Diary Prologue

The hunt was on.
I was extremely nervous, and I had been running for at least 10 minutes. Not so much for some, but I didn’t exactly have a perfect physique.
I could still hear the pursuers. They were running a lot faster than me; it was amazing they hadn’t already caught up. I could see the approaching flames of their torches shining through the trees.
They were savages, mutants, if you will.
They occupied the island of Matainui, fierce, ugly little creatures, evolved, and bred, for an eventual kill and the hunt that preceded it.
They wore nothing but the wooden beads around their neck and a loincloth covering their genitals.
I tripped on a tree root and stumbled, costing me valuable time.
I knew I had to get to the cave.
I felt a sharp pain in my foot and looked down.
They had thrown a sharp rock at me, and it had struck the back of my leg. The blood was flowing freely, and my sock was already soaked.
I stumbled on a rock that I hadn’t seen coming, and fell.
I knew now that it was all over. The savages surrounded me, and their leader approached.
He jumped on my chest, and raised his spear for the kill.
It was only then that I awoke from the nightmare, with that last image burned in my mind.
One hot shower and a large breakfast later, I was still wondering about my dream.
I was packing my bag at the time, fearing for the trip ahead, a feeling of dread and doom forming an endless, mind-numbing pit of disaster in the bottom of my stomach.
The class had been planning the trip for weeks. It was a 2-week bush trip to the remote island of Matainui, and was the first time anyone had gone there. It was just going to be Mr Woody and all of us kids.
By now I had finished packing, and was pretty much ready to leave.
My family drove me to school, where we were taking a bus to Kawhia Harbour, where we would catch a seaplane to Matainui.
I waved goodbye and boarded the bus, just trying to enjoy myself as I suppressed my doubt and chatted away to my friends...