Rourke woke with a start, and reached for his sword thunder rumbling loudly overhead. The cave was dim, a pile of glowing coals his only light. Inhaling deeply, Rourke sat up, reaching for a piece of wood to rest over the coals, hoping the fire would restart itself without his help. Pushing the umbra hide off himself, Rourke wondered just how many phases he had been sleeping.
He had managed to get a lot of work done before exhaustion finally swept over him, but Rourke still had more to do. Rourke ran a hand through his hair before getting up and stretching. Walking barefoot toward the makeshift door to the cave, he pushed it aside, frowning at the heavy rain that was coming down. He was still going to have to go out there and collect food since he'd eaten the last of it while he worked. While he was gathering firewood, Rourke had stumbled across a large patch of li'kai berries, but had only stopped to gather a few, knowing he would be able to come back for more later. Now he would have to collect them in the rain.
Closing the door, Rourke turned to get ready to go out. Pulling on his boots and jacket, Rourke slung the smaller pouch over his shoulder and picked up his sword. His small knife he slipped into his boot, making sure to bring the larger knife with him, as well. While his sword was great for protection, it wasn't really that great at cutting down small trees or bushes that were in his way. Lastly, Rourke picked up his rope, securing that under one arm and over the other shoulder — opposite of his food pouch — and turned back for the door. The piece of wood he had put on the fire flared to life, and Rourke paused to put a second piece on with the first, hoping he would be back before the fire completely died.
Thunder grumbled outside the cave, and Rourke paused. Thunder meant that there was a chance that Wolves, and more than likely Mistwalkers were nearby, and he really didn't want to encounter any of them while he was out gathering food. A shudder ripped down his spine as Rourke thought about his last encounter with a Mistwalker. He had been traveling under the tree cover in an attempt to stay as dry as possible. Fog had begun rolling in, and when Rourke looked up from his feet, a Mistwalker stood several paces in front of him. Unsure of what to do, Rourke stood still hoping the monster would leave him in peace. It saw Rourke, tried to speak to him as it reached out for him, but an umbra came crashing through the underbrush and scared the Mistwalker away.
Inhaling deeply, and steeling himself for a possible encounter with a Mistwalker or some Wolves, Rourke pulled the door aside and stepped out into the rain. Overhead thunder grumbled again, and the wind blew, sending a chill running down Rourke's spine. The forest was quiet as he slid the branches back in place, making sure the makeshift barrier was secure with stones so that the wind wouldn't blow it away while he was gone. The cliff face rocks were wet and slick, and Rourke wondered if it would be easier to just jump down to the ground below.
Pulling his hood up over his head, and his jacket collar a little tighter against his neck, Rourke knelt at the lip of the ledge, using his arm to support himself as he jumped off the edge, easily landing on his feet as he hit the ground. Without his backpack, his balance was a bit better and his movement not as restrained. Stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, Rourke frowned as he looked around. It was darker than it normally was — if that was even possible — thanks to the rain, but also thanks to the rain, most of the animals would be settled in one spot until the storm passed.
Thunder rumbled again, making Rourke look up to the sky, squinting through the pouring rain. Something didn't feel right about this; something tugged at the back of his mind and made him nervous, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Sniffling, he wiped the back of his hand across his nose, and decided to move. Food wasn't going to gather itself. Besides, if he kept moving then the cold bite of the storm wouldn't sink as deeply into his skin, and he could avoid a more permanent chill.
Deciding on a direction, Rourke started out, pressing a hand against his stomach and feeling the scars even under the heavy material of his jacket. Even after so long, they ached when it rained, made the muscles of his stomach cramp, and occasionally it even made him feel nauseous. He didn't want to be out in the rain too long, already thinking about how nice it would be when he would be able to return to his makeshift home and curl up under his umbra hide to get warm.
***
Sammy woke with a start, shaking from the cold, and completely soaked. Rain was pouring down, and somewhere far off he thought he could hear thunder rumbling. With a groan, he rolled onto his side, feeling the slickness of wet leaves against his face before he sat up, realization dawning on him that he was not in his room, but outside and in the rain.
Inhaling sharply, Sammy tried to stand, but slipped in the wet undergrowth and crashed back to his knees. His heart was beating madly in his chest, and his whole body shivered from how cold he felt. Raising his hand to press against his chest, Sammy tried to catch his breath. Pain flared through Sammy's palm and he pulled his hand back, noticing a large gash across his skin. He carefully tried to flex his fingers, which felt swollen and stiff, but only felt more pain. He also realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, only his sweatpants. Sammy tried to recall what had happened, why he would have ended up in the middle of the woods in the early morning hours of the day with no shirt and an injured hand.
Trying to stand a second time, Sammy was a bit more careful, and was able to rise to his feet despite the cold rain that poured down, stinging his shoulders and back, as well as running in rivulets through his hair. With his left hand, he tried to push his bangs from his eyes, but it did little good, falling in stringy clumps back into his face.
With a deep breath, he looked to the sky. He couldn't see any stars, but that wasn't surprising with the severity of the storm. There was a flash of lightning, and in that brief moment Sammy could see trees and nothing but trees. He was deep in the middle of a forest surrounded by large trees with broad leaves. Unsure of what else to do, Sammy took another deep breath and decided to try and find his way home, or at least try and find someone else who may be able to help him.
He had only taken a couple steps when he realized he didn't feel as tired as he had before; in fact he felt fine, better than he had in days, and that's when he remembered what had happened in his bathroom. His reflection had attacked him; had broken through the mirror, and punched him. Carefully, Sammy raised his uninjured hand to his face, gingerly touching the area under his eye. Despite the cold and the rain, Sammy could feel heat under his fingers, and was sure there was going to be a bruise. How his reflection managed to hit him was beyond Sammy. The entire incident in the bathroom made no sense, but neither did why he suddenly felt so much better. Maybe something had happened and he was dreaming. A fever dream from the sickness he kept claiming he didn't have. It was possible. Yeah, Sammy decided. He was hallucinating, or having a really weird dream of some sort, and when he woke up, he would be fine, and he could put this entire mess behind him.
A shiver wracked through his body, and Sammy rubbed at his arm with his good hand, wishing he had a little more light to be able to look at his injured hand. If this were all a dream, it didn't explain how real the injuries to his hand seemed, or why he could feel them. They almost seemed too real to be made up. Yet, if this was real, why was he in the middle of the woods and not in his room, or a hospital room, or some other place. Where was Ashli?
Somewhere in the distance, muffled by the pouring rain, Sammy heard a wolf howl, and he inhaled sharply. He had no idea what to do if a hungry animal happened to see him. Stumbling down a small hill, Sammy pressed his back to a tree, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He needed to think this through for a moment. Despite the fact that it was pretty impossible that this was real, he was going to go with the idea that this was actually happening to him.
Lost in the middle of the woods early in the morning with a wolf out there somewhere, all while it was raining very heavily. He was shirtless, and shoeless, wearing nothing more than a pair of light sweatpants. He was not equipped to be out here, he knew that. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, hoping for his phone, Sammy found nothing except more pain as the bits of glass in his hand pulled against the fabric of his pants and dug deeper into his skin with every move he made.
The wolf howled again, and Sammy lost his train of thought. It had sounded closer now than it had a moment ago; a lot closer. Lightning flashed, lighting up the trees again, and a moment later, thunder rumbled directly overhead. Between the silvery sheets of rain, Sammy thought he saw something move. Something big and shadowy, but it was only a flash, a glimpse. Swallowing thickly, Sammy decided it would be best to try to move on; he could debate if he was seeing things or not when he was in a safer location. Someplace that was warm and dry, and not full of dangerous predators. Maybe a place that had hot tea, or at the very least, a shirt.
He walked along clumsily, tripping over himself and the underbrush as the rain continued to pour down. Stepping on a sharp stick, Sammy hissed in pain, pausing to lean against a tree and see if he was bleeding from his foot. Realizing he wouldn't be able to see any blood in this light, he sighed, ran his hand over the bottom of his foot to make sure he was okay, and kept walking. Lightning flashed and Sammy thought he saw the silhouette of something in the trees. Thunder boomed overhead and Sammy could feel it vibrate through him as well as the very air. Pausing, he took a moment to peer through the trees in an attempt to see what was out there. A low howl pierced the air from very close by. Sammy gasped in shock and fear, stepping backward in the slick leaves as a large canine-looking creature stepped out from around a tree. It was huge, clawed feet allowing for it to easily move through the wet leaves on the ground. Talon-tipped hands flexed at its sides as spit dripped from its muzzle. Red eyes peered down at Sammy from where this creature towered over him, pointed ears perked forward in attention. Dark matted fur covered the creature's body instead of clothing, and it reminded Sammy of monstrous nightmares featured in horror flicks — things that weren't supposed to be real.
Sammy backed away until he felt his back hit a tree. Shoulders digging into the bark, Sammy's mind raced for what to do. He didn't think he could fight this thing, he didn't think he could outrun it either. If he was dreaming, he could wake up at any moment now! He just wanted this nightmare to be over with.
Another howl ripped through the air, and the beast looked away toward it, so Sammy took that moment to flee, trying to run around the tree and hopefully get a head start on outrunning the monster behind him. Looking over his shoulder as he ran, Sammy was glad to see that so far the beast wasn't chasing him, and he sighed in relief as he turned to look where he was running. He stopped short, breath hitching in his throat as another one of the monsters was right in front of him, looming over him, and staring down at him with red eyes.
Growling deep in its throat, the beast lashed out at Sammy, and he ducked, barely avoiding getting ripped apart by the monster's sharp claws. Backpedaling the way he came, Sammy ducked around another one of the big trees, keeping his back pressed against the wood.
Carefully, Sammy tried to move around the tree, hoping that maybe the two monsters would see one another and forget that Sammy existed. Looking over his shoulder toward where he had seen the second one, he moved quietly. Turning forward to see where he was going, he was met with the sharp teeth of one of the creatures.
The monster snapped its jaw in Sammy's face, and Sammy screamed, tripped and stumbled backward. He hit the ground, but he kept moving, putting his back against a tree and looking up at the monster as it loomed closer to him. He was breathing hard, couldn't catch his breath, and his heart was beating madly in his chest.
The beast stalked toward him as it licked its muzzle, and Sammy shut his eyes, not wanting to see the monster as it approached to end his life. Around him he could hear the rain pounding down, shaking the leaves of the trees. Water pooled around his feet from where he had dug holes as he tried to get even closer to the tree than he already was. He was going to die here. He knew he was, if this thing didn't kill him, his heart was going to explode in his chest, it was beating so fast.
Without warning, the beast yelped in pain, and Sammy felt something hot rain down on his chest and face. Opening his eyes, he could see the monster with what appeared to be a sword sticking out of its throat, blood trailing down the creature's body from the wound. As the monster began to fall, the weapon was pulled free and Sammy came face to face with a man. Unable to make out his features in the shadow of the hood that was pulled over over his eyes, Sammy couldn't think, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "What are you doing," he asked.
The man swept his weapon through the air, spraying water and blood across the soaked ground as he looked away to where Sammy knew the other monster had been previously lurking. He didn't bother to look at Sammy as he replied, as if his actions hadn't been clear in the first place, "Saving your life."