This Damn Dam! A Pilgrim Story

[SweetNightmare]

(Quick note, this is my take on the pilgrim level of @Stormwolf1O1's Dam Hard Challenge over in the survival mode forum. I thought it sounded like a neat idea, so I thought I'd also write up a story about it.)

She never thought she'd have to survive the Canadian wilderness alone. When her...friend? She wasn't sure what she would call him. When his plane went down, they were flung from the wreckage, and she had woken alone. Lord knew where he was, but she found the majority of the survival contents of the plane nearby. She strapped what she could use to her back and began to walk. She remembered reading somewhere that if you found yourself lost, walking in one direction was a good start. She hoped she was walking in one direction anyways.

A railroad! She finally found some sign of civilization. She wondered, should she follow it, if she would find a town of some kind, or at least maybe a railway station. She began to follow it instead. As she walked, she passed several plants; he had always told her she should learn what was edible and what was not, and now she regretted not knowing what she could eat. Deciding it was better safe than sorry, she continued on her way, sticking strictly to the tracks.

Things must be bad in this area; she passed no less than three human corpses. Part of her, the part of her slowly freezing, wanted the clothes they were wrapped in, but she balked at the idea of wearing clothing taken from a dead person. She walked on, passing two deer carcasses. She thought that she might be able to harvest some of the meat, but she worried about the game attracting nearby predators. If they were hungry enough, she might become their next meal. She continued.

The sun was setting when she finally set eyes on a huge building; a sign outside proclaimed it to be the Carter Hydro Dam. Unfamiliar with the area, she had no idea if there was civilization near by, or even if there might still be employees. But with night encroaching on her, she had little choice. Another dead deer lay tauntingly outside of the dam, but she doubted the meat would be any good by now, as it looked fairly picked over. She ducked inside.

It was dark, but not so dark she couldn't see the oil lantern on her left. She grabbed it, lighting it and taking in her surroundings. There were several rooms ripe for the looting, and she went to work, deftly rifling through drawers and shelves and desks upon desks of paperwork, looking for every spare snack the employees left behind.

It wasn't much, but it would hopefully hold her over until she could contact help. As long as she was careful about how much she ate. As long as she didn't expend too much energy. As long as she still had even a little food.

She really hoped she could contact help...