Chapter 3:

Thomas was feeling good today. He had finished off the remaining groceries weeks ago but the various berries that he was able to forage not just kept him satiated but full of energy. This morning he had decided that continuing the same routine as he had for the last couple of weeks of just moving between the berry bush and the grove could not continue. While it had kept him alive and seemingly safe he had no way to know if that would last forever, plus it was just boring.

So today he was venturing farther out, past the berry bushes and deeper into the forest. After moving back and forth between the grove and bushes he had become quite adept at traveling silently, avoiding any stray leaves or sticks. If someone were to see him they would think he was a veteran ranger who had been living within forests for years. Not someone who had only been in the forest for but a few weeks.

Sadly for Thomas no matter how skillfully he could navigate the forest floor there were predators with supernatural senses in this forest. You could practically be invisible but if you had no way to counter these senses, you’d have little luck in truly hiding from them.

After traveling for a short while the hair on the back of Thomas’s neck started to rise. He had the distinct feeling he was being followed, or stalked may have been a better term for it. Coming to a stop crouching next to a tree he paused to take in his surroundings. That was when he first noticed a major indicator in the forest had stopped. The area of forest in which he was currently located had gone almost completely silent. In the entire couple of weeks that he had been here, the forest had never been silent.

Obviously the wildlife knows something that I don’t. Unfortunately that thing is likely to be dangerous.

He had learned to trust his senses over the last couple of weeks. He’d always check around before approaching the berry bushes and he kept getting that odd sense of just knowing if there was anything nearby. This time unfortunately, while he was getting some form of feedback, it wasn’t what he wanted. He couldn’t tell what was around, or where it was but he knew for sure that there was something around.

Okay let’s head back in the direction of the Grove. There are definitely predators in this forest and likely they have some kind of magical bullshit.

Turning around he moved swiftly, but silently in the direction he just came. A short while later, nearing where the berry bushes were located, he heard a rustling noise come from his left. Stopping to check it out, he barely noticed a blur hurtling in his direction. Thomas just barely jumped backwards dodging the blur as it rushed past.

The blur came to a stop only a few meters directly to his right. As it stopped he was able to get a good look at what the blur was. A smallish cat-like creature was standing in front of him. It looked like a mix between a house cat and a lynx, but was barely any taller than his shins and couldn’t be more than one foot long.

While those facts should have given him some reassurance, all Thomas saw was a very pissed off feline who had razor sharp claws that were currently faintly glowing blue. I freaking knew there would be some magic bullshit! Claws that had cut thin but deep lines through the ground. Watching the creature come to a stop he could tell that the ground offered no resistance to its front claws.

His breath became deeper as he felt panic take over his mind, and his muscles started egging him to sprint in the direction of the Grove. His mind screamed at him that it was the only safe place in this entire forest, and that coming out was a mistake. Before he even realized it, his legs were pumping under him as he thundered across the forest floor. All manner of stealth forgotten as he sprinted for what he felt was safety. He heard the feline behind him chasing its prey.

Feeling a tickling sensation on his back he threw himself to the side as a blur passed just where he was. He barely had time to think, however, as the blur changed directions with barely a pause on the ground, and he found himself leaping left and right in order to try and dodge the creature.

What happened to physics?!? inertia! Come on, you're supposed to come into play here!

It didn’t take long before Thomas was unable to leap out of the way in time and with a scream of pain the feline gouged a deep gash through the side of his torso. The glowing claws of the creature cut through the skin, muscle tissue and likely some intestines like a hot knife through butter. Looking down he saw the deep gash across his side, parts of his insides peaking out.

Thomas’s panic seemed to overflow. This, this is where I die isn’t it? His mind racing at a mile a minute, thoughts popping in and out as fast as they came. His mind so muddled, he didn’t even notice the lynx-like creature preparing for another strike.

Only noticing the feline once it was almost upon him, Thomas’s mind screamed. This is really how I’m going to die! He threw himself to the side just barely making it out of the way, a shallow cut appearing on his arm. Before he was even able to turn around the feline flung itself toward him again. Another shallow cut. Again and again the feline leapt toward him, using trees as springboards to propel itself even more frequently. More cuts were made, his limbs now resembling the stripes of a tiger.

Something in Thomas shifted, and his mind cleared and entered overdrive. He watched as the feline shot toward him. He knew that it was going for the neck this time. He saw the malice in its eyes. The sadistic joy it had taken from inflicting the shallow wounds. A feral growl left his chest and with speed he didn’t know he had Thomas sidestepped left, just out of reach of the claws, swinging his arm out, and catching the back end of the animal. The creature spiraled out of control, slamming hard into the tree trunk it was going to use as a footstool.

Taking the opening he charged forward and kicked the stunned beast in the side with as much power as he could. Then turned and began sprinting as quickly as he could in the direction of the Grove. He knew he couldn’t kill the thing. He only hoped that he was able to do enough damage to either scare it away or stun it long enough to escape.

Thomas made it back to the Grove in record time and promptly slumped against the central tree. I somehow got away from the Lynx but I have no way to treat all these wounds… is this it for me?

Exhaustion that had been held back by adrenaline began to overwhelm him. He could feel his body grow heavy, his eyes wanting to shut and rest to take him. I need to do something for this chest wound at the least. It likely needs stitches and to be disinfected. Fat chance of me doing either of those right now though. What even is the best method to treat a wound like this in the first place? Having no other ideas he took off his shirt and tied it around his chest pulling it tight as to try and stop the bleeding.

And then immediately passed out.

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Thomas groggily let out a pained moan. Still trying to cling to sleep he tightly shut his eyes as if he could stop the light from coming into them. Slowly he fully came to his senses. Surprise was the first thing to greet him as he barely felt any pain. Sitting up, he wondered if he had dreamt the battle with the lynx-like creature. Looking down at the shirt tied around his chest was a blunt reminder that was not the case.

He was shocked to find that the minor cuts along his outer limbs were gone. No scarring either, as if I had never been injured in the first place. How long have I been out for? Even still, if it was long enough for this kind of healing to occur I should have died of starvation or dehydration. Tilting his head back he looked at the tree he was resting against and marveled once again at its size. Does this thing have healing capabilities or something? My body changed, perhaps this new body has some kind of healing effect?

No matter the case Thomas is thankful for the boon.

Unwrapping the shirt from around his chest he checked the wound on his side. It had been by far the worst injury he had incurred while fleeing from the beast. He was shocked once again that it had healed a considerable degree. It wasn’t gone and appeared to be scarring as it healed, but gone was the inch thick deep gash. In its place was a thin slash across his side, the surrounding skin a bright pink. He also got a good look at his dry blood-stained skin.

Slowly Thomas tried to stand up, and was greeted with a spike of pain from his side. Okay so moving is going to be a bit of a challenge, but doable. Deciding to stay put for the moment he found himself thinking back to his encounter with the Lynx-like creature. He had never been in a life threatening situation before and was not surprised that he had started to panic. That he had kept moving and hadn’t frozen up was a blessing he decided. He had heard how some people would become frozen with fear and indecision when under huge amounts of stress.

Well if there was one thing that he’d call stressful, it would be running for his life from a magically enhanced lynx. He recalled how near the end his mind had cleared and gone into overdrive. His body had moved on its own as if something within him had noticed the truly life threatening attack of the feline. Maybe this body has instinctive reactions to such situations? Whatever the case, it saved my life.

As his mind continued to wander he was reminded of Michal, Jessica and Samantha. He had no idea what happened back on Earth. I hope they all still went to the festival. Maybe Michal finally gathered his courage. He snorted to himself, causing a new wave of pain to radiate out from his side. If anything did happen it’s more likely that Samantha put one of our plans into action. Letting out a small sigh he decided that dwelling on the topic of Earth wouldn't really do him any good. He was saddened that he would likely miss the event of Michal and Jess getting together, if they ever did. He doubted he would ever see any of them again. I hope they are well though. Hopefully someone took care of Charlie, Sabina probably forced her parents to adopt the dog. The thought puts a small smile on his face. Michal’s sister always loved his golden retriever. She would take good care of her, he was sure. I hope Mom and Dad are doing well too. Hopefully they were having a good time boating, or at least had a good time.

Deciding that a bit of physical pain was preferable to wallowing on the subject, and he was famished. Thomas slowly made his way to his feet and walked over to his little storage space to see if any of the berries he had left there hadn’t rotted. Luckily it seemed they were all still in perfect condition. So either I haven’t been out for very long, or there is definitely some magic BS when it comes to the Grove. BS that I absolutely love right now. Now let’s go take a bath.

He slowly made his way toward the pond. He still tried to keep his visits to the pond as short as possible. He found it uncomfortable to look at his reflection. It was like he wasn’t even looking at himself. He quickly waded his way into the water, disrupting the still surface.

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It didn’t take long for Thomas to run out of the small supply of berries that he had been keeping. Luckily, his wounds continued to heal at an astonishing rate. Within a couple of days he was forced to leave the safety of the Grove and forage for more food. His side was still injured, and it gave him some issues with walking but not nearly as much as he expected to have after, what he assumed was, only a few days of recovery.

As he made his way to the berry bushes he came across many more creatures that he expected to. He had noticed an increase over the last week before his encounter with the Lynx, but this was to a whole different level. It seems whatever was keeping the wildlife away from this area is gone. He was thankful that none of the creatures really seemed to be all that interested in him.

The encounter with the Lynx thoroughly solidified in Thomas’s mind that he needed to learn some combat skills, he had become complacent in the time that he had been staying in the Grove as everything had seemed to be safe. The increase in other wildlife around the Grove helped push this mindset further. He logically understood that forests were dangerous places for humans to be, especially when the human is alone. Humans were social creatures and they used group size as a defense against predators. However, being in the same location for close to a few months and having basically no signs of danger had lured him into a false sense of security.

Thomas vowed that he would be more alert from now on. He had learned some boxing back on earth in his early twenties. he doubted it would be of much help against a creature like the lynx but it was a better place to start than nothing.