Writetober Day 27 (Spark)

Day 27

Spark

“Come on…come on…”  Marcus clenched the rusted blade in his hands as he hacked at the small chunk of flint.

It had been three days since the man became lost from his group.  It was supposed to be a fun excursion, a day away from the resort.

“Shit.”  The man grimaced as his prayer for a spark went unanswered.

Tears filled his eyes as he thought of how he got himself into the situation of survival.  The trip had started like any other resort organized excursion.  Marcus’s friends had filed into an old bus after having a few drinks and enjoyed the ride out to a distant tourist site. 

Lightning cracked in the distance as a sprinkling of rain began falling on him.  “Please, before the rain.”  Marcus willed any form of light as he feverishly struck at the flint.

He was lucky, after he got separated from the main group, he stumbled upon an old, torn pack in the dense jungle.  There was a canteen filled with what he assumed used to be water, the rusty knife and the thoroughly abused piece of flint. But, that was where his luck had ended, he had been wet, starving and thirsty for three days.

“Let’s go.”  Marcus pumped himself up as tried for a spark once more.  “Anything, anything small.”  The rain began to fall with more weight as he huddled around a small mound of dry wood that he found early.  Well, it was as dry as he could find.

Fingers of sparks leapt from the flint and scattered on the earth, none of them held onto the dehydrated wood that began to taste the water that fell from the sky.

“Please.”  Marcus’s tired arm ripped the jagged blade across the flint once more.  His eyes widened as the smallest spark danced on the very edge of one of the pieces of wood.  “Okay!  Okay!”  Marcus gently protected the infant flame with his hands as he blew the softest breath possible.

As the flame grew and climbed deeper into the bundle of wood, Marcus’s heart roared to life as a small spark of hope shimmered within him.  “I can make this another day.”  He removed the last bit of his protein bar from his pack as he happily ate before the fire that warmed his core.

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