Episode 38

It was getting dark, so Connor and Ben decided to stop and try to light a fire.  There were plenty of pine needles, but most of them were wet; they looked for brushwood or needles that were dry under the trees that had been covered from the rain and ended up with a good amount of fuel stacked beside a tree that had kept the ground mostly dry.

“How will we light it, though?” Gail asked. “No one has matches.”

Ben stared at the pile of pine needles and sticks. “If we had the right rocks to strike against each other to make a spark…that might ignite the pine needles…”

Miah sighed. “You could try striking a rock or something against one of my boots,” she suggested, still not admitting that they were her legs, even to herself.  “It is metal, so it's a good starting point.  But good luck finding the right kind of rock to strike it with,” she added.

“Well, that's a good idea.” Ben dug through some of the needles on the ground, pulling back a wet mat of them to find dirt. There were a couple rocks, so he took them.  Connor watched.  Ben tried hitting them against each other close to the pine needles.

“Here, you’re doing it wrong,” Connor said as he reached for the rocks.

He shrugged and handed them to Connor, who held one rock stationary while hitting the other against it quickly.

Nothing happened.

“Well, try this then.”  Miah pushed her leg near the pile, and Connor held it in place as he struck the rock against the ankle, which caught the last light of the sun as it slid down behind the far mountains at the end of the valley.  They all watched as the light faded, and Connor took a deep breath and struck the rock against her ankle.

There was a sudden spark, but it did not ignite the pine needles.

“You need to get closer,” Connor recommended.

She scooted forward, and Connor leaned in and scooped a small pile of needles next to her ankle, striking it with the rock again.  There was another spark, and they thought they imagined a puff of smoke.  Connor bent down to the needles and blew gently.  There was a small flame, and more needles caught afire.

“Put a twig in there,” he told Ben.

Ben took some twigs from the pile of fuel and held them to the flame, and Miah pulled back slowly.  He sat against the tree and watched it ignite.

Soon, they had a fire well kindled, and they added the larger logs they’d found to the flame. The four of them sat with their faces to the fire, holding their hands out to its warmth.

“Thanks, guys.” Gail smiled at Connor, and he nodded and returned the smile.

Miah scooted closer to Ben and yawned. “I feel a lot better now, even if we're in the middle of nowhere.  I’m so tired.”

Ben put an arm around her shoulder. “Get some rest, then.”

She smiled and closed her eyes. “Okay.”

As she drifted off, the sun left the world, and with it left its warmth.  Their fire burned brightly, and Connor sat with his back to it, on the watch.  Gail fell asleep, and Ben soon closed his eyes, resting against the trunk of the tree with Miah’s head on his shoulder.