Abel sat silently on a hilltop rubbing his tattered feet, and staring over the ridge as his mind raced with thoughts. In the distance, he could see the lake he had just traveled from. It seemed so close and yet so far behind him. He wasn't sure what to do now all he knew was he couldn't go back his frustration was too consuming as he thought back to his brother putting his life at risk but knowing he wouldn't have been able to make a better decision in the manner that Miles had. He stared a moment longer hoping his brother would soon walk over the hill begging him to come back, but he didn't, Abel was alone now in an all-new world he wasn't sure he was prepared to see.
His eyes swelled with tears, enhancing their blue color as his face turned red and flushed. He wasn't crying because he was sad or even because he was scared. He was crying because he was so angry with no other way to express it. The trees around him staggered whistling lightly as the breeze passed through their needles. As he sat on the hill the warmth of day began to fade introducing the cold night air chilling him more than his soggy clothes already had.
He began to shiver still sitting in his damp clothes. Goosebumps spread over his body as the cold wind hit his skin. With no shelter in sight, he rose to his feet knowing the only option he had was to keep moving and find a place to start a fire to keep warm. As he turned around to continue away from the lake he saw something moving behind the trees, slowly and quietly. A bright blue streak moved through the gaps behind the dark trees floating seamlessly like a bird flying through the air, illuminating a monstrous shadow that growled deeply.
He stared intently as the beam of light stopped and turned. Now attached to the beam, a pair of miniscule black eyes reflected the red light from the moon at him. He stumbled backward slowly before reaching the edge of the cliff. Below him a dark forest spanning miles, and a nearly hundred-foot drop.
"H...hello?" He yelled out shakily, getting no answer in return. Suddenly a long huff came from behind the trees followed by another growl. He stopped, frozen dead in his tracks not letting out even the slightest noise, and holding his breath.
He knelt slowly, locking eyes with the mysterious creature grabbing a large stick from the ground. He gripped the stick with both hands and cocked it over his shoulder like a baseball player awaiting his next pitch. The growling continued before turning into a roar shaking the trees and ground beneath Abel's feet. Then quickly, the creature stepped into the gleaming moonlight revealing itself to be a bear.
He stared at the bear in front of him its eyes were black and menacing and its skin was almost decomposed around its ribs and stomach as if it had been ripped open, revealing its organs functioning inside. The bear looked at Abel growling lightly before standing up. It was like no other bear he had ever seen. It was ten feet tall and half dead, with a glowing blue streak wrapping around its body its rib cage was fully exposed on one side, and its stomach was gashed open, spilling its guts out as it rose to its feet. The bear let out another roar, its breath visible in the cold air, before dropping to its feet and bolting toward him with intent to kill.
Abel screamed, throwing his stick at the large creature doing no damage that hadn't already been done. The stick shattered as it impacted the bear's tough exterior splintering as they collided. The bear leaped at Abel scratching him across the face and pushing him over the edge of the hill.
Screaming in pain grabbing his face as his body flew down the cliffside, he rolled toppling over rocks and twigs as he tried desperately to grab ahold of anything to stop his fall. His hands slid and scraped over boulders and exposed tree roots he attempted to grab before digging his nails into the dirt underneath him just before he could fall to his death as the hill turned to a cliff.
He stared up at the mountainside he had just rolled down, his face covered in blood, and dirt, realizing his right eye was missing, the only thing left behind was a dark and empty socket leaking blood, and a peculiar white ooze. The bear stood towering above him growling into the air in frustration and anger. Abel looked over his shoulder shaking with fear and adrenalin, not even feeling the pain of the three deep gashes the bear had sliced into him. Knowing it was the only direction he could go, he took a deep breath before slowly sliding down to the mountain's edge and over the ledge.
He peered over the side seeing the rocky terrain below knowing if he were to misstep slightly, he would fall to the ground and die where he lay. He placed his foot on one of the exposed rocks below tapping it lightly to ensure its security before releasing his full weight onto it. He stood on the rock staying as still as possible knowing it was the only thing standing between him and a hundred-foot drop into the forest below. He took a deep breath before slowly rotating his body to face the cliff wall to climb down.
Slowly and carefully, he inched his way down. One foot after another, testing each rock's stability with a light tap before adding any weight. Blood dripped from his face rolling down the crevices of his cheeks and landing on the stones he was holding. His left eye was the only one he could see out of forcing him to entirely turn his head to see his surroundings.
His arms and legs fell numb very quickly and his blood loss made his head spin. His grip lessened with each step-down before he was able to snap out of it. He knew he had a small chance of survival but was determined to make it to the ground, knowing that was his only hope of living through the night. He stopped for a moment catching his breath and holding the cliff-side with all the force he could produce. His palms began to sweat creating an even more difficult challenge for him. As he made his descent the adrenalin began to wear off, and the searing pain was now shooting across his face. Not only did he now have to climb a steep cliff-side not knowing what lay ahead but he had to do so blind tired and sweaty but had to keep his composure and fight through the unimaginable pain he felt in his hands and face.
He slowly began to lose hope. His vision blurred and his grip loosened even more. He attempted to keep himself awake but his body couldn't handle it, he was exhausted and bleeding profusely. As he faded in and out of consciousness the wind blew gliding through his hair in it, he heard a voice. The voice of his mother.
"Fight," it said blowing through his ear.
"M... mom?" he called out, opening his eye and searching for the person he needed most.
"Fight, my beautiful baby boy." The voice spoke softly.
"I don't think I can. What do I do?" he asked drowsily, searching for the answer to his most asked question. Silence followed, and his mother's voice trailed off leaving him with nothing more than a single word that floated through the air. What did this mean? Was he going into shock? Probably. But hearing his mother's voice was the drive Abel needed to keep moving. He took a deep breath peeling his eye open and grabbed the side of the cliff as tight as he could and began his descent once again.
Any feeling of doubt or hopelessness faded with the wind carrying his mother's voice. Eventually, he made it to the ground below practically kissing the dirt as his feet touched it. A feeling of happiness and excitement rushed through his body so quickly he had almost forgotten that he had been blinded by a huge bear not twenty minutes before.
His face was still covered in blood and caked over by dirt and pebbles. His eye was now just a hole on the right side of his face, while his arms and legs felt similar to noodles boiling on a stove. His celebration was cut short by the pain encumbering him, reminding him of how injured he was. His vision began to blur as his legs gave out. He fell to the dirt exhausted.
He attempted to stand up but it was no use. Any attempt at pushing himself up was made impossible by his arms that would collapse under the weight of his body, sending him back headfirst into the dirt. He looked into the woods one more time seeing moving shapes behind the trees getting closer and closer to him. Then as he started attempting to make out the figures through his blurry vision his eye failed him and he passed out right there at the bottom of the mountain.