Chapter 7
Awakened in the middle of the night from a dream about his mother, Brian becomes violently ill from the many berries he has eaten the previous day. He has a flashback in which the image of his mother kissing the man with the short blond hair recurs to him with horrible clarity. Falling back asleep, Brian awakes in the morning, walks down to the lake, and he sees his reflection in the water. Finding his injuries and worn face repulsive, he gives in to his tears and cries in self-pity. His stomach was aching with hunger, and he ate more of the bitter red berries, this time making certain to avoid eating too many. In search of other food he comes upon a raspberry patch, where he spots a bear and stiffens with fear, but soon realizes that the bear does not intend to harm him. Picking many raspberries, he eats some and saves many more for later. With the bear in mind, he keeps his hatchet close by his side and falls asleep.
Chapter 8
In the middle of the night a noise awakens Brian and he senses something in his shelter. He throws his hatchet across the shelter and an acute pain spreads through his entire leg. A porcupine has attacked him with hundreds of painful quills. After pulling all the quills out one by one, Brian cries in misery and loses his will to survive. When he can cry no more, it dawns on him that crying and self-pity accomplish nothing. He considers this realization the most important lesson he learns about survival. Dozing off once more, Brian has a dream in which his father and his friend Terry appear. Mouthing inaudible words, his father strives to tell Brian something important, cannot convey the message. He then disappears and Terry takes his place. While barbecuing in the park, he lights a charcoal fire and looks at Brian. Brian cannot make sense of these dreams nor understand their purpose. In the morning, while Brian stretches, the sun hits the hatchet and it shines like fire. Only then does Brian make the connection between his dreams and reality; Terry and his father were trying to explain to Brian how to make a fire. Striking the hatchet against a stone and watching the sparks fly, Brian determines that he will find a way to use the hatchet to make fire.
Chapter 9
Producing fire from sparks presents a much greater challenge than Brian had anticipated, requiring him to make several modifications before he succeeds. He finds some birch bark to ignite the sparks, but needs a finer and more effective type of material. The fire is still dying after many efforts, and Brian becomes frustrated but perseveres. He thinks back to his science classes, and Brian remembers that fire also needs oxygen to thrive. He blows on it, and, after adjusting the strength of his blows, the sparks burst into a flame. Feeding the fire with more kindling and reveling in his accomplishment, he considers the fire a friend as well as a guard against animals and mosquitoes. All alone in the wilderness, he cries out in joy at his fire, longing to share it with someone. Brian wonders what his parents are doing at that moment, and if his mother was seeing the strange man he had seen her kiss.
combine those and you'll be fine!!!