The Primal Man

A sense of panic had seized me. I instinctively ran upon hearing the shrill voice call out to me. When it came to fight, flight, or freeze, I would choose fight. However, my enemy this time was nowhere to be seen, so what to do but flee?

I rushed through the forest. The mist had suddenly cleared, and because it was still noon, the trees around me were well-lit. I could see the heaps of dead leaves, the gatherings of fungi, and the corpses of fallen trees and branches. Everywhere I looked, I sensed gazes on me. Despite that, I continued running forward. I was already getting used to walking this direction, so it required less courage to continue onwards than to turn a left or right. My breathing was wild. I was gasping for air like a dehydrated man would gulp down a cool glass of fresh spring water. Apart from my gasping and the wind in my ears, I heard the constant snapping of twigs and shrubbery under my panicked escape.

Before long, the adrenaline started to wear off. My running slowed down as I started to look around and behind me for any potential danger. That shrieking, shrill voice had incited such a primal fear within me, I felt ashamed and yet proud for immediately darting off. Ashamed because I did so out of impulse, not reason. Proud because I had taken swift action and not frozen up.

On a mountain hike, just like with most outdoor activities, one had to act on reason and with speed. You had to take notice of your surroundings and tread carefully on the path. If you slipped, you had to shift your balance, not based on instinct, but on reason. If you did so out of impulse, you would risk losing balance all together. But you had to act with speed as well, lest you be too late and fall down a cliff. I was awake now. I would act on reason rather than impulse from now.

Amid my self-reflection, I heard a familiar, comforting sound. The sound of birds chirping. It calmed my nerves, and I composed myself. I felt safe now that I knew I was in the presence of non-threatening beings. My body collapsed under my exhaustion, and I seized the opportunity to take a breather, reclining against a tree. While doing so, I pondered. Is the shaman disposing of me? Had I failed his test perhaps?

Maybe it wasn’t so deep. It could be that he had not paid attention to me because of his tiredness. He even entered the misty forest without saying a word. I would wager that the shaman has been on full autopilot ever since we left his lair. Surely, he would come to rescue his nephew, even if it was possessed by another…

“Frasmul,” a soft voice whispered directly in my right ear. I turned around at the speed of lightning only to be met with nothing. I stood up and checked behind the tree I was leaning on—zilch.

“Oi…! Ooooi…!” I heard a voice roar in the distance from behind me. This time, the voice was deep and low, like a man’s. It did not sound like the shaman. It was terrified me, but I remained calm. I was lost. I did not know where I was. I did not know what to do. However, I was calm. I thought about it and decided that this must surely be another test from the shaman. After testing me intellectually, he wanted to test me physically. That was my rationale. My cope. It’ll be fine.

Yes. Yeah! I feel confident in my chances of survival! I mean, how many times have I gotten lost while mountain hiking in my previous life? Well, only once, and it was together with Maxim, but it was experience, nonetheless. So I’m gonna be fine.

I had already completed the first step of survival, remaining calm, and so it was time to move to the next step. I need a sense of direction. Looking at the canopy, I realized that one side was brighter than the other. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. With it being afternoon, and thus with the sun setting, it meant that having my right shoulder facing the sun, I would myself be facing south. Turn around, and I faced north. Alright.

With my internal compass set, I turned towards identifying a slope. This entire terrain was a highland of sorts, and this forest was thus situated on a hill. If I could figure out the slope, I could walk downhill and perhaps find a stream. A stream could lead to open ground, and I would count that as an escape. I could feel a slight decline towards the south-west and so began my journey out of this place.

The final mandatory part was to mark my path. At the end of the day, my sense of direction could shift, just as the slope can suddenly turn uphill again. By marking the territory around me, I could confirm whether I had passed a place already or not. This forest did not have a lot of rocks, so I could not use small stone towers as markers. It would take too long anyway; the sun was quickly setting. If only I had woken up earlier from my nighttime slumber… No point crying over spilt milk.

I looked at my sharp nails and decided to try my hand (literally) at marking the trees around me. Marking a nearby tree with the “cool S” that every kid grew up knowing, I made my way down the hill. I chose for the “cool S” for two specific reasons:

1. It was cool

2. No one in this fantasy world would know of this symbol (probably), so I would know that the marker is mine and not some else’s

I felt confident in my chances of survival when this forest escape started to feel like a forest excursion the further along I went. The trees consisted of dark wood, which looked spectacular in the sunlight that occasionally broke through the light green canopy. Combined with the reddish brown leaves on the orange-tinted ground, a beautiful contrast was laid out in front of me. I processed and took in the scenery on my way to freedom, while keeping my guard up, of course.

Ah. This really reminds me of that one time…

Me and Maxim had gotten lost once in the Pyrenees when we were seventeen. Three years ago. Back then, we used our shared knowledge from hunting and a hiking guidebook. Maxim used to hunt with his father, so he was apt at tracking animals and staying in the shadows, avoiding sunlight. I had browsed through the hiking manual and saw a concrete, simple-to-follow point for when you’re lost: try to find a stream. With Maxim navigating the terrain, we eventually stumbled upon a stream. Following it downhill, we ended up in a village, and we were swiftly and safely back at the cabin. Since then, we made sure to be on our guards and to study the manual in case we got lost again. Plenty of other people got lost during our hikes, and so the lessons they brought and the lessons in the manual were reinforced in my mind. That studying had certainly paid off now.

“I guess it’s my first time actually using the step-by-step plan from the manual.” I absentmindedly muttered to myself. When I did so, the birds stopped chirping and it was silent once more. I felt the constant gazes pierce me harder than before. As my heart started to skip beats at my increased paranoia, I turned my walk into a jog. Not good. I must remain calm.

“Yoohoooo…” I heard the shrill voice call out again. Closer this time.