Memory Logs

Brutality

2. Brutality

[ Encounter 01; MacMillan Estate. ]

When Meg's eyes opened to a dark, eerie black-blue-green sky and the sound of a cawing crow, she wondered what the hell happened. Had she fallen while running and passed out? God, her mom would be wondering where she was... suddenly an image of huge, long spider-like claws coming toward her flashed through her mind and she sat up in fear, her heart pounding in her chest. Whatever that thing had been - it was terrifying.

The red-head found herself on the grounds of some abandoned factory - or some other similar facility. Forestry spotted the place and along the grounds there were junk piles, large crates of supplies, a haunting wooden shack in the corner of the fenced-in place, a big factory building, and an adjoining house.

The only sign of life was the bright crackling of a fire in a rusted barrel to her right... and the crows. Meg's eyes widened. There were dozens of them. They sat on the crates, rested in the trees, fluttered over the piles of junk, soared through the sky over the desolate wooden shack far ahead of her. One landed right near her, peering at her with intelligent black eyes. There was something about it... something... off. Peering a bit closer, she saw horrifyingly familiar little spider-like legs begin to extend out of its back, and she uttered a scream, scrambling away. The loud noise startled the crow and it took off into the sky.

"Where the hell am I?" Meg whispered, voice shaking; as she attempted to ground herself and keep her own whirling thoughts from destroying her, she cautiously got to her feet. Her first instinct was to run. Running was safety, running was freedom, running was life.

Meg dug her heels in, a surge of adrenaline rushing through her body, egging her on to the safety of the fence. If she could run fast enough, jump high enough, maybe she'd get out of here. Before she had a chance to move, a hand grabbed her arm and the other covered her mouth before she let out a scream. A boy stared at her with impossibly dark eyes, his expression grim. "I don't know how the hell we got here," he began quietly, "but I do know there's something out here. Something dangerous. It's hunting us - leaving out bear traps for us to get caught in. So you have to watch your step and be quiet. Okay...?"

Trying to come down from her panic attack, Meg focused on the physical rather than her fear. The boy's eyes were slanted, possibly Asian, and his black hair was unruly - like he lived in the wild rather than amongst society. His green jacket and khaki pants were dirty and worn down, and he had the posture of a person who knew exactly how to take care of themselves when all alone. His reassuring gaze lowered Meg's heart-rate and finally she nodded, eyes still wide. The boy let her go and put a hand to his chest. "I'm Jake. I think it's best if we stick together... uhm...?"

"Meg," she answered, voice surprisingly even. "Y-You said something about... bear traps?"

"Yeah," he replied, waving her along. "There's a hunter here. Probably used to killing animals, but those traps will hurt a human just fine."

The red-head felt fear creep back into her heart. Following Jake's lead, Meg crept across the estate grounds, and the pair never came across any of the bear traps, or even another living soul - but they did eventually find a large door with a power box next to it. Upon inspection, Jake cursed. "Power's out," he muttered. "We're gonna have to find a way to turn it back on."

Nearby, Meg spotted what looked to be a dusty old generator. "You think that old heap of junk will power it up?" she asked, gesturing over to it.

Jake pursed his lips. "Hmm. With a gate that size... and with old these generators look... it'll take several of them to restore power."