When we reached the camp, Haruki and Haruka stared in shock at the massive animal we dragged into the clearing.
"You actually did it," Haruki said, his voice filled with disbelief.
Haruka's sharp eyes shifted between the boar and me. "Maybe you're not as inexperienced as you seem."
Anna glanced at me, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "Guess not."
I didn't reply, my thoughts still tangled with the strangeness of what had just happened. As we prepared to butcher the boar, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was a stranger to myself—and that this was only the beginning.
The boar lay sprawled in the middle of camp, its massive body taking up more space than I'd realized. The afternoon sun cast long shadows, and the warm breeze did little to mask the metallic smell of blood still clinging to its coarse fur.
Everyone stood in a loose circle around the animal, the silence thick with a mix of awe and apprehension. Haruka's nose wrinkled slightly, but her sharp eyes stayed fixed on the carcass. Haruki shifted uncomfortably, glancing between me and the boar.
I sighed, breaking the quiet. "We need to butcher it before it spoils. The meat won't last in this heat."
Haruki frowned, his expression uncertain. "And, uh… you know how to do that?"
"Not exactly," I admitted, crouching by the animal. "But someone has to do it. If we leave it like this, it'll start rotting by nightfall."
"I'll… keep the fire going," Anna said abruptly, turning on her heel and walking toward the campfire.
Her sudden departure caught me off guard, but I didn't press. Whether it was squeamishness or something else, I could respect her decision to step away.
I turned to the siblings. "What about you two? Do you know anything about this?"
Haruki scratched the back of his neck, his brow furrowed. "Not much. We used to help our grandparents in the countryside—cleaning fish, plucking birds, that kind of thing. But a boar?" He gave a nervous laugh. "That's a bit beyond us."
Haruka crossed her arms, her gaze steady. "We've been around this stuff, but not like this. You're the one who killed it; you should be the one to do it."
"Fair enough," I said, nodding. "I'll handle most of it. Just be ready to help when I need an extra pair of hands."
I picked up the salvaged knife, its edge dull but serviceable. Crouching beside the boar, I ran my hand along its side, feeling the roughness of its fur and the solid heft of its body.
"Start by skinning it," Haruka said, her tone matter-of-fact.
I glanced up at her. "You seem to know more than you let on."
She shrugged. "I just remember watching my grandfather do it. Not the same as actually doing it, though."
"Well, here goes," I muttered, gripping the knife tightly.
The work was slow and messy. The boar's thick hide resisted the blade, and I had to saw through sections to make progress. Blood pooled beneath the animal, soaking into the dirt and releasing a sharp, metallic scent that clung to the air.
Haruki knelt beside me after a while, holding the carcass steady as I worked. "This is tougher than I thought," he said, wincing as his hands slipped slightly.
"No kidding," I replied, pausing to wipe the sweat from my brow.
Haruka stayed back, crouching a few feet away and keeping an eye on the process. "Careful not to cut too deep. You'll ruin the meat if you do."
"Thanks for the advice," I said dryly, though I appreciated her input.
As the afternoon wore on, the pile of usable meat grew steadily. The siblings stayed close, offering occasional guidance and stepping in when I needed help lifting or separating sections of the carcass.
By the time I finished, my arms were aching, and the knife felt like an extension of my hand. The ground around us was stained with blood, and the faint hum of flies began to buzz at the edges of the camp.
"Done," I said, sitting back on my heels.
Haruki exhaled sharply, rubbing his sore arms. "That was… something."
"Yeah," I muttered, glancing at the neatly arranged cuts of meat. "But it's worth it. This should keep us fed for days."
Anna returned as I was cleaning the knife. Her hands were smudged with soot, and she carried a bundle of sticks for the fire. She paused when she saw the butchered boar, her expression carefully neutral.
"Looks like you've been busy," she said, setting the sticks down near the fire.
"Had to be done," I replied. "You ready to start cooking?"
She nodded, crouching by the fire and stoking the flames. "Let's get some of this cooked now. We can figure out what to do with the rest after."
Haruki and Haruka helped skewer chunks of meat onto sticks, and soon the savory smell of roasting pork filled the air. My stomach growled loudly, and I realized how long it had been since any of us had eaten something substantial.
"This is already a hundred times better than fish," Haruka said, pulling her skewer away from the flames and biting into the cooked meat.
Haruki grinned as he took his first bite. "No complaints here. This is amazing."
Anna and I ate in silence at first, savoring the simple but satisfying meal. The rich, smoky flavor was unlike anything we'd had since arriving on the island, and for a brief moment, it felt like a small victory.
As the others finished their portions, Haruki stood and began gathering some of the leftover meat.
"What are you doing?" Anna asked, watching him curiously.
"Making jerky," he replied, grabbing a stick and skewering thin strips of the leanest cuts. "If we don't preserve this, it'll all go to waste by tomorrow."
I raised an eyebrow. "You know how to make jerky?"
Haruki shrugged. "Kind of. Our grandparents used to make it all the time. It's not hard. You just need thin cuts, salt, and heat."
"Salt," Anna repeated, frowning slightly. "Do we even have enough for this?"
"Actually, we might," I said, standing and walking over to the makeshift water purifier. I crouched beside the collection basin, where a small pile of crystalline salt had formed from the evaporation process.
Anna followed me, her expression brightening. "I didn't even think about that. Good call."
I scooped up the salt and handed it to Haruki. "It's not much, but it should be enough for now. Just don't overdo it."
Haruki nodded, sprinkling the salt carefully over the strips of meat. Haruka joined him, helping to set up a rack over the fire to let the jerky smoke and dry.
As the jerky cooked, Anna and I sat a little apart from the others, the firelight casting flickering shadows across our faces.
"That was smart, using the purifier's salt," she said, her tone thoughtful.
"It's a start," I replied, staring into the flames. "But we'll need more. This won't last us forever."
Anna leaned back against a tree, her gaze shifting to the distant treetops. "Water's going to be a problem sooner or later. The purifier works, but it's slow. It's not enough for all of us long-term."
I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. "We'll need to find another source. A rain catcher might help, but we can't rely on rain alone. A stream or spring would be better."
"Problem is," Anna said, "even if we find one, we'll need a way to carry and store the water. Containers, tubing, something to make it practical."
I sighed. "Maybe the wreckage has what we need. Buckets, canisters, anything we can repurpose."
Anna glanced at me, her expression softening. "We'll figure it out. One step at a time."
Her calm confidence was reassuring, even if the weight of our situation still hung heavy in the air.
The siblings joined us after finishing their work with the jerky. Haruki held up a skewer of dried meat, a satisfied grin on his face.
"This should last us a while," he said, setting the rack aside to cool.
Haruka sat down with a sigh, brushing dirt from her hands. "It's not perfect, but it'll do."
Anna smirked. "High praise from you."
Haruka rolled her eyes but didn't respond.
I leaned back, letting the warmth of the fire wash over me. For the first time in days, I felt a flicker of hope. We had food, a plan for water, and a sense of direction. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep us moving forward.