The Hunter Version 1

chuckled and turned onto his side.
“I'll worry if I want to.” Ben snapped.
“Sure, sure. I'll leave something there tomorrow, I guess. At least we can let them know we mean no harm. Seriously, don't worry.” Toby insisted.
Ben did not reply. Instead he began to pace before deciding to get some extra sleep now that hunger was not gnawing at him as much. He curled up on his side of the tent, distantly remembering how Toby had mentioned seeing the creature over on that side. After a moment's thought, he buried himself as best he could in leaves and closed his eyes. He felt a little better by doing that, but not by much. Sleep evaded him for a time but then dragged him into darkness.

Again, Ben woke to the smell of freshly cooked meat, but this time it was not fish. He woke up slowly, unwilling to open his eyes, but as his mind began to clear away sleep he began to hunt out the smell. Opening his eyes, Ben found a large chunk of meat sitting on top of a large rock near his head. He instinctively reached out for it and pulled it over, taking a bite. He just about cried at the taste: it was beyond good. It had been cooked to near perfection and had been nicely spiced with the same herbs Toby had used in his fish stew the previous afternoon. He sat up to take another bite and found Toby asleep beside him. Ben reached down and shook him awake to thank him.
“Oh, that smells good.” Toby mumbled, sitting up.
With his mouth full, Ben did not reply immediately, but tore several large chunks off and handed it over to Toby, who gnawed at it hungrily. They ate in silence and slowly, enjoying the feeling of more food in their stomachs and the taste. Toby finished first, although Ben had given the boy more than half.
“Where'd you get it?” Toby asked, making Ben pause.
“I just found it, on this rock. I thought you had made it or something.” Ben frowned, finding himself having difficulty swallowing.
“Oh. Well... Looks like we have a friend. I'm going back to sleep.” Toby mumbled and curled back up.
There was still a bit of meat left in his hands, but Ben waited a few moments, counting the seconds, to see if there were an ill effects. He assumed if they had been poisoned it would effect them both immediately, but nothing happened, so he finished eating. It tasted like some sort of waterbird, maybe one of the seagulls or a duck. Ben shook leaves off of himself and crawled out of the tent to examine the area surrounding the camp. Other than the rock that had been placed by his head as he slept, there was nothing out of place. Forcing down the feeling of unease he felt, Ben gathered up some sticks and twigs to start the fire once more.
By the time Toby woke up again a bit later, Ben had gathered up enough larger branches for the fire to keep the chill of the morning away and was dozing. Toby joined him by the fire and sat with his knees pulled up to his chest. Ben shook himself and stretched, bringing his eyes up to the sky. He thought about the creature he had seen the day before and decided to think of it as human. While the animals on the island were strange in his mind-despite his blurred memories-he simply could not see there being something unnatural on the island with them. Perhaps the human was from a native tribe or had been raised by animals. Whatever it was, Ben thought it best to keep clear until they knew its intentions.
“Show me that fish trap you saw, Ben.” Toby suddenly demanded.
“As long as the tide is low, I guess.” Ben replied, dropping his eyes.
“Should be. Might be.” Toby mumbled and got to his feet.
Ben followed suit, taking a moment to extinguish the fire and followed Toby toward the beach, yawning.
“What did you do with the extra fish?” He called to Toby, who walked ahead of him.