Island of the Forgotten

In Which Calhoun is Attacked by the Angel of Death

It was the same sunset to which Saihb cried herself to sleep that Cal found himself awakening to. The moon was rising like a giant half-ripe pumpkin, yellow-orange before him, and was followed by three smaller orbs, gradually shrinking in size but making up for it in sheer vividness of color. He found himself gawking at the celestial tail, the end of which seemed to be made of purely beaten gold. Certainly something to claim if it could ever be reached by a shuttle. But why on Earth were these new discoveries in the sky revealing themselves to him? And now? He could scarcely believe that he was awake...even alive. A vicious pinch on his inner thigh reassured him, however, and brought prickling tears to his eyes in the process.
Already the place seemed to be working on him. Since awakening from his faint he felt better...not so twitchy, not so terrified. It was obvious to him now that something had to be done, and since he was alone, he’d have to do it himself. He chose the direction he supposed was North (though he really had no idea which direction North was, he pretended to, so as to make himself feel better) and began walking. Sooner or later he was bound to find something. His attackers certainly wouldn’t have taken him somewhere too secluded. They wouldn’t have put that much effort into it. With that thought he wandered. After only an hour he became parched. No matter that the heat of the day had faded, leaving the air with a slight chill in it. It was his nerves that dried him out. His unsureness began to return to him.
A sweat had broken out over the male’s body. His face was dirty and muddy-salty water was trickling down his face. He couldn’t control his fear. It made him shiftier than usual, and as he tried to make his way over the forest floor, he found himself twitching, almost jerking. His head moved one way, then the other. His arm flew up to scratch an itch on his face. A twig cracked behind him. He spun and saw the still empty forest floor, where he’d made his way through the leaves. It was beginning to become clearer now as he continued on his way. He could hear the call of birds, the hum on insects. One hundred minutes. A large bug landed on his neck. He could feel it stab into him with sucker that felt like a needle. He reached up and slapped it, crushed it against his skin. A thick stream of ruby red blood ran down his neck. He drew his hand back and his breathing became ragged, he resisted the urge to scream. The now smashed carcass of an enormous creature was smeared on his hand. It looked somewhat like a mosquito, though it had three sets of wings to carry its enormous tennis-ball sized body through the air. One of the pairs of smashed wings was nearly as big as his hand. The thing twitched and made a miserable buzzing sound as Cal gasped and sunk to the ground, trying to wipe it into the grassy floor. Now thoroughly shaken, physically shivering with the surprise of such an ‘attack’, Cal turned in his chosen direction once again and wandered deeper and deeper into the forest.


- - - - -


It seemed as if hours had passed. Cal wore no watch, so he had no idea as to truly how long he had been walking. His feet ached from covering the slightly uneven terrain, and he thought he would begin to cry. His breathing was still quick and he was worn out. The sun showed no signs of gracing him with it’s presence, and he knew that he wouldn’t survive the whole night, at least not in his right-mind. He was absolutely terrified. All of the doubts began to nag at him again, and his shoulders sagged. He couldn’t have been traveling for more than three or four hours, could he? And he’d started in the morning. Why had the sun left him so quickly? Had he been out for that long?
He was a survivor, first and foremost. It was his instinct, and he followed it, to burrow up for the night. Find a place safe and comfortable to sleep. Cal’s eyes wandered the ground, and slowly, very slowly, he sat his back against a thin tree. His fingers dug at the grass around him and he realized that it was becoming colder and colder out. Pulling up some of the moss and earth, he placed it over the trunk of his body. He’d seen it on a movie once. Cal’s arms retreated into his long sleeved shirt and were held tight to his body. This he found to be much warmer, and from the exhaustion of traveling he soon fell asleep, though he was plagued with dreams and his eyes fluttered beneath his lids constantly.


- - - - -


It was far into the darkness of night and the air around the gaunt male had grown colder than he first thought it might. He gave a soft sigh at hearing the footfalls of another person. The dream had been horrible, and strangely he could recall most of it. But no matter, he was on the street of his city once again. On hearing the footsteps come nearer his eyes flew open. He was home, maybe, but he would still be unsafe lying propped up against a building. As he adjusted to the darkness he once again recognized the trees and forest floor around him. He was still in his nightmare. He began fretting again over his fate immediately. But then he remembered... footfalls. Someone near? It was frightening and a relief at the same time. He was wide awake now, alert and looking for the maker of the noise. A twig snap to his left. He turned his head in the direction of the noise. Harsh breathing to his right. He turned his head to the direction of the noise. What was this? He began to hyperventilate once again. Animals that were coming to get him? A short creature stepped forward from the darkness. The very pale, very strained moonlight shone on its features. A mane of crazy hair haloed its face and its piercing eyes peered out from beneath dark, intense eyebrows. It took another step forward and raised a hand, which held a crude looking weapon. But the weapon was not needed, as the onlooker immediately passed out. His breathing soon calmed though he did not wake up. The thing stood watching him, raised both eyes skyward, then gave a short command in a low, very soft voice.
“Up.”
That was all. Two creatures, both with flowing manes of silken hair around their faces came from the thicker part of the forest. They were well muscled, both of them tall, and looking warily at the new and unknown form on the ground. Soon, however, they dutifully marched forward and between them picked the body up. As their ‘leader’ turned and strode back into the darkness they followed as well, carrying Cal in between them unceremoniously.
It became colder, a wolf’s howl pierced the night, and the scene went back to what it had been before. A still, picturesque view of a peaceful night in a delicate and seemingly enchanted forest.