Rescue Island Read Online Free Page A

runs away.
    Verve stays with me, looking back where the kitten was. "Not tame, huh," I say. Verve purrs. "Let's work on that tomorrow."
    The sun is setting as we near the house. The torches I placed earlier make the scene feel warm. Verve is following me. This is the first time for the cat to experience this place. I hope it doesn't mind coming inside with me. I'll spend the night digging, and tomorrow we'll catch fish to eat and to try to tame the kitten.  
    If we have time we'll look for sheep. I need wool to make a bed. Even though my digital body doesn't need sleep, my mind needs a break. Surviving in this world exhausts me mentally. I also need to make a plan for a more reliable food source.
    We arrive home, and I open the door. I step in and turn to invite Verve, who has no reservation at entering. I close the door, closing out the dark. We are safely home.

LOG ENTRY 5

Lost but Not Forgotten

    AFTER DIGGING IN THE MINE THROUGH THE NIGHT, I go up the ladder to my house to get a feel for the time. In the mine it's really impossible to know if it's day or night outside. It's always the same down there. I could easily lose track of time and mine for days without knowing it. I reach the top of the ladder, open the trapdoor, and walk to an east-facing window. Darkness. I'm sure it's past midnight. The sun will be coming up sometime in the next several hours.
    Pop! Verve appears. It's the strangest thing. Verve can't climb ladders. A few minutes after climbing up or down, pop, Verve will appear. It's nice to know I can't lose my companion.
    I unload my inventory into the chest. Lots of the basics: cobblestone, gravel, and dirt. Some of the harder-to-find stuff: flint, iron ore, and coal. But there are none of the really rare resources, such as diamonds and gold.
    I make a few more tools with the crafting table and debate between making a fishing rod or a bow. I have just enough string for one or the other, not both. A bow will make fighting spiders easier. I can attack from a distance and get more string. But I promised Verve that I'd tame the kitten. For that I need a fishing pole. Wild ocelots love raw fish. Tame them by feeding them raw fish. I have no idea why Verve is already tame, but I'm not complaining.
    I look at Verve who looks back with big eyes as if she knows what I'm debating. "Ok, you win. I'll make a fishing pole."
    I put the new tools in my pocket. "It's still too dark to go outside, so let's go back down that hole and find something useful."
    Verve purrs.
    Mining is a lonely pursuit, but it feels productive. I get in a groove. I'm an organized miner. I follow veins of valuable materials but also mine all the stuff in between. The large spacious caverns I open up are like underground living spaces. Torches on the walls light the space.  
    Once I stop finding valuable resources, I dig down. I go down quite a ways sometimes, find another vein of value, and open up another cavern. This seems like a logical practice to me and gives me plenty of resources for building later. I'd like to convert a bunch of this cobblestone to stone in the furnace. I'll use the stone to build Citadel Fort. I have plenty by now and—
    Ssssss!
    What was that! "Who is there?" I yell. Why did I yell that? It makes no sense to give away my location to whatever made that sound.
    Verve is gone. "Verve, where are you?" I yell. Why do I keep yelling?
    HISSS! It's Verve! BOOOOM!!!!!
    Ringing in my ears. I see red.
    Total darkness.
    Eyes open. Or are they closed? I can't see a thing. I've been lying here for some time. It's dark. The ringing in my ears is fading, but I am afraid. This moment reminds me of my first memory on Spider Sands. What happened? An explosion. And Verve? Where is Verve? "Verve! Where are you?" My only companion, Verve, is not responding.
    I'm hurt, but not dead. Verve must have saved me. Verve discovered something very dangerous and took the force of the explosion. Let me think. It's hard with the ringing in my head.