Rise of The Fallen
Ch 7- Refuse

Kora-

Groaning, I opened my eyes, squinting against the various streams of light peeking through the roots I hid within. I blinked slowly as my vision adjusted to my surroundings.

After a few seconds, I sat up, rubbing my eyes before blinking a few times to get a decent look at my surroundings.

Trailing my eyes around the small space, memories of the night before came flooding back, and the images of that thing with the pale white body covered in arrows and scars, with red glowing eyes, sent shivers down my spine.

What the hell was that thing…?

Taking a deep breath, I looked over to the cramped spot I had crawled into. I couldn’t stay in here, and that monster was likely gone by now anyway. I started pushing my way through the thick, twisted roots until I was able to free myself from the entanglement.

It was twice as hard to get out than it was to get in, and I got stuck more than once because of my hips, making me a bit aggravated.

Once I was free, I inspected my surroundings. The roots belonged to some much taller trees, covering a great span of area, and the foliage was a bit sparse compared to other parts of the forest.

Wiping the dirt off my side that I had fallen asleep on, I made sure to keep an eye out for more nightmarish creatures or familiar markings.

But fuck if I ever got lucky. I was completely lost, nothing around me seemed familiar, meaning I was in a completely new part of the forest. So no food, no cave, no trails.

I grumbled a curse to myself and tried to replace my own footprints from last night. But following them back seemed like a bad idea. What if that creature was still there eating that poor deer? Would I be able to escape it a second time?

My stomach rumbled from hunger, and I sighed. If I wandered off randomly, I’d only get more lost.

Grabbing my bag, I dug through the contents and pulled out the notebook, flipping to the map. Scanning my eyes over it, I noticed something interesting.

An image of large trees with big roots was drawn near the river I had been looking for previously.

Glancing back at the giant trees, I felt a sense of hope building up inside me. I quickly started following the twisted roots around, trying to see if my hunch was correct.

It seemed like an eternity of walking as the barricade of roots seemed to go on forever. It could be miles long and would take forever for me to get around. I huffed, irritated by the fact I was so close to a water source but still couldn’t reach it.

Giving up, I turned back the way I came, following my footprints in the dirt. As I went, I noticed a barren trail that led into a small hole of sorts through the roots. Was this an animal trail? Kneeling down, I peered into the hole. It was a burrow, just big enough for me to crawl through.

It was dark for the most part, only a few strands of light peeking through the top of the small tunnel.

Fuck it.

I started crawling through the tunnel, maneuvering around a few roots that blocked the path. As I got closer to the end, I could see light and felt the soil beneath my hands getting damp.

Crawling my way out of the small space, I shielded my eyes from the sun as they readjusted to the bright light, faintly hearing the gentle rush of water.

My head whipped toward the sound, and the scene before me had my heart nearly leaping out of my chest. I was on the rocky banks of a bright blue clear river that gently flowed down hill, disappearing into a mass of roots.

I found it! I found the river!

I rushed over to the water’s edge, stepping on rocks to stay out of the mud. Pulling out my canteen, I filled it with water. Once it was full, I took a sip, nearly moaning at how the cool liquid felt going down my throat. Quickly, as if the water would disappear right in front of me, I filled the canteen again.

Taking in my surroundings, I was baffled by the beauty of the sight before me, a strong clear current cutting through the forest letting the full sun shine down upon the rocky banks of the river. One side of the river was blocked by the twisted roots of the trees growing a few feet from the water’s banks while the other side consisted of many large boulders, stones and some dense foliage, if various ferns, tall grasses and bushes. Taking out my notebook, I did my best to pinpoint exactly where I was on the map, mentally marking the small tunnel I used to get here.

If I followed my trail from last night, then I could figure out where my cave was according to the map. Then I’d be able to distinguish all the other landmarks. Smiling to myself, I nearly squealed in happiness at my accomplishment, fistpumping the air.

I had a permanent water source now, and an idea as to where I was on the map. I was no longer blindly wandering around the forest. Grabbing my stuff, I quickly made my way back through the tunnel and found my footprints from last night.

Being extra cautious, I retraced my steps through the forest, keeping an eye out for that creature from last night. As I walked, I noticed something on the trees that I had missed while running for my life last night. Strings of bones, beads and other objects were tied around the trunks of various trees.

They were by no means natural. What were they? Some kind of marker? Were they made by someone to create a border? The real question however was what the border represented.

Feeling a bit more wary, I pushed forward, passing the line. Soon enough, I came across the area I had encountered the monster.

The deer’s corpse, or what was left of it, lay discarded in the open. It was a husk of what it once was. Only bones, a tiny bit of flesh and skin were left. The eyes and any internal organs were gored out of its body, leaving a gruesome scene behind.

Insects were already buzzing around the body, the stench of decay high in the air. I gagged at the sight and turned away. I just needed to get back to my cave, and then I could put this whole night behind me. Keeping a wide berth around the carnivorous flowers that tried to kill me yesterday, I ventured back to my cave.

Continuing forward, I finally came across a tree I had marked. Finally, I was in familiar territory. I made sure to mark my map as I went, so I at least have an idea of how to get to the river and back.

It took a while to get near my cave, maybe a few hours, but the sun was still high in the sky, leaving me with plenty of daylight, so I spent the next few hours gathering sticks for firewood and some purple coconuts for food.

Satisfied with my bounty, I came back to the cave and set all the things i gathered aside. The damn tree lizards continued their constant chirping while I sat outside the cave, resting. As the suns started to set, I couldn’t help but think about last night. I might be fine right now, but what if I ran into that monster again? I’d managed to escape, but given my luck, that wouldn’t happen again.

Pulling out my notebook, I flipped to the page that had the image of the skull and the warning on it. My finger traced over the black charcoal as I became lost in thought.

The creature was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and didn’t really seem to fit in with the rest of the forest.

How many of those massive aliens had tried to kill that monster and failed? Just how strong was it?

I shut the notebook with a heavy sigh. I needed to be more careful gathering supplies from now on. I wasn’t alone in this forest and there were many things I still didn’t know about.

If I want to survive, I have to learn. I have to adjust. The same way the natives do.

Looking down at my hand. Some of the charcoal from the page had rubbed off onto my fingertips, turning them black.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back and went back inside of my cave to get some sleep.

I have a lot of work to do if I want to survive. I have to figure out some way to hunt because this fruit won’t be enough to keep me going forever. And I need to prepare myself in case I ever encounter something I can’t run from.

Eventually, I might have to fight for my life in order to survive and right now? All I had was a pistol with a single bullet. I needed to replace a new weapon, I needed to learn what creatures were lurking nearby. I needed to figure out how to evade predators.

I couldn’t just spend my days hiding in this cave. Starting tomorrow? Things were going to change. Because I refused to die like this.