A Bridge and a Beast
He connected the long-cut pieces of bamboo together, then reinforced them by attaching shorter pieces horizontally underneath, before securing the structure between the branches.
"And with that, the bridge is complete."
Three bridges of varying lengths now connected their home and the workshop. Having finished the final one, Chester cautiously took a few steps onto it.
"Not bad..."
He looked to his left, right, and then straight down, taking in the dizzying drop to the forest floor below, completely devoid of any handrails.
"Just in case, I should set up some safety measures. Monia! How much bamboo do we have left?"
"Uh... we have two long pieces left!"
"Let me see them."
Monia, who had been watching him with bated breath, terrified he might fall, quickly brought the bamboo over to show him.
"That should be enough."
"Wait...! Walk slowly! Keep your center of gravity low! Why are you striding around so carelessly?!"
Chester was perfectly calm as he walked, but Monia, watching him, was the one panicking and shouting.
Taking the bamboo, Chester measured the length against the three bridges and cut the stalks to about waist height.
He lashed the cut bamboo to the sides of the bridges to serve as posts. After erecting these posts on both sides, he set up additional ones at the transition points between the bridges. Finally, he took some tightly braided rope and strung it between the posts to fashion a rudimentary handrail.
"There."
"Excuse me, but what exactly is that supposed to be?"
"A handrail."
"It looks like I'd slip right through the side..."
"Just hold onto the rope and walk carefully. It's not like the bridge is narrow."
With the workshop finished, Chester and Monia began moving the items that had been cluttering their living space.
Once the clutter was cleared and their home finally had some breathing room, Monia happily dove onto her moss bed and rolled around.
"This is wonderful! The house feels so spacious now!"
"Indeed. We'll be able to sleep comfortably tonight. Now that we have more space, the air seems to circulate better, too."
Thanks to that, the temperature inside the shelter felt a bit cooler. After spending the entire day completing the workshop, Chester and Monia sat by the crackling campfire inside their home, winding down.
"Alright, let's talk about what we need to do tomorrow."
"What do you mean?"
"If it gets any hotter than this, we might run into serious trouble. Like heatstroke."
"..."
"So, if possible, I want to conserve our energy and avoid moving around too much."
"Ah, is that why you've been rationing our meals and stockpiling preserved food?"
"Yeah. I wanted to minimize our trips outside during the peak heat. But we can't stay cooped up forever."
Humans need water to survive, after all.
"Which is why, starting tomorrow, we're building an aqueduct."
"...What?"
"Hmm? Did I say something strange?"
"No, no, no. I mean, yes! An aqueduct? Seriously?"
"An aqueduct is an aqueduct."
"I know what it is! But an aqueduct?! How on earth are we going to build one?"
"With bamboo."
"Is bamboo some kind of miracle material to you?!"
"Bamboo is a miracle material."
Chester had been planning this ever since they first discovered the waterfall. Since they had plenty of bamboo, if he could just hollow out the inner nodes, they could easily channel water directly to their shelter using the natural gravity of the falls.
"Now, let's figure out the design."
"So we're really doing this."
"We're doing this."
Chester fetched a large leaf and scratched a rough diagram onto it with his stone knife, marking the height of the waterfall they always visited. Then, he marked the elevation of their shelter and estimated the distance between the two points.
The time it takes me to walk from the shelter to the river alone... considering my stride when walking through the forest...
After calculating the distance, he pictured the height of the bamboo growing nearby. It would be ideal to simply use long, uncut stalks and connect them end-to-end, but that wasn't practical. To hollow out the inner nodes, he would have to cut the bamboo into manageable lengths, process them, and then piece them back together.
He needed to calculate how many stalks of bamboo would be required, and whether he could design a mechanism to control the water flow—allowing it to run only when needed.
If I can adjust the angle of the aqueduct, it might work...
If they could hoist the entire channel upward when not in use, and lower it only when they needed water...
Could I use ropes? That would require a lot of rope.
Simple designs were always best. Simple meant sturdy. Chester leaned out the window to inspect the branches above their shelter.
Up there...
Then he looked down, checking the lower branches where they had anchored the bridges.
And down here...
As he observed the layout, the blueprint formed in his mind. Construction wouldn't be too difficult. It would require a significant amount of labor, but since they had stockpiled preserved food, it would take a day or two at most—maybe a few days if they ran into unexpected complications.
The real issue was the materials.
Building it is the easy part. The problem is waterproofing. If all the water leaks through the joints where the bamboo connects, the whole thing is pointless...
Having identified the necessary materials, Chester turned to Monia.
"Tomorrow, we're going to look for a specific tree."
"What? There are trees everywhere."
"A special kind of tree. We'll have to put hunting on hold for a bit... and we might need to explore the island for a while."
"Pardon?"
"We're crossing the river."
As the island's temperature climbed, Chester and Monia weren't the only ones changing their behavior.
Just as the two humans prepared to endure the heat, several animals began digging deep burrows, retreating into the cool earth to escape the sweltering sun.
Conversely, as the heat-sensitive creatures gradually vanished from sight, other animals began to emerge in force, as if taking their shift.
The first noticeable change was the sudden explosion of the insect population.
"Burning damp wood to create smoke will help keep the bugs away."
The island had always been buggy, but lately, Chester and Monia had noticed a distinct increase in their numbers.
Naturally, predators that fed on these insects began to show themselves as well.
"We caught a bird."
For instance, one of Chester's ground-fishing lines had managed to snag a bird that had flown down from somewhere.
"You can catch birds with those?"
"Probably a species that swoops low to eat ground insects."
"Mmm... It seems a bit pitiful to eat it."
"Should I singe the feathers off over the fire? I'll take the head off first."
"Aaaah!"
"Let's eat breakfast quickly and head across the river to investigate."
Additionally, mammals grew noticeably scarce, while amphibians and reptiles began appearing with greater frequency.
"...Is that a lizard?"
"Is... isn't that a dragon?"
They hadn't walked far after crossing the river when Chester spotted a strange creature and muttered under his breath. Monia, trembling beside him, asked her question in a hushed, terrified whisper.
At her mention of a dragon, Chester nodded slowly.
"It certainly looks like one."
According to legend, dragons were massive, winged reptiles covered in armor-like scales. The creature before them—likely a species of lizard that had adapted to this island—possessed a hide that looked exactly like plated armor. It sounded bizarre, but there was no other way to describe it.
Its torso was about as thick as two of Chester's forearms, and its length seemed roughly equal to his height. Its glaring, bright yellow eyes were terrifying, and it possessed a freakishly elongated snout, far longer than any ordinary lizard's.
"How on earth does a creature like that even come to exist?"
"A demon! It must be the work of a demon!"
Unlike Chester, who calmly analyzed the mysterious creature—an alligator—as merely an oversized lizard, Monia was paralyzed with fear, convinced it was a hellish abomination.
"This island is cursed by demons!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Otherwise, how could things like snakes and that monster even exist?!"
"Is it really that shocking...?"
Chester looked back at the alligator.
"But don't you think it falls a bit short of being a dragon?"
"Of course a real dragon would look different from the drawings based on rumors!"
"It doesn't even have wings."
"It must be hiding them somewhere!"
"...No, it's definitely not a dragon. Besides, the idea of a massive beast flying through the sky is absurd anyway."
"Then what is it?"
"Well... just another animal living on this island."
Just another animal. Having previously panicked over a snake, thinking it was a demon, only to realize it was just a creature of nature, Monia couldn't bring herself to argue.
As Monia fell silent, Chester focused his attention back on the alligator.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"So... are you going to hunt that thing?"
"...How would I even do that?"
At his realistic response, Monia stared at the alligator. She had no idea what kind of beast it was, but it was undeniably powerful.
"I can't believe we ran into a monster like that just by crossing the river."
"Ugh. Can't we just go back home?"
"But we need to find resin. I have to build that aqueduct."
"What is it with you and this stupid aqueduct?"
As Chester crouched low and began to back away, Monia quickly followed his lead, retreating with him.
"Let's put some distance between us first."
"Yes. That sounds like an excellent plan."
The two of them took a wide detour, steering well clear of the alligator.
"I never imagined a creature like that actually existed in this world."
"Ugh, it gives me goosebumps. Those yellow eyes..."
"Yeah, those eyes were definitely creepy."
As he spoke, Chester mentally analyzed the alligator's anatomy.
Based on its structure, it probably has a blind spot directly behind its head...
If he ever had to hunt it, targeting the back of its head would be his best bet.
Though it's best if we never have to hunt something like that at all.
The image of the alligator—a creature he had never seen before in his life—lingered in Chester's mind for a long time.
The appearance of this unfamiliar predator felt like a warning from the island itself, which was rapidly transforming alongside the rising heat.