Free Robinson Crusoe 2245: (Book 2) by E.J. Robinson

it in the strangest places. Once, he slept in the belly of a rusted fuel tanker. Another time, in a metal smokehouse that still smelled of old meats. More often he tied a bivy sac between trees and slept thirty feet off the ground.
    His favorite evenings were when he found some home still standing and he was able to build a fire in its hearth and imagine himself back in New London, playing Over the Wall, Under the Wall with Tannis while his parents chatted over mundane things. Vareen would pop in with sugarcakes, and the kids would fight for the biggest one.
    Through it all, Robinson stayed close to the river, his ears attuned to the sounds of ships. Each day he imagined rounding a bend and seeing those familiar black sails and its red sigil and the giant at the forecastle would look out, unaware his death was not coming in the shape of an army, but one former boy willing to do anything for his love.
     
    It was the sixth day after the rain had ceased, and Robinson had just finished crossing a steep mountain. That morning, he found a grouse’s nest on a high branch with six small eggs inside. He carefully put them into his pack for later, but when it was safe enough to raise a fire.
    The woods along the river had grown thick, but all at once they became oddly quiet. He looked for animal tracks, but found none. A niggling feeling began to peck at him from the back of his mind. It made him wary, but he chalked it up to being on the road alone again.
    It was getting late. Robinson needed shelter, but he wanted to keep moving while there was light.
    The river’s pace had slowed over the last day, but sediment raised by the rain still left it thick as soup.
    As the sun dwindled, he walked along the waterline, scanning for areas fish might hole up. He’d fashioned a spear from a slender piece of bamboo. But just when he saw a flash of scales glinting in the current, he looked up and froze.
    A group of wooden boats lay on the shore of a small island. These were not relics, but something recently crafted. Splayed across their sides were drawings of some kind of animal, but Robinson couldn’t make out what kind. What he did see sent a chill up his spine. Smoke was rising from a fire a few feet up the beach.
    Robinson quickly scanned up and down both banks and into the forest. He saw no movement, but the fire meant someone was close. If they’d seen his approach he was at a huge disadvantage.
    Robinson’s hands fell to his axes, but he didn’t pull them. Instead, he stepped back from the water’s edge toward the tree line. Part of him wanted to sprint into the forest, but his eyes kept returning to those boats. One of them could cut his journey to the flayer capital in half.
    While ruminating his next move, a breeze blew in, carrying an odor Robinson hadn’t smelled in some time. It instantly set his nerves on fire. Something moved in the brush behind him, and before he could react, three Renders burst from the forest.
    The first Render launched himself off some rocks, forcing Robinson to roll underneath his attack and swing his axe at his hindquarters. His second blade caught the creature across the ankle, and he heard a snap. As the beast howled on the ground, Robinson spun to find two smaller, faster Renders surrounding him and driving him back toward a thick cluster of trees at the waterline.
    On instinct, Robinson dove behind the trees, giving the creatures the narrowest outlet to reach him. The smallest beast circled around his flank, but the largest one stormed straight ahead, snapping branches with his massive arms.
    When the smaller Render came around to face Robinson, he whirled his axes in a vertical rotation. The creature lost its footing, and Robinson sunk a blade into its flesh.
    The middle-sized Render roared as its companion fell, but it was the larger Render that drew Robinson’s focus. It had broken through the knot of dead branches, forcing Robinson’s back to the river.
    With no other options, Robinson