Genesis

Chapter 6

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I jerk my head up, trying to find the source of the voice. My eyes sweep to the left and I see a man standing there holding a sort of lantern. He looks to be your average human with chocolate skin and dark dreadlocks hanging down by his pupils. His strangely-tinted yellow eyes stare intently at me, concern etched on his face.

The more I gaze into those odd eyes, the more I feel at ease. My instinctual fear seems to melt away. I can barely feel the throbbing of my head anymore. 

This man means well. He will help me.

"Need some help?" he asks again. "I can take you back to my place and fix up your head." My lips curl into a thankful smile. The man steps forward, takes my hand, and helps me to my feet. 

"Follow me," he says reassuringly. 

He walks off, and I shuffle along behind him. In a few minutes we walk into a startlingly familiar clearing. I feel like slapping myself. This wood pile and path belong to him. I could have saved myself a lot of pain if I had investigated more and found out the owner of this place before I ran. 

The man leads me along the path until we reach a large shack. It is a sturdy-looking thing with charred wood logs locking together to form a dwelling place. There are no windows, which seems a bit strange, but I'm sure he has a reason for it. He's such a nice man, helping me out and all. I am lucky I found him.

He ushers me inside the structure and tells me to sit down on a petrified stool. I look around the room.

I am sitting in what seems to be the center. In one corner is a charred table laden with wood, stones, and other trinkets such as an old rotting leaf and a small scrap of metal. A stool sits next to the table, also covered in random things from the woods. In the corner across from the table is a gathering of storage cubbies, which the man is looking through. I notice that none of them hold any food in them. He must store it in a cellar to keep it fresh longer. A bed made out of the ashy wood stands in the third corner, and in the fourth there is a small pen filled with adorable white rabbits.

They're cute little things with their contrasting white fur and red eyes. I almost can't believe they're out here; they seem so out of place in this harsh, barren environment. I watch them lope around the pen to keep myself occupied. 

The man finishes his search through the cubbies and walks over to me with what looks like a pile of leaves in his arms. He grabs one of the leaves and yanks it away from the rest of them to reveal that it is a strand of leaves sewn together. He proceeds to wrap the length around my head. The bandage obscures one of my eyes, but I think he must have to do this in order to secure the leaves properly. I mean, why would he have any reason to hamper my vision? 

"So, who are you?" I say, wanting to know who would so graciously help me. The man does not make eye contact with me. 

"I am called Chim," he says. "I am glad you came. I get lonely in this forest." He finishes doctoring my head.

"Stay there," Chim says. "Let it rest." 

He walks back over to the storage cubbies and comes back holding a crude jar made out of clay. He holds the jar out to me and I see that there is some sort of liquid inside.

"Drink," says Chim. "It will relieve the pain in your head." 

Skepticism absent from my mind, I nod, consume the drink in one gulp, and sigh in relief. The constant ache of my head dulls to almost nothing and the cut's burn is reduced significantly. The drugs keep spreading throughout my body until I begin to feel drowsy. My head lolls to the side and my eyelids droop until I can only see through the small slits between my lashes. Chim smiles and guides me toward his bed.

"I will wake you in an hour. Then we can have dinner," he says kindly. 

I drunkenly nod and flop back onto the pillow behind me which is surprisingly soft. Chim looms over me as I start to drift off. Just before I fall asleep, I think I get a glimpse of Chim's facial expression. What I see shocks me. There's something off about it, something vile, cruel, and almost predatory. He looks nothing like the benign man who bandaged my scalp and gave me medicine. 

He looks like a bloodthirsty murderer, ready to devour his prey. 

But, I must be imagining things. Chim won't harm me. I'm sure of it. 

I fully give in to the drugs and drift off into a dreamless sleep.