The Lost Fox

Day 1 - The Dead Forest

Vox' POV

As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a forest. But the forest looked dead. All the trees were small, grey, and had no leafs on them anymore.

Where am I? What happened to this place? And where are the others?
"Guys? Are you there? Actually is anyone here?"
No response... Not suprising tho since this forest looks like no one has lived here for ages.

Vox was slightly panicking, not seeing his friends around, scared, that something might happen to them. He tries to stay calm tho and thinks of a way to get out of this place. Everywhere he looks, it's just dead trees, stone and sand. Really everything is dead.

I have to get out of this place and find my friends. I don't want anything happening to them. But which direction should I go. Everywhere I look it looks the same. And- wait, huh? What am I wearing?

He looks at his clothes and realises he is wearing something completely different. But that's not important right now. Important is that he finds a way out of this place.

Okay... where should I go. Well- it doesn't matter where I go, there will always be an exit... Someone told me, always follow the mornings sun, which means east. I'm just gonna try my luck.

With that, he starts walking towards the sun. It's still early in the morning, well- about 10 am, but still early, so the sun is still east. He has no other choice anyway than just walk. Already after 10 minutes, Vox is starting to have this weird feeling.

This place still looks the same, nothing changed. Maybe I should be more patient... it's only been like 5 or 10 minutes, I think. Damnit, I don't even have my phone here. What the fuck happened, how did I even get here and where even am I?!

He tried to ignore those thoughts and kept on walking and walking, but still, nothing changed. Not even a single bit of life is able to be seen, only gray, dead trees, cover in fog. This was making Vox feel even more uncomfortable and he started shaking a bit. It's cold and he can barely see anything. He was scared and this dead place was driving him insane.

Oh god, please let me find an exit soon. This is place is creeping me out. Also what if my friends are in danger and I can't help them? This is not really a good situation... I hope they are doing better than me.

Another hour passed and Vox is starting to see things like figures in the fog and animals. Is he going completely insane? No, he can't, not yet. He has to find his friends or else something could happen to them.

"H-Hello? Is anybody here? I-I need help, really..."

Vox' voice was shaking, so his whole body. There is no response tho. Right, what else did he expect? A person somehow coming out of the fog? In this dead place, it would be even weirder if someone just randomly appears next to him. Yet, he doesn't give up.

"I have to find a way out... help my friends... help..."

That is the only thing going around in Vox' head right now. Friends, help, escape... It's been 4 hours now since he came here. His legs are shaking like crazy, getting weak of all the walking. Not only this, but also this place. It's so creepy and odd.

"I can't anymore... I need to rest... Atleast my friends are doing better, I hope..."

Just as he was about to give up he sees something in the corner of his eyes. This time he is sure it wasn't his imagination but a real person. Or maybe an animal. Whatever it is, it's a sign that something is alive here so that means he must be close to the exit of this awful place.

"Hello? Who are you? Can you help me?"

He gets no response. Suddenly he saw the same figure appearing in the corner of his eyes again. He turns around to face it. This replays again and again until it is finally infront of him. It is about 50 meters away tho so he can't really see anything but a black silouette. But something it was off. It was more like a shadow with holes as eyes. Also it looks like... maybe fire? The way the wind blew and the figure was moving... weird...

This is just creeping me out even more. I should go before- wait, where did it go?

He only looked away for a second and suddenly the figure disappeared. Before he goes completely crazy, he decides to continue searching for a way to escape this place. He shakes his head and wants to continue walking but then realises...

W-Where is east?! No no no, you can't be serious! Okay okay... calm down... it should be afternoon now so the sun should be slightly west, r-right?

He was starting to shake even more now. This is too much for him, but he looks around and eventually finds his path again. He keeps on walking for hours, but his legs started to get weaker and his steps smaller. His body is starting to get heavy, but he doesn't want to give up yet. He can't stop, not yet. He starts to feel dizzy, the air is very stuffy and his eyes get tired. It only takes 5 more minutes until he passes out. Now he lays there, on the ground, and nobody is around to help him. The fog is still there and everything still looks the same. It is as he didn't move his spot, because there is no progress to be seen. Time passes and it's already 8pm as he wakes up again, coughing like crazy. He is not feeling well but the only thing he can think about is to find a way out of this dead place. He keeps on walking to east, this time he found the right direction faster.

(1017 words)