Rise of The Fallen

–2 days later–

Kora-

The lizard birds were frolicing about in the treetops, munching on leaves and seeds from the trees, going about their own daily lives, carefree as they could be. It was blissful to watch until my stomach growled in hunger, taking my attention from the scenery. I groaned, rubbing my hand over my lower abdomen.

I’m starving…

The last of the fruit ran out yesterday, and having only fruit to sustain me thus far had made me weaker. I wasn’t sure how long I actually had before my body really hit a decline.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and continued moving toward the river. I had to find something to eat. Hopefully there was fish or some kind of small critter I could cook up and eat, but for that I needed a trap or weapon.

Pushing forward, I made my way to the twisted root forest. I hadn’t seen nor heard anything for the past few days from that creature, and there had been no natives in the area from what I could tell.

Once I made it to the burrow, I groaned at seeing how muddy it was. Reluctantly, I started crawling through. Mud squelched between my fingers, coating my knees and shoes with every inch I moved.

This is just my luck.

By the time I managed to crawl through the tunnel, I was covered in mud and felt disgusting. At least I would be able to wash off at the river, but going back home would just make me filthy again.

Great.

The roots thinned out a bit toward the end, letting more light into the small space. I crawled forward, ready to climb out, only to pull back at the last second as a blur rushed toward me from the side. I shrieked as claws slashed at me, and an angry yowl sounded from the beast outside.

I scooted back further into the tunnel, scared from the sudden attack. The wild animal dug at the roots and entrance, trying to squeeze inside.

It snarled and clawed at the den, managing to stick its head and front claws in to try and get to me. It looked like some kind of alien saber-cat with two giant fangs, fur and four eyes. Growling, it reached into the tunnel and swatted at me again, just barely managing to reach me and scratch my arm.

I recoiled, shifting back only to get stuck in place because of a protruding root behind me. Wincing, I looked at the claw marks across my bleeding arm. They weren’t too deep but pain radiated down my arm.

It hurts like a bitch. Shit!

I frantically tried to crawl backwards to get out of the tunnel, but the space was so tight, I couldn’t turn around or look back in order to navigate through it.

The saber cat hissed, crawling further into the hole. My eyes widened in fear as I realized I might be screwed for real this time.

The animal growled at me before suddenly yelping and squirming back. It pulled itself out of the tunnel in a panic, which didn’t help my skyrocketing anxiety at all. I watched in confusion as it spun around, snarling at an unseen enemy. I noticed something lodged in its back leg, fresh blue blood seeping from the wound. What was that? An arrow?

The saber hissed, lunging at an approaching figure. The animal slammed into the figure, rolling on the ground with the dark beast and they struggled against one another.

The dark beast obtained a few cuts from the cat’s claws before finally pinning down two of its front claws and plunging a knife into the creature’s neck. There was a gurgle, almost like a yelp, before the massive cat’s body went limp.

The dark figure moved away, standing up on its hind legs. My eyes widened in surprise. It wasn’t another animal–it was one of the natives.

He stood above the now dead animal, breathing heavily from exertion before crouching down to inspect it, his tail swishing around behind him. I couldn’t see anything above his shoulders as he turned the large cat over, speaking in another language as he studied the body.

Another native stepped in front of the hole I was hiding in, and I flinched back at his sudden appearance. They both started talking, pointing at the cat and inspecting its fur.

Curious, I tried to listen in on what they were saying, barely catching more than two words. Food, and broken? I squinted, watching the one who fought the cat reach over to body, picking up something from the ground that he must have dropped in the fight.

He lifted up two sticks connected by a string, showing it to the other native. After getting a better look at it, I realized it was his bow. It must have snapped in half during the struggle. The native grunted in irritation before tossing the broken bow away.

Maybe I can use that.

The native clutched his side, holding a bleeding wound from the cat’s claws. Blue liquid seeped between his fingers. Was that the color for all of Xanadis’s creatures?

When the crouched one gestured to the hole I was hiding in, I paled.

Fuck! Please don’t look, please!

The one standing closest, crouched down by the entrance and I ducked, practically hiding my face in the mud and holding as still as possible. My heart was racing in my chest and I worried they would be able to hear it pounding against my ribcage.

After a moment of silence, they both started speaking to each other again. I glanced up, eyes wide with fear as both natives grabbed the dead cat, moving its body and hauling it away.

They…they didn’t see me? I looked down at my arm, which was almost completely covered in a thick layer of mud, causing me to blend into the dark tunnel.

I waited for what seemed like forever until I was sure the natives were long gone, before I crawled out of my hole. I was cautious as I looked around for any sign of them, relaxing when I saw nothing.

Going over to the river, I washed myself off to the best of my ability, carefully inspecting the scratch on my arm. I winced as it throbbed, the cool water only aggravating the wound.

I was lucky it was just a scratch.

Sitting down on the bank of the river to take a breather, I tore a piece of fabric from my shirt, thoroughly cleaning it in the water and laying it out to dry on a small rock so that I could use it to bandage my arm.

I still couldn’t believe I’d gotten away from the natives.

They hadn’t seen me at all…I’d blended into the dark enough that they had completely overlooked me, all because of a little bit of mud. Maybe I could avoid them by blending into dark areas…or even at night.

My dark hair shouldn’t stick out as much as the rest of me, so I would just need to cover my skin. Although, the thought of covering myself in mud all the time really wasn’t appealing.

But camouflage would be useful when it came to hunting, so I’d have to come up with something. Not to mention I’d need a weapon. Something silent that I could–

My eyes widened, a sly grin forming on my face as I whipped around toward the tunnel.

The discarded bow was still on the ground. Scrambling up from my spot on the riverbank, I grabbed it, inspecting the broken weapon. The sting was still intact but even if the wood hadn’t broken, it would be much too big for me to properly use…

Maybe I could make my own?

The idea had me perking up as I thought about how much a bow might actually help me in this situation.

After a quick search around the area, I found an arrow the native had fired into the cat. I grabbed it as well. Scavenging the bow string and arrow, I also collected more water, tied the cloth around my arm and made my way back home.

I needed to find something durable yet flexible enough to make a bow with. I’d seen a few tree saplings that could be useful, but I only had one arrow. Unless I somehow scavenged more, but that meant getting close to the natives or finding them, which had already proven to be dangerous.

But if I can hunt, then I can survive. I can make new blankets and clothes with fur. I can eat meat and regain my strength.

So many thoughts were coursing through my head that I didn’t even hear the stranger approaching me from behind.

A snap of a branch caught my attention. I spun around with the arrow in hand like a weapon as I faced my new pursuer.

Pointing the arrow tip towards him like a knife, I quickly backed away a few steps and looked at the person before me.

It was a man with short brown hair, some stubble across his face wearing normal clothes and a backpack. There was a basic knife attached to his belt, as well as a canteen hanging from his pack.

He was another human. An exiled criminal.

He held up his hands cautiously, glancing at my weapon before his gaze shifted to me. “Hey there, what’s your name?”