Trapped Between the Bear and the Lion

Описание: I sit on a high ridge in the Cascades, watching the sun set over a vast expanse of salt water that swallowed the world I once protected as a park ranger. It has been exactly one year since the tsunamis hit, and my survival is a daily calculation of gear and calories, from the weathered kayak I portage through dense brush to the monocrystalline solar battery bank that keeps my Kindle library alive. I’ve learned to navigate the "Drowned Forest," where skeletal grey trunks stand in the tide like tombstone pillars, marking the remains of the world below. I avoid the large, predatory land-based camps because I know exactly where they are and what they are capable of, preferring the silence of my concealed ridge camp and the rare, honest company of other survivors. On my trek to an inland lake, I met Julian and Clara, a hiking couple I shared my trout with before gifting them hooks and the survival secrets they needed to stay clear of the scouts from the bigger camps. Later, I encountered the Vance family—Garrett, Nora, and their three kids—sharing the locations of hidden springs since you can’t drink a single drop of water in these mountains without boiling it first.
Life here is a constant game of shadows and narrow escapes, like the time I was stalked by a mountain lion only to stumble into the path of a mother black bear. I watched from the brush as she turned her aggression toward the cat to protect her cubs, giving me the precious seconds I needed to vanish back into the trees. My pack is light, filled only with salvaged waterproof gear and compact tools I found in a submerged research station or abandoned vehicles perched on the edge of new cliffs. Every night, the isolation feels heavy, but I refuse to let it break me, spending my hours reading survival guides and recipes on my Kindle to keep my mind sharp. I know the mainlanders from the high interior are out there somewhere, and I spend my clear nights on the highest peaks, using the emergency lights on my battery pack to signal into the void. One night, I saw a rhythmic blink answer back from the horizon, sparking a hope that felt like a physical weight in my chest. I keep my gear in peak condition and my kayak ready, waiting for the day the world finally comes looking for me on this new, jagged coastline.