I sat on the surprisingly comfortable boulder. The view was fantastic from the summit. I breathed the cool spring air and exhaled. I was on day thirty eight of my hike on the Appalachian Trial. I was trying to reset my life after having some extremely bad luck. I was stuck in a horrible job as an architect in a crappy firm. The pay had been good but I was doing project after project that was very uninteresting. Then two months ago my dog, Ash, had died. I got him from a shelter seven years ago when I was recovering from another bad relationship with another overbearing women. Ash had been my best friend since the day I rescued him. Losing him had put me over the edge. I quit my job and sold my condo and bought some backpacking gear and took a bus to Georgia.

At first I was miserable on the trail. I was an out of shape 34 year old man hiking with a fifty pound backpack. I was cold, sore, stinky and dirty every day. Every six days or so I was able to get off the trail to a hostel or hotel and clean up. It was hard but I enjoyed being on my own schedule. I met a few people when I started in March but quickly found out I had started a month too early as the mountains in Georgia were very cold in March. Everyone I met was attempting to be a thru hiker, which meant they were planning to hike the entire 2,100 miles in one go. I just wanted to get away from people and civilization. My initial slow pace meant more and more people had caught up to me. The lean-to shelters on the trail were getting crowded in the evening now so I had started a pattern of eating at the shelter and then setting my tent away from the shelter. My daily mileage was around 20 now which meant I was now fit enough to hike at the same pace as the more fit young adults. I was the last one to leave the shelter area this morning and was contemplating dropping my mileage to let them get ahead as the group last night was very loud. But then more people would catch up and it would be the same.

I munched on my tuna/pepperoni/cheese wrap. I pulled out my mileage chart…it was 2.1 miles to the next shelter…and 6.8 miles to the shelter after that. I laid down to digest, think and stare at the blue sky…8.9 miles with two small climbs…should take about 5 hours…I could take an hour nap and still get to the shelter an hour before sunset. I adjusted my pack to make the bed roll accessible as a pillow and went to sleep.

Thunder boomed. I opened my eyes and sat up. Glancing at the sky some purple clouds were rolling in from the east. It looked really cool…sunset clouds but denser looking. A sudden flash of purple-blue lightning flashed from the clouds. Damn that was huge lightning bolt. The thunder rolled over me like the bass was turned all the way up in a car stereo. I glanced at my watch, 12:20. What? I had been asleep less than 10 minutes and it was not dusk so the color of the clouds made no sense. Another flash and more thunder rolled over me, rattling my bones. I had been lucky and only got stuck hiking in the rain twice so far on my hike. Hiking in the rain was not fun and usually took a day or two to dry out you gear after. Making a quick decision I packed up my things, got my socks and boots back on, and took off down the mountain at a fast pace. I could do the 2 miles in less than 30 minutes to the closest shelter and beat the rain I hoped.

The clouds were moving quickly and I increased my pace. The flashes and rumbles were coming more frequently. I broke into a jog as the forest turned purplish in the light. Damn it is hard to run with this heavy backpack and my knees were protesting. Going around the switchbacks and changing directions was difficult. I was breathing heavy and getting worried I was not going to make it. The purple ambience darkened but I was focused on the trail, making sure not to trip over a root or rock. I almost missed the turn off for the shelter, just .2 miles down this side trail. Ten steps down the trail and I could hear drops hitting the upper canopy. I glanced up, huge mistake, dark purple sky above and I viewed a bright blue lightning flash, blinding me momentary. I was unable to halt my progress fast enough to regain sight, I tripped and fell forward. I instinctively rolled as I fell to use the backpack to cushion my fall. Falling forward was a bad idea as I still had a gash in my forearm still healing from a fall two weeks ago. The wind was knocked out of me and I rolled into a tree, my ribs stopping my progress. Ah shit, that really hurt. I stood up and winced then doubled over in pain. It was a manageable pain though. I regained my bearings and continued. The tempo of drops in the canopy was increasing but there…in the dark purple night…the shelter. I increased my pained pace and rushed into the shelter. There were five hikers inside, all people who had been at the shelter I had camped near last night.

They were all starring at me, quiet. I nodded to them and hobbled over to the open area of the shelter. I tossed my backpack on the sleeping area claiming it. I stretched out and touched my tender ribs. As my adrenaline rush faded the pain increased. I winced and pulled my hand away. It was wet with sweat, no wait, I held the hand in front of me in the low light, blood. Shit, I rushed to pull up my shirt and was rewarded with pain. I twisted to look at the wound. It didn’t look bad, just a gash. Just then a down pour started rattling the roof in heavy strikes. One of the hikers talked loudly over the rain as she moved to me, “Are you ok? Let me help you clean that.”

As the rain came down it became dark like a night without stars. Headlamps flared into being from the hikers. I just laid there breathing deeply feeling the ache in my side. The women was back with a cloth and small vial of what I assumed was alcohol. Nope, iodine, the yellow on the cloth betrayed the contents. She started in on my cut. It was shallow but about 4 inches in length and bleeding slightly. “All done,” she said as she left my side. I mumbled thanks and closed my eyes. I would stay here tonight and probably tomorrow. I think there was a road about 9 miles up the trail. I would try to get there the day after tomorrow and get my ribs looked at.

I heard the hikers talking. They sounded concerned about the rain and darkness. I wish I remembered their names. I had overheard their conversations and life stories each of the last few nights while I prepared dinner at the shelters before heading to set up my tent. I never participated or contributed, not worth the effort. The woman that had cleaned my side was a college student I think, she was very attractive, medium length blonde hair, just under six feet, and a nice lean build. She was hiking with one of the male hikers, the guy with the cowboy hat. He was a tall gangly guy. I was pretty sure they were an item but maybe not as they had always slept in the shelter rather than set up their own private tent. The remaining three hikers were also hiking together I think. At least they left together every morning. Two college guys and one older women in her early thirties I guessed.

Thunder shook the shelter and my eyes shot open. The rumble seemed to last forever. Weirdly though there was no preceding lightning with this thunder. Head lamps turned every which way. My stomach churned and the pain in my side increased like I was being pressed. One of the other hikers vomited. I held down my own nausea. Then, in a heartbeat, there was silence and the pressure was gone.

The normal glow from a night sky with a moon illuminated the trees beyond the shelter. I grunted in mild pain and started to unpack my mat and bag for sleeping. I couldn’t process the events but attributed the pressure to the high electrical charge in the air from the lightning. In the end it didn’t matter, every thing was back to normal now. “My watch says it is 3:21 PM,” I heard one of the hikers mutter in conversation. Well I guess not quite normal. I tuned them out again and set up my sleeping arrangements. That completed I shoved some jerky and granola bars in my mouth and sipped some water. Only a little water I chided myself as I didn’t want to have to pee in the middle of the night. Then I dragged myself into my bag and used my half empty pack as a pillow. Sleep over took me quickly.

Someone kicked my leg bringing me slightly awake. I tried to ignore it figuring someone had gotten up to pee and hit me accidently. I tried to ignore it and slip back into sleep but the kick came again. I sat up and turned to face the offender but immediately noticed in the low light two hulking boars at the entrance to the shelter. Weirdly enough there were two gray armored boys riding them. No, not boys, their faces were aged and twisted. Their blue/black hair was braided. I was still taking in the scene when one of the riders leapt off the boar into the entrance of the shelter. He was to the far side of the shelter and everyone was sitting up in shock. As he studied us I studied him. He had what looked like a shotgun and sword strapped to his back. He also had a belt with many pouches and a holster with a pistol in it. His armor was gray and covered his entire body, excluding his head. His forearm had some kind of device strapped to it with a screen. Before I could take in any more her drew his sword in a quick motion and stepped forward cutting one of the hikers in half with a single swing. No time for the hiker to scream, just blood.

Stolen novel; please report.

Ah shit, time to get the fuck out of here. The other hikers screamed. My mind worked furiously in the split second he swung his blade again and I was sprayed with some blood splatter. I grabbed my backpack and using it as a shield I lunged out my side of the shelter toward the other mounted warrior. I was fortunate in that the warrior in front of me was watching his companion. But he was quick to react to my movement and worked to draw his own sword. I noticed the blade had a glowing blue edge as it was leaving its sheath. The massive boar tried to bite my feet on the ledge of the lean-to but I managed to step onto its muzzle between its tusks. This elevated me to the height of the rider. He panicked and tried to interpose his blade between me and himself but the glowing edge was facing him. I pushed my pack at him and locked the sword in place and pushed forward. With both went over the back of the boar and I used my body weight to push the blade into his throat as we hit the ground. Two things happened as we hit the ground hard. First the head of the creature came off and I was sprayed with a blue blood and the second was my side exploded in pain. Oh yeah, I was still smarting from yesterday. My next mental goal was to run but I rethought that knowing my side wouldn’t let me get far. I grabbed the sword beneath my backpack and tried to run to a defensible area but stumbled immediately over a root. Not wanting to lose any body parts I made sure the blue edge was forward as I stumbled forward into a tree. The sword bite into the tree and rotated around as I fell. My first thought was damn the sword was halfway through a 24 inch truck. My second thought was panic as the boar mount was now charging me. What the fuck. I tried to scramble behind the tree with the sword stuck in it. The beast plowed into the tree with a massive crack. The tree released and bucked back toward me. I had my hands on it and was thrown backwards, air born. Everything seemed slow motion to me and I was observing events while I was flying. The boar that had hit the tree was missing its front leg and its belly was opened up with its entrails were emptying on the ground. The tree was falling toward the shelter. The other warrior had exited the shelter with its blade dripping and he was staring at the tree falling toward him and his beast. Then my line of sight was obscured. I admit it was kind of cool flying, feeling weightless.

Then I hit the ground hard and flying wasn’t so cool anymore. I must have cleared 25 feet. But then pain and bushes and rocks and pain and rolling and pain and finally I was still. I didn’t move for a while, my ears were ringing and my body throbbed in pain. Self-preservation instinct took over and I forced myself to move. I needed to run. I was hurt bad but every body part seemed to function and I stumbled to my feet. The ground rumbled and I looked around wildly – the tree had hit the ground but I was too far to see the damage. My ears started to clear and my vison focused on the sword. The blue glow was a dozen feet away and I moved to grab it. I hobbled toward it and picked it up. Damn, the thing was either heavy or I was weak. I couldn’t run. I was probably 40 or 50 feet down the trail. Fight or flight? Fight. I turned up the trail and shambled up the trail back to the shelter.

The tree had hit the corner of the shelter and the main trunk had hit the boar in the back. It was still moving but its back was obviously broken. The warrior had turned to run but large branches had him pinned. I moved as fast as I could toward the downed warrior as he was hacking away at the tree with a knife sporting the same glowing blue edge. He didn’t notice me as I got close and swung my sword taking off his hand with the knife in it. He turned to me and started spouting some high pitched language. I ended his speech by taking off the top of his head. I had meant to take off his head but I missed and just took off the 3 inches of his skull. It appeared just as effective as he stopped moving after a few seconds.

I moved to the shelter exhausted. Looking inside there were 3 dead bodies hacked into pieces. It looked like the blonde who had helped me and her cowboy hat hiking partner were gone. They probably used my distraction and fled. Good for them. I picked up a water bottle that had fallen on the ground and drank the entire 32 ounces in one go. The panting of the boar with the broken back drew my attention. I walked toward it and using the sword took a swing at its head. The blade got stuck in the skull but the beast stopped moving and breathing. I left it there and went to retrieve my pack.

I pulled out my shaving kit and used the tiny mirror to check myself over. I had scratches all over and a few bruises forming. My side was bleeding slightly again. I looked up expecting the blonde to come care for it but everything was quiet. My right knee was throbbing and right shoulder as well. I was covered in blood, dirt and leaves. Damn I looked in rough shape but I was alive. The smell of death was everywhere and the bile from the intestines of the boar made it worse. I collected the rest my things from the shelter ignoring the body parts. I was still in shock but I was still able to process that I needed to get the fuck out of here. My guess was either these creatures came with the storm or we were brought to them via the storm. Since the shelter was here I was guessing the first. It probably meant more of these creatures were around and the smell would bring more.

I packed my blood splattered camping gear. Then I went and took all the food I could find in the shelter. Fortunately hikers usually kept all their food in one bag so it was quick. Due to the rain no one had hung their bags last night. I gathered five food sacks and managed to shove four of them into my backpack. I took two full water bottles as well. I then went to search the boars and gray skin warriors. I needed to prepare myself in case of another encounter.

The boar pinned under the tree had its harness pinned. I was able to search the two packs on the beast. One had some foul smelling bars, probably food I surmised. The other pack had some smelly clothes in it, albeit neatly folded. I left everything and moved onto the gray warrior. The shotgun was pinned underneath him. I didn’t have the strength or time to free it. I took the knife and examined it. It looked like a large survival knife with a light blue glow on the edge. I found a small depression on the handle and pressed. The blue edge disappeared. Huh. I went to the sword leaning on the shelter and found the same depression. I turned off the blade. If these blades had batteries best to save the charge… I went back to the warrior and searched the pouches on the belt I could reach. One had three round cylinders, another had some red, orange and yellow square coins. I took these things and I couldn’t access the other pouches trapped under the tree. The other sword this warrior had used was nowhere close by. The forearm computer had come detached from the warrior. I picked it up and looked at it. It was dark so it probably broke when the tree hit him but I guessed it was still valuable for the tech. I took it. I went to the other boar…eh maybe not…the ground around the boar was muddy with bile and blood. I turned to the last decapitated body.

I searched this body. The belt had five pouches. The first had more square colored coins. The second had 3 of the cylinders, the third had some tiny vials with a liquid that looked like mercury. The fourth had a bunch of marbles. The last pouch had dried bugs in it. I took the belt and emptied the bugs out of the fifth pouch. The belt also had a pistol and a holster for it. The same forearm computer had detached and was dark on this corpse as well. I took it and I took the scabbard for the sword off the corpses back as well. There was also a rifle under the corpse. It was heavy, maybe 20 pounds. I gathered everything and figured I had maybe 75 pounds of gear besides the rifle.

I headed in the opposite direction where I thought the two hikers had run. Hopefully they were fleeing loudly and drawing the creatures in this new world away from me.