Rise of the Fallen

KORA

The night before had been a complete mess.

I’d spent the entire day wandering the forest aimlessly, finding nothing that could help me set up a temporary camp. No water, no food, no shelter. In the end, I had to resort to sleeping in a large tree with a few reachable branches, praying I wouldn’t fall out during the night.

The good news? I didn’t fall and break my neck or any limbs.

The bad news? I was still without any survival resources except for a knife, and my body was sore from the discomfort of sleeping in the tree. If you could even call that sleeping.

The forest seemed to come alive at night.

I was surrounded by the sounds of various animals. Some were just loud, incessant, or annoying, while others were downright terrifying. At one point, I was startled awake by the sound of a heavy creature moving beneath my tree, the ominous ticking sound it made reminding me of a bomb about to explode. It was too dark to identify the creature, and honestly, I was okay with that.

I knew about the dangers hiding in the forest, but hearing them so close in the darkness made it all too real.

Now, finding shelter and supplies was my top priority. If I was to survive this godforsaken place, I needed to get properly set up.

Before climbing down from my tree, I scanned the area and saw no immediate threats.

I jumped down quickly, landing just as a thunderclap echoed from above. The sound startled me so much I almost scrambled back up the tree. When the thunder roared again, I relaxed, relieved it was just the weather and not a colossal monster about to devour me.

Looking up, I could see dark clouds gathering beyond the treetops, promising a cold shower.

“Just great,” I muttered.

With my rucksack slung over my shoulder, I set off in search of something other than trees and bushes.

My body ached from the uncomfortable night and the previous day’s exploration. It was going to be a long day.

As the hours ticked by, my stomach growled in protest at the lack of food.

It wasn’t the only thing that was upset. I was growing increasingly frustrated with my inability to find anything useful for survival. No food, no water. The only animals I’d encountered were these annoying feathered lizards that rustled the branches as I passed, their chittering sounds grating on my nerves.

I used to think the noise from Krosa’s Red District was the most irritating sound, but the constant, repetitive sounds these creatures made were driving me insane.

I wasn’t even sure of my sanity anymore.

In frustration, I covered my ears, groaning at the incessant noise.

“Will you all just shut up!” I picked up a stick and hurled it at the creatures in the trees above.

To my surprise, I actually hit one.

It screeched as it fell from the tree, landing on the ground with a pained cry. Guilt washed over me as I realized I’d hurt the poor thing. I hadn’t meant to harm them! It writhed on its back in the dirt, struggling to right itself. I moved forward to help it, but the other lizards in the surrounding trees began to screech and flap their wings, causing me to rethink my decision.

“I didn’t mean to hurt it!” I protested, backing away as the lizards began to descend from the trees, surrounding me.

Alone, these tiny creatures weren’t intimidating. But a large, angry swarm of them?

Yeah, fuck this. I’m out of here.

As I tried to escape, they began hissing, and before I knew it, three of them had pounced on me.

They clung to my arms, biting at my bodysuit and pinching my skin beneath the thick material with their tiny teeth.

“Ow! Get off of me!”

I managed to knock one off my shoulder and fling another off my arm. Their mouths were small, but their teeth were sharp enough to tear through my bodysuit. When the first set of teeth sank into my skin, I let out a shriek of pain, grabbing one that had climbed up my leg and throwing it away, only to have several more take its place.

There was no way they were going to leave me alone!

I broke into a sprint, running downhill in a random direction, hoping to escape the little devils.

The ones clinging to me fell off, but my relief was short lived. The lizards pursued me, screeching and occasionally leaping at me to bite any part of me they could reach. They were relentless, and some were even quick enough to cut me off, trying to block my escape.

Shit, shit, shit!

I grabbed a branch and swung it at any lizards that tried to attack me from the front.

One jumped onto the back of my head, getting tangled in my ponytail.

I shrieked as I threw the stick at a group of lizards in front of me and reached for the one in my hair. It bit my hand repeatedly before I managed to grab it and throw it away, cursing at the bloody mess it had made of my fingers. Several more jumped onto my arm, biting me through one of the holes in my bodysuit and drawing more blood. I brushed past a tree, knocking a few of them off as I ran.

Eventually, the swarm dispersed, leaving me alone and injured in the woods.

My sprint slowed to a jog until I found a tree free of lizards to lean against, struggling to catch my breath. I winced at the sting of numerous small bites, looking down at the small holes and blood on my bodysuit and hands.

Okay, rule number one: no messing with the tree lizards!

I sighed as I inspected the damage to my outfit, wondering how I was going to repair it. I doubted there was a needle and thread in my rucksack.

I stiffened as something dripped into my hair.

Confused, I stood up straight as more drops fell onto my face, cooling my overheated skin. I wiped the liquid away with my fingers and looked at my bloody hand. Was it rain? Knowing my luck, it was probably the drool of some invisible monster in the tree, ready to bite my head off. More drops fell onto my face, and soon, the sprinkles turned into a downpour, soaking me to the bone.

“Oh, come on!” I yelled at nothing in particular, moving closer to the tree in a futile attempt to shield myself from the rain.

I’d been running so fast that I hadn’t noticed the trees had become more sparse, leaving me exposed to the rapidly changing weather. I couldn’t stay here much longer if I wanted to increase my chances of survival. I noticed the dirt path I’d been following led to a steep hill, and one wrong step could send me tumbling over the edge. I’d have to be careful not to walk off the cliff.

Groaning in frustration, I started jogging uphill, hoping to find a denser part of the forest to use as shelter from the rain, while also keeping an eye out for the lizards that were probably out for my blood.

The rain was coming down in sheets, turning the dirt path into mud and reducing my visibility.

I slowed my pace as my feet began to sink into the mud, moving more cautiously to avoid slipping.

But getting stuck in the mud was the least of my worries as the temperature dropped, matching the chill of the rain. I could feel my body heat escaping as the rain chilled me to the bone. I hadn’t been concerned about the cold the previous night when my bodysuit was intact, but now that it was full of holes, it wasn’t providing any insulation.

Suddenly, the earth beneath me crumbled, the slick mud sending me skidding sideways, right to the brink of the gully. A shriek tore from my throat as I lost my footing, arms flailing in a desperate attempt to regain balance, but it was too late—I was tumbling over the edge.

Before I could process what was happening, I was hurtling down the steep incline, the slippery mud acting as a catalyst, propelling me downward at a terrifying speed. I clawed at the earth, trying to halt my descent, but it was futile until I crashed over another ledge and landed with a thud at the bottom of the gully.

“Mother fu—” I groaned, sitting up, pain and frustration mingling in my voice. Not only was I drenched and freezing, but now I was also covered in mud and debris, my body aching and throbbing, begging me to just surrender and stay put.

But I wasn’t about to give in to my own downfall. I forced myself back onto my feet, hugging myself for warmth as I squinted through the rain, trying to make sense of my surroundings. The hill was steeper than I’d initially thought, dropping off into a long, narrow trench, its muddy walls towering over me.

Guess I’m not climbing back up there.

I began to walk, my body shivering and protesting with each step. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go before my aching body gave out. As I neared the end of the trench, I saw a section of the wall that was only a few feet tall. I climbed up, my feet sinking into the muddy wall for leverage. I barely managed to haul myself up and over.

To my right, the forest seemed to stretch on endlessly. To my left, there was a rocky cliffside covered in vines, with a small overhang of moss and more vines just a few feet away.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing. Before I knew it, I was huddled under the ledge, peering out through the heavy curtain of rain at the forest. My teeth were chattering from the cold.

Fuck, I’m going to get hypothermia at this rate.

I turned toward the cliff, my eyes drawn to the vines growing along the rock. I stepped closer, my head tilting in confusion. It was as if they weren’t attached to the rock at all, but merely hanging over a crack in the cliff wall.

I reached out, expecting the vines to be firmly rooted in the cracks. Instead, they pulled away easily, revealing a narrow cave entrance, just shorter than me. I let the vines fall back into place as I leaned forward and stepped inside, allowing my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light filtering through the vines.

Once my eyes had adjusted, they widened in surprise.

Holy shit!

Inside was a small cave, furs scattered on the ground, clay pots neatly arranged beside them. A small pile of wood, with logs and sticks of various sizes, was stacked neatly along the cave wall near the entrance. There were makeshift shelves and racks laden with tools. A firepit was at the center of it all, with a funnel above it to draw out smoke when the fire was lit.

I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to conserve heat and moved toward the firepit. The center was practically empty, devoid of fresh embers or coal, indicating that this place had been abandoned for some time. I eyed the woodpile hopefully before quickly moving toward it and grabbing as much as I could carry.

Could I start a fire?

After tossing the sticks into the fire pit, I moved to the shelves, rummaging through the supplies for something to create a spark. I picked up a small, dusty jar and opened it to find some kind of jelly or slime inside. I sniffed it and winced before closing it and putting it back, my fingers now coated in a thin layer of dirt.

Hope whoever lives here doesn’t mind me going through their stuff.

As I looked through the various tools, most of which were made of bone and likely used for preparing meat to cook, I found a black slate rock that looked promising. I dropped my soaked rucksack by the firepit and rummaged through it until I found my knife. Taking a deep breath, I said a silent prayer that this would work.

Gripping the tools in my hands, I struck the blade against the rock. Sparks flew, and I couldn’t help but grin. Finally, things were looking up! Now all I needed was kindling. My eyes landed on my rucksack, and an idea formed. I reached back into the bag and pulled out my soggy notebook.

Flipping through it, I let out a small cheer when I found some pages that were still dry. I tore a few out and used the knife and black rock to light the paper on fire. I did my best to keep the flame alive long enough to catch the sticks on fire, then the logs.

Once the fire was roaring, I sighed in relief, trying to warm myself by huddling as close as possible to the flames. Eventually, I used a long stick to poke the fire, keeping it going. With the cave now properly lit, I could see three animal furs hung up near the back wall, and what looked like a tanning rack for making leather near the front of the cave, next to another set of clay pots and bowls.

Someone had made everything in here, using this place as shelter, but everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Was this place simply abandoned, or had something happened to its occupant?

Whatever the case, I was just grateful I’d found this cave before hypothermia from the rain set in. But now that the fire was warming me, I realized how soaked my bodysuit was. I groaned. If I stayed in my wet clothes, I’d probably catch a cold.

I got to my feet and dragged the tanning rack over near the campfire before starting to strip out of my suit.

I hung the soaked clothing on the rack near the fire to dry, along with my shoes. My bra and underwear would be fine for now.

I picked up one of the furs, shook out any dust, and laid it on the floor near the fire as a makeshift bed. The second one I folded up for a pillow, and the third would serve as my blanket.

Once everything was set up, I sat down by the fire, half naked, and basked in its warmth while the storm raged on outside, the rain falling in a relentless downpour. I looked over my body and cringed at all the bite marks dotting my skin. Little pricks. At least they weren’t venomous.

My stomach growled, reminding me of my lack of food and water. I sulked before glancing over at my bag, an idea forming. I quickly retrieved my canteen and went to the cave entrance, stepping under the overhang.

I set the container upright in the rain, smiling. At least I’d have some water. Retreating back inside, I looked around, wondering what to do next.

I returned to the fire and pulled my poking stick out of the pit, blowing out the flame. The tip was blackened like charcoal, with a wisp of smoke still rising from it. I blew on it until it cooled down enough that it wouldn’t burn my fingers when I touched it. Breaking off about four inches from the end, I tossed the rest back into the fire and grabbed my now mostly dry notebook.

Might as well do something in my spare time. If I created a dossier for the plants and animals of the forest, I’d have a better chance at surviving.

After a moment’s thought, I decided to start with the dangerous stuff first: the tree lizards and that thorny vine I’d encountered. Using the charcoal tip of the stick as a pen, I did my best to sketch them onto the page.

After about ten minutes, I looked over my work and cringed. The vine looked like a snake with spiky hair, and the lizards looked like they’d been drawn by a five-year-old.

Sighing, I set the book and stick-pencil aside, staring into the fire. It didn’t take long for exhaustion to set in, and I lay down on the furs, pulling the other one over me. They weren’t the softest, but I was too tired to care.

At least I was safe and warm now.

Yawning, I curled up and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the rain falling outside.