camping out in the woods, sharing a meal and laughing about stupid things.
When the stew was finally ready, Daisy served it up in small portions, using the lids of our empty cans as makeshift bowls. It wasn't much, but it was hot, and it tasted like heaven compared to the canned junk we'd been living on.
"Holy shit," Ethan mumbled through a mouthful of stew. "This is actually pretty damn good."
Liza took a bite, her eyes widening in surprise. "Okay, I take it back. Rabbit stew is legit."
Yabe smiled softly, savoring her portion. "It's nice to have a real meal, even if it's just for tonight."
We ate in silence after that, the warmth of the fire and the food in our bellies making the cold night air a little more bearable. For the first time in days, I felt a little bit of hope creeping back in. We still had a long way to go, and the journey ahead was uncertain, but for now, we were alive. And that was enough.
Q: Do you know any outdoor survival skills?