Lost In Danger

Pain flowed through Nathan's body. He could still feel the effects of being hit by the bolt of lightning. He was left unconscious, wreathing in agony. He groaned, searching for the slightest bit of relief.

"Nate! Nate! Nathan! Wake up, please!!" Echoed a familiar female voice.

The voice was quite soothing and strangely comforted his pain. However, it was not enough to wake him up.

"Damn it, let me do it! We can't wait for him to wake up any longer!" Complained another familiar voice.

Andrew's hand kissed Nathan's face with a painful slap, immediately bringing him back to consciousness.

"Ouch, son of a... ugh!!!" Screamed Nathan as he grasped his cheek in pain.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you're okay!" Said Sindy with relief as she hugged him tightly.

"Sindy, please... I need... air..!"

"Sorry about that! I got a little too excited..."

"Dude, you were out for over three hours! We weren't sure if you were ever going to wake up!" Exclaimed Andrew.

Nathan rubbed his bruised cheek in discomfort before answering in shock.

"Three hours..? What exactly happened?"

"We're just as lost as you are. All I know is that I woke up in this creepy forest beside you and Sindy without any clue how we got here."

"Creepy forest..?"

Nathan's eyes broadened in shock as he came to a frightening realization. They were surrounded by dead trees as far as the eye could see. The air was moldy and was drowning in mist and endless darkness. Even the ground was covered in bits of white rock that strangely resembled broken bones.

"Where the hell are we..?" He mumbled in shock.

Sindy sneezed cutely due to the moldy air before answering. She had a theory that she believed was worth sharing.

"I can only imagine that this is somehow connected to the strange weather from earlier. The last thing I remember is being struck by lightning before we all woke up here."

"I might not be the smartest guy around, but I agree with Princess," supported Andrew. "In any case, we need to find a way out of here. Maybe then we can get some answers."

"That's something we can agree on. Nate, can you stand?"

"Yeah, I can. My head's a little fuzzy, but I can manage," he answered as he picked himself up.

Shortly after, the three friends huddled together as they desperately searched for an exit. As they marched onward, Sindy stole a few glances at Nathan to make sure he wouldn't disappear again.

"Sindy, I'm not going to disappear again. You don't have to be so worried," comforted Nathan.

"After what happened earlier, I'm not willing to take any chances with you. You seem to be the source of whatever is going on here."

The trio continued in silence for another ten minutes, but the darkness only seemed to grow thicker. Their only sources of light were the moon and the dim stars in the night sky. The forest was starting to seem endless.

"Man, I think I'd wet my pants right about now if something were to jump out at us," said Andrew unsettlingly.

"Not the best time, Andrew! This forest already gives me the creeps..! I don't need you putting more horrors in my head!" Argued Sindy.

Suddenly, the sound of a breaking branch snapped just ahead of them in a patch of darkness. The trio quickly pulled themselves to a stop as a chill ran down their spines.

"Please tell me I'm just hearing things..." Pleaded Sindy, quickly pulling closer to Nathan.

"Andrew, cut it out. It's not the time to play one of your pranks. You're scaring Sindy," scolded Nathan.

To Nathan's horror, Andrew shook his head, implying that it was not him.

Suddenly stepping out of the darkness was a five-metered wolf-like creature. It had glowing red eyes, black fur, and massive paws that looked like they could slash a full-grown man in half. Finally, with a roar powerful enough to rattle nearby trees, it drove fear into their souls.

Scared witless by the beast, Sindy released a blood-curdling scream. Nathan wasted no time grabbing Andrew and Sindy, determined to get away.

"RUN!!!" He screamed.

Immediately, they all began dashing through the forest, dodging trees and jumping over fallen logs as fast as they could. It almost looked like a scene from a horror movie where the three victims would inevitably be caught and devoured whole.

The massive wolf was, however, terrifyingly agile and strong. It ran recklessly toward them, knocking over countless trees while snarling aggressively. To make things worse, it was gaining on them quickly. They would surely be caught if nothing was done.

Just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse, Sindy mistimed her jump and stubbed her foot against a fallen tree. She tumbled into the dirt and broken bones with a powerful thump. She quickly tried to regain her footing, but it was much too late. The beast now stood over her, ready to devour her in a single bite.

"Sindy!!" Yelled Nathan in horror.

Without thinking, Nathan recklessly attacked the massive beast. The last thing he wanted was to watch helplessly as his friend was devoured alive. He quickly picked up a broken branch and screamed at the wolf to get its attention.

"Nate, you're not superman! Don't do it!" Warned Andrew.

Fortunately for Sindy, the wolf decided to defend itself, turning its sights onto Nathan. It ran toward him and snapped its massive jaws, ready to tear him into two. However, with the aid of some luck, Nathan managed to lodge the branch into its mouth, preventing its jaws from closing just before it could remove his head.

Sadly, that was far from enough to stop the massive beast. It tackled Nathan to the ground in rage while shaking the branch free from its mouth. Nathan quickly tried to crawl away, but the beast sank its teeth into his right leg before violently tossing him into the side of an old tree that crumbled upon impact.

Pain crippled Nathan's body leaving him unable to fight back. He was in big trouble. Flaming with rage, the wolf went in for the kill. Death looked straight into Nathan's soul as he found himself helpless to do anything.

Suddenly, the wolf yelped in pain as a small rock slammed into the side of its head. Andrew had thrown the rock to buy Nathan some time to escape. The wolf growled at Andrew with rage in response, quickly shifting its attention yet again.

"Oh, come on! Nathan doesn't taste good! I'm only saving you from tasting something so horrible! That doesn't mean you should attack me!! I know I'm a snack, but please control yourself!!" Shouted Andrew as he began to run.

Unfortunately for Andrew, as soon as he tried to run away, he stumped his foot against the same fallen tree that Sindy had tripped over. This resulted in him falling on his back, unable to get away. In a matter of seconds, the wolf stood atop him, ready to turn him into its next meal.

"Crap! Looks like this is it for me! I hope I poison your ass when you eat me, you damned mutt!"

Sindy quickly tried to run to his aid, but she had twisted her ankle and could barely limp to save him.

Nathan also watched in horror as the beast went in for the kill. He wished it was all a bad dream he would soon awake from, but he knew better than to make wishes that were never going to come true. He had to save Andrew with his own strength.

Bloodied and writhing in pain, Nathan forced himself back onto his feet. He felt like he could collapse at any moment, but he wasn't about to let anyone die. His emotions dictated his decisions, but they also fueled him with the adrenaline he needed to win.

"Hey, you oversized mongrel! Come get me!" He shouted.

The wolf immediately turned its attention back to him. However, it wasn't due to Nathan's voice. It was something else. It detected a strange energy signal coming from Nathan's body that felt quite threatening. It roared in response to this and attacked, ready to defend itself.

With its teeth covered in blood, it snarled as it attacked. Nathan quickly picked back up the broken branch and waited for the beast to come closer. As soon as it was close enough, Nathan brought back his arm and aimed for its throat.

This was their last chance. If he failed to kill the beast then it would surely kill him before going after the others. Nathan steeled his resolve. Determination pushed him forward to kill it in a single strike.

Suddenly, a dark flame-like aura covered Nathan's hand, fueling him with immense power. He shouted atop his voice as he slammed the branch into the wolf's throat. The wolf yelped in pain as it was sent crashing violently through five different trees.

Bloodied and bruised, Nathan stood victorious. He watched the beast gasp for air with a broken windpipe before strangely turning to dust and disappearing with the wind.

Nathan then felt a stinging pain in his arm. He groaned in agony as he quickly tried to comfort it. He wasn't sure how he was able to hit the wolf with that much power, but it gave him a very bad feeling. It felt very sinister, sending chills all over his body.

However, he didn't have time to care. He was much more worried about Sindy and Andrew.

"Nate, are you okay?!" Shouted Sindy as she limped to his side with Andrew's aid.

"I'm fine. What about you two? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"We're perfectly fine..! Worry about yourself for once! Just look at you!"

"Yeah, you're in bad shape. We need to get you treated, but we're stuck in this damn forest!" Cursed Andrew.

Nathan gave a dim laugh. Though their predicament hadn't improved much, he was glad they were still alive.

"Nah, things could be worse. It's just my leg, back, and my arm. Worst-case scenario, I won't be able to walk well for a little while."

"Your back?!" Said Andrew dramatically. "Nate, a man's back is his best friend! If you don't have your back then in action you'll lack! And trust me, Sindy needs your action..!"

Feeling a little flustered, Sindy slapped Andrew, immediately silencing him with pain.

"Andrew, ugh! Sometimes I wish you had an off button!"

"Even if it's true?"

"Just shut up!"

The three friends then quickly froze as the sound of footsteps approached them from the dark. It almost sounded similar to what they had heard before the massive wolf attacked them.

"Aw shit! Here we go again!" Dreaded Andrew.

They looked on in horror expecting another giant creature to pounce on them at any moment. The sound only got closer until two figures came into view. An 18-year-old girl with lush straight purple hair and sparkly purple eyes was the first to meet their gaze.

By her side was a male that looked just a year younger. He had a dark cool complexion, dark-brown eyes, a slightly muscular build, and hair shaved in a buzz cut.

They wore uniforms with the logo "AA" at the front with the words "Assassins Agency" written stylishly underneath.

"People?" Queried the female stranger in shock. "What are you all doing out here in the Dark Forest? Don't you know just how dangerous this place is!? It's a literal Spawn Point for Demon Beasts!"

"Look, one of them is injured. They need help, Amanda!" Exclaimed the male figure as he stopped to inspect Nathan's injuries.

Hope washed over the three friends as they felt like their luck had finally changed for the better.

"We're saved! And by a hottie too!!" Declared Andrew, staring at the female stranger.

"Wait..." Quickly stopped Sindy. "Not to be the mood killer here, but I'm a little on edge after all the weird stuff that's happened today. How do we know that we can trust you?"

"I assure you we're friendly. See, look here!" Said the female stranger as she pointed to the "AA" logo on her chest.

"I'm not sure how that's supposed to prove anything, but if you ask me, the word ASSASSINS doesn't sound very friendly to me."

"Sindy, we need any help we can get right now. Not to mention that we need to find out where we are. I know it's a little hard to trust some strangers that just walked up to us in the middle of this strange forest, but it seems like our best bet," calmly stated Nathan.

Sindy wanted to argue, but she knew Nathan had a point. This was when the two strangers took a step back to discuss something privately between themselves. This lasted for a few seconds before they came back over.

"Okay!" Began the female stranger. "Weirdly enough, it seems you all don't know who we are. Based on the fact that you don't even recognize our organization's logo probably means you're all not from here or you have serious amnesia... Though that's quite odd no matter how I look at it... In any case, I promise you that we're one hundred percent friendly!"

"As for me, my name's Leo," began the male figure. "My beautiful teammate here is called Amanda. We would love to explain everything to you, but it would be best if we got you back to HQ where it's safe first."

"That's fine by me," answered Nathan.

"In that case, let me take care of your injuries with what little first-aid knowledge I have, then we can get going," sweetly proposed Amanda.

Though they were a little skeptical, the three friends agreed. Little did they know that a story of suffering and pain was about to begin.