Last Life, The Third Life Game Sequel

Chapter Seven

Lizzie thrust the cold, smooth stone into the rushing water of the stream. Rather than skipping, as she had hoped, it made a big splash and sank to the bottom. She quickly lost sight of it among the thousands of identical pebbles around it. She angrily kicked at the water, only managing to cause a little spray across to the bank opposite her and make her sneaker wet. Lizzie sighed and slumped to the ground, back against the giant, clear wall that stretched across the whole plain she could see. Ever since waking up here, she had been aching to find a way to escape. After running in a single direction for half an hour, however, she had run into a sort of... wall that she hadn't seen. It was sort of invisible, but could be determined by the sort of blurriness of the surroundings outside of the wall.

It had been her only hope to attempt to find her way around the wall, but after walking for hours in the blazing heat only to run into a part of the wall that turned suddenly, like a corner, she was forced to conclude that she was most likely trapped here. Going over was no option. She had tried, of course, but after constructing a flimsy ladder that barely made it only a quarter way to her estimate, she decided that was pointless.

She had tried to dig under, assuming no one would be crazy enough to build a wall underground, but had once again been disappointed. So, in utter frustration, she sat on the bank of a stream and vent out her anger to the rocks.

Lizzie had to admit, however, that the little forestry area she was currently in was quite pretty. Large dark oak trees mixed with tall birch and aspens, wild mushrooms growing every few feet, cute red and pink flowers growing in random patches. But all of it was deceiving to what this place actually had in store. She hadn't run into anyone yet, but she was terrified to. But she couldn't sit on this riverbank forever.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up slowly and took a good look at her surroundings. To her surprise, a little animal she hadn't noticed before was hiding in the shade of the treeline, just barely visible. Its fur was all white, and although she couldn't make out exactly what animal it was, the tail swinging back and forth paired with the raised hackles gave her a good idea. Extremely carefully, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the spare piece of raw meat she had saved after salvaging from a dead cow. She held it out towards the dog, who realised what it was instantly. It bounded forward joyfully, snatching the piece of meat and gobbling it down. Lizzie patted its back cautiously, enjoying the feel of its soft fur.

An hour later, she found herself walking through the forest, searching for a good place to make camp, three dogs at her heels. Apparently, the one she fed had friends, and after learning of the nice girl who had raw beef they had all gathered to see. She had run out of meat, but after a short fishing session with the dog's help, they had been able to catch a small fish that the other two gobbled down. Now, they followed her around, and Lizzie was grateful for it. They were intimidating to other animals that might want a piece of her, and they were nice companions in the middle of nowhere.

She had decided on a spot to make camp. A fairly large clearing in the middle of a thick growth of dark oak trees, with a gap in the trees just big enough to see the stream. She stuck a large stick in the ground with a pink flower tied to it to mark her territory, then used several fallen logs and a few planks of birch wood to construct a flimsy little hut. She also came upon a few miscellaneous seeds while pulling up grass, but before she could figure out how to plant them, she was greeted with a visitor.

"Hey, hot stuff."

Lizzie jumped, nearly hitting herself with the wooden sword she had stuck together. Turning, she saw a man standing in the gap in the treeline, lazily leaning on a tall oak and swinging his sword back and forth. He had a long brown beard, grizzly brown, and an emerald green robe. Lizzie thought that he would look quite handsome underneath all the wildness. "Who are you?"