Levi screamed in pain as he awoke from death once again. His mind felt fractured as the memories and sensations of being burned alive came rushing in. His scream echoed throughout the mountains that were sparkling in the moonlight. He opened his eyes and calmed himself down.

“Alice.” He whispered to himself, the thought of her brought him back to his senses.

He got to his feet and looked at his surroundings, the moon was full tonight, and he was able to see a great deal in the night. The corpse of Tyrese was nowhere to be found. Levi made his way over to the wreckage of the car in search of anything that was useful. His clothes were in burnt tatters and disintegrated with each step he took.

After rummaging through the car, he found a steel briefcase, it was covered in soot and char. But upon opening it, Levi found its contents unharmed. It was a bunch of old books, Levi examined them. They looked ancient and was unable to read whatever language they were in. “You look important enough, so you’re coming with me.”

Levi picked up the briefcase and began to wander stark naked through the forest. He could hear no cars and see nothing but an endless number of trees and the occasional deer. With no clue where to go, he plopped where the car was pointing and decided to follow the direction the rear of it was pointing towards. Levi was in and out on the drive here, but he remembered that his journey in the trunk felt very linear.

He walked for hours with that briefcase in hand, his feet getting sliced and scraped almost as fast as they were healing. The pain was bearable compared to the torture he had endured in the past.

“Goddammit, does this forest ever end!” He shouted up at the sky. He had no idea how far he’d walked or for how long, but it was long enough for the sun to start to rise.

Levi used his annoyance to keep him going. More hours melted away as the sun rose higher and Levi continued his naked trek through the forest. Finally, he heard the sounds of roaring engines in the distance.

“Hello! Can you hear me!” Levi shouted as he began to run towards the sound.

“Hellooo!” Levi kept shouting as he ran.

Then the sound stopped as he got close. “Can you hear me!”

After a brief moment, there was a reply “Yes! Are you lost!”

“You could say that!”

“We’re heading over, keep shouting!” The man’s voice replied, and the engines started up again.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Levi kept shouting as the sounds grew closer. He saw 2 people on dirt bikes with riders that were weaving through the trees. One in an orange helmet was following the one in a black helmet. Levi covered himself with the briefcase as the riders pulled up to him.

“Hey, so do you guys know which way Heart is?” Levi asked casually. The riders looked at each other in disbelief at what they were seeing. Levi was indeed naked, but he was also covered head to toe in ash and dirt, his white hair was jet black from all the char that was covering him. His features were hidden under the grime that covered him, but his mismatched eyes were still blatantly obvious, his most recognizable characteristic.

The rider in an orange helmet got off her bike and slowly approached Levi.

“Um sorry about the being naked, but I promise I’m not crazy. Just very unlucky.” Levi felt uneasy at the stranger's silence.

The stranger in the orange helmet got within a few inches of him before uttering a word. “Levi?”

Levi recognized that voice. “Alice?”

She took off her helmet and her hair unfurled, falling past her shoulders. Her eyes were glossy with tears. He smiled at her, and she hugged him as tight as she could. Not caring about how dirty he was or the fact that he was still completely naked. She was overwhelmed with emotions and so was he.

“I’d hug you back, but my hands are kinda full right now.” Levi joked; his tone reflected the relief he was feeling at seeing her. While he laid lifeless on the forest floor, Levi felt every second that passed. Like a kind of limbo, time turned to a blur. As if he was asleep and awake at the same time, just waiting until the moment he could finally open his eyes and move again.

Alice finally let go of him, some of the dirt and ash rubbed off on her, she didn’t mind it in the slightest though. “Yeah, hop on and let’s get you some clothes. Then we’re taking you to the police to explain every detail in how you escaped that monster.”

“Good to see you’re still alive.” Tony took off his helmet and waived.

Levi waived back. “Wait, why are you out here?”

Tony laughed “That is a long story, but I have a feeling yours will be even longer.”

“You’d be surprised.”

Alice pulled Levi towards her bike “We can do this later, when you’re less naked. C’mon, let’s get you home.”

“Here I have a blanket in my backpack you can cover yourself up with.” Tony reached in his backpack and pulled out an emergency space blanket, handing it to Levi.

“Thanks, it’s really… shiny. Would you guys' mind looking away for a second?”

Tony and Alice covered their eyes, then Levi sat down the briefcase and wrapped himself up in the blanket. “You’re good now.”

Tony and Alice looked towards Levi who now looked as if he had rolled himself in tin foil. “One last thing, I have some wet wipes in my bag. You have to clean your face up before we go, what even is all that stuff?” Alice asked as she pulled the wet wipes from her bag and gave them to Levi. Levi was a bit confused, then she pulled her phone out and took a photo of him. She then showed it to him, and Levi understood why she insisted he clean up a little.

“Damn, yeah I look pretty gross.” Levi began to clean up his face as best he could.

“So, are you going to answer my question?” Tony asked.

“Oh yeah, it’s a mix of mud and ash.” Levi rubbed some of it together in his fingers.

“Ash?” Alice muttered.