Meat... I gotta have some meat! ... I've got it! I'm going fishing. Yea, I know I have no rod or pole, or line or anything... but I've got a plan! I've noticed that this lake is chock full of fish. Noticing a rocky area on the shoreline just a bit further ahead and stepping real quiet like, I proceed to the rocky area. Once there, I move very slowly into position, finding a good rock to pounce from. Sure enough, dozens of good size victims to pick from! I choose a reasonably flat rock, crouch down and assume my hunting position... quietly waiting. Very soon, there are dozens of fish to choose from. There are so many in this lake, they come hunting bugs right up to the shore. I can see them, plain as day because the water is so clear. They’re very slowly moving among the rocks waiting for a hapless bug to drop in. O.K., I spot one fish... he's my target. I’ll wait until it is within arms reach. Quickly thrusting both arms into the water I strike, but in my haste, lose my balance... (the moist soles of the shoes on the smooth rock aren't helping)... slip sideways and fall in the water in a sitting position. Good thing it's only a foot deep huh? Now, I'm humiliated, angry, and most of all totally soaked again with wet shoes... (and I just got them dried out). Oh, by the way, after all that splashing, the fish are gone... Great! I need some meat... time for plan "B". Walking from the shoreline to the line of trees and bushes, I pull off my socks and shoes and put the socks on the bushes to dry out, leaving the shoes on a warm rock that is exposed to the sun. I figure by the time I finally catch and eat a fish, the socks and shoes should be dried out. Sounds like a plan to me! All right... walking barefoot down to the shoreline rocks, I again assume the position. After a five-minute wait of quietly crouched on the rocks, the fish start appearing. Once more, I get my hands ready and pick out the fish I want. I spot one about a foot long... yes, a good-looking candidate! O.K., it's slowly meandering towards my position. Here he comes! This time I strike accurately and forcefully. My hands wrap around the fish... I have it! No sooner than having that thought, the fish starts to slip from my grasp. I try to maintain my grip but it’s so slippery! Rather than lose it, I manage to toss it onto the shore instead of it falling back into the water. The fish lands on the shore, just flopping around. Jumping off the rocks, I literally leap at the fish like a football player diving for a ball that's just out of his reach. I must look like a real idiot to anyone watching! Grabbing the fish again, I look around for a place to prepare it.
Quickly, I find a site on the shoreline that has a patch of grass to lay the fish on. It’s pretty much quit flopping, so it's not going to flop off the grass and get dirty. Fine, uh oh, forgot something. What am I going to do with a raw fish? Cook it... with what? I have no fire here. I also have no idea how to start a fire. Rub two sticks together ... right! That wouldn't work for me in a million years. Hmm, I'm not taking a liking to the alternative... raw fish. I examine the fish closely. Well, at least it doesn't have any scales! A few minutes of careful thought and I still have no ideas on how to make a fire. O.K., no matter how unappetizing it sounds ... its Sushi tonight!
Well, first I have to cut the fish open so I’ll search the immediate area for a sharp rock to use as a knife. While looking for a rock, I hear a slight rustling in the bushes nearby. Looking toward the bushes for a few moments, seeing nothing, I go back to work, looking for a suitable tool. As I’m looking, just for curiosity, I make my way down to the rocks at the shoreline where I’d caught the fish. I’d like to see if the school of fish has returned... yep, still there. Man, if I ever get out of here, I'm going to tell some of the fishermen at the facility about this place! I'll charge per head to show them the best fishin' hole in the world!
Turning around, I’m back to the business of seeing if I can find a suitable tool to slice the fish. Leaving the shoreline, looking towards the grass where the fish is, I see a furry creature, (looking like a raccoon), gorging himself on my fish! Taking off in a run towards him at full speed, I’m yelling and shaking my fist in the air. He sees me coming towards him, grabs the fish in his teeth, and takes off with it... running full speed toward the forest! I'm running after him as fast as I can, but the chase is hopeless. Stumbling on a clump of grass, I fall on my belly and watch the creature disappear with the fish into the bushes where I had heard the noise before. I can’t believe what just happened! Attempting to calm my anger, I just lay my head on my hands and say to myself… Well Jim, you have just learned a hard-earned lesson in nature, you snooze... you lose! Yep... to the victor go the spoils...
Picking myself up off the ground and shaking the sand off… well, there’s more than enough around me in this area to make another meal. Looking around the tree line along the shore, I simply gather more fruit and nuts from the vegetation all around me. Finishing up my “shopping”, it’s time to take a seat on a clump of grassy soil. By now, with the Sun and nice breeze, I'm sure that my shoes and socks will dry soon, so I’ll just let them sit where they are. I think I'll just finish my meal and watch the lake activity.
Thinking about this place... hmmm... sure would be a nice place to vacation if I could ever figure out how to get here... by road!
Thinking about... what's going on at the lab? Would Security come looking for me when they find that I didn't clock out of the facility at 3:30 p.m.?
When the kidnappers that dumped me off here are ever going to show up and take me back... or something?
The sun is starting to go down. What am I going to do come nightfall?
Making my way back down to the lake, I walk over to the rocks to crouch down and get a drink of water. The water is as crystal clear as ever, I lose my hesitation about drinking it. So far I've had no intestinal upsets... remarkable! Again, my thoughts keep returning to the pristine condition of everything I see. This just isn't normal. I can't believe NO ONE has ever been here before. Back up to my clump of grass to sit... again I'm positioned to watch the lake.
I'm relaxing… watching the bird life slowly disappearing from their lake activity to go to wherever they go to sleep. As the sun starts setting, a rise in the audio level of the insect life can be heard all around me. There are flashes of light everywhere... countless numbers of fireflies in action. As the number of flying insects increases over the lake, there are winged creatures that have made an appearance to greet them. These winged-creatures, (I really can't tell if they are bats or birds at this time), swoop down on the insects with amazing speed and acrobatic agility. I'm sure if these creatures didn't make their nightly appearance to munch on the insects, sitting on this lakeshore would be unbearable. So far, I’ve only had to swat away a few insects since sitting here. I forgot, I'd better get up and figure out what I'm going to do for sleeping arrangements. Turning towards the forest, I head that way. I'm looking for any good spot to lie in... preferably not on the forest floor where I'd be covered with insects or other crawly-type creatures. Looking around and spotting some heavy vines between two trees that are about eight feet apart, I walk over to them. After giving it some thought, I proceed to make it over. Removing some of the vine, I use it to tie up other strands of vine, and in roughly twenty minutes I’ve fashioned a crude hammock about three feet above the forest floor. Having satisfied myself that it would hold my weight, (if I didn't toss and turn too much in my sleep), I look around for something to use as a cover. Not really seeing anything handy, I decide to take some of the smaller vines that are very leafy, tearing them from other parts of the tree, and use them as cover. Well, it's not going to be pretty, but it'll be functional. Hey, when I get back home I think I ought to appear on one of those survivor type shows. After what I've been through, I'd win the million bucks hands down!
Having made sleeping arrangements, it’s time to head back towards the shoreline. Finding the same clump of grass, I again take my seat to watch the sun go down and see what else can be seen. I won't get to actually watch the sun go down at the horizon the picturesque way you see on the travel channel. The treetop level is the best it gets here. The winged creatures are starting to thin out over the lake. I'm sure they've had their fill and are looking for a roosting place. As I've mentioned before, the audio level that was increasing from the insect activity is not only continuing, but is steadily ramping up. I didn't realize it could actually get this loud around water. The fireflies are still at it. It really looks bizarre seeing that many flashes all around me. What a light show! I'm also hearing rustling in the forest area. I'm sure there are many nocturnal animals starting to stir and move around now... good thing I don't have any food around to attract them to my sleeping area. I'm sure that a bear or raccoon would pay a visit if I did! If I hear anything getting too close to my bed in the forest, the shore is only about 50 feet away. One thing I need to keep in my mind, as dark as it gets, I'd better remember which way the shore is!
The sun is no longer visible... there's just a glow above the trees where the sun was. Now that it's twilight, the lake looks quite different and very much devoid of life. It seems that it's the insects' time to perform. They're still quite noisy. Just remembered something... I'm trying to remember what phase the moon is in. Back in my grade school years, I always knew what phase the moon was in without having to look outside to see.
Earlier, while watching the sun set, I found the general direction of north... knowing the sun sets in the west. Looking at the sky now with most of the suns' light gone, I can now look at the stars before retiring to bed. With the darkening sky, I should be able to get a more precise fix on North by finding Polaris... the North Star.
Looking around at the stars... hmm... I really don't see Polaris... can't be! Unless I'm located down near the South Pole, I should be able to see the North Star! Man, there's no way the kidnappers took me that far away! This is really strange. I'm looking intently at the stars and really can't identify anything. I know I'm not that far out of practice that I can't find one familiar constellation! Turning around, I look low on the tree level to my hard right. The moon... wait that's not the moon! I'm looking at a bluish disk hanging in the sky... I stand to get a better view and move closer to the water. The disk is about the size that the moon should be... but it's the wrong color! Where in the hell am I? I feel the color draining from my face as my legs start to wobble. Before I fall, I quickly set myself down again on the clump of grass. After about ten minutes of contemplation, I notice a faint green glow appearing over the tree line directly in front of me. Waiting for another ten minutes or so, I see what obviously is another orb is coming into view. After a short time, the full disk is visible. This one is roughly half the size of the first one and is a pale green in color... two moons in the sky!
I sit back down, my head buried in my hands. What's going on? Was there something I have eaten that had some sort of psychoactive components, or am I the target of a black-op project that the CIA has crafted in some sort of bizarre experiment against me? Enough of this! I'm going to my makeshift bed and try to sleep this off. Before walking into the forest again, I take one last look at the sky to see if the moons are still there. Yes, the two moons are still there and I still can’t recognize any star patterns. Turning towards the forest, I make my way to the hammock, and slowly creep in. At least now I can look up and only see the leafy canopy with the very little remaining light left. I'm trying to go to sleep, but it's difficult. The forest is alive with a plethora of life forms... all of them seemingly conspiring to make sure they make enough noise to keep me awake! Reaching around, grabbing some small leaves, I wad them up, and stick them in my ears to reduce the noise level... it helps. I slowly drift off to sleep, fatigued with the mental and physical activity of the day...