Sam scrambled over a fallen tree as the screams closed in on him. He was close to Reset Rock, at least he was pretty sure he was. There should be a fork in the forest path coming up. Either that or he was completely lost. It was only his fourth time out on an expedition so he couldn't be too mad at himself if he didn't remember, right? 13 would not be as open minded. Especially if she knew what he found.
Sprinting down a recently cleared path he knew he was going in the right direction. White paint marked a tree to his left every 50 feet or so. When those markings turn to red I'm supposed to take a sharp left... Or was it right? Unsure of himself he decided he was just going to have to worry about it when he got there.
Following a slight bend in the path Sam began to notice something odd. He had been too worried about making the turn and disappointing 13 that he failed to notice the lack of screams behind him now. Slowing down his gate and straining his ears he noticed the lack of any noise at all. No screams from the Shades, no wildlife in the woods, not even the wind felt inclined to rustle some leaves. Something was definitely off.
He stopped moving all together and took in the strangeness of it all. He had never heard of a Shade ending its pursuit. Until it was dead. Feeling panic rise within himself Sam went down on one knee. He unslung his rifle then pulled the bolt back slightly to check that he had a round chambered. He would rather have one of those fully automatic rifles 13 and the other veteran scavengers had but those were rare. A simple bolt action and a handful of rounds is what they deemed fit for green horns like Sam. It didn't matter as much if they lost it or died with it somewhere unrecoverable. I think they just like hoarding all the good loot for themselves.
Round chambered and safety off Sam felt he had a moment to collect himself. Checking his surroundings, nothing immediately grabbed his attention. Well I haven't been shot, flayed, or eaten yet. Taking that as a good sign he pulled the rest of his pack off and began rifling through it.
"Clothes, food… There!" He threw his food and clothes to the side and pulled out a notebook. He looked under it just to make sure the artifact wrapped in his coat was still there. Like it could just get up and leave...it can't do that right? The corners of his notebook were frayed and specks of blood dappled the first couple pages but it still held together. With about half a roll of tape but it still worked. He took note of the familiar words on the front "Scavengers survival guide." Looking back up he confirmed that nobody or thing was currently trying to kill him.
Sam opened the notebook skipping the first couple pages. All those held was a bunch of jargon about "your duty to the community and helping find a cause for the distortion." All stuff he heard thousands of times in Scav training. What he needed was towards the middle of the notebook. Flipping page after page past maps and descriptions he found what he needed. "Entities" A catalog of all know entities within distortion #4.
Shades, the most common entity, were right at the front of this section. Creatures of human-like appearance. That's about where the commonalities ended. They seem to be caught somewhere between a physical and gaseous form. Black mist shrouds a thin skeletal body. As scary as that sounds they go down fairly easily. Just about anything that could kill a person can kill a Shade. You just have to make sure you hit the body and not just mist.
A common misconception is that they are weak. Thinking that way will get you killed. Typically they roam in packs of three or more. There are reports of packs as large as 200 before but nothing of that size has been reported in years. Somewhere around 40 was the largest Sam had ever heard in his time making scav runs. The screams they emit when they spot prey is the scariest part about them. They use it as a way to attract more of themselves or other entities in the area. They are not known to end their scream until either them or their target is dead.
Flipping pages Sam skimmed the notes of each entity he passed. Stalker, no. Natcher, no. Siren, Gasper, Thumper, no, no, no! He had no idea what could have caused the Shades to end their pursuit so suddenly. Flipping to the next page he noticed something that wasn't there just a moment ago. He flipped the page back and forth a couple times just to make sure. It was silent now. It was quiet after the screams stopped but he was still able to hear himself flipping pages. Now he couldn't. Confused for a moment he tried flipping them again. Still, no sound.
Utterly terrified now he threw the notebook back in his pack and stood up, rifle raised. Nothing had changed in his surroundings visually, so it wasn't some sort of Eye Burner that could do sound too. This was something new. Sam began to take slow, calculated steps backwards while keeping his eyes and rifle faced down the path he came from.The one the Shades should be barreling down right now.
He started counting in his head. He told himself he would turn and run when he hit five. A little trick they teach you in Scav training. When you aren't sure of a decision, count to five and go with your gut. You don't have time to deliberate out in the field.
One. Two. Three. Four... A tree down the path he came from started to rustle. It bent back and snapped at the base before being lifted up by something just beyond view around the bend. All Sam could see was the large scaled hand that had snapped and lifted the tree. Three fingers covered in dark, almost black green scales tipped with claws that had to be at least a foot long. A fourth finger, presumably a thumb on the opposite side of the tree.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Sam couldn't get himself to say five. Struck with a fear he had never known all he could do was watch. Almost as if the thing was moving in slow motion a head slunk around the bend, looking directly at Sam. It looked reminiscent of a serpent with its triangular face and long, forked tongue sticking out between two razor sharp tusks protruding from its bottom jaw. He couldn't see the body of the thing, just a head and an absurdly long neck twisting around the tree line.
They stayed there for a moment locked in this staring contest. Man (17 year old boy) and monster (Whatever the hell that thing was.) The beast looked almost confused while staring Sam down. It had a slight tilt to its head and a puzzled expression. Unsure of the encounter Sam thought it prudent to make the first move. That move being to get the hell away from that thing. His rifle was meant for small things like Shades and Natchers. This thing would probably barely feel the bullet connect.
For a few steps he didn't turn his back on the thing, just taking slow deliberate steps backwards. It wasn't until the monster started to take steps as well when Sam thought it a good time to turn and run. Making sure to sling his rifle back over his shoulder and hold the stock as he went off at a full sprint.
There was still no sound, not even the crunch of leaves under Sam's boots. He couldn't tell if that thing was still moving towards him without looking back. After about 300 feet of a full sprint he thought he could spare the slower pace it would take to look back. Though he couldn't hear anything he certainly could see the coiling mass of scales barreling down the thin forest path behind him. The thing was huge! It couldn't quite fit in the roughly ten foot wide path so it opted to just crash straight through the ones it couldn't get around, and it was gaining. Fast.
I'm not going to make it to the Reset Rock am I? No! No time to think like that. Even if all he was able to do was throw his pack over the side that's all he really needed. Time to focus up. The path was starting to look more familiar to him, the red marker should be coming up soon. Sprinting around a small bend he almost lost his footing, kicking up pine needles. He regained his stride, but got a look behind him as he did so. The thing was close now, maybe only 50 or so feet back. He could feel the ground shake with each of its steps now. How fast can this thing go!? And it's running into trees too!
Another silent hundred feet and he could see the intersection in the path coming up. A red paint stain marked a tree on the leftmost path. I was right! A woosh of brown past his head and a tremor in the ground made Sam's heart skip a beat. A tree crashed to the ground a few feet to his right, splintering and shattering all across the path. Sam felt a thump in his chest a moment later. He looked down to inspect and was greeted with a foot long shard of wood sticking straight out of his chest. Huh.
Adrenaline did its magic. The chunk of wood missed his heart but he could feel blood pooling into his lungs. Struggling to stay up right he rounded the tree with the red paint. There it was! No more than 40 feet away was a large oval shaped rock jutting out of the ground, about ten feet high and six wide. Just beyond it was a drop off of nearly a thousand feet. That's where he needed to be. Well, the bottom of it to be more precise.
Stumbling down the short straightaway Sam could feel his energy draining at an alarming rate. On top of that there was now a burning in his chest along with a sting of pain like nothing he had ever felt before. Looks like the adrenaline's wearing off. Certain he wasn't going to make it all the way now, he unstrapped his pack and began the motions to throw it. Just then he felt something large wrap around his leg. Suddenly he was on his face and being dragged across the ground. His rifle silently clattered to the ground as he was lifted into the air a good ten feet. Luckily he was able to hold onto his pack.
The creature spun Sam in its grip to face it. Eye to eye, a mere two feet separated them. The serpent-like face looked more real than ever up this close. Dark green scales, forked tongue, and those eyes. The sclera around the Iris was a sickly yellow color that seemed to radiate death. A deep almost glowing green emanated from its Irises'. There was something else about them that Sam couldn't quite put words to. Something that deeply unsettled him.
Upside-down and barely conscious Sam found the willpower to shake himself back to the moment. He was close to the cliffside past Reset Rock. With the added height of being held up by the monster Sam thought he could make the throw. Too bad he wouldn't be able to get the rifle over too. Probably for the best, it would just shatter at the bottom anyway.
Bag still in hand he twisted his body to get the most out of his throw. The creature did not seem to like this. Halfway through his toss a tusk penetrated his torso right through the stomach. The bag still went flying but not at the angle Sam was looking for. With a silent gasp he spurted out a cough of blood. The world seemed to go into slow motion as black crept into his vision giving him only a small tunnel to see through. His pack turned end over end as it careened through the air. With the little bit of consciousness he had left he watched the bag hit the stone ground a few feet from the cliff edge then roll about two feet. It stopped no more than half a foot from the edge.
With the last bit of life left in him all Sam could think to silently say was "that's unfortunate." Darkness took him and he drifted off.
Falling, or was it floating? He wasn't entirely certain how to explain the sensation. It was peaceful yet frightening at the same time. It felt like your heart was about to jump out of your chest but you're watching the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen. A feeling of complete serenity followed by abject horror in a constant cycle. Then, it was gone.
Light exploded into Sam's vision, blinding him for a moment. He was lying on the floor staring up at a blank, corrugated metal ceiling. Incandescent lights dangling from metal rafters gave the room some illumination.
A woman with brown hair streaked with gray leaned over into his view. She wore a simple gray shirt and forest green rain jacket. "Welcome back 29" she said with a smirk.