《Wilderness Patrol》


 Chapter 1 - The Girl

    Chapter 1 ¨C The Girl


    Part 1 ¨C Unrelenting Downpour


    It¡¯s raining.


    The mud is sticking to my clothes and brand new shoes. The roots against my back are warm. Today was supposed to be a day without care. We just wanted to do one last trip together before he left. Today was supposed to be the day. I want to scream but that would be death. Today¡¯s screams weren¡¯t supposed to be screams of fear. Today was supposed to be special.


    I want to see him laughing, his eyes full of confidence. I¡¯m scared. I want to hear his voice again. I want him to wake me up from this nightmare and to hold me. I want to cry in his arms and for him to listen to my fears. I want to know that he¡¯s in the room next door. I want to know that I¡¯m not alone. Something¡¯s moving in the lake.


    Today we went to the amusement park. We wanted to make it the final trip together before he left. We wanted to make it special. We were going to ride the log ride together. We were going to eat lunch together. We were going to buy gifts together. Something is howling behind me.


    We were riding the shuttle. It was supposed to be a short ride. We snuck away from our parents to go eat lunch at that burger place we both liked. I remember him laughing while trying to wipe out the bird poop in his hair. I remember trying to help him. We didn¡¯t want to get off, we were hungry. The bus had just pulled away from the stop when that happened.


    Today wasn¡¯t supposed to be our final farewell.


    It¡¯s raining.


    We were laughing and holding those dirty tissues when it happened. The bus tipped and suddenly we weren¡¯t so worried about those tissues. We fell into that vat of darkness. I remember the cries, our hands struggling to find one another. I remember the fall, the screams. I remember the fear.


    The shock when that dazzling light finally appeared, the pain of the impact. I remember waking up in the rain. The air was heavy and sticky, so unlike the dry dusty air before we boarded the bus. I remember the confusion, as thick as the air. The panic in everyone¡¯s voices as phone services failed, when the bus failed to start. I remember seeing it.


    The creature looks like something from a movie, it¡¯s so colorful. It seemed so harmless from faraway in those trees. Then another joined it, and another, and then it didn¡¯t seem so harmless. Cries of surprise, someone else noticed. Someone took out a phone. It¡¯s noisy. The creatures are looking this way. I don¡¯t like this. I want to get out. I want to run from these people.


    Someone is trying stopping me. I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t like it here. This must be a dream. I pushed my way out and into the rain. Someone is talking to me, grabbing me, lifting me up. The creatures are coming this way. Stay back. Don¡¯t come this way. Someone is trying to pull me back. I run. Someone is calling for me. I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t want to be here. I fall, the mud is slippery. It hurts. If this is a dream, why am I not waking up?


    I hear something but I don¡¯t care. I run. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m running but I don¡¯t care. I slip again, there¡¯s a slope. I¡¯m sliding down it, I hear something. I don¡¯t want to know what it is. I don¡¯t care. I just want to run. I just want to run. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve been running. I don¡¯t want to be here.


    There¡¯s a cliff, there¡¯s a lake. I don¡¯t know what to do. I can¡¯t run anymore. There¡¯s a tree. The roots are thick and there¡¯s a space. I can hide. I don¡¯t know why I have to hide, but I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve been hiding here. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been raining.


    I hate the rain.


    Part 2 ¨C Day Break


    I don¡¯t know when it stopped raining. I don¡¯t know when I fell asleep. I just know when I woke up it was the middle of the night. When the clouds parted to the night sky, it was the deepest, brightest night sky I had ever seen. I don¡¯t know how long I sat there staring up into the sky, even after the clouds covered those sparkling stars. When the sky brightens I can go back.


    I don¡¯t know when the sun rose, but I think it¡¯s there. I struggle to stand, the mud is slippery. My clothes are caked in it. The sticky mud just smears when I try to get it off. I don¡¯t want to injure my feet in this mud so I¡¯ll keep my shoes on for now. I¡¯ll have to find some place dry later and take them off. I heard bad stuff about leaving wet feet in shoes. I¡¯m not sure what happens, but I don¡¯t want to find out.


    The mud makes me slip when I try to climb up. The lake is no good, the water is too murky. I can¡¯t tell how deep it is. I try climbing up by grabbing the roots. They shift a bit, but the tree¡¯s roots are deeper than I thought. I manage to climb up without any close calls and I crawl onto the cliff. Everything looks brown, not the sandy sort of brown.


    There are dark clouds in the distance, time to move. I try to retrace my steps through the jungle. I don¡¯t really remember what happened yesterday. When I try to look back, I only remember being afraid. I only remember running until I couldn¡¯t run anymore. I don¡¯t know why I was afraid. Aw¡­


    Why did no one come looking for me?


    No, that¡¯s wrong. I ran away, I think they tried to stop me. Brother might have tried to follow but they would have stopped him. With the rain they would have trouble finding me. I just have to find my way back. Maybe they sent a search party. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to meet with everyone. I just have to find my way back.


    I remember seeing this rock, I ran past it. I think I came from that direction. It¡¯s hot. The ground is slippery. I don¡¯t know how long I have to walk. I don¡¯t remember how long I ran. I¡¯m hungry. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to find something to eat when I get back.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.I¡¯ve been walking for a while and I still haven¡¯t found anything I recognize. Maybe if I climbed up somewhere high I¡¯ll see the bus. Let¡¯s do that. This slope is too steep to climb, the mud is too soft. Though there are some trees over this way¡­


    The sun poked through the clouds by the time I climbed over the rocks. All I saw was trees, water, and mud. It¡¯s pretty, in a gloomy unforgiving way. I don¡¯t see anything though. I¡¯ll try the rock on that hill. Maybe it¡¯ll give a better view. This rock isn¡¯t really high up and it just barely gets over the trees. For some reason being on this rock doesn¡¯t feel safe. I confirm my direction, climb down and make my way through the jungle.


    I¡¯m thirsty, but I can¡¯t stop. The leaves are sticky. Somehow I¡¯m already at the hill. I climb up by using the roots of a tree. It¡¯ll be hard getting down. It takes a while to get to the top but I somehow manage. There, on a hill, it¡¯s a lot farther to the right than I thought. The bright white and blue of the bus can be just barely seen. The hill was so tall that I couldn¡¯t have seen it from that last rock. Did I really run all the way from there? It¡¯s far, really far.


    I wonder if brother is alright.


    Part 3 ¨C Cold Wind


    I got lost. After climbing down the rock I somehow missed the hill and ended up in a valley. There¡¯s a small cave. I drag some wood into the cave and pick some berries. There are some really big bugs that seem to be eating them so maybe they¡¯re good to eat. The sun is setting. I don¡¯t want to go around at night. I don¡¯t light a fire, I don¡¯t know how. I tired but I think the wood was too soft and wet. The berries didn¡¯t taste bitter or sour. They look like peaches, taste like grapes even though they have a weird aftertaste. I think I¡¯ll eat more, they¡¯re tasty. I make myself a bed, undress and go to sleep.


    I woke up. Something is outside. I hope it doesn¡¯t find me. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t make that fire. This cave is more like a hole in the wall. I¡¯m only sleeping in it because it¡¯s dry and somewhat hidden. If something wanted to get me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. I sat there, listening, not daring to move. Whatever is outside, it sounds pretty big. It makes a twittering noise I¡¯ve never heard before, almost like a bird. Eventually it moves away, I better get some sleep.


    Morning comes, it will always come. I dress, eat what I can before setting out. I walk through the valley and find a stream. The water is clear but the ground soft and hard to walk on. Following the stream, I find a cave with an enormous lake. Following the flowing water, I escape the clasp of the valley and climb a tall tree. I climbed the correct side of the valley, the bus is closer.


    Climbing the hill is tough, the muddy ground makes me slip and sometimes I slide down the slope. If I try to go through the jungle, but when I trip I get hurt more than on the rocks and even got stuck in a sticky plant. It takes a long time to find a roundabout and by the time I reach the top, it¡¯s late afternoon. I haven¡¯t eaten since morning¡­ actually it¡¯s a bit strange that I¡¯m not feeling hungry or thirsty.


    I finally reach the bus. And I notice something bad.


    For starters, the windows are smashed, the bus is thoroughly smashed, and there¡¯s no one in the area. Looks like a big animal came through and made everyone run away. I look around a bit more, wait, is that a corpse? It¡¯s on the other side of the clearing and I walk towards it, why wasn¡¯t it eaten?


    The corpse seems to be pegged into the tree, what those stacks are, they¡¯re white. Looks like a male with black hair. His clothes are torn and there are bite marks but he wasn¡¯t really eaten. Strange, maybe he¡¯s being saved to be eaten later. I probably should get out of here before whatever did this gets back here. Anyway, I think the stack would make a pretty good tool so I try to pull out one of them.


    Ugh, the stack is really buried in the tree so I have to touch the guy. Wait, why is he warm?


    I look in the corpse¡¯s eyes.


    Everything stops, my world drains of color, and my ears go deaf. Why? My feet slip and I fall down.


    Deep down, I probably had already believed him dead but didn¡¯t want to acknowledge it, but this¡­ this is too cruel, too cruel.


    It¡¯s hard to breath, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that he¡¯s there. I don¡¯t want to accept it. There¡¯s only one thing I can do.


    I wretch out the stack and I finally cry after coming to this dangerous, unforgiving world.


    - - - - - - - - - - Author Notes - - - - - - - - - -


    I''m InfernoHades, an aspiring web series writer. I thank any readers for reading the first chapter of my work.


    This is my first time posting here on Royal Road. Originally I didn''t want to but the sad reality is that no one was reading my writing. Also I have a habit of working on 3 projects at the same time, but that''s really no excuse for how slow I write. In fact most of what I''ve written hasn''t been refined enough to be published (at least not in my eyes).


    Anyway, I have a Wordpress where I''ll post my other works to.  This will be the only series to be re-posted on Royal Road. (though at the moment there''s not much on the site since I had to go back and rewrite the other series I originally posted there)

 Chapter 2 - The Man

    Chapter 2 ¨C The Man


    Part 1 ¨C The Drop


    Today was a surprise, I had it all planned out. We would enjoy ourselves, eat lunch, and then go shopping. I¡¯d been saving money so we could go out and buy something nice.


    We board a complementary shuttle. We¡¯re going to a restaurant I know. I hadn¡¯t been there in years but it has great good and is reasonably priced.


    My wife, Lilly, is sitting next to me. She¡¯s not exactly a beauty but to me she¡¯s an angel. I smile gently and hug her. She blushes slightly and looks out the window.


    Suddenly the bus tips, I grab Lily. Before us is a black nothing. I hear my Lily¡¯s strangled cry, like her scream froze on her lips.


    Just as suddenly as the darkness swallowed us, it spits us out. Lily is trembling uncontrollably next to me. I look around, aside from a few people falling, looks like everyone is fine. Outside is unfamiliar, a dull brown swamp. Just a minute ago there was no rain.


    Impossible, even if someone hijacked the bus and put us all to sleep, how would they get the bus up here?


    I turn back to Lily, looks like she¡¯s going to cry. I hug her and try to calm her. Panicked voices permeate the air.


    The bus driver gets off briefly but returns with a grim expression. While he was off, someone tried to start the engine but it failed. I check my phone, no service. Seeing this, my wife starts crying freely, as though all hope is lost.


    Why, how did that happen? I¡¯m not the type who gets scared easily but this is something completely different. Some people are begging, praying, yelling. If this continues, someone will get hurt.


    Before I can do anything, something happens. A young girl suddenly pushes through and jumps off the bus. I try to stop her, but she¡¯s in a state of panic and fights back. A boy runs to help me but I yell at him to stay back.


    A loud scream distracts me and the girl manages to slip through my grasp. I try to give chase, but the boy suddenly grabs my arm, I shake him off and give chase. Suddenly I hear screams.


    More screams, I hesitate and the girl escapes my view. I turn and I see a monster dragging someone off.


    I shout and try to make myself look bigger like you¡¯re supposed to with a bear, but I doubt it did anything. I grab the boy and carry him to someone and he¡¯s shoved back into the bus. The monster is actually the head of a herd of smaller monsters. It¡¯ll be hard to deal with it.


    I board the bus and do a quick search and realize something is wrong.


    Lily was missing.


    Part 2 ¨C Breaking Through


    Those monsters, they took Lily! I storm off the bus and sprint towards the larger beast. It has someone pinned down and is poised to eat. As the jaw descends, the person throws up their arms and it tears off a chunk. My blood turns ice cold.


    I barrel my way through the crowd of smaller creatures and solidly punch the monster from below the jaw.


    The beast gives a cry of surprise and stumbles back. I grab Lily¡¯s hand and drag her up. I¡¯d like to tie up her wound but we¡¯re surrounded. I¡¯m not given the chance to check the severity of Lily¡¯s wounds anyway.


    I¡¯m beset by the beast¡¯s underlings almost immediately. I get bitten on the arm but they¡¯re easy to throw off. However they bought the leader enough time to regain its composure.


    This is bad, it would be better to run, but Lily is frozen in fear. I¡¯d have to carry her.


    I make my decision.


    I turn, sweep Lily up and run. I can hear the monster¡¯s cries. Suddenly the bus looks really far away. Can I carry Lily all the way?


    Something slams into my back and I fall face first. Lily screams as she flies out of my arms and falls to on the ground.


    I roll over and bring my arms just in time to face the beast. I slam my arms down on the jaws, clamping them shut. The beast shakes its head to free itself and I scramble onto my feet.


    The beast tries to attack me with its teeth but I dodge it. I wrap my arms around its neck and exert all of my strength to push it over.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Surprisingly, it falls over despite the obvious size advantage. However, I also slip and I¡¯m immediately beset by a smaller creature. I smash it into the ground and stomp on its small head. I don¡¯t think that killed it though.


    I turn to grab Lily.


    Only to see one of the creatures latched to her neck.


    The creature turns its head, tearing apart her throat. Shining red blood gushes from the wound and her mouth. Her eyes are wet with tears, and even when they¡¯re dilated with fear, they find and stare into my eyes.


    I can only watch in agony. Watch her fall.


    I couldn¡¯t do anything.


    I can only stare into her dying gaze, her eyes blaming me for everything.


    Part 3 ¨C Loss


    I lose myself to angry and I start grabbing and throwing everything I can get my hands on.


    The beast that killed Lily, I twist its head so hard that it¡¯s at a strange angle. The large beast charges at me and I grab it and push it down. If I had I rock or heavy object, I would have brought down on its head and smashed it until it stopped moving.


    However I didn¡¯t have a weapon, and in my anger, I at least realized that. I grab a nearby rock, half submerged in slimy mud. I drag out with strength I didn¡¯t know I had. It¡¯s a large rock, bigger than my head.


    I race towards the beast just as it regains its footing. I raise the rock up high and it bring it down with such force that I lose my balance. The beast doesn¡¯t even have time to cry out as the rock caves in its skull.


    Or at least it should have.


    The beast has an extremely thick skull and it doesn¡¯t break like I thought it would. It does, however, make it confused and stumble.


    I ignore the smaller creatures and grab the beast¡¯s head in my arms. With a burst of strength I shove the beast onto the ground and start bashing down it¡¯s skull with the rock.


    I ignore the blood, the cries, the screams, the injuries. I keep bringing down that rock. While its eye is reduced to a water mess, its skull does not cave in. Suddenly the monster tosses me off and rights itself.


    It glares at me with its remaining eye. It considers me a threat and we start circling.


    Suddenly a loud sound and rumbling distracts me. I unconsciously turn my head towards the bus. It costs me dearly, the beast charges and sends me flying.


    My hands grasp at air as I fly through the air and over a cliff. I see a black creature, larger than the one I was fighting. It has knocked the bus onto its side and is terrorizing the other passengers.


    I see all this in an instant as I fly off that cliff.


    I fall, looking at that lonely rock far above me.


    I fall, looking at that lonely rock far above me.


    I¡¯m sorry.


    With those thoughts I fall through the foliage for the jungle. I hit something and I start tumbling but I don¡¯t resist. Suddenly I hit something hard, and a dull sting of pain attacks me.


    Aw, it¡¯s warm, so warm...


    - - - - - - - - - - Author Notes - - - - - - - - - -


    I wanted to post this earlier but my internet was blitzing out on me and then my computer imploded on itself every time I tried to access the site. I''ll try to get chapter 3 up sometime this week but no promises with how weird my internet is acting. I actually tried to post this chapter 5 times, two failed because my computer imploded, and the other 3 were because of my internet dropping packets left and right.


    Anyway, after I post chapter 3, I''m not sure when I''ll update again since I''m focusing on my main series. 3 chapters isn''t much but it''s enough for me to start off, not to mention this was intended to be a side project for me to work on when I'' have writer''s block.


    Thanksgiving is coming up but hopefully I''ll find the time to write, or maybe just type out all the notes I have... I have 3 notebooks of notes, though only one of them needs to be typed since two are literally just notes and profiles. Normally typing that would take a day, but knowing me where I revise as I type, I''ll take 3 days, and then I have to go back and edit which makes the whole process a week... *cries*