He ran a trembling hand across his skin, feeling the cold dampness of dew mixed with something sticky. Blood. Fresh, metallic. But he found no cuts, only the persistent ache that pulsed from his bones to his very core. He could sense he was not in his room, or on his bed. The smell of green leaves and tree bark filled his senses. He felt he might be dreaming, a very realistic dream, yet any other explanation eluded him. He could not hear anything, save for the pounding in his ears, a drumming that didn’t stop or slow. He was alive but felt distinctly... other.
Raising his hand to shield his eyes, he took stock of his surroundings. This immediately raised more questions.
Why am I in the middle of a forest?
Why is there blood on the back of my hand?
Why am I naked?
This was no dream, it was very real. He was sitting up now, on the damp forest floor as morning mist continued to float around him, giving the scene an almost magical quality.
"If only I wasn't completely covered in blood" he muttered to himself, panic had set in now. His mind was racing to piece together how and what had happened.
His relief to find he wasn’t injured at all, despite the deep-seated ache everywhere in his body, was short-lived when once again he asked.
“Why am I naked and covered in blood? If it’s not my blood….” he trailed off.
It felt creepy talking out loud all of a sudden.
His mouth was parched as he tried to lick his dry lips, the salty metallic taste of blood flooded his senses. He realised his lips were caked in dried blood, he wiped them furiously with his forearm in disgust, to no avail, as he was practically covered in blood. He coughed in disgust, noticing at the same time, that his body wasn’t as repulsed by the blood as his mind was, feeling a tingling sensation throughout his body.
That’s when he felt it, a foreign object in his mouth. Without thinking, he reached in, fingers grazing something that wasn’t supposed to be there. He pulled it out, examining it just long enough for the truth to sink in, then let out a strangled cry, flinging it away as he scrambled back, scraping his bare skin against the damp forest floor.
The clump of hair and flesh lay a few metres away, stark against the dewy ground. Around him, sounds began to filter in. The hum of the nearby road, birds chattering, leaves rustling. Daylight pierced the mist, illuminating his situation with brutal clarity.
He needed to get home, fast and unseen.
“Okay Kaelen, calm down, deep breaths. Time to think about getting home.” he muttered to himself.
Composing himself he got up into a crouched position, scanning the forest around him. He could see the road in the distance below him, recognising it and now he knew what direction to take.
Keeping himself low so as to try to remain unseen he starts half running, half scurrying through the forest, his senses heightened as his heart starts pounding furiously. He headed in the general direction he knew his home to be.
A truck drove past on the road below, suddenly blaring its horn, startling Kaelen. Diving for the nearby bush, crouched on all fours he caught the movement of a startled rabbit from the corner of his eyes. Before he could think, he was off on all fours chasing the rabbit, dodging and weaving with it. A growl came from deep within him, stopping him in his tracks as he cut it off mid-way.
“What the hell?” Kaelen exclaimed, bewildered by the reactions he had felt throughout his body.
Feeling unsettled, he quickly continued his journey home, his mind on edge for further surprises. He could somehow sense he was closer to his home now. This troubled him further as when he looked around, all he could see was more forest. He could still hear the traffic from the main road below. He knew he would need to cross this road to the parkland that backed onto his backyard. As long as no one was in the park, there’d be enough cover from the high fence lines, so his neighbours wouldn’t see him.
His movement, still in a crouched position as he went, startled a flock of birds. The urge to suddenly chase them was strong. He grabbed a nearby tree trunk with his arms to steady himself and prevent further dashing into the forest on a wild chase.
As he steadied himself, his eyes were drawn to gouges on the tree trunk. Absent-mindedly he ran his fingers along the gouge marks. They felt familiar to him somehow. A memory flashed through his mind, watching a large animal claw gouge the tree, and then it was gone.
Kaelen shuddered and started moving again. His mind focused on the large fence and how he was to get over it. From memory, it had been set to 8 feet for everyone's backyard. To give it an aesthetically pleasing view from the park and privacy for the residents.
Kaelen realised he was now at the part of his journey that could expose him the most. Fully aware that his nakedness and blood-caked body would certainly raise more than just the alarm with witnesses.
He braced himself for the final trek, every muscle tensed, and his body felt tight like a rubber band pulled to its limit. His senses were at peak awareness, not only could he see the traffic both ways, he could hear even further. He sat for an eternity, waiting for a break in the traffic. That perfect moment to launch himself to the minimalist cover of the trees and shrubs that separated the park from the main road.
The break he was waiting for arrived, yet he hesitated. Then suddenly a voice in his head that was not his own yelled.
GO!
With such urgency behind the voice, he was halfway across the road before he realised he was moving. Launching himself from the halfway point, he dived into the shrubs nearest him. Surprised at how effortlessly that had felt to him.
He rolled, and paused for a second, wondering where that voice had come from. He could now sense someone watching him. It disturbed him, yet he felt no threat to him. He sensed it was time to go so he sprinted across the lush green grass of the parkland. The familiarity of his fence line, despite them all looking the same, was a welcome sight to him.
He hoped he would have enough of a jump to get his upper body to the top of his fence. From there he was sure he would have the strength to pull himself over to safety.
As he neared his fence, he judged his jump perfectly from the ground. Soon he realised he had more jump in him than he expected. He sailed almost completely over the fence until he was distracted by claw marks on top of his fence. His feet caught the top of his fence and he came down hard.
Kaelen lay there flat on his back, sucking in deep breaths, finally feeling safe. Protected. He was in his backyard, the fence blocking any sight of him. He caught his breath and started to relax.
Why do I still feel like I’m being watched?
He glanced around, no one was in sight. He put it down to still being naked and covered in, what now appeared to be flowing blood as his body was dripping in sweat from his ordeal.
Get inside and clean yourself up.
He paused, unsure if that was his voice in his head or someone else's.
Feeling confused, but agreeing with the thought. He got up and quickly entered his house, heading straight for the shower. The state of his house registered, it looked like a battle zone, furniture upturned, broken. Chunks of plaster and brick missing from the walls and strewn throughout the house. He ignored it and got in the shower.
One thing at a time.
Stepping out of the bathroom, steam billowing out from around him as he towelled himself dry. He walked into his bedroom and threw on a pair of shorts. Now to assess the damage and try to piece together the last…
How long has it been?
He looked at his bedroom mirror, shattered, a puzzled look on his face. The scratches from his forest foray were already healing. His fragmented image disturbed him all the more, as it highlighted his fragmented memory of the past…
How long HAS it been??
Feeling alarmed at his lack of recollection of everything, he tried searching for the last thing he remembered prior to waking in the forest. Nothing came to mind.
Before he could begin to panic, Kaelen sensed someone else in his home.
He froze, his entire body tensed, ready for action.
He knew someone was in his house, but they weren’t moving. Slowly Kaelen exited his bedroom, keeping his back to the hallway wall, stepping silently over debris from walls and furniture, he made his way to the living room.
As he rounded the corner, the intruder entered his line of sight, sitting casually on the only chair still upright. Before Kaelen could utter a single word, the intruder spoke.
“So what’s your name?”
“What the hell?” Kaelen asked, incredulously, “My name? You are in my house! Who the hell are you?”
