Didn't Think This Would Ever Happen...

Part 1, Chapter 1: Fate's Push

She sighed, the light fading behind the trees as the sun went to sleep. She figured that she should do the same.
She wiped her brow as she rested the axe on her shoulder, exhaling deeply once more. She smiled, another day of hard work was over.
The young woman let the axe blade fall into the stump she used as a chopping block with a dull th-ck.
As she let go there was a loud eruption of crows cawing. They frantically flew out of the nearby trees.
She whipped around. Certainly her axe hadn't made a sound loud enough to cause that. Had a bear wandered through and scared them?... It wasn't likely, but it seemed the only possibility. That, or it was another person.
Her breaths were quiet as she listened intently. Of course she was eager to see another human being again, but she had a horrible feeling that whatever scared those birds wasn't a friend.
The last rays of light slowly disappeared. She couldn't see through the trees. She slowly closed her hands back around the handle of her axe, placing her foot on the block to help her quietly wedge it free.
She heard branches snapping in the not-so-far-off distance. It seemed to be no more than ten meters away, but she couldn't see anymore. It was odd. The sun had never set so quickly. She slowly backed towards her cottage, sliding her boots across the grass to muffle her movements and to safely make her way back.
As the heel of her shoe gently touched her home, she placed her hand against the wall and found her way over to her outside lamp.
She wasn't the best at fighting, but she was confident that she could scare off a bear. And she was determined to see what it was that made her feel such dread.
There wasn't anything special about these woods. No monsters and hardly any predators. The wildlife were all peaceful, save for a few troublemaking boar.
There was rustling in the brush at the edge of the clearing.
She held her breath, her fingers frozen on the lamp. All she had to do was pinch the knob and turn it a little to have light, but she felt paralyzed.
The sound of heavy, labored breathing filled the area.
Not even the crickets chirped.
That raspy breathing was all that could be heard in the silence of the night.
But to her, she could hear the loud beating of her racing heart in her ears.
She swallowed, holding the axe tighter in her one hand.
The breathing was louder now and heavy footsteps landed against the grass and leaves moving in her direction.
A twig snapped.
Her fingers sprang into action, switching on the gas lamp. The second the light was on she was blinded by a fast movement.
She moved to the side, swinging her weapon in a wide arc. It stuck into something hard and warm, thick liquid splattered her clothes and bare arms.
What she struck made a choked noise, coughing up blood onto the ground as it collapsed forward into the grass.
She squeaked as she jumped back, her limbs scrunching up into her body as she stiffened.
It was a person!!!
She freaked out.
Had she just killed someone?!?!
No, she could see where the axe had gone into their arm, leaving a deep gash that was oozing blood.
She breathed a careful breath out as she stepped closer. She slowly knelt down, reaching out her arm.
She hesitated before quickly poking them and recoiling.
They didn't move.
She stood up and looked around frantically. What should she do?! This person attacked her, but she couldn't just leave them out here, right?!
She noticed the trail of blood leading into the forest from where they lay. She slowly looked back at the unconscious body. Sure enough, there was too much blood around them to be just from what she did.
She hiked up her dress, tucking it into her belt. She knelt down and rolled the newcomer over.
They looked rather young, though it was only dim lighting. They were definitely smaller than herself. She carefully pulled them over to the light to see where else they were wounded.
She almost gasped as she saw the sheer amount of blood that stained their shirt. It was almost completely soaked, only a few places were untouched. Both their arms were covered in many minor lacerations. But they didn't seem to be actively bleeding.
She carefully unbuttoned their shirt, praying they would forgive her for it later. She bit her tongue as she saw the deep hole in the middle of their chest. She could see their bones, cracked and splintered over the rest of their insides.
There was no way they could still be alive!!! She bent over their face with her head to the side. She held her hair out of the way and listened for their breathing.
It was a long time before they inhaled. It was almost silent. She sat back up, completely puzzled and even a bit impressed by their drive to keep living! The wound on their chest had to have punctured their lungs, right?!
What mattered was that they were still alive at all.
She didn't want to move them too much, or they might loose more blood. So, she ran inside to grab some supplies and got to work covering their wounds with herbs and adhesives.