Spirit of the Woods

Awakening

Awakening

Chernobog Safehouse

"Where am I?" the Doctor gasped as he slowly opened his eyes. Bright lights blinded him temporarily as his question hung in the air. The light subsided as he noticed two women standing over him. One had cat ears adorning her head, grasping what looks like a medic satchel. The other had antlers and held a menacing crossbow.

The one with cat ears spoke first. "Do you know who you are?" she asked, shining a small flashlight in his eyes. The Doctor briefly closed his eyes as he racked his mind for an answer. 'Who was he?' As his mind slowly tried to find memories, a single name came to him.

"Jacob," he stated as the cat-eared girl turned off the flashlight.

"Ok. Doctor Jacob, I'm just going to check your mental state," she said as she reached into her satchel. Before she could, the girl with antlers grasped the medic's arm.

"We don't have time for this," the girl urged. "we need to leave. The city is growing worse by the second."

The medic shook off the girl's hand and turned to her, "He just woke up from a coma...." Jacob tuned out the ensuing argument as tested his limbs. He slowly stretched his legs and arms forward.

"He needs a proper checkup to determine his motor functions. Who knows what could have happened when... he," the medic trailed off when she saw Jacob grasping the operating table, lifting himself up.

"I'm fine," he said as he brushed his jacket off.

Chernobog Streets

"Who are you, people?" Jacob asked as he tailed behind Firewatch. At the moment, they were running through the alleyways of Chernobog, trying to keep out of the open. He was sandwiched in between two, who acted like pseudo bodyguards.

"We are employees of the Pharmaceutical Company, Rhode Island," Firewatch explained as they stopped at the end of an alley. "I'm operator Firewatch and she's Dana, a medic intern." She took a glance out of the alley. Wrecked cars and fires met her, but no hostiles.

"Firewatch, what kind of pharmaceutical company hires mercenaries?" the Doctor asked.

Firewatch glared at the man before she moved out of the alley. "One that keeps a comatose man in the basement of a house. Speaking of which, what were you doing in there?"

As Jacob was about to respond, his mind went blank. "I don't know..." he responded, "I remember nothing but my name."

Firewatch glanced behind her. "What?"

"Retrograde amnesia," Dana mused behind Jacob. "the Doctor probably suffered some sort of traumatic injury."

"Doctor? Do you know who I am by chance?" Jacob asked the medic behind him.

She shook her head. "I was never told your identity, only that we should address you as Doctor." As she said that, Firewatch held out her hand and ducked down. The other two followed suit as Firewatch rose her crossbow.

"We got four unknowns in front of us," Firewatch reported as she scanned through her scope, "armed with swords and machetes." Jacob raised his head over the wreck of a truck they were behind, and she was right. Four hooded figures lounged around a pile of burning tires, sharpening their weapons. "Dana, stay here with the Doctor," Firewatch ordered as she loaded her crossbow., "I'll clear the way." Dana nodded and Firewatch moved forward, keeping her head down. Getting within fifty feet, she shouldered her crossbow and fired. A bolt sailed through the air and lodged itself into the head of one grunt.

As the body fell to the ground, the group in front of her reacted quickly. "Enemy sniper! Behind us!" one of them reported. Firewatch tsked as she reloaded her crossbow. The three swordsmen moved to Firewatch's position, dashing between cover. They're more organized than the previous ones she killed. She fired again and nailed one in the chest as he tried to dodge.