Jaxon opened his eyes before the sun had fully risen. The sky was still soft blue, with a pale light spreading above the trees. The fire had burned out in the middle of the night, just ash and a few blackened sticks left behind. The girls were still asleep. All three of them. Curled up close under the hut roofs. It was quiet.
He sat up and rubbed his face with one hand, then stood and stretched. His body ached a little from sleeping on the ground again. He didn't mind. It was something he had already gotten used to. He looked toward the ocean like he always did. The waves were calm. That slow sound of them hitting the shore had become something familiar now. He started walking.
He checked the shore out of habit. Sometimes the water brought small things. Broken sticks, smooth rocks, one time even a half-broken fishing net. He looked around slowly, his eyes moving across the sand, but didn't see anything useful this time. Just seaweed, some crushed shells, and small white stones.
After a while he opened the system shop again.
He tapped the small icon in the air. The quiet menu opened like always.
SHOP
Coins: 115
— Tarp: 10 coins
— Rope Bundle: 5 coins
— Cookware: 20 coins
— Tent Kit: 30 coins
He scrolled down once, then stopped. The tarp. He remembered something last night, about how the winds were picking up a little. Rain might come soon. The tarp could help block wind or cover something important. He bought two.
-20 coins
2 Tarp added to inventory
Jaxon closed the menu. Reached into the air and pulled both tarps out from nothing. Folded neatly. Strong fabric. He carried them under his arm and walked down toward the open beach area again. There was a spot just past the huts, closer to the trees, that had a bit of slope. He placed one tarp there, tied its ends to two nearby trees using some spare vines he had in a pile near the hut. The tarp stretched across just right. Now the spot had a shade. It might be useful if it rains, or if someone wants to rest out here without sun.
He rolled the second tarp and left it near the hut for now. He'd use it later.
Jaxon turned and started heading toward the forest. There was still time before the others woke up. His hand touched the axe he'd made earlier. He walked under the trees, eyes moving from left to right, looking for any dry wood. Something caught his eye between two thick roots. A branch. He knelt and grabbed it. Then heard a soft sound in the brush.
It was slow. Steady. Not wind.
He looked left.
There was a boar.
It was not huge, but bigger than the one he saw before. Black fur, small tusks, digging the dirt with its nose. It didn't see him yet. Jaxon crouched, slow. Reached behind him. Pulled his knife from the holder on his hip. It was just a sharpened metal scrap tied to wood, but he had used it a few times already. It was enough.
He moved quietly.
The boar heard him halfway through and started to run. He didn't panic. He ran after it. His feet hit the roots and ground without sound. The boar turned left. He followed. It tried to squeeze through a tight spot, and that's when he jumped and tackled it.
It struggled.
He wrestled with it for a few seconds and then pushed the knife in. Clean. Quick.
The boar stopped moving after a bit.
He stood over it, breathing hard. He dragged it back toward the hut slowly. The weight was heavy but not impossible. When he got near the hut, he placed it beside a small pile of stones and grabbed a wooden bowl and a sharp stick. He poured water from a big leaf onto the body. Then started cutting.
He worked in silence. The sky was getting brighter.
That's when he heard the footsteps.
He didn't look up right away, but the sound got closer. Then soft breathing. A quiet voice.
"…You always do stuff like this early?" Lina's voice.
Jaxon looked to the side. She was there, standing with her arms behind her back, tilting her head a little. Her hair was messy from sleep. Her eyes still a bit tired, but curious. She smiled.
"I wake up early," he said.
"I can see that," she said. She stepped closer and sat beside him without asking. Her shoulder leaned against his. He paused. Didn't move. She looked at the boar. "You fought this?"
He nodded once. "It was in the forest."
"…You're pretty quiet for someone who kills boars before breakfast."
He didn't answer that.
She looked at him for a second. "You always do this? Every morning?"
He nodded again. "I check the beach. Look around. Try to get something useful before heat comes."
Lina leaned in closer, resting her chin on her hand now. She was staring at his hands as he worked the knife. Her eyes followed each cut. Each movement. Then she said softly, "Let me help."
Jaxon looked at her, not saying anything at first. Then gave her the other half of the leather he had cut. "Pull gently."
She nodded and held it. The skin started peeling easier now. She wasn't fast, but she tried hard.
"This is kinda gross," she said. Then laughed. "But I don't wanna just sit around either. You're always doing stuff."
Jaxon stayed quiet again.
She helped him clean the body and separate the meat from the hide. Her hands were shaky but she didn't complain. After a few minutes, her face got a little red. Not from effort.
She looked at him again and smiled to herself.
What is this feeling? she thought. I was never like this. Why am I happy pulling skin off a dead boar next to a guy who barely talks? What's wrong with me?
She didn't say that out loud.
Jaxon looked at her face. "You okay?"
She nodded fast. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine."
He didn't say anything else. Just kept working.
From the other side of the camp, footsteps again. Iris. She stood a few steps away, arms crossed, watching them. Her eyes stopped on Lina first, then on the way her shoulder leaned on Jaxon. Then back at the boar. Then at Jaxon again.
She didn't say anything. Just stared for a moment. Then turned and walked back toward the huts.
Lina didn't notice.
But Jaxon did.
Lina stretched her arms after they finished washing the meat. The water from the big leaf bucket splashed over her hands and feet. "We should eat this later," she said. "I can try cooking. If it ends bad, at least we'll know how not to do it."
Jaxon nodded. He picked up the cleaned hide and hung it on a line between two trees so it could dry. The wind was calm. The sun was rising slowly.
Lina sat on a rock nearby and watched him. She didn't say much for a minute. Just looked at how he tied the rope and hung the hide with little wooden clips. Her lips pressed together like she was thinking hard.
"You don't talk much," she finally said.
Jaxon glanced at her. "I don't have much to say."
"That's what people say when they have too much to say," she grinned. "You're kinda mysterious, you know?"
He didn't answer.
Lina smiled and leaned back, letting the morning sun hit her face. "I used to read books about people like you. Quiet, serious types. Always the ones who save the day. But you know what?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"They always end up with someone loud," she said, tapping her chest. "Balance."
He kept looking at her for a second. Then walked over to the tarp he had placed earlier and sat under it.
She followed.
They sat side by side under the shade, quiet for a little while. The ocean wind moved softly. Seagulls passed overhead. The three other girls were still in their huts. Probably still asleep. Jaxon looked at the sky. Then at his hand.
He opened the shop again. Just checking.
Coins: 125
— Cookware
— Plant Seeds
— Simple Blueprints
He didn't buy anything yet.
"You're doing that invisible screen thing again," Lina said. She was leaning on one elbow, looking at his face. "I don't know how you do it. It's like you're touching air. It's weird."
He didn't say anything.
"I know you've got secrets," she said. "But I'll figure them out. One by one."
"You talk a lot," he said.
She smiled wide. "Thank you. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
He looked away, a small breath escaping his nose. Almost like a quiet laugh.
She sat up straight again. "I'm serious, though. You're strong, you're smart, you're quiet... and I feel like you already know something. About this island."
Jaxon's eyes flicked toward the trees. "I don't know. But something feels off."
"Right?" Lina said quickly. "The fruits don't match what I know. The birds don't look familiar. Even the stars... I looked up at night. I didn't recognize the constellations."
Jaxon nodded slowly. "Like this place doesn't exist on maps."
"Like we're not even in the same world," she whispered.
Jaxon didn't answer.
She looked at him again. "Do you think we're dead?"
"No," he said fast. "We're alive."
"But… this doesn't feel like home."
He was quiet again. Then said, "Maybe it's just a place no one found before."
She leaned on his shoulder again, softer this time. "Maybe. But it's weird. And I feel like you're the only one who's not surprised by any of it."
He didn't move. Just let her stay there.
A moment passed.
Then they heard footsteps again. This time, it was Kayla and the shy girl walking together. They waved a little when they saw them. Iris followed behind, arms still crossed.
"We were gonna clean near the hut," Kayla said. "Hope we're not interrupting something."
Lina sat up and waved. "Nope. Just talking."
Kayla glanced at Jaxon, then at the half-dried meat and hide. "You hunted already?"
"Yeah," he said.
Kayla walked away toward the other side of the camp. The shy girl followed.
Iris didn't say anything. She stopped a few steps from Jaxon and looked at him.
Then looked at Lina.
Then back at him again.
"You're always up first," she said quietly.
Jaxon nodded.
Iris looked down at her hands, then said, "Next time, maybe wake someone else. You don't have to do everything alone."
Then she walked away.
Lina watched her go. "She's still jealous, huh?"
Jaxon didn't answer.
Lina grinned. "Can't blame her."
He stood up and dusted off his pants. "I'm going to check something."
"Need help?"
"No."
Lina smiled, still sitting under the tarp. "You'll ask me one day."
He walked toward his hut and stepped inside. The inside was simple. Two small containers. A rolled mat. The wooden floor was solid, made better with the scraps and support beams. He knelt beside one of the corners and opened a small carved box.
Inside were a few saved items.
One of them was the worn book.
He picked it up.
The pages were dry now. Some stuck together a little, but most were readable. He turned the first few slowly, reading the notes again. Simple drawings. Descriptions. Building types. Tools. Fire methods. It was like a survival guide someone wrote by hand.
He turned to a page he hadn't checked in a while.
Advanced Cooking
– Root stew
– Boiled fruit mix
– Dried meat salt pack
He traced the sketch with his finger. Then closed the book.
As he stepped back outside, the sun was already high above the trees.
He looked at the forest edge.
Then at the sea.
Then at the camp where the others were laughing near the huts.
His eyes went quiet again.