The sudden cold crawled up Ethan's body as he lied on the rough gravels. Half of his body submerged in the shallow water. The canopy of pine trees enveloped his field of vision as he fought the flecks of sunlight. He seemed to be in a clearing, of some sort. The pulsating buzz deafened his thought processes, but one question stood clear: how did he end up here?

Ethan tried to prop himself up to the large boulder on his left side but that's when a sharp pain shoot up from his right arm. "FUCK!" He tightened his jaw as he pinned himself against the rock, just enough to get out of the soaking water. His arm was red, swollen, and warm. His shoulders slumped slightly as he let out a sigh. He forced his eyes shut in an attempt to gather what little sense he could make.

He was… on a train. On him were a backpack and an umbrella. The floor covered with pool of rainwater as people stepped on them with no hesitation. He was on his way to visit Jas in Fort Baker Hospital. A car hit him; Ethan had heard. He then remembered getting a call. And then… then… just… nothing after that. It was like when a blip in the movie. A skip in his mind. A fast forward, so to speak.

A train derail would not be possible. There was only one river in Fort Baker, and it was not in anywhere near the station. The only possible place he could be right now was Wasachu river, IF the assumption that he was still in Fort Baker held true. Did someone kidnap him? Or was he under any kind of substances? No, that's not possible. Maybe he really going crazy for real. Maybe the pressure of college life and really did his brain in somehow.

Ethan plopped his head on his knees and took a long deep breath. He needed to calm down. Breathe, Ethan, Breathe! In time like this there was no use for panicking. With a bit of breathing routine, he felt calmer, although a sense of hopelessness stayed.

At that moment, a strange muffled voice sprang up which made he jumped a bit. It sounded like a woman voice, but he was not sure. He scanned the area carefully but besides a tuft of white daisies and pine trees he did not spot any possible source… until he realized that it came from under his wet tightly-clung black hoodie. Great, Ethan, just calm down, will you?

Ethan yanked his hand in the front pocket and felt a solid surface. As he pulled it out, it was a two-way radio. The screen painted a sporadic orange display and the battery almost died. With added water damage from who-know-what made him fell into the river, it was a miracle the damn thing still working.

"All… Welcome… McKenzie…" The voice trailed off. It was choppy and practically filled with white buzzing noise.

Ethan squeezed the push-to-talk button, "H-Hello! Could you send hel-"

"All… Welcome… McKenz- …Base"

"Hey! Could anyone hear me!?" Ethan hoped desperately that the woman would talk back to what he said. That she would assure him that everything would be ok soon. However, aside from the repeated messages, there was no response. Soon, the powered battery died down, leaving a deafening silence in the clearing. It was eerie, to say the least. No birds or weird insect noises. Just his breathing and his own disordered thoughts.

However, a rustling sound disturbed his thought. It came from behind him, possibly to the right side of the boulder. It could be people, Ethan thought, if not for the abrupt change in the air. He felt… cold. The hair on his arms stood up immediately. It was like a sudden freezing wind swept over the entire clearing. He held his breath for the moment, froze in spot. Whoever or whatever it was… It was not friendly, that's for sure.

That's when he saw it. At the corner of his eyes a humanoid figure. It had… long tentacle-liked black arm. It looked as if a human arm was pushed into a meat grinder. The "arm" dragged along the floor, bobbing up and down like they have its own life as it left pungent egg rotten midnight fluid on its path. The body otherwise was the same as people. It was maybe a "he" as he could see dirty brown trousers and a ripped white t-shirt. Ethan could not see its face clearly as it dragged itself to the center of the clearing.

Ethan tried not to gag as to not gave himself away. He could feel the acidic content of his stomach on his tongue. He bit the bottom of his lips to prevent them from quivering. What monstrosity is going on? How could a human look like that?

As the creature halted, it made a retching sound like as if someone was about to puke. It heaved for a second until a strange freshy pink circle sac dropped into the ground. Something squirmed inside.

Ethan would not want to wait whatever the hell that thing inside was. He darted around to see anything that could be used as a weapon. None was found except for just a large pebble.

Maybe… the fact that it did not go for him yet was because it couldn't see. Maybe it like in the movie when the "monster" lost whatever senses for sight.

He picked up the large pebble, careful not to drop or make any sound out of it. He looked to the farthest right side across the river. Maybe if it had a good hearing he could lure it over there. With his left arm, he put all his weight to throw the pebble across the river. It flew over and fell into some tuft of grasses. He hoped this could help lead whatever the hell it was away from him.

The creature made a twitching erratic movement. Its neck cracked and popped as it slowly craned its head to the direction of the sound. Its gait was bizarre. Maybe if he could make it to stay over the river, it could help give him a chance to make a break for it or something.

But that's not even on the table. The creature ceased its path and turned its face to him. IT looked at him. GAZE at him. Like it wanted to bore into his soul. Like a knife carved from the inside of your body. Its mouth crepted up unnaturally to its "eyes". Its black and soulless spot where an eye should be.

The creature – no – the MONSTER stared at him. As if it toyed with his life. As if it knew that he was there all along.

In that split second, it rushed to him, its dangling arms followed. Its mouth wide open as if to satisfy a ravenous hunger inside. A desire to feast. And Ethan…

HE.

was its meal.