When we reached the clearing, the familiar sight of the campfire and our sparse belongings gave a fleeting sense of normalcy. But hunger gnawed at my stomach, and the tight lines on Anna's face suggested she was feeling it too.
Anna broke the silence. "We need food. Soon."
I nodded. "Fishing isn't enough. The sea's empty, and the river's too far to make it worthwhile."
Haruki frowned, lowering himself onto a log by the fire. "What about hunting? There are animals on this island, right? Boars, at least."
Anna crossed her arms, clearly weighing the risks. "Hunting is easier said than done. None of us are exactly experienced."
I glanced at the group. Haruki looked unsure, and Haruka's sharp gaze flicked between us as if calculating something. I exhaled sharply and said, "We don't have a choice. If we want to eat, we have to try."
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "And who's going to do the hunting? We can't all go, and it's not like anyone here has experience."
"I'll go," I said without hesitation.
Anna turned to me, her brow furrowed. "You sure? Boars aren't exactly easy prey. They're fast and aggressive if cornered."
"I'm sure," "We can't sit around waiting for food to fall into our laps. I'll figure it out."
"I'll go with you," Anna said, her voice firm.
Haruki opened his mouth as if to protest, but she shot him a sharp glance. "We'll need two people, and I'm not letting him go alone."
"What about us?" Haruka asked, gesturing between herself and her brother.
"You two stay here," Anna replied. "Keep the fire going and gather more wood. If we bring something back, we'll need it."
The siblings exchanged a look, then nodded reluctantly.
Anna and I each took one of the crude spears—long, sharpened sticks that had barely been effective for fishing. The forest stretched before us, its canopy filtering the late morning light.
At first, Anna tried to make conversation as we followed faint tracks through the undergrowth. "Do you know anything about this? Hunting, I mean?"
I hesitated before replying. "Not really. I'll be honest, I'm just winging it."
She shot me a glance, her brow furrowing slightly. "Great. Guess that makes two of us."
Despite her attempt to keep things light, my focus was elsewhere. I didn't reply, my attention fixed on the faint signs of our target—hoofprints pressed into the soil, disturbed patches of foliage. Anna eventually fell silent, sensing that I wasn't in the mood to talk.
As the tracks grew fresher, I found myself moving instinctively, each step measured and quiet. Anna followed closely, her focus sharp, though I could sense her curiosity. She didn't say anything, but her occasional glances suggested she was trying to figure out what had shifted in me.
We followed the trail for what felt like hours, the heat of the day pressing down on us. The forest seemed to close in, its thick foliage muffling every sound except for the crunch of leaves beneath our feet.
Then, up ahead, there was movement—a rustling in the underbrush. I raised a hand to signal Anna to stop, my eyes scanning the shadows.
There it was. A massive boar, its coarse fur glinting in the patches of sunlight. It rooted around in the dirt, oblivious to our presence.
I crouched low, gripping the spear tightly. Anna stayed a few steps behind, watching me intently. She couldn't quite place it, but something about my demeanor had shifted. My silence, my precision—it was unnerving, but also strangely reassuring.
I motioned for her to stay back, circling slowly to get a better angle. The boar's ears twitched, and my breath caught. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Then, it saw me.
The boar's head snapped up, its dark eyes locking onto mine. With a guttural snort, it charged.
"Move!" I shouted, darting to the side.
Anna barely had time to react as the boar barreled past her, skidding to a halt and turning for another pass. Its tusks gleamed, and its breath steamed in the cool air.
My grip tightened on the spear as the world around me seemed to fade away. The weight of the spear, the angle of the boar's charge—it all clicked into place, as if my body knew exactly what to do.
The boar charged again, and I sidestepped smoothly, thrusting the spear into its flank. Blood sprayed, and the animal let out a guttural cry but kept going.
Anna sprang into action, her spear striking true as the boar wheeled around. The animal stumbled, its strength waning.
I didn't wait. With a final, fluid motion, I drove my spear into its side, the point sinking deep. The boar collapsed, its thrashing slowing until it went still.
For a moment, the clearing was silent except for the sound of our heavy breathing.
Anna stared at me, wide-eyed. "Are you okay?"
I blinked, the haze of adrenaline lifting. My grip on the spear loosened, and I stepped back, suddenly unsure of myself. "Yeah. You?"
She nodded, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Yeah. But… what was that?"
I frowned, not understanding. "What do you mean?"
Anna gestured at the boar, then at me. "You. The way you moved, the way you handled it—it was like you've done this a hundred times before."
I glanced at the bloodied spear in my hands, my stomach churning. "I don't know. It just… happened."
She tilted her head, studying me. "Are you sure you don't remember doing this before?"
"I'm not sure of anything," I admitted. "It's like… something clicked. But I don't know where it came from."
Anna didn't press further, sensing that I didn't have the answers. Instead, she crouched by the boar, inspecting it. "Well, whatever that was, it worked. This'll keep us fed for a while."
I nodded, though a strange unease lingered. The skill I had shown felt foreign, like it didn't belong to me.
The journey back to camp was slower, the weight of the boar forcing us to stop and rest every so often. Despite the exhaustion, there was a sense of accomplishment between us.