Hatchet #6

Hatchet

Chapter 6

Thursday February 2, 2012

Brian recalls the time he spent playing in the city park with his best friend Terry, who he suddenly wishes were with him. He remembers the days when they had pretended to get lost in the woods, and wishes that his situation was just a game. They had built a lean-to for a shelter, which inspired Brian to seek out an ideal location to set up camp. Finding a perfect overhang and gathering the materials to enclose the lean-to, Brian realizes that his lack of effort is due to his increasing hunger. He decides he must seek out food but hesitates to decide what is more important at his point in time-- food or camp. Brian gets so caught up in his decision that he spaces out, and starts dwelling on his parents' divorce. He decides he will tell his father "The Secret" as soon as he returns home, but still hasn’t answered the bigger question on when he will go hunting for food. Luckily, Brian ends up stumbling upon some unfamiliar bright red berries to eat, which turn out to taste very bitter. However, left with little choice, Brian eats the berries until his hunger is subsided. Since Brian has no matches, he must think hard about how to start a fire, and decides to improve his shelter by interweaving sticks into the walls. Although he feels sick from eating too many berries, Brain falls asleep before the pain worsens.