Jack remained on the tunnel floor for the next two days and nights. Slowly, the glowing veins covering his body receded with every heartbeat.
*GASP* Jack shot up, coughing heavily as dust rose into the air from his sudden action. "Holy shit, I feel like I was hit by a car." He muttered aloud in a dry, raspy voice. After recovering from his coughing fit, he struggled to his knees and stood up with an audible groan, joints popping with every movement.
The tunnel was still quite dark, and it appeared that some of the glow bugs were gone, but there were enough to know which direction to go. Jack didn't even look at the stone door that had somehow closed again. He just wanted to get out of here. He could feel a sudden onset of claustrophobia. Not only that, but the man-sized dent in the wall didn't give Jack any hope of the cave being structurally sound.
His earlier prediction was correct. The journey back was full of swearing and stubbed toes. He just forgot the part where he tripped once and rolled back down the tunned. "GODDAMN IT" Jack roared after coming to a stop, the sound echoing around the tunnel. He was done with this. If he had a choice, his days of spelunking would be over the moment he got to the surface.
Jack made a turn in the looping tunnel, and it suddenly got brighter. 'Finally' Jack could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. Picking up speed, Jack practically leaped out of the tunnel entrance into the dimly lit cavern he'd started in. He took off at a run to the cavern entrance. The sun hit him with its blinding light, but he didn't care. Squinting, he enjoyed the warmth of the sun as it leeched the panic of nearly being lost in a cave from his weary body.
The joy of freedom mellowed out and Jack looked at his hands. "I really need a bath" he chuckled to himself at this thought.
Suddenly Jack froze and turned to look in the direction of the river. He heard something. His enhanced hearing singled it out. Soft whispers. It was people!
Jack didn't know what to do in this situation. He'd only thought of looking for some people later. He hadn't thought of the fact that people could find him first, and frankly, he didn't like the idea. Jack remained at the edge of the cave mouth, his eyes searching for the source of the voices he's heard. There it was. Movement in the dense trees. A group of what appeared to be around ten people with their weapons out and ready. There was even one walking in the front with black, carbon printed armor.
'I should have gotten a set too' Jack groaned internally. After seeing how light his katana was, he didn't think the armor would be very heavy either.
The group stopped right before micro mountain. "Ok, now what? We've seen the big rock. Can we go back now? This place is just creepy." A thin man near the front complained out loud.
"Shut it. You know why we're here. Ty wanted us to scout this area, and what do you know? He was right, it does look like it could make a decent main camp." The big man in armor said while admiring the terrain around micro mountain. It was mostly clear of trees. Only the occasional rock lay scattered about. The big man looked back to the nine or so men following him. "Scout the perimeter of the rock and meet back here. Half go left, half go right. Get moving. We gotta be back within two hours, or we'll miss lunch."
At those words Jack panicked. His camp was hidden, but with so many people searching it was bound to be seen at some point. Sighing, he accepted his fate.
If the scouts found his gear, there was little chance of them not taking it. He would show himself at the perfect moment. He could always run away and gather his stuff as a last resort. Jack went back into the cave and laid his katana around the corner. He didn't want to be seen carrying it. Then he exited the cave and climbed down micro mountain around the side, careful to not make any noise.
Jack made it to the bottom without alerting the armored man who stood stationary around the side of micro mountain. He waited. He needed to make sure the soldiers focused on him instead of his camp. He could always claim he lost his kit. A quarter of an hour passed before Jack could see the soldiers walking around the corner. 'I can't believe I'm doing this…' He thought, his heart racing and anxiety at a new high.
"Uh hello?" Jack said "Anyone there?"
The group of armed men immediately switched their attention to him, readying their weapons.
Suddenly a terrifying thought occurred to Jack. What if they just killed him? Shuddering and resisting the temptation to bolt, he waited for the group to approach. The man in front held up his fist and the men behind him stopped. "What are you doing out here? Are you alone?"
"Uh yeah, I'm alone." Jack paused "I ran for the forest after we got our kits, to avoid any conflict in the chaos… You saw how it was. I wouldn't be surprised if someone decided they had a new calling as a serial killer."
The man was the one he'd seen right next to the armored man. 'Maybe they're ex-military or something? They sure act like it.' The man was tall, dark skinned and fairly fit. Just enough muscle without the huge volume of a body builder. 'Yeah, military alright.'
Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the man who was studying him. "What happened to you? You look like ya went to hell and back."
Puzzled, Jack looked down to see the dirt and rock dust caked to his body and understood what the man was getting at.
He weaved a story in his mind and hoped it would be enough. "Ah, yeah… I ran into the forest and made my way straight here. It was an easy landmark, and I was hoping to find some shelter. On the way I got chased by a HUGE black bear… It nearly killed me. It was like ten feet tall! I dropped my kit and ran for my life; I've been hiding here ever since…" 'Sorry Mr. Bear, you make the perfect excuse…'
The dark man looked at Jack for a moment before asking "What's your name?"
"I'm Jack. Jack Thorn. You?"
The man extended his hand and replied "Henry Draden"
Jack shook the man's hand, relieved that he seemed to buy the story. The few scouts paying attention to the story seemed to think it was plausible too, which worked out well for Jack. It seemed that this group must have run into their share of monsters as well.
"We're out here scouting for our group's leader. I'll have to ask you to come with us. I'm sure he'd like to meet you."
That didn't sound particularly good to Jack, but at this point he didn't have a choice. "Thanks, it would be nice to finally get out of here." He said forcing a smile.
Jack followed the group around the remainder of micro mountain to meet the team leader. 'I really hope this goes well…' he thought.