John didn't know much about portal technology and he had only gone through one once. That was how he got to the front lines in the first place. From what he understood, portals were like a door that crossed space and time, a literal fold in the fabric of the universe.
The sensation he felt was similar to that of falling. After a few seconds he realized it had been significantly longer than his first portal experience. He struggled to keep himself from vomiting and landed in a heap on the other side.
He lifted himself up from the ground and stood shakily to his feet. He found himself in a forest. The sky was dark so he assumed it was night. The local fauna was chirping, not unlike crickets but much deeper and more sinister. The sound sent chills up and down John's spine.
After standing silently for a few minutes to let his eyes adjust to the dark the adrenaline fueling John's body wore off. He felt a sharp aching pain in his trigger finger and he looked down to see it was bent at a crooked angle. It must have been broken when the alien archer had disarmed him, though he didn't feel it in the moment.
John looked around silently, wondering where the aliens had gone. Where was the portal he just went through? Nothing was making sense to him. Maybe it had malfunctioned when he shot it accidentally.
John looked around for some straight twigs and ripped a piece of fabric off his trousers to make a finger splint. After struggling with tying a knot he finally set his finger in place and started to move.
As silently as he could, he crept through the underbrush, unable to see more than two feet in front of him, he kept his ears open for any sound of rustling or running water. After several minutes a snarling could be heard somewhere not too distant to his right. John dropped down and pulled out his trench knife.
"At least I'm not completely defenseless." He thought.
The snarling grew louder and could make out signs of a struggle. John popped a fresh stick of gum into his mouth but decided not to spit the old one out. The less of a trail he left, the better. The chewing calmed his nerves and helped him think.
The snarls began to get louder and more aggressive. Eventually curiosity got the better of John and he snuck towards whatever was making the noise.
John saw two shadows struggling in a small clearing, their shapes slightly obscurd by the tall grass. One was that of an animal he had never seen before. It had two pairs of tusks, much like a boar's, that glinted white in the darkness, it was about the same size and dimensions of a boar as well. If this creature was anything like one it wouldn't be stopped by a simple trench knife.
Whatever the creature was struggling with managed to push it aside for a moment and John could make out the shape of a hand. Lizard or no, John figured he'd stand a better chance reasoning with a sentient than a wild beast. Besides, the "boar" clearly had the upper hand at the moment.
Before John could change his mind he lunged forward and thrust his blade into the wild animal's neck. The creature let out a blood-curdling scream, and snapped its jaws at John's forearm. John let go of the dagger and the beast's fangs tore his sleeve. Fortunately it didn't catch any flesh but it did make him let go of his knife.
The alien reached up with both hands and clamped the animal's mouth shut, allowing it to scratch up their chest unresisted.
John acted as fast as he could, grabbing the handle of his knife and slicing the rest of the way through the animal's throat. It's blood gushed all over the alien before it went limp and slid down.
The lizard made a grunting noise and started to sit up but John motioned for him to stop with his blade. He couldn't trust this alien, even if they saved each other's lives. The alien huffed and slumped back down. Muttering something in his native tongue. Although the soldiers were trained to understand some basic words and phrases of their language John couldn't understand him.
John attempted to communicate with him in English. "I don't know what you are saying, but I don't want to kill you until I know where I am and what's going on. I don't think I can trust you either so I'm going to keep my weapon out just in case you decide I'd make a good meal. Okay?"
The alien sat perfectly still for a few seconds before responding in English.
"Fire?" He said in a breathy voice that almost sounded like it was gargling.
John slowly backed up and sat in his haunches. "Yeah, I'll just start a fire."
He reached into his survival pack and pulled out a waterproof tube. Inside were some matches and tinder for a fire. The alien grabbed some twigs and they worked together to build a campfire.
John thought about what he knew of their language. Maybe he could take some of the words he knew to ask a question. After a few moments of thought he said in "lizard speak", "Enemy see smoke?" Hoping his new companion would understand it was a question.
To his surprise the alien responded in English again after a moment, "No war, only forest."
So the war hadn't come to this world yet. If that was the case then how were they here in the first place? John couldn't figure out how to ask so he finished starting the fire.
He struck a match and held it to the tinder. Once it caught, he blew on the flame gently until it caught some of the kindling on fire. In the light of the flame he could now examine the alien across from him more closely.
His chest was torn and bloody, a recent burn mark could be seen on his shoulder, and another was on his abdomen. Something about him seemed familiar.
John suddenly connected the dots, his injuries, the markings, the bow slung over his shoulder. This was the lizard he had dueled with in the bunker....