Chapter 4, Savage and Chapter 5, The Nova Summary

In chapter 4, several weeks have passed and Rod is hunting for his afternoon meal. The animal manages to escape and as Rod chases after it, another person grabs the animal and takes it down. Rod and the other person decide to share the kill. This other person, Jack, is a student from another school that also was running a survival exam on this planet. Jack shares some salt with Rod, a treat for Rod who has survived on rare meat for several weeks. Jack then suggests they take the meat out of the area since they are attracting predators. Rod suggests they become teammates and Jack readily agrees, taking Rod back to a cave Jack has been living in for several weeks.

In chapter 5, Rod is a little weary of going into a...