Death Comes With Open Arms

Chapter 4: Not All Is As It Seems

As I come to, a bright light shines above me. The sun. I feel something soft touching my back and the back of my arms. I open my eyes and look behind me. Green blades of grass. I sit up and look around me. We're in a large meadow near tall trees. We aren't near the town. I would recognize this place. I look around me and see the hound looking at me while Beanie is snuggled up to him. I'm glad they're alright. I look at the hound and say, "You need a name. I can't just call you Hound." The hound barks softly and scratches his ear. "You know, for a giant dog, you're not as intimidating as you were before," I say. The hound barks again and stops stretching his ear to look at me. "How about... Spike?" I ask. The hound growls quietly as if responding. "Alright... How about... Henry?" I ask. The hound sits there and huffs some, curling back up. "Not a yes but not a no," I say. I look at Henry and ask, "Now what?" He huffs in response, growling as he stretches and gets up. "Come on. You don't know? You dragged us out here," I say. Henry looks around and picks Beanie up by his scruff. Beanie meows in surprise, having just woken up. I grab Beanie and put him in my jacket. I'm glad I grabbed this before the house burned down. Beanie would be freezing. He is a cat but he's pretty small for a tomcat. Henry barks softly and walks into the woods. "Henry! Wait!" I yell, running after him and Beanie meowing in confusion. I catch up to him and look around us. Trees, just tall, lanky trees. They bend over us as if watching us above like a bird watches its prey. I don't like it here. "Maybe we can go back," I suggest. We can't. Both of us know we can't. That'd be asking for us to be killed or experimented on. I huff softly as we walk. We walk for a while, a long while. I look at the sky, the little bit you can see of it. "We need to find shelter. It isn't safe in the open like this, especially not with it getting dark," I say. Henry barks in response and leads us to a small cave. We enter cautiously and then get settled in. Henry pats the ground with his paw as if telling me to sleep. I sigh and set my jacket down, laying down on it with Beanie. I feel my eyelids start to get heavy. I'm exhausted. We walked a lot today. It feels like we were going in circles. Henry lays by the entrance of the cave and keeps watch as I drift off to sleep.

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I quickly jolt awake to the sound of thunder. It roars in the sky loudly like a lion, shaking the earth as if rumbles. My eyes adjust to the dark and I look outside the entrance. It's gotten colder and I can feel like goosebumps on my skin. It's almost too dark to see outside, no doubt around midnight. All I can see outside is the motion of rain hitting the ground. The sounds that accompany it are the soft pitter=pattering of them tapping the dirt and leaves around us. The floor of the cave is slightly damp, I can feel it. I sit up slowly, careful not to wake Beanie. I look around the cave to make sure everything is still accounted for. It is. Except for Henry. All I can see is a figure, with a small, dim fire next to them, across from me. They hold a knife of some sort, the blade making a noise as they carve something in their hand. "Who's there?" I ask, fear overtaking me. The figure's eyes flick to me, the fire illuminating it but not enough to see any major features. With the exception of a scar. Down their right eye. The figure blows out the small fire, making all of the light illuminating the inside of the cave disappear. I begin to panic and feel myself press my back to the cold, wet cave wall. I feel a wet nose nudge me and Henry looks at me with his calm, deep eyes. I look around the cave once it is illuminated once again from a quick burst of lightning. The figure is gone. The only thing left is their small pile from the fire. I know I wasn't going crazy. Am I? Henry nudges me to lay down and grabs a large leaf that, I didn't notice, was on top of me as I was sleeping. It's not as comfortable as a blanket but it's better than nothing. Henry sits, once again, by the entrance to the cave, staring out. I quietly whistle for him and pat the spot next to me. He looks at me and hesitates, but comes over. He lays down beside me but I gently pull him closer. His warm coat of fur heats up my body, the goosebumps that covered it now gone. I must have been seeing things because when I looked back at where that small pile was, it was gone without a trace.

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Sunlight leaks into the entrance of the cave, like a warm hug. The moisture is still clinging to the cave walls and a thick, heavy fog coats the woods around us. Henry and Beanie are still asleep beside me, both snoring softly. I stand up carefully, making sure not to disrupt their slumber. I walk over to the entrance of the cave, sitting down by it and reaching out to touch the fog. The fog is cool against my skin, causing goosebumps to appear. I hear something move and look at the other side of the entrance of the cave. Henry lays there, looking outside. I sigh softly and my mind drifts back to what happened last night. I glance back at Henry and ask, "Where were you?" Henry continues to look at the fog. "Don't ignore me. I know you left. There was someone there," I say. Henry huffs some with irritation and looks at me. "You left Beanie and I. What were you doing?" I ask. Henry huffs again and stands up, walking up to me. He growls softly and, with our close proximity, I notice a scar on his right eye. He opens his mouth, his face unraveling into the petal-like tentacles, and spits up a dead deer corpse. I stare down at the corpse, a look of horror and disgust on my face. Henry looks at me and eats the corpse again, walking out of the cave. "Wait! Where are you going?" I yell. I quickly grab Beanie and my jacket and run after Henry. Beanie meows in confusion while opening his eyes. "Henry!" I yell as I quickly catch up to Henry. "What the hell?" I yell as I feel my eyes start to burn and a lump forms in my throat. "You're the only one I have left behind Beanie! I thought I lost you too! You can't just leave like that!" I yell. My voice cracks some as tears burn my eyes. Fuck. Henry stops and looks back at me. I look away and bite my lip with embarrassment. "Whatever," Imutter, "I'll find somewhere else to go on my own." I turn on my heel and walk through the forest. The fog is so thick, it's difficult to see, let alone breathe. It's like large bushels of cotton in the sky. I push any leaves and branches away that get in my path. I feel tears staining my cheeks and my eyes stinging. As I walk deeper into the woods, the fog begins to get thicker and heavier. I feel someone grab my mouth and pull me into their arms. Their arms are strong and have a heavy grip on me. I feel panic rush through me and I begin to squirm. I try to scream but their hands cover up the noise. "Thee, Thee," a familiar voice says. I spin around and kick the figure across the face. "Ouch, fuck," the figure says, a scar over their right eye, "Nice aim, Gray." "Ryker?" I ask with a look of shock on my face. "In the flesh," Ryker says, smiling at me. I hug him and start to feel the tears burning in my eyes again. "How did you find me?" I ask, looking at him. "Just a hunch," Ryker says, "I'm glad you're okay." I hug Ryker tighter and bury my face into his chest. How I've missed a familiar face. This week has been hell. I feel hot tears run down my cheeks, leaving a sticky feeling. Ryker gently rocks me and whispers, "It's alright... Let's get to the town nearby. It's only about a half-a-day walk to get there. We should be there by sunset. I nod and fix my jacket. "Where's Bean?" I ask, jumping when Beanie pounces on Ryker's foot from a bush. Ryker looks down at Beanie and gently picks him up by his scruff. Beanie meows softly and hisses at Ryker. "Bean, it's just Ryker," I say as I take Beanie from Ryker. Beanie hisses at Ryker again and then tucks himself in my jacket. He curls up in the hood of it and keeps an eye on Ryker. I begin to walk with Ryker towards the direction Henry walked. The fog is starting to lift as the sun begins to rise higher. It's like a warm blanket and it's very calming, especially with Ryker here. It's nice to not have to be alone with just a cat and some random dog-beast-thing to keep you company.

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As the sun begins to set, a village comes into view. Its lantern lights leak through the trees like a warm welcome. It's so nice to see anything but trees. Ryker holds my hand tightly as he leads me towards the village. Maybe we'll find Henry here.