Deathwatch

As he finds himself in full sun, Ben moves to the end of another ledge and hears Madec shoot at him again. He sustains a shot to his arm, and he shields himself behind a slab. The pain of the gunshot wound is almost imperceptible among his other aches and pains. He hears Madec moving the Jeep to get a better view. Ben gathers his sotol leaves and slingshot before running off the ledge to reach a stone funnel, gaining more injuries along the way. Exhausted, he works his way into a tunnel and crawls through, finding a water source at the end.

Ben drinks as much water as he can and falls asleep. When he wakes, he feels better but hungry. He decides to use the slingshot he took from the old man’s camp to hunt for food. Upon examination, he sees that this slingshot is “the best slingshot he had ever seen” (110). He figures out how the slingshot works, practices his aim first with pebbles and then with buckshot, and uses it to kill five birds. He is so hungry he eats the birds raw, even though he is repulsed by them.