Chapter Text
You couldn't fucking believe this.
You kicked a rock across the forest floor before continuing to stomp in your current direction, watching the sun continue to set over the horizon and the sky turn a pale gray. You just worked the longest hell of a shift in your life, and now you were lost in the woods trying to find your way home. This was the last time you'd trust a coworker for directions--shortcut, my ass.
You pushed back a few low-hanging branches and squinted at the path ahead of you, or lack thereof; the forest just kept getting denser and denser the more you walked, how was this supposed to lead anywhere close to your neighborhood? Hell, it was getting hard to see the sky now, the only thing you were getting was the light slowly fading. It was getting dark, and you were stuck in the middle of scenic nowhere only getting more and more turned around. You passed a tree you could've sworn you passed a couple times already and let out a frustrated huff before pulling out your phone. No service. Great. You ran your hands through your hair, letting out a heavy sigh. Ok, just try and focus, get your bearings. You couldn't be that far out from civilization, right?
You heard the trees rustle around you before rain started hitting the back of your head. Hard
Fucking fantastic.
You yanked your hood over your head before marching the direction you came. Fuck this, you were finding your way back to work and calling an Uber or something, this was ridiculous. You pulled your phone out and turned on the flashlight, flicking it from the leaves covering the ground to the wall of trees in front of you. Alright, obviously you had to come out of it soon, you literally walked in here from the parking lot of your work, so it was just a matter off--
You heard the crunch of leaves from a few feet away and stopped cold. Was that..? No, that had to have been you, right? The ground was covered with leaves and they made noise every time you walked, your mind was probably just playing tricks on you.
You heard a twig snap from a few feet away. Definitely not you.
"Uh..." You blurted out. Was there anyone else out here? These woods looked pretty deserted, at least right now. Maybe it was just an animal? Or maybe someone who could help you? Maybe a little dumb in hindsight, but it was cold and pouring and you were desperate.
"Hello?"
Something immediately jumped out at you, large and dark and furry, brushing past you and knocking you to the ground. You landed hard on your knee and let out a groan before sitting up and seeing something approach you. It was hard to see in the dark, all you could make out was its silhouette and a pair of bright red eyes. It growled as it inched closer to you, and you tried to scoot further away. You held up your phone, the flash still on, as it lunged at you.
It was a wolf. A big fucking wolf.
You raised your leg and kicked it hard in the jaw and it fell a foot away from you, before quickly getting up, unfazed, and lunging at you again. You whacked it hard with the side of your arm with a grunt, trying to push it off of you. And suddenly it latched on, biting down hard on your forearm and shaking it. You screamed, loud and guttural, trying to kick it off of you as it thrashed, tearing the sleeve of your coat and splattering blood on your face as it growled.
A figure stepped beside you suddenly, wielding a large weapon--an axe? a crowbar? a large branch?--and swung it hard at the beast, instantly making purchase. You heard a loud "thwack" and a yelp and the figure yelling at it--you couldn't make out what, you couldn't hear anything over the blood pumping in your ears. Without thinking twice, you scrambled to your feet and limped away as fast as you could.
You heard a howl sound from far behind you, and tried to quicken your pace, immediately letting out a groan; you stepped too hard on your wounded leg. You crumpled to one knee, still clutching your bleeding arm and trying to catch your breath. You tried to force yourself up to quickly and let out a groan before crumpling to the floor again, this time falling over onto your wounded arm. You let out a yelp, breathing hard as you tried to sit up again.
A black mass appeared in front of you suddenly--the figure from earlier. You could make out his face now that he was close: dark hair, intense tired eyes, and stubble. He grasped at your shoulder and you quickly pulled away. "No!"
"Stop--it's ok, I'm not gonna--stop! Just HOLD STILL!"
You froze there, staring at the man in front of you, one hand gripping the wrist of your injured arm, the other bracing your shoulder. "It's ok." He said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
You swallowed, unable to come up with a response
"How bad is it?" He pulled at the tattered, bloody sleeve of your coat, away from your wound. You let out a sharp groan, shrinking back. "Ok, shh." He said quickly. "Fuck."
A howl in the distance distracted you both, and suddenly he was pulling you by your good arm in the other direction. "We have to be quick, that thing's fast."
"How do I know I can trust you?" You grunted out.
"Seriously?! What choice do you have?"
You looked at him, then at the path you were on, then back at him. There was no way you'd be out of this forest before it got too late, hell, you didn't even know if you'd be out by morning
You nodded, and he began pulling you with him as he sprinted through the forest, still tightly clutching whatever weapon he used earlier.
"Hurry! C'mon!"
You limped behind him as fast as you could, grunting at the pain, gripping his hand tightly as you two ran.
And suddenly, you were indoors.
He turned the knob of an old cabin and practically shoved you in, quickly closing it. You fell to the floor with a hard "thud", immediately curling on your side and clutching your arm again. You glanced up at him, trying to see better through blurry eyes as he fiddled with the door, probably locking a deadbolt or something. You drew in a hiss through your teeth as you landed on your arm wrong, scrunching your eyes shut, and letting out a groan.
"Don't even...try anything. I'll kick your ass."
Silence. Maybe a little forward, but honestly, that was the biggest thing on your mind right now despite everything; you were in woods you barely recognized, god-knows-how-far-away from home or anyone you knew, with a strange man. You didn't know what to expect, especially now that you were wounded.
"Uh, why would I...?"
"Dammit, man, I don't know you." You almost slurred it out, head fuzzy from blood loss.
"Well, I wasn't going to."
"Good."
Silence.
You heard a sigh as something thudded against the coatrack and a nearby cabinet creaked open. "Get your coat off. Sit at that table."
You groaned, shifting your weight and propping yourself up on your elbows, trying to force yourself up. When that didn't work, you resorted to crawling to the nearby kitchen table, as carefully as you could muster.
"Oh, Christ." He murmured, sounding less exasperated and more worried, before he carefully hoisted you up by the upper arms and helped you into your chair, peeling off your coat carefully as you hissed in pain. He set a first aid kit onto the table and slid into the seat across from you. He grabbed your arm by the wrist, turning it over and letting out a sympathetic groan, before grabbing a bottle and a small rag. "Ok, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't gonna hurt, but we...we have to do it." He said as he dampened the rag with the bottle's contents and pressed it carefully against your wound.
You let out a loud groan, trying to pull away, but he held your arm in place. "Stop--I know, but--stop--we have to disinfect it."
You let out a loud whimper, your whole body clenching as you doubled over.
He let out what sounded like a deep breath. "Ok, it might be best if you look away for this."
And suddenly, it was like every pain receptor in your arm lit up. You screamed, damn near thrashing, but he continued to hold you in place. "I know, I know, but you have to sit still. You got some debris stuck in here, I have to fish it out before I can bandage you."
You let out a shaky whimper, clenching your fist as he continued to work on you. You planted your forehead against the table, chest heaving and eyes watering, letting out another whimper, weaker this time.
"Just try to breathe."
Tears blurred your vision and you felt your head begin to spin as you let out another groan, the stranger's voice fading in and out.
"I know. It sucks. Just try to breathe."