Strongest Survivor

Strongest Survivor

By Jonah Bingham

Dedicated to Rudyard Kipling, a great writer

Maple Leaf Writing Project

Brattleboro, VT

Copyright 2014

When Ajit was born, his parents said he would grow up to be great. Ajit is a name that means “invincible” in the family’s native language. He lost both of his parents while he was just a toddler. Although he was never very close with them, he wished more than anything to have them back. His parents died from the Black Plague, a horrible disease that made them suffer tremendously. He had an uncle who had taken him in and raised him as his own. Ajit’s smooth black hair rested on his rough caramel colored skin. His oval and chestnut brown eyes could easily capture a person’s attention. Ajit may have not been the largest or heaviest child in his village, but he was a very strong child, as was his spirit.

Ajit learned many things from his uncle like responsibility, bravery,respect, and honesty. He also learned to hunt from his uncle. When Ajit was 12 the leader of his village told him to hunt with the other men from his village. He had no idea how he was going to hunt with the other men and not look like a fool.

One day after Ajit was a well developed hunter and was one of the head scouts, he ordered everybody to split up so they could corner a hog deer that Ajit had spotted running through the woods. The deer had a little white y that started at the tip of his nose went up about two inches and split above his nostrils. The deer also had tan fur and a little white tuft for a tail. Ajit had never hunted a deer before. He usually hunted a rino or maybe antelopes, and every now and then a fish in a nearby river, but never a deer.

As he ran through the woods chasing the deer through twists and turns, up hills and through valleys, he finally lost track of the deer. He noticed the sky was turning strawberry red. The sun was setting. Ajit took a minute to walk out from under the shady tree he was under. He wanted to see if he could find out where he was to find a way to get back home. Ajit had no clue where he was and had forgotten the way back to his trail. Ajit felt hungry. He looked for something easy to hunt and eat like a small animal.

Ajit walked up a grassy hill toward the small hole . He peered down the hole, but as soon as he had put his head down to look, a white rabbit jumped out from inside. He turned and dove for the rabbit but just missed it. He took out his bow and an arrow and then shot! The arrow sliced through the wind and into the animal, killing the rabbit instantly. He went over to it and took the arrow out. He slit the rabbit with his knife while deciding to camp out where he was. Ajit hung the rabbit on a tree so the blood could drip from it.

He decided to look for shelter and try to make a pile of soft things to sleep on. He walked into a wooded area nearby. Just as he was about to take some leaves off the ground he noticed the deer he had been chasing when he got lost. He thought of how much food the deer would provide. Suddenly he remembered he had left his bow and arrows next to the rabbit that was bleeding. He knew if he was going to kill the deer with his knife, he would have to be sneaky. He knew how to be sneaky, after all, hunting was a strength for him. He got on his hands and knees. He crept carefully into a bush. He was just feet away from where the deer was standing. Ajit looked into the deer’s innocent eyes. He drew his knife without making a sound. He was about to crawl up to the deer and kill it. Suddenly his body just wouldn’t let him. Instead the young hunter crept away without a sound.

When he got back to the rabbit, all the blood had dripped from it. He grabbed it off the tree and got a stick. He cleaned it off and set it down next to the shelter. Ajit saw a tiny stone of quartz laying by the trunk of the tree. He was very excited! This meant he could make fire after he created a tinder pile. He went back into the woods to get some twigs and anything else that could help him start a fire. He picked up some dead grass and dry leaves. He started to walk back but then he realized his knife wasn’t in its leather sheath and he couldn’t remember leaving it at his shelter. He needed his knife to start the fire. Then he remembered he left it where he saw the deer!

Ajit walked back to where he had seen the deer. He noticed the blade of the knife as it glittered in the evening sun. He walked to the bush and retrieved his knife. As he began to walk back to his unfinished shelter, Ajit wondered why he had changed his mind about killing the deer. The deer had been so close that he could have killed it with his bare hands. Something had changed. He wasn’t quite sure what had changed though.

Ajit decided it would soon be time to go to sleep. He had a lot to think about and he needed a place to rest. The rest would be important to help him to regain himself. He needed to consider the situation he was in and establish a plan to escape back home or wait until a search party was sent out to look for him.

Ajit cleared a slightly open area about the size of the small straw hut he lived in with his uncle. He scanned the immediate area and collected a pile of leaves and placed them in a soft pile for a place to rest. He gathered some small wood to add to his tinder pile and used his quartz to create a fire. As sparks began to shoot down onto the tinder pile it helped the pile to create a sharp red burn on the edge of some of the dry leaves. The small burn could not sustain the life the fire would need so Ajit had to gently blow to bring life to the blaze. As the fire began to take, the small dry wood was added. Once these dry branches were added the fire was able to hold itself for a short time. Ajit went just beyond his encampment and found dead trees to break and add to his fire. He gathered the logs in his arms and soon he was able to add some to the fire.

Ajit sat on his leaf bed and began to think. Where had things gone wrong, he wondered. He began a hunt with the hunters. He had allowed the deer to escape. He was lost. He poked at the rabbit flesh he had skewered with a small branch as it cooked over the fire. The smell of the cooking flesh seemed so appetizing. As he breathed in the smell, his mouth began to water. Eventually he pulled the cooked meat from the fire and began to eat. He would need to devise a plan to get back home, but for tonight he would need some rest for he was weary from the day’s events.

As he slept, the deer returned in his dreams. In the dream the deers hooves were pounding into the dirt. Ajit had quickly spun around to watch the deer as it passed by him. He jumped up to chase the deer. As he ran after the deer things seemed more recognizable. He had been led back to the trail he had been separated from. Not only was he back to the trail but they were heading closer to Ajit’s home. Just as Ajit became close to the deer, he suddenly woke up. He noticed that the fire had burned out and was no more. All he could see were black coals and singed wood.

It was dark out still, but the sun was beginning to rise. Ajit could sense that his mouth was dry. He knew that he needed water. Without the water he could become dehydrated and sick. He walked beyond the encampment to look for water. Ajit tried to think positively and scanned the beautiful place that he was in. The sun’s light poked through the branches of the trees creating spotlights across the earth that he was walking through. Ajit made his way through the forest walking fast, jumping, and climbing as he explored his surroundings. He spotted a stream and walked to it. He cupped his hands in the water and pulled them close to his mouth to drink. He suddenly felt refreshed. It felt so good to have the water to drink. It seemed forever since he had liquid to drink, when actually it had only been several hours.

Ajit looked upstream and noticed the deer once again. Its tail flickered for a second. Was this deer taunting him? He decided to find out what was going on. Why did he keep seeing the deer? Was it some sort of sign? If so what did it mean?

He was walking back from the stream when he heard it. Voices.

“How did we get so lost?” said a man.

“We’re not lost!” said another man.

Ajit had wondered why these men were so far into the woods. Were they looking for him? Was it a search party? He began to walk towards the voices to figure out what was happening. Ajit recognized them as members of his hunting group. Chand was a tall and masculine man with short brown hair that fell just beneath his ears. Mahatma was shorter with a skinny build and black hair that rested just beneath his shoulder. Ajit knew these men as good scouts who were still building their hunting skills.

Ajit walked up to them and asked, “Have you been lost since we chased the deer?”

“Yes. We are lost.” Chand responded.

“We are not lost. We have been looking for you” said Mahatma.

“You have come to take me back to Mahabala?”

“Yes. We leave tomorrow. Mahabala asks to see you,”Chand answered.

Mahabala, whose name means great strength, was the chief of his village. Ajit had respected Mahabala all his life. Mahabala was 82 years old, with short white hair and wrinkles on his cheeks and below his eyes. His skin was light brown, just a shade darker than Ajit’s. As Chief, Mahabala’s home was the largest tent at the center of their village.

“I assume you found shelter and managed to get some rest,” Mahatma said turning towards Ajit.

“Yes. Let me lead you men to it.”

“Okay,” Chand replied.