Klaus shivered as a loud wind blew his face and fluttered his clothes; he pinched his nose, the nasty scent enveloping him. He grunted and shook off the smell.
"Why'd that happen this time? Ew."
He coughed and continued forward, waving his hands to remove the scent. Then, he saw the river again. He didn't remember it being this close, considering last time he had walked ten minutes to it, and this time, it felt like five. Was time even a factor here? Did it exist? Well, did it matter?
Klaus figured otherwise as he approached a tree and ripped several leaves off it; he first wanted to see if the fish would go for anything. Reaching in a small shrub for a stick, he felt a sharp, stinging sensation in his left hand. The leaves in his other hand fell as he pulled it out and hissed.
Looking at his hand, he muttered, "What the he-"
Zing!
One of the tiny, winged creatures flew out of the shrub, followed by dozens of others. They glided up the tree near the shrub, dispersing into the leaves.
Klaus watched them. They watched him, their wings glowing in unison. The wound stung again. He winced and peered at it. Near his knuckles was an outline of a small circle with thick blood oozing out the edges. He remembered the tube on the creature–
"That's what it's used for? So quick," he thought as he licked his finger and wiped the blood off the wound–but it stung even worse. He furrowed his brows. His finger started to hurt now; it was like an infection.
Turning his head to view the mark from several angles, he muttered, "Best to not do anything I guess…"
He picked up the leaves and tossed them in the river. Nothing. The leaves floated with the current, as it should be. Klaus wasn't done with experimenting; he searched around him and found a stick lying behind him.
"That wasn't there. Eh, what works, works," he thought, picking up the plain stick. He then threw it into the river. Nothing again. He crouched down; an idea popped into his head. He raised his hand over the water and squeezed the sides of it. Blood slowly rolled off his hand and into the river when–
Splash! Splash!
"You like that, huh?"
Klaus watched tons of fish swim rapidly across the surface, biting the blood. He used this moment of chaos to scoop water with his other hand. It worked. Pulling the bloodied hand away, he drank some of the water but immediately spit it out.
"Cough, cough! Ack!"
A fire burned in his throat, each breath feeling like a ragged scrape. He lurched forward, clawing at his neck, gasping for air. His limbs trembled, then fell limp. His head dropped, his legs buckled, and he crumpled towards the water.
Splash!
Before the fish reached him, an unseen force yanked him out of the water. The forest reshuffled, and Klaus got thrown back into the fields. As he rolled again, he took a desperate breath and started to pant. When he stopped, he repeatedly gulped to replenish his dry throat.
"What…this is so damn–goddamnit!"
Klaus slammed his fist against the ground and sighed. Though he had died (again), he had a third chance. He stood up as he realized: Why would he have a third chance? Shouldn't the last one have been it?
"Another chance...how many more do I have?" he thought, gazing at the forest.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew.
"Hurry up. Now, nowwwwwwwwwwwww."
"Ah! Wait, wait, wait, no!!" Klaus yelled as he clawed at the ground to anchor himself, but to no avail; the wind carried him away and flung him to the cabin door.
Bang!
"Ow...ow..." he muttered, rubbing his head with one hand and holding his shoulder with the other. He took in a deep breath and blinked. He touched his nose--
"Leaf on my nose, same as before...what does it want me to do?" He wondered, rising to his feet. His gaze shifted upward to the sign. He frowned. The words had changed.
'No running, no running! Go fight.'
The message glared back at him; the bold letters painted a searing, messy yellow.
"I seriously have to fight that thing?! Why would I ever-"
His thought was interrupted by the door slamming open, nearly launching Klaus into the river. As he cursed and got up, he heard a low growl behind him. Panting. Peering to his side, he saw a large shadow.
"Ahaha..." he murmured as sweat formed on his nose. His body began to tremble, but he breathed to calm down. He slowly walked to the open door and entered the house without looking behind, acting as if the beast weren't there. He stopped in the middle of the room and began to shout.
"Hey! Wow, Jile, you left all this junk here? Could've told me--AHHHH!!"
The beast's claw pierced Klaus's neck from behind, blood pouring out, but before it could continue, everything froze. Klaus was lifted by a force, breaking through the wooden roof of the cabin. The forest shuffled once more, and before being thrown, he was moved above the forest's entrance and forcefully shot down like a ragdoll, his left arm shattering upon impact. It lay at an odd angle with a part sticking out.
"Ack! Oh-what the hell?! Oww!!"
Klaus touched his arm only to feel the pieces of bone lingering in it. He tried to move it. Nothing. The arm lay still, lifeless. His waning determination gave way to frustration.
"The hell do you want from me?!?!! Why are you doing this?!!!"
There was no response, only the whistling of the wind.
Klaus grimaced. "Answer me. You stupid, fu-"
"Fight." The whispering voice sounded young--too young-- but carried a hollow weight, as if a mask.
"Fighttttttttttttttt" The sonorous voice echoed across the landscape, violently shaking it for a moment until it came to a halt. Klaus's vision slowly unblurred as a leaf landed on his nose, wounds opening in his body.