In a forest somewhere:
Along a large river, a man was running for his life. He had long since abandoned most of his luggage, much of his food supplies (already eaten), water (already used to quench his thirst two days ago), weapons (ammo-less and dull), and armor (battered and broken) had been left behind in the several days of escaping the relentless pursuit. Now, he carries on him only a long but chipped hunting knife. Behind him, the loud yells and occasional gunfire told him that the soldiers tracking him are close. Above, the thumping of helicopter blades cutting through the air warn him from entering the clearing ahead, lest he expose himself to the helicopter’s massive searchlights. Seeing a herd of deer on the far side of the clearing, the man gets an idea. Picking up a rock, he throws it a large deer at the edge of the herd opposite to him. Startled by the deer’s cry, the herd stampedes its way towards the man, causing the soldiers in the helicopter above to believe the man to being in the direction opposite of the stampede. Like he hoped for, the helicopter veers towards the herd’s original position, believing him to be there.
“Fuck!” the man whispers a curse as he runs; the detour he was forced to take around the clearing and attempt to distract the helicopter (though successful) had led to the men behind him to get closer. Now, not only could he hear their yells, but he could hear the rustling and snapping of tree branches and twigs caused by their frantic pursuit. He would soon reach the cave he intended to hide in to escape his pursuers. But no sooner had he thought of the cave, when suddenly, he was tackled from behind. Unsheathing his knife and stabbing it backwards twice, the resistance of piercing through the soldier’s clothes, skin, and muscle as well as the warm sticky fluid that splattered onto his hand, the man knew he would be able to escape this time. Throwing the heavy body off of his back, the man abandoned his knife for the cliff just twenty feet away.
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Finally, the man reaches a familiar cliff. Sliding to a stop, he peers down into the abyss. During the day, the view from this cliff would be majestic. To the left and right, massive mountains border an expansive lush valley. The river beside him cuts through the greenery, ultimately pouring into a twinkling ocean in the distance. Now, in the cold darkness, none of the amazing scenery can be viewed, only the thunderous roar of the waterfall crashing down below. Luckily, the helicopters had been tricked into searching a different direction. Austin quickly begins to scramble down the rocky cliff; he knows that as long as he can get into the hidden cave, he will be safe.
The cave was difficult to enter to say the least. Barely body width in size, the cave’s mouth faced downwards on the cliff wall, forcing any who wished to enter to climb down below the large section of rock covering its entrance and then climb back up through the entrance into the grotto. Additionally, the cave was located behind the waterfall, making an already severely difficult wall climbing experience into a life-threatening one. Upon entering the cave, Austin collapsed onto the cave floor, gasping for air. It had been several days since he had been able to rest and his eyes began to droop. His entire being screamed for rest but his mind told him that he had just several more feet to go. At the end of the cave, Austin had seemingly hit a dead end. However, he stabbed his finger into a small crevice, felt for the fingerprint scanner and heard the click. The rock wall in front of him opened in front of him, revealing a small elevator. Throwing himself inside, the man pressed the lower button of the two and as his consciousness drifted rapidly into a deep slumber despite the hard, cold floor beneath him, he heard a female robotic voice say, “Welcome back, Austin.”