Lucian stared at the blood-red message that once again taunted him. Crying out in anger, he slapped at the words, wishing they would get lost.

Surprisingly enough, the majority of the message vanished! The hovering font that had been encroaching his vision all this time was finally gone!

Though the words had disappeared, the bleeding timer still counted down in the bottom left corner of his vision. A dreadful feeling emanated from that corner as he watched the seconds plunge.

[9:21:17]

Lucian looked back at the wall once more before the little energy that he had remaining left him. His knees hit the ground first, and he collapsed against a nearby tree.

Tears stained his face as he thought about his wife and child at home. How was he supposed to make it back to them if he couldn't even make it out of here?

Lucian didn't even know where 'here' was!

He clutched both sides of his head with his hands, doing his best to calm himself.

"Just what kind of fucked up shit is this?!" He screamed.

The scream echoed, and the desperation in his own voice caused his stomach to clench.

His body ached, his head wouldn't stop throbbing, and he just wanted to go home. Images of the last hours before waking up in this place once again played through his mind.

He lingered on the feel of his wife's lips as he kissed her goodbye. The smell of her perfume suddenly filled his senses, and he stopped holding back his feelings.

Lucian felt warm tears streaming down his cheeks as he pictured his two children running up to him. He wasn't sure why, but something told him that he'd never see them again.

'Did I do something wrong..?' He wondered.

Lucian leaned his head back against the tree and allowed the tears to flow freely. He wasn't sure how long he was in that position, and he refused to focus on the small clock that wouldn't go away.

He hated that clock.

After brooding for a while, he fell asleep, unable to handle the mental and physical stress of the last hours.

It wasn't until much later that he was awoken by the first rays of the sun's light that were starting to trickle through the canopy.

Begrudgingly, he glanced at the strange timer in the corner, seeing that it had a few minutes left.

Unsure of what to expect, Lucian decided that he should at least get some grasp of the situation. The blood dripping from the clock did nothing to ease his anxiety.

He staggered to his feet and used the sparse light that streamed through the leaves to better look at his surroundings.

With the odd enhancement to his vision and the dim light brightening the area, he had a clear view of the small... forest?

Lucian didn't feel that it was large enough to be called a forest, as he could clearly see the shadowy walls blocking the six different sides of the hexagon.

The trees were sparsely placed, and the wood was an ashy grey color. Though there weren't many of the bizarre trees, the branches were sizeable and extended many meters in every direction.

A slight breeze passed, and the odd purple leaves danced above him. The canopy covered the entire hexagon, even the tiny clearing that was open in the center.

Lucian reached over to the branch he'd been using to walk around. He plucked one of the leaves from the small twigs still bound to the limb.

"This is..!"

Lucian was amazed at the strange leaf in his grasp. He pulled on the leaf, and instead of crumbling, it stretched to almost thirty centimeters!

The elasticity of the plant was remarkable! Not only that, the thing was as soft as silk!

"What kind of tree is this?!" Lucian blurted out, only hearing the response of his echo and the rustling of the leaves above.

His eyes darted around the dense foliage above him, and a sudden realization hit him.

'This isn't home...'

Lucian already knew that he wasn't in his own backyard, but this...

He'd spent many years designing beautiful structures for the upper class. Countless hours had gone into studying the different types of wood that could be used to embellish a water feature or to adorn the walls of an antique mansion.

Whatever these trees were, they weren't of Earth. If they were, they hadn't been grown naturally.

"Am I in some kind of lab?" He mumbled.

His eyes skimmed the enigmatic wall from where he'd attempted an escape.

"H-Hello?! Is anyone there?!" Lucian cried.

After ripping the twigs from the limb he was carrying, he used the branch to support his still aching body and walked to the wall.

"Can someone hear me?! Hello?!"

He wanted to run through the wall again, but the pain from the first attempt was still fresh in his mind. Though he could move, he didn't want to render himself unconscious for an untold amount of time.

Lucian was already tired of passing out.

He stalked around the hexagon's edges, calling out and hoping that someone could hear him. Unfortunately, it didn't garner a response no matter what he did.

By the time he stopped screaming, his voice had gone hoarse.

He clenched his fist, tears starting to surface in his eyes once again. It was unclear whether he should be saddened, angry, or terrified by the current events, but he was all three.

"Please... someone..." Lucian whispered. "I have a family..."

Just as the man started to lose hope, a sound came from somewhere in the shadows! He jerked his head up, looking into the darkness and trying to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.

He stopped breathing, listening intently for another sound to come from the shadows. His hopes were ignited as he heard something similar to leaves stirring on the other side!

"Over here!"

Lucian's voice cracked as he yelled, but he didn't care. Someone must have heard his shouts!

A feeling of excitement welled inside him, but it only lasted for a moment.

The sounds of leaves being pushed suddenly turned into the sound of multiple scampering feet. Low grunts and odd growls came from within the darkness...

Lucian stumbled back, and just as he did, the small clock moved briefly to the center of his vision.

[00:03]

[00:02]

[00:01]