Adventures beyond the void

Chapter 5: A Whole New World

'Man', Nikolas could tell that his day wasn't gonna start well. The mattress was killing him. His back was killing him. His head was killing him. His whole body was killing him. And he was cold. 'Probably the blanket fell off', he thought. The only comfort were the morning sun rays, gently touching his body and offering as comfort, their warmth.

...... Wait..... Sun rays? His bed was located far from the windows of the cabin, meaning no daylight would be able to make any direct contact with him. Now that he thought about it, why was the sent of soil, earth and rain more potent? The house of his group smelt like chips and sweat. Did someone open the windows?

He begun opening his eyes expecting to see the usual wooden ceiling, but was met instead with the clear blue sky. It took a few moments for his blurred vision to clear and his mind to fully register the scene before him. When he did however, he stood straight up and frantically looked around.

Trees. Lots of trees. A million questions started forming inside his head. Though the more prominent one was 'how on earth and why did he wake up in the middle of the forest!!'. It was then that he finally started recalling the last events that occurred prior to his current situation. He started to remember the gathering. The boats. The river. The waterfall. And finally the fall.

His breathing became erratic, realizing just how lucky he was to be alive. Falling to his knees he tried catching his breath while shedding tears of both terror and relief. After a few minutes, he finally calmed down, becoming also aware of the new areas on his body that were throbbing in pain.

Gosh how could he even forget about that? No one could blame him though. He did survive the impossible. Not getting out unharmed however. Suddenly he heard leafs being stepped on by someone's footsteps, not far away from where he stood. His heart skipped a beat.

Quickly getting up, and ignoring the splitting headache and dizziness that overtook him, he rushed towards a massive tree trunk that was nearby. As quietly as he could, he picked up a large broken branch and hid behind the tree, awaiting whoever it was, to pass by, so that he could knock him or her out.

Call him paranoid, but he wasn't gonna give away his position, after waking up in an unknown location, right after almost dying! Sure, it could be one of the leaders or a stuff member of the campus, searching for him, but Nikolas was not risking it. What if it was a wild animal?! 'Better safe than sorry', he thought.

The footsteps grew, closer and closer, and so did the protagonist's anxiety. He had already raised the wooden stick in the air, ready to defend himself. After a few moments, the shadow of a man appeared, however it seemed like he was heading in a different direction.

Nikolas didn't have time to calm down, as he accidentally stepped on a twig, breaking it in the process. The sound made the individual halt his footing, and start approaching the protagonist's hiding spot. He was coming closer, and closer, and closer, until he was two or three steps away from the tree. Nicholas to a breath and.....

TWANK!!

       Hunter: - Ow!!! WHAT THE HELL?!

It took a moment for Nicholas to finally realise who the person he just hit with a stick was. It was Hunter! And oh boy did he look pissed. He had one of his hands covering his mouth, bleeding badly from the lips, (where the blow landed), and was glaring daggers at me.

' So I have chosen.... death, apparently', Nicholas said to himself, as he dropped the branch and went to help the other boy stand up, offering his hand. Hunter immediately swatted it away, standing up on his own.

      Hunter: - WHAT THE FUCK YOU FREAK!!! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?!

      Nicholas: - N...no!! I... I am so... sorry!! I didn't.... I didn't mean to hit you.