Side note:
Sorry for not updating in a while, we will try to make our stories consistent. But we are working on a new book "The Opposites" which is about still the Pack, and would really appreciate if you could go check it out! Thanks and sorry again!
-K
(also I'm low -key starting to ship vikklan more please send help)
Vik's P.O.V:
I slung my backpack onto my shoulders, leaning against the tree as I stood up shakily. My ankle shot up in searing pain from my fall just a half an hour ago. I winced, limping along the empty forest trail, rain falling occasionally through the canopy to land on my already sweaty face.
I swallowed, trying to push the pain into the back of my mind. I wish this would've happened when I was only a quarter of the way into the forest, not when I was at the base of the mountain after an hour and a half of hiking. I'll admit, the injury really was bad, a deep gash from my ankle up to the middle of my calf, acquired from a fall on some sharp rocks. It hurt like a bitch, and I had to stop my trek back several times because my vision started to blur and spin.
This was supposed to be relaxing, just a break from youtube and life in general to walk in the wilderness while I was in Australia with Lachlan. I had no cell service, which sucked, because I was supposed to meet Lachlan at the start of the trail about two hours ago. I checked my phone, only 36% percent on it. Jeez karma, I thought I was a pretty nice guy. Hey, it could always be worse, I could've angered a bear.
I stumbled through the groves of trees as night began to fall. I felt frightened, I didn't know what I was supposed to do in this situation, barely being able to walk now. I could keep going but the bleeding from my ankle had started again, and it wouldn't stop no matter how many times I paused and rested it.
It took a few minutes, but after pondering and weighing my options, I decided that I was better off sleeping in the meadow right next to the trail and wait till morning to find my way back. I set down my pack in the middle of the grass, taking off my extra jacket and laying down on top of it. My ankle exploded once more in pain, the bleeding spreading from the extra shirt I tied around it onto the dead yellow grass.
I inhaled sharply as the pain changed from a constant hum to sparks of torture, which felt way worse. I tried to sleep as the sun set, praying that I would be fine. I checked my phone again, 10pm, still no service.
My vision faded into black as the sun dipped below the trees.
I woke up with a shock, the moon being the only thing illuminating the field around me. It was unnaturally bright, every blade of grass tinged a reddish orange color. I stood up, the pain in my ankle only a dull throb. I heard a rustle from behind me, and I spun around instinctively, my hands in fists. A translucent apparition stood before me, holding a pendant covered in blood, even on the chain itself. I realized that it was my own necklace, the one Lachlan had bought for me a few days ago. I stepped back in fear, my heel hitting something behind me. I turned again, seeing my own body lying contorted on the grass, its eyes open in pure fear and agony, blood pooling in a circle around its neck, where the necklace was missing from view.
I felt my legs give out, my body falling to the ground in slow motion. My vision filled with red, the apparition walking towards me, dropping the bloody necklace back in my hands. The blood from my ankle flowing freely, my corpse still laying on the ground next to me, its eyes locking with my own as the spirit exploded in a white light. I felt something heavy sink into my chest as a voice cried out my name, my body going numb.
Lachlan's P.O.V:
It's all my fault. I arrived two hours later than Vikk asked me too. I should never had let him go hike alone, now he was missing and I'm guessing he doesn't have cell service either. I pulled a flashlight from my glove compartment in a flurry of panic, rushing up the worn gravel trail. I noticed the visitors sign in board off the edge of the parking lot. I rushed towards it, seeing Vik's name in his sloppy handwriting, no sign out time written next to it.
My heart pounded in my throat as adrenaline guided me up the trail. Something deep in my heart told me was still here somewhere, maybe he was camping because he didn't want to walk in the dark. "Or something worse," My mind suggested, but I pushed the thought away, my emotions clouded in worry.
It wasn't even 20 minutes of running when I saw the blood. A large tree stump sat off the trail, the edge smeared in the red substance. I felt my head spinning, my thoughts dissolving into pure panic. "No no no no no no..." I muttered as I ran towards a clearing in the forest, a small body visible under the light of the moon.
I used the last of my energy sprinting to him, "Vik, no please," I saw a pool of blood coming from his left foot, only making me run faster. I threw myself to the ground next to him, his body cold to the touch. His face was matted with sweat as I shined my flashlight on him, his skin a light blue color, "VIK!" I cried, shaking his head between my hands.
"Lachl-" He sputtered in a fit of shivering, his bloody hands reaching up to touch my face. I watched his eyes as they opened, pure fear and exhaustion visible in them.
"I'm here," I whispered, "What happened to you?" I tore my hands away from his face to inspect the blood at his feet. A huge gash spread from his ankle to the middle of his shin, blood pouring like a waterfall from the wound. "Holy fuck," I whispered in shock, ripping off my jacket and shirt. The chill autumn air stung my bare chest, but all I could focus on was Vik. He let his head fall limp as I tied my shirt around his leg. He screamed, gripping the grass at his sides in unimaginable pain.
I wrapped my jacket around his shoulders as I gathered him up into my arms, making sure his leg was correctly positioned against me. I ran back as fast as I could with my limited energy and Vik's cries of pain. He held onto my neck, muttering strange things about ghosts and pendants, his loss of blood really getting to him.
It took us longer than I'd have liked to get back to the car, Vik was already bleeding through the shirt wrapped on his leg. I set him carefully in the backseat, making sure he was buckled in. I gave him my phone, "As soon as we get service call an ambulance, the number is 000," I ordered, starting the engine and driving away from the trail.
I gripped the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white, going down the empty highway 30 miles over the speed limit. My nerves calmed slightly as Vik spoke quietly into the phone and then to me, "They told us to stop the car and turn on our high beams and hazard lights," Vik explained, using my jacket to bite down on through spasms of pain.
I did as he said, turning on all of the lights and pulling off the road. I stepped out of the car, opening Vik's door. He was crying freely, my jacket still in his mouth. "I'm so sorry," I apologized, unbuckling him. He stared at me in shock, shaking his head.
"You saved my life, I would have bled to death," He admitted, "There was nothing I could do, I was already hallucinating," He trembled, closing his eyes sharply, opening them wide again like he was waking up from a dream.
"This is real, I'm real Vik," I assured him, hearing faint sirens in the distance. Vik turned towards me, but seemed to stare straight through me like I didn't exist. "Don't you give up on me Vik!" I screamed in panic, picking him back up into my arms, cradling him as an ambulance pulled up beside our car.
Two men in orange uniforms ran towards me from the vehicle, taking Vik from me. One inspected the gash on his leg as I explained what happened to the other. Everything started to feel like a dream as I was ushered into the back of the ambulance next to him, holding his hand as his eyes tried to stay open.
Vik's P.O.V:
I woke in a hospital bed, except instead of white, my sheets, the wall, the chair, everything was all stained blood red. My pendant was still clutched to my chest, my heart beating too fast for my own good.
"Vik," Lachlan apparated in front of my bed, a large cut down his cheek, a bullet hole through his forehead. He smiled as I screamed, backing up against the headboard, shaking in fear.
"NO!" I cried, tears streaming down my face as he leaned closer towards me, tracing my cheek with a bloody hand. Wherever he touched me would explode in pain, blood flowing from the wound. "Stop," I whispered as he ran his hand down my chest, the blood flowing like a waterfall off the sides of the bed.
"My dear, you're doing this to yourself," He smirked at me, his blue eyes filling with blood as they stared at me, wrenching me back to reality.
Lachlan's P.O.V:
I helped Vik into the car, setting his crutches in the backseat. "How are you feeling?" I asked as he settled into the front seat, putting on his seatbelt.
"Not dead," He laughed dryly, dark circles obvious under his eyes. He told me he slept after the stitches, but I didn't believe him, he looked and acted like a zombie.
"That's always nice," I smiled at him, pulling out of the hospital parking lot and driving to my place. I looked over at him occasionally, his sad eyes staring blankly at the road. "What did you see in that forest?" I asked, pulling onto the freeway, my right hand resting on his comfortingly.
"It wasn't real," Vik gritted his teeth, his answer feeling more directed to himself rather than me. His hand tensed under mine, pulling away from me.
"I'm sorry," I said again, tapping the wheel nervously as he stared out at the world, lost in deep thought. He said nothing, and only muttered a thank you as I helped him back into the house. The crutches were a little too tall for him, so I had to practically carry him up the steps and into the living room.
"Lachlan?" He spoke quietly from the couch where I left him to go set my stuff down in the kitchen. I rushed back immediately, locking eyes with him.
"Yes?" I asked eagerly, sitting beside him.
"I would've died out there," He whispered, clasping his hands together before taking a deep breath. "Now all I see is death," He forced out, not meeting my eyes.
"The hallucinations?" I asked, suddenly realizing why he never slept.
"Yes," He said bitterly, looking back up at me, fear in his eyes.
"How can I help you?" I put my hand on his cheek, his skin warm to the touch.
"Never let me see this again," He removed the necklace I bought for him a few days ago, wincing as the chain rattled against my skin as I took it from him, "It's in every vision," He explained.
"I will kill it with fire if you want me to," I assured him, rubbing his shoulders, "I suppose I'll have to get you something else to remember me by," I chuckled, kissing his forehead.
"How could I forget the person who saved my life?" Vik smiled for the first time in days, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. I held him close to me, relieved he was going to be okay. "I love you," He whispered in my ear, holding me tightly.
"I love you too," I replied, letting Vik fall asleep peacefully in my arms.