56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrKPoBbrkbHours later MAINHALL CAMP-
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Snow whips across the clearing as Metro and Gregory emerge from the treeline, horses trudging through the drifts. Sally carries a massive bull elk, antlers strapped across her flanks like a crown.
Crook hauls a full-grown cow elk over his hindquarters, legs tied neatly.
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The sight alone is enough to make the starving camp erupt.
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Despite their exhaustion, the whole group rushes out, stumbling, cheering, half‑crying. Even the weakest men and women find a spark of energy they didn’t know they had left.
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Paul acts first — carrying an entire cow elk across his shoulders like it weighs nothing more than a sack of flour. Steam rises from the fresh kill, drifting around him in ghostly ribbons as he trudges toward the kitchen tents. His boots sink deep into the frost, each step heavy, deliberate, powerful.
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Behind him, Metro, Blake, and Gregory haul the massive bull elk between them, antlers swaying with each uneven step. The men grunt, boots slipping slightly on the icy ground, but they keep pace, dragging the beast toward the butchering station.
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The camp stirs at the sight — heads poking out of tents, murmurs rising, a few cheers echoing across the clearing. Paul doesn't acknowledge any of it. He marches straight to the stone cooking slab outside the kitchen, dropping the cow elk with a hard, loud thud, and rolls his shoulders once before getting to work.
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—PAULs IN HIS ELEMENT
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He grabs his knife — the big one — and in a single motion sawing through the belly, tossing skin aside like a curtain flap. Then he moves with a speed that doesn't match his size at all.
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Fast.
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Efficient.
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Almost competitive.
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He portions the meat with practiced precision, slicing through hide and muscle like he was racing an invisible clock.
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Chunks of steaming elk lands on the stone table, the long wooden prep bench, and the cold‑storage basins outside.
Lilly hurries over, apron already on, hair tied back.
Paul doesn't look up. He just keeps cutting — thick steaks, ribs, roasts, strips for stew —laying each piece neatly on the hanging racks where the cold air blows, preserving them. His breath fogs in front of him. His arms glistened with heat. His knife flashes like a silver streak.
By the time Metro, Blake, and Gregory finished unloading the bull elk, Paul is already halfway done with the cow.
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When the last cut is placed on the racks, Paul wipes his blade on a cloth with snow, grabs the elk hide, rolling it, and slings the heavy fur coat over his shoulder. He carries it to his tool lean too hanging it on a wooden beam to dry — the pelt drips slowly onto the packed earth floor. He steps back, hands on his hips, chest rising and falling.
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PAUL(gruff, satisfied)
“That’ll do.”
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—LILLYS IN HER ELEMENT
Paul walks inside, the kitchen fills with the rich scent of fresh game and the quiet rhythm of a camp preparing for a feast.
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MAINHALL TENT—(an hour later)
Inside, the men sit slumped around the furnace.
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Paul is sprawled out like a corpse after separating the cuts and handing the skins to Sam to stabilize.
Cornelius is pale, sweating, hand on his forehead. Blake is upright again, revived by the smell of cooking meat.
Archeus sits cross‑legged, perfectly composed.
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Archeus:
“I knew you’d accomplish the mission, young Metro. I daresay there’s nothing Sir Gregory and thyself cannot do?”
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Metro holds the bead curtain aside so Gregory can enter.
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Metro:
“Thanks to your compass… and long‑suffering faith and prayers from everyone… I think we’ve got enough food for a few weeks.
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Archeus:
“Yes indeed.”
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Paul:
“I call the thighs…”
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Metro:
“I’m so hungry I’ll eat the head.”
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Blake:
“I hear you, bro.”
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Cornelius lifts his head, face burning red.
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Cornelius:
“Did someone say… food?”
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Cornelius coughs nastily.
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Ana slips through the beads and immediately kneels beside him. She cups his face, applies ointment to his temples, giggling softly.
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Metro’s eyebrows lift. He tries not to watch whatever is happening there.
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Cornelius, somehow, still manages to look confident and charming despite being half-dead. Metro assumes it’s survival instinct and turns back to the boys.
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Blake:
“I can smell the elk cooking.”
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Kathryn:(From outside)
“Blake! Metro! Guys—come out here!”
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They step outside and see Sam attaching the elk antlers above the main hall entrance, right over the bead curtain.
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Gregory:(looks up)
“Cool.”
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A few members of the camp admire the work. Rose walks up to Metro and hugs him tight.
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Metro:
“How’s the food doing?”
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Rose:(shakes her head grinning, eyes wide.)
“Perfect. Great. Mom’s ecstatic. Everyone’s morale has risen, and the livelyness is back.”
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She holds his face with a confidence that melts him. She smiles, then turns back inside to help cook.
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Blake:
“I bet they’ve already had some meat.
I should go investigate.”
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Blake takes off towards the smell of meat cooking, Metro smiles warmly at that—almost tearful.
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He heads back into the warmth of the main hall.
Ana laughs dramatically as Cornelius wheezes.
Metro pauses and considers leaving at their bonding… but doesn’t.
He sits beside Paul’s collapsed body and rubs his back.
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Paul:
“Who is that??”
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Metro:
“Your worst nightmare.”
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(beat)
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Paul:
“…oh.”
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Ana rushes over next to Paul now, sliding past Metro with a sway of her hips.
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Ana:
“Here, Paul—quickly, drink this.”
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She pops a clear vial and tips it into his mouth.
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Paul coughs, then exhales like a man reborn.
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Paul:
“It’s about damn time!!”
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Ana:(presses finger to lips)
“—Shhh!”
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Paul grins.
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Metro:(grinning)
“All we need now is some elk stew…”
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Cornelius stomach groans dramatically.
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Cornelius:
“Goodness gracious…”
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and then Add to home screen.