Survival

Chapter Two: The Forest

Jason jumped up, and spun around. He was in a forest. How did he get here? Suddenly, memories from the previous day whirled through his head. The man. TK. The tranquilizer. He reached to his pocket, and found his phone. That was weird. Hadn't he left it on his nightstand? He pulled it out, and looked at the back. A solar panel was attatched to it. He turned it on, and checked the screen. Two notifications had appeared.

-No Cell Signal-

-One new Message from Unknown Number-

He tapped the messaging button, and scrolled to the new message.

-Unknown Number-

Stay away from the trees. Find the others. Stay on the path. Use the whistle in an emergency.

-TK-

He turned off the phone, and looked toward the nearest patch of trees. It was then that he realized he was in a big, perfectly circular clearing. He squinted his eyes, and stepped toward the trees. As he took a first step, his phone vibrated.

-Unkown Number-

I wouldn't do that if I were you.

-TK-

He frowned at the phone. How could he be receiving texts? There was no cell service. He lifted up the phone, and began to type.

-Me-

Who are you?

He waited for a bit, and then gasped when his phone vibrated again.

-Unknown Number-

My name isn't important right now. Step away from the trees.

-TK-

He shuddered, and took a few steps back to the center of the clearing. Suddenly, he heard a scream. Theresa. He took off down the nearby trail, and sprinted between the sunlit trees. He stopped, and looked around. Another scream. He turned and ran into the thick trees, ignoring the frantic vibrations of his phone. He kept feeling hands dragging across his face and grabbing his shoulders, but he would not stop. Suddenly, he burst into a clearing where he saw Theresa unconscious in the middle. There was a thin trail of blood running down her arm from a deep cut near her shoulder. She groaned, and rolled over. An identical cut was there lower down on her other arm. He ran over, panting, and felt his phone vibrate.

-Unknown Number-

Check your pocket.

-TK-

He reached into his left pocket, and his hands clasped around a small bottle. He pulled it out and read the label. Wound-clearer. Having no idea where it came from, or what exactly it was, he followed the instructions on the label and pressed a small amount against Theresa's wound. He watched as the light blue cream seemed to draw itself into the cut, and the cut began to seal. Theresa groaned as he pressed it onto the second cut, she slowly sat up. She opened her eyes, and they widened with fear. She screamed, and jumped back closer to the center of the clearing.

"Stay away from the trees!" She screamed, her voice shaking. "They're hiding in the trees!"

He looked where she was pointing, and saw nothing. "It's all right. There's nothing there." He said softly to her. He put his hand on her shoulder, and felt it was shaking. She turned towards him, and he saw that her eyes were slightly glazed over. As she looked into his eyes, her eyes cleared, and her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"W-where am I?" She stammered.

"I... I'm not sure." He responded. Suddenly, he heard the movement of leaves in the trees behind him, and he whirled around. All he saw was a bush slightly shaking. He stepped towards it, but he was stopped by Theresa pulling him back.

"Stay in the clearing!" She exclaimed. Her eyes were glazed over again. He ignored her, and looked closer. After a minute, he began to think he had been hearing things, but then something caught his eye. A footprint. At the edge of the bush, there was a human footprint.