Rain slowly opened his eyes as the blinding sun's rays entered his tired eyes. He had just opened the latch over the cellar's hatch. In front of him stood three men outfitted in full tactical gear. Each of them had an assault rifle in their hands and a pistol strapped to their waist.
"Place your hands above your head!"
"H-huh?"
"Let me see your hands!"
"O-okay! Okay!" Rain yelled as he slowly placed his hands above his head, struggling to maintain his balance on the small ladder he was standing on.
"Walk out slowly!"
"R-Rain, what's happening out there?"
"B-Big birth?"
Rain bit his lip, drawing a few drops of blood as his mother and sister stood there with full view of the situation. One of the men pointed their assault rifle towards the two of them and yelled, "Both of you! Hands where I can see them!"
Startled, they both stumbled backward and into the wall.
"Hey!"
"Shut it! Also, rookie, be more mindful!"
"Y-yes, sir."
"Sigh, sorry about that, ma'am and little miss. However, can you please leave the cellar?"
"W-we understand."
As everyone was out of the cellar and in the destroyed house, one of the armed men, likely the leader, asked, "We just have a few questions. What happened here?"
"S-some people came and took everything they could… s-so we decided to stay in the cellar for the time being."
"I see. Do you have any weapons here?"
"N-no, sir."
"Okay, the government has set up a safe zone. So grab anything you can carry, and we'll bring you over."
Rain's mother looked overjoyed at the news; however, Rain felt something was wrong, and his feeling was proven right only a few seconds later.
"However, unfortunately, the government is only housing young children and women. At least until a full grasp on the situation is established."
"I see, alright." Rain didn't make a fuss or have any large outburst. He was content with the peace of mind of them being safe. His little sister Stella gave him one last hug, and his mother gave him a small kiss on the forehead before they left.
Rain sat on the porch alone, in his broken and torn home. He had a feeling that the government-sanctioned areas would be safer than here, although he felt most places should be safe after the initial panic settled.
Rain had his own destination set and packed enough food and water to last him for the rest of the week.
Rain left the city and went towards the wilderness to spend the rest of the week away from the chaos that had only just begun. Yet, even with that in mind, he felt an odd attraction to the solitude and quiet of the forest, although he would never admit it.
He finally arrived at the forest outside of the city at noon. He took a sharp breath of the fresh air and started to look for a good place to set up camp. Although not the most comfortable, he also brought a small tent.
"H-help!" A voice yelled out in the forest, drawing Rain's attention in. He looked on for a few more seconds before he went back to setting up his tent. "Please help me!" The voice rang out again, however louder this time. "Help me!" This time the voice sounded right next to him, and the hairs on his neck stood up.
Swiftly, Rain snapped his neck behind him, but nothing was there. His eyes refused to move from one singular, normal tree, and he slowly backed away.
"H-help me…" The voice was softer this time, but it still sounded right next to him. Suddenly, Rain went into a full sprint into the forest. Since that voice had started to live closer and closer to him, he felt his hairs stand and his heart race. Mere moments after he started to run, thick wooden roots sprang out from the grass and chased after him.
"D-dd-D-don't leav-v-ve ME!" The voice screamed out as Rain ran through the thick cover of trees and bushes. After a few minutes of running, sharp pains like knives stabbed into his stomach, urging him to stop, but that uneasy feeling only became stronger.
"A-am I going to die?" Rain's mind asked a single question, a question that shook him to his heart. His heart raced at the image of his own gruesome death, strangled and dismembered by a tree.
"Huff! I-I can't. Huff! G-go any m-more…" Rain finally reached his limit, although such a limit was pathetically small, it was still his limit.
"Hehe, you won't leave me now…or ever…"
That same voice echoed throughout the trees. Rain had nothing to help him in this situation and would most likely die, so he felt the need to at least put up some form of fight. He slowly stumbled backward and tripped over an exposed root, crashing onto the forest floor. As he backed away, his hands scavenged the forest floor for any semblance of a weapon, only turning up a slightly sharper twig than normal.
Rain watched as tree roots sprouted out from the ground towards him, inching closer and closer, but they stopped just short. They kept trying to advance further, tugging on whatever more they had left, but they didn't advance a single inch closer.
"N-no! Nooo! This can't be happening! No, no, no!!" The voice screamed as Rain didn't stick around for the thing to find a way to get to him. He quickly moved more into the forest, unsure how far away he was from the other. With a small sigh, he reached for a water bottle in his backpack, only to realize he'd left it back at the camp.
"Ah, fuck! Goddammit!" Rain yelled out. He was now stranded in the forest with no food, water, or shelter. For the next few hours, he scavenged the forest for anything edible, but he had no way to identify poison from actual food. As the sun set on the second day, Rain was curled up against the trunk of a tree, wishing that this hell would end soon.
That night, Rain would wake up to bugs crawling over him and biting him, or from the cold winds. At dawn on the third day, Rain awoke to find himself face-to-face with a beast he had never seen before. His heart dropped as the beast growled at him, seemingly ready to partake in the meal that was his body.