Resting again, The Operator walked the murky halls of his mind. He walked himself down the steps of crumbling building, and past the corpses strewn about outside it. He found himself trying to remember the details of his camp. Where he'd placed his radio, and what he was doing before he was contacted. He could remember waking up and gathering his supplies, breaking his small tent down and pacing around. He tried to remember the smell and taste of the food he had prepared but found it difficult. It was the last time he had eaten anything and he desperately wished to recall the sensations. With his inability to remember he decided to move on. He continued tracing his actions up to the chime of the radio. After cooking he began reading a small book. He tried to remember the name, or contents of the book but they too blurred as though covered in hazy mist.
Drip..drip..The steady sound of rain picked up bringing The Operator out of the hazy corridors of his mind. "Another storm?" He thought to himself, squinting up at the sky. The drops that landed on his face were soft, but he could tell something stronger was coming. "I shouldn't get caught out in this storm. These trees are smaller than the last ones and they won't do me much good in the rain." He rose from his seated position under the boughs of the tree he tasted against and began his steady trudge forward through the forest ahead of him. It was quiet, and the darkness and silence around him was only broken by the booms and flashes of lightning as the storm began to worsen. "Are these natural? They get violent so quickly.." he thought to himself as a tree ahead of him was struck by a bolt of ionizing energy that exploded bark and limbs away. The sight sent chills through him and he lowered his shield as far below him as he could. "Not today.." he muttered, unwilling to become a lightning rod. The steady flashes revealed a change in terrain ahead of him as the trees and land appeared to turn into ridges and caps, rising higher the further he looked. "Just maybe there's some kind of cave or alcove I can hide in while this storm passes!" He thought to himself, picking up his pace towards the more mountainous regions ahead.
SNAP, before the operator had time to react to what was happening he was already falling. With a hard thud of his head on the ground, he felt weightless for a moment. He was unsure if this feeling came from the blood rushing to his head, or the fact that he had been strung up from a branch in some kind of trap. Dizziness began to overwhelm him and soon he found it difficult to stay conscious. Despite being half unconscious, he did not scream for help out of fear he'd make a good treat for the first beast to find him. "Damnit.." was all he could muster before falling unconscious.
The Operator soon awoke with a cringe. Someone was driving a knife into his cheek to wake him up. "Ahh! What the hell? Who are you?" He managed to say through grinding teeth. He was unsure how long he'd been there, but his eyesight was blurry and the blood draining into one was not making things easier. "Quit! Quit fucking stabbing me!" The stranger still hadn't spoken, but observed the crimson red blood flowing from the wound. "Is this your trap? Are you a mute? Hey!" Blinded by his own blood he began to get frustrated with his predicament. "You are not tainted, I just haven't decided if you are food.." The stranger finally spoke, soft and unnervingly. "Food?! I'm a human being you can't just eat me!" The Operator began squirming again, his wound had stopped bleeding the moment the stranger stopped cutting. Noticing how rapidly it began to close, the stranger stepped back."human? I'm not so sure that's what you are..but you look tasty."
"Fuck you!" The Operator couldn't see the details of their face, but he spat at his aggressor nonetheless. "Keep acting like an animal and I might just have to eat you!" The stranger said before slapping The Operator, causing him to twirl around until stopped by the stranger. "I'm a hunter, I hunt things! You walked right into my trap, and it has been quit some time since I've had a decent meal…" their voice was low, but feminine, with a tinge of lunacy. "Listen, you wouldn't like me, I've got this weird crystal thing growing in me and i bet that just ruins the flavor of the meat!" The Operator began to bargain, sensing he was likely to be this hunters next meal. "I haven't even eaten anything in so long I'm probably toxic! Trust me, you don't want to eat me!" The last thing he wanted was to become a meal, and now he was on the chopping block of something he hadn't expected. "What are you talking about? You look delicious, why, you look like you just ate yesterday! The might even be some stuffing in there!"The hunter said poking his stomach with their knife.
"Please stop stabbing me already!" The operator screamed out. "Why? The damage doesn't seem to last long, you just heal right up! This is rather fun for me!" Said the hunter with a maniacal tone. "Oh shit, I get strung up by a crazy in the middle of nowhere on my first mission and I haven't even found the mines yet!" The Operator thought to himself, and then he had an idea. "Hey! If you let me down, I know where we can find lots of fresh food!" The hunter stopped poking his stomach with the knife and leaned down, getting inches from his face. "You're..a woman?" He said surprised to see not just another human, but a woman. "If that's what you want to call me, but you could just call me chef! Because I'm gonna eat you if you are a liar!" The hunter said cackling. "Where is this food!?" She screamed at him, he sudden change of tone sent shivers up his body. "A cave north from here. Some small boars have taken up refuge in it! I swear! I was on my way there when I got stuck in your trap!"
"Why shouldn't I just kill you and search for it on my own?" The hunter said. He could see the grin widening on her face and knew she was serious. "Because…it's..hard to find..? The boars might be gone by the time we get there! Eaten by the monsters!" The Operator was struggling to save himself from the fiend who captured him, but hoped he could outsmart her. He felt maybe she'd trust him since she were starving. "If I'm lying you can eat me like you said! Just let me down and I'll show you the way! When we get there and go into the cave they'll be there I swear!"
THUD.
Before he could finish bargaining he hit the ground hard, without enough time to recover he felt a weight on top of him and the ropes cut free. "Thank…"he tried to say but before he could the hunter yanked his head back and put the knife to his throat. "Do not disappoint me! Move it!" She yelled, getting off of him.