A Kindling, Of Sorts [DISCONTINUED]

Cold.

"When the bitter creeps in-to bite you whole-a spectre unreflected, oh, it keeps you cold."

Your body ached, throbbed. The cold that seemed to engulf your body was replaced by the warm gaze of the early afternoon sun. Unfortunately, it did little to nothing to dry off your sodden clothes; weighed down by water.

Every sense seemed to be heightened; you felt every prick of the dry grass, heard every skuttle of every bug, and felt even the slightest breeze blow by; making what you guessed to be the trees surrounding you creak. Where exactly...were you? You couldn't remember a single thing. Your mind was a blank slate. Oh but your head, your head had a terrible throb. And it got worse with every inhale and exhale, every thought you had. You tried opening your eyes, only to find that they seemed to be held down by exhaustion.

'Open your eyes'

A voice seemed to echo throughout your mind. Was someone here? What did they say again...? Oh, your head hurt too much for this, should you just go to sleep? The throbbing headache, now turning into a migraine, encouraged you to do so. If you slept, you would probably wake up feeling much better-

'Open your eyes.'

But it hurts to move.

'Open your eyes.'

The voice got louder, and almost seemed annoyed.

'OPEN YOUR EYES.'

A freezing cold gust of wind tore through the air and went right through your waterlogged clothes, chilling you to the bone. Literally. You opened your eyes; you feared slightly for your life if you didn't do so.

As you expected, you were blinded by the sun the moment you opened your optics, having to raise an aching arm above them and squint. You took a large inhale of the fresh, now warm, air. Your lungs being filled with the sweet scent of dandelions and butterfly weed. You lethargically looked around for whoever shouted at you; only to be met with no one. There was not a single person around except for yourself, it didn't even seem like there was a single bird, well, anywhere. Not even a crow!

You were in a field of sorts, well, a small opening in the middle of a forest at least. Great, old Oak trees towered over you, their leaves rustling in the slight breeze. You slowly but surely calmed yourself down, taking large inhales and exhales; taking every breath like it was your last. There was a strange, unnatural silence to this place. Other than the previously mentioned chattering leaves of the wise trees, there was nothing. And you expected something. Afterall, this was nature and natures' never this quiet. You knew you hadn't gone deaf, that was for sure. You wanted to call out for that voice, that person to come back, even if they had shouted at you. You wanted, no, needed someone to console you.

You almost felt like crying.

And you almost did when a large snap of what was probably a twig ricocheted against the trees. The leaves once again seemed to start chattering, this time with worry. Although, you definitely couldn't tell that. Yet, once you remembered that you were in the middle of a field, in the middle of a forest, in the middle of nowhere- your heart started to race as your mind started to conjure up ideas of what caused such a noise. Maybe it was the person who had spoken to you earlier...? You just managed to catch the sound of footsteps, getting closer, and closer

and closer.

"Hey- Hey! Are you alright?" someone called out. That was definitely not the voice you had heard before. Your body still ached and your head still throbbed, yet your brain urged you to get up and run out of fear. Along with the growing sound of someone jogging towards you, you could have sworn you heard another pair following along at a much more leisurely pace.