Last to Fall

ch 4

Alita~

The chirping of birds and sounds of other small creatures stirred me awake, and I found myself curled up in a hole in the ground. It took me a moment to realize exactly where I was.

I had to take a moment to let the facts settle in. That I’m no longer in the safety of my home, that I’m trying to survive on a hostile planet.

That I could potentially die.

Closing my eyes I let myself relax some. I can’t dwell on these things, I had to focus or else I really might just die. Opening my eyes I realized I was still holding the knife from last night.

Memories of watching that...thing, come out of nowhere and kill a man were still fresh in my mind. Was it still out there?

Peeking outside of the hole I didn’t notice anyone or anything lurking about. But was it really safe to go out there?... Most likely not.

Sitting back I looked more closely at the knife. It was a long slender blade made from a very dark-colored metal. The handle had some silver rims and strange markings were carved into the sides of the blade. This wasn’t something given in a survival kit. This blade was unique and unlike any weapon I’ve ever seen within the empire...

The grumble of my stomach reminded me of the fact I needed food. I guess I had no choice, staying in the den wasn’t an option. As for water, maybe I could go back to the small ditch I found? No...I would rather not see the dead body of a man in the daylight. I shuddered at the thought.

Looking through the opening of the den I made sure that there was no sign of that creature from last night. Once I felt sure enough that it was gone I crawled out of the hole and stretched my limbs. It felt good after being in that cramped hole all night, my body felt stiff.

Grabbing my bag of supplies I started walking in the opposite direction of the watering hole, in hopes that I might find some food. I also kept my eyes out for any more crazed people who might try to kill or eat me.

Touching my neck it was obviously bruised. I sighed and continued looking for anything that might be viable as food. My leg and palm continued to throb in pain and after walking a short distance I had to take a break.

Sitting on an old log I set the knife in my lap. My hand hurt more than anything, and I carefully unwrapped it to see just how inflamed it was. Wincing in pain I dug through my bag for my flask, so I could cool it off with the water I had saved.

The rustle of leaves had me stopping what I was doing. Only then did I notice that nothing was making any sound. The birds had stopped and I couldn’t hear anything but the sound of my own heartbeat beating in my ears. I quickly wrapped the clock back around my hand and stood up.

Looking around, I saw nothing but trees, bushes and various plants, but something was telling me I was being watched.

I took hold of the knife with my good hand, Keeping an eye on my surroundings. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as my heart rate increased. After a moment I took a few steps back, ready to turn and run.

A thud of something hitting the ground behind me had me frozen in place as a familiar growl sounded in my ears. I paled as my stomach dropped. Turning my head slightly to look back. My eyes came across the same monster that had chased me down the night before and killed a man. It was nearly black in color against all the blues and greens of the forest. I hardly could see the thing at night yet now I could see how truly terrifying it looked...

I looked up at him horrified as he towered over me. His face showed nothing but anger as he bared his fangs, and glared down at me. He took on a humanoid form but he was nowhere near human.

A pair of horns poked out from the top of his head, And his tail... Looked as though it could reach over five feet. At the end of it was a bladed tip, sharp enough to cut through someone’s flesh with ease… I only knew this because I watched it happen.

He took one step towards me, and I did the only thing any sane person would do...I screamed, turned, and ran for my life.

He chased after me and I narrowly avoided his claws as he tried grabbing me, he was right on my heels.

I ducked under a low branch and could hear his growl of annoyance from behind because he was too big to go under it. I thought it might slow him down but he just jumped over it with ease.

Looking back I could see him using everything to his advantage as he chased me, pushing off trees or rocks to give himself more of a boost with every step.

In the split-second of me not watching in front of me, my food caught onto a root, and I fell forward onto the ground. My pursuer landed on his feet just next to me and pinned me down with one hand on my back.

Shrieking in terror i swung around and swiped at him with the knife, only to end up cutting the air. He pinned me down by my neck. with one hand and grabbed my wrist with the other, completely stopping me from being able to fight back. He snarled in my face clearly pissed, but he wasn’t choking me like the last guy.

I looked at him in horror before squeezing my eyes shut. This was it. This was how I was going to die, I was to be killed by this monster, and no one would ever find my body... I would just be left here to rot and be eaten by scavengers.

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I waited for him to tear me apart.

Instead...it spoke...in another language... I couldn’t understand the words, but he sounded frustrated?

The next moment the knife was taken from my hand. A small whimper escaped from my throat as I waited for it to do something... Cracking one eye open I could see him glaring down at me...observing me.

After a few seconds he released my arm and throat, then stood up. I looked at him both terrified and confused. Why isn’t he ripping my throat out?

Laying on the ground I got a much better look at him. Besides the strange horns, tail, clawed hands, and greyish/black-colored skin, he really did look almost human... But how is that possible? He had some kind of clothing covering his lower region and a belt equipped with some small pouches and a sheath for a knife.

He looked me over once then turned away, walking into the forest... He wasn’t trying to kill me...

I looked at my empty hand then back at him. The knife was now secured in the sheath that seemed to be made specifically for it, and tied to his belt.

watching him stalk away, not even bothering to look back at me, i couldn’t believe it....he just took the knife and now he’s leaving? Not to mention...he spoke...was the knife all he was after?

Snapping out of my trance I quickly got to my feet. He wasn’t trying to hurt me...he just wanted his knife back.

Visions of last night ran through my head, the crazed man who tried to kill me...he was human, no doubt a criminal who was left here on the planet as punishment. This stranger must be a native.

How many others are there on this planet... Looking around it felt like the forest might just swallow me whole.

If he wasn’t going to kill me...maybe he could help me.

Biting my lip I made my choice and chased after him. I needed to try.

Once I was just a few feet behind him, he spun around and snarled before pinning me to a tree. I shrieked and could feel the cold metal of the knife against my throat. I looked at him, unable to control my panicked heartbeat.

He stared down at me intently and I didn’t move. After a moment of assessing me he stepped back, lowering the knife, and I was finally able to breath. I felt weak to my knees after the fright.

He only looked me over once more before scoffing and turning away, sheathing the knife in his hand.

I took a moment to calm myself. Did he think I was trying to attack him? Taking a shaky breath I started to follow the man again, unsure what to say or do.

His hand was resting on the hilt of the knife, ready to draw it if needed.

He didn’t hurt me, so that has to be a good sign right?

He quickly noticed I was following him again, looking at me from over his shoulder with a glare before stopping and growling. I could clearly see his canines as he looked back at me.

I stopped as well and didn’t move. He continued walking. And I continued following.

I only took a few steps before he stopped again, and turned to growl at me, looking me up and down. Then angrily spoke in an alien language that I couldn’t understand, but it sounded like a warning to stop following him.

He didn’t even give me a chance to respond before he turned to continue walking even quicker than before.

Gulping I spoke up this time.

“Wait, please! I need your help! I know you may not understand me but please!”

He only seemed to ignore me, while making his way through the forest. He managed to traverse the terrain with ease.

Ignoring the pain in my leg I pushed forward to catch up and tried getting his attention, walking up beside him. He glanced at me with a glare then continued walking making it clear he had no intention of helping me.

Whining I fell back a short distance and continued to follow him, trying to keep up to the best of my ability. If I gave up now what chance would I possibly have at surviving another night?

After what seemed like hours of walking I could feel myself getting weaker. I hadn’t found any food yet and my injured leg was slowing me down, despite trying to keep up, I had fallen far behind.

Looking up I could see he was having no problem at all, he hardly seemed phased by the harsh terrain of the forest.

Pushing forward I tried to catch up, but in my haste, my foot slipped in the mud, and I nearly tripped. Taking a second to recover I look up to see he’s even further ahead. He wasn’t slowing down.

Pushing myself up I continued to follow. “Please wait!..” He didn’t stop and paid no mind to me. I attempted to catch up, struggling to work my way over called logs and large stones.

He paused for a moment looking back at me before continuing. Finally I managed to catch up, and noticed he had stopped at a small clearing. I stopped a few paces behind him and could see he was looking up at the sky. Once he seemed satisfied he looked over at me with another glare before going over to a strange tree.

I looked around the area confused and a bit intrigued by the trees and flora. the sound of leaves being disturbed, watching closely he uncovered a small stash and pulled out a bag and to my surprise a spear that he had buried under some forest debris. He secured the bag with a strap around his chest and moved to another tree.

He looked up into the trees canopy at some blue pomegranate shaped fruit and set his spear on the ground down below, he crouched down and I watched as he jumped into the air grabbing onto one of the trees lower branches and cut down some of the fruit that hung from it. Once he was finished he landed on the ground and looked up at me with a glare that seemed like a permanent look on his face.

After grabbing three of the strange fruits, and his spear he leaves the rest and walks over to the shade of a tree and sits down to eat with his back turned to me.

Carefully I moved over and crouched down next to the fruit left, there were at least five fairly good fruits, so why didn’t he take them? As far as I could tell, food wasn’t easy to find...

Glancing at the strange alien man, I noticed he had nothing to carry larger items In, his bag was small and didn’t seem like it was meant for carrying a bunch of food or supplies. Picking up the rest of the fruits, I inspected one of them carefully. Did it seem safe enough to eat?

Looking back up, I noticed that he was watching me from the corner of his eye. Once he saw I was looking, he turned away.

I put the extra fruit in my bag and walked over to a tree a few feet away from him.

He turned to look at me again as I approached, and watched me carefully.

I sat under a nearby tree, and took a bite out of the fruit, enjoying its sweet and savory flavor. It was the best fruit I’ve ever had. I continued to eat every bit I could, but did not bother with the center, seeing it was just one giant seed.

The man watched me strangely as I ate and once I looked up he scoffed and looked away. He didn’t seem to care much for me following him. But he didn’t get up and immediately started walking away once he was done eating. I’m not sure if he was waiting for me or just resting, but I couldn’t help but feel a little relieved.