Norbert stared up at the sky, waiting for it all to end.
To survive in this place, only to die doing something stupid.
So Norbert waited, closing his eyes and trying to establish peace, remembering the times and all he could do. He felt something land on his head; it must be Obsius; he thought at least he was with a friend. Slowly Norbert drifted away ….
PECK PECK PECK
… slowly opening his eyes. There standing on his nose was Obsius, pecking at his forehead. “I’m up, I’m up,” Norbert commented to the bird, shooing it away.
Feeling around his body, nothing seemed broken and he could move all his limbs as intended. Only a couple of pebbles from the river digging into his back. Sitting up, Norbert looked at the drop, thinking it might not have been as high as he thought.
Norbert craned his head, tilting further, finally stopping at the cliff edge. Looking up, he was bewildered; that would have at least been five meters high. Looking, he saw where the cliff came in a bit, where he must have fallen from; he couldn’t believe his eyes. Closing and rubbing them; he looked again, not thinking that he had fallen from there. Looking around, he saw the river flowing next to him, not recognising anything about it nor any landmarks he could have made.
Though if Norbert would be honest with himself, it wasn’t like he was paying attention to any from the start. Looking at the riverbank, a frown appeared on his face, for he did not have his trusty backpack with his raft to continue down the river once more.
Annoyed, he remembered he must have left it above the cliff. Gazing again at the stone on the side, he shook his head. Climbing that high, with no rope and barely any handholds, he would die if he fell ….
A smile appeared on Norbert’s face. He probably would have died before, but this was disproven due to his still being alive.
“HAHAHA, aren’t I the best,” Norbert said to anyone listening. Bending down, he walked towards it, trying to find some foot holds up to the top. Rubbing his hands on the cliff, he saw it was slightly layered, going higher and higher. Too thin for him to ever get a hold, an attempt was made by Norbert trying to hold himself with his fingers.
Feeling like he had a good grip, he lifted his feet, only to land on them a second later. Annoyed, he tried again at another part of the cliff, which failed. With his feelings bubbling inside of him, Norbert tried to jump as high as he could, hoping that higher up would have some better handholds for him to continue his climb.
As he bent down, getting his full range, hands on the side, pushing against the ground with all his might. Reaching up, he grabbed onto the cliff and found a handhold. Scrabbling with his feet, he found purchase, a smile escaping his face as if he was not going to fall.
Looking around for the next handhold to get him up, he saw that the top was not far from his fingers, only about half a meter up. Surprised it must have been smaller than Norbert thought. He looked down as he moved his right foot, looking for the next spot to pull himself up and over.
With a sudden sense of vertigo, he looked down, not believing the height he was up to. He was well above the ground, much more than his usual jump height, nearly three times that. Getting his balance again, Norbert scurried up the cliff, standing well back to ensure he would not fall off it again.
Back at the forest line, where the trees once more began, was his backpack resting on the ground. The straps almost invited him to put them on and carry them around. Relieved that his items were still there, Norbert walked over and gave the pack an affectionate pat on the top before placing it in its rightful position on his back, and he started walking, following the river up from the cliff.
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The trees on this side were the same as well as the bushes, the only way to know he was going the correct way sort of by using the compass, though he did not know where North was exactly or what it was pointing to, as long as he was going in a direction he was happy.
WOOF WOOOOOF
Norbert instantly squatted down, looking to the left side and into the forest, trying to locate the sound.
All the hairs prickled over his arms, feeling them stand on the back of his neck. He looked further into the forest, scanning what could have spotted him. Out of the gloom, two yellow eyes looked back. Making eye contact, the two creatures stared at one another, neither moving nor blinking.
Slowly the eyes lowered to the ground
GRRRR
A growl escaped from the beast. Shaken out of it, Norbert looked in front of him, along the cliff face with the river on his right and trees on his left. He sprinted forward with no way to go but the path he followed.
The chase had begun.
Norbert dug his feet into the solid ground and pushed off like a sprinter out of the gate. Arms pumping on either side, Norbert sprinted forward. The dirt under his foot was ejected behind him, a constant spray of earth, but Norbert was not able to see this, too busy to see this. Behind him, he heard the beast growling and felt it snapping at his heels, its breath on the back of his neck.
Wanting only to escape, Norbert spun around and chucked his backpack behind him, hoping to create distance between it.
Running, he heard a yelp of surprise, followed by contents splattering against the ground from his right. The backpack must have split open, ejecting its contents over the cliff. With a burst of speed, Norbert once more focused on running. The air came thick and fast, already warm, feeling his heartbeat in his chest-thumping against his ribs. His feet thumping against the ground, Norbert had never felt so alive.
As he continued to run, focusing on going straight ahead, the forest on the side was howling at him. No matter how fast he ran, the howls always kept up, always one step closer than before.
Worry was starting to grow; thinking that he would not be able to escape, Norbert quickly looked around for something, anything to go.
As he looked toward the forest, he saw a line of wolves running with him. The fur on their back was green and ever-changing, going in and out of the shadows like they were phasing through the bushes and leaves, going in blurs of colour.
The tree line of massive trees was behind them, knowing heading in that direction would spell certain doom. Norbert looked in the other, over the cliff and the river below.
Knowing that he survived it once more, he could do it again.
Shaking his head, he could not believe the thoughts going through his mind, actually going over the edge. Something darted out as he shook his head and focused in front of him. Seeing the green of the wolf now in daylight not obscured, its yellow eyes piercing his soul. Standing up to his shoulder, it ducked down, ready to pounce. Knowing he had no choice, Norbert dived to the side, falling down the cliff again.
Tumbling down the cliff once more, bumping each time and feeling the stone dig into him, arms bending at awkward angles, Norbert dropped to the bottom. Rolling into a pile, he quickly looked up and scanned the cliff top, seeing if there were any pursuers. The wolf from before looked down at him, growling and testing the edge, not wanting to jump as Norbert had.
With a smile and a wave, Norbert jogged off in the same direction.
Surprised at the amount of running he did today and still feeling fine, breath no longer coming hard, he continued his way down the river.
Occasionally he would look up, seeing the wolves carefully following him from above, disregarding them. Norbert continued forward, hoping that the wolves knew something he didn’t and they wouldn’t come down to meet him at the river. As he continued to jog, the wolves following him, he was once more surrounded in darkness. However now able to see his hand when it is in front of his face.
Perplexed, Norbert looked out into the expanse of nothingness, eyes gazing over what may be out there, just not being able to see. With a flash of light, those thoughts were vaporised, thinking how nice it would be to go and sleep in his nice bed and deal with the chasing wolves later.
As the world once more could be seen, he landed in a squelch.
Looking down, he saw his bed covered in black muck and vomit. The smell instantly hit him, and his body finally came down, and he started to heave what little was left in his stomach, making the bed that bit dirtier.