Human of the Wild

Chapter 25 - Lost in the woods

"Sis, I'm sorry! Please don't go, I didn't mean it like that, Dad still needs you, I need you!"

"You should've thought of that before you said how you really felt about me, I'm sorry too, however..."

"My mind's been made up."

Shane instantly awakens and finds himself laying on a dirt surface next to the lake. His vision is much clearer compared to when he was in the water, checking his surroundings Shane saw he's no longer underwater and is now on ground level, safe from drowning. He picked himself up seeing right away his hands and clothes were covered in mud along with being soaked obviously due to being in lake water moments ago.

He didn't have a clue where he ended up after the accident involving him falling into the water and hitting his head or who saved him for that matter, only one thing's for certain, no one was around. "Chilli! Mort! Brandy!!" He cried out, trying to get the attention of one of the red heelers, but no response was given. Where have they gone? Is all he thought in his head. The area around remains quiet with the only source of noise being a dash of wind and occasional noise from wildlife, he was the only one around for the time being. "Alone, just my luck." Shane said out loud to himself, now aware of his current situation.

Observing the area more, he then saw in front of him a trail with torches heading straight into some woods. "Huh, a pathway?" He said, now facing the trail. Where it would lead is beyond him, he stared at it hesitantly. The idea of following it with the possibility it would take him somewhere bad or good was 50-50, it couldn't take him anywhere bad... right? However his options were pretty limited at this point.

"Guess this is the only path around, seems like it's leading me somewhere." Shane said, following it up with a sigh. So with no other choice he carefully walked and followed said path into the woods, checking left and right, hoping one of the red heelers would appear from the trees. It was still late at night but due to the trees blocking the moon its light was barely visible which made things a lot harder to see, the torches at least gave some light but not by much. After walking down a straight path for 12 minutes now Shane started to become inpatient, wondering if there's an end to this trail in sight.

"Where is this taking me?" Shane grunted, feeling like he was making zero progress and doing nothing but going in circles which jogged his memory about what happened back on the boat. "I should've never tried to help, all I did was make your life worse." He began to say, getting slightly emotional. "Brandy, if you're there, I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to reveal your personal secret, especially to me." Shane said while walking with tears in his eyes. His tears began to flow heavily to the extent that his vision was distorted by all the water, he felt like it was needed to stop and get a hold of himself.

When he did he used his sleeve and wiped both his eyes before adding. "I wish I could take it back." He said, wiping his eyes. Clearing his vision again he took a few deep breaths, ready to continue forward. His plan now was to keep following the trail, there had to be an end and he's almost there although his expectations weren't the highest. But as he set his plan in motion and took a step forward, fate had other plans. A loud animal-like roar came into his ear which spooked him as he covered both ears quickly to avoid any damage to his hearing.

Seconds later the noise faded into nothing but Shane uncovered his ears slightly hoping to not hear that loud roar again. "What the hell was that?" He wondered, curious as to what that sound was and where it came from. "That wasn't an animal... right? No it couldn't be, it sure isn't one I'm familiar with." Shane continues to suspect what he just heard, He scratched out the possibility of it being an animal or inhabitant amongst the woods.

Something about it just didn't add up, the roar sounded unlike any animal or creature he's familiar with, not even a lion or tiger had a roar like that despite not living in the woods. Though his thoughts on the matter would end when he heard and noticed something ruffling inside the bushes, moving from one to the other in a quick pace which spooked Shane again.