Chapter 6: To Be Alive

I sat up and rubbed my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. But the angel was still there. White feathery wings, halo above the head, gentle warmth radiating off of them.

"Am I dead or just insane?" I asked.

"Well I suppose that's a matter of perspective isn't it?" The angel answered back with a smile.

"Oh great more cryptic answers, well who, and what are you at least? Or are you even real?"

"Do you always talk so much?" They sighed, "I am as real as I need to be at this moment, and what do I look like to you?"

"An angel."

They started laughing. More and more I was becoming confused. Nothing has made any sense since I got on that train, I never thought I would, but I am missing that quiet life back home.

"If that's how you see me then that's what I am, I was curious what form you'd see me in. I know you have many questions still, but now is no time to answer them. Survive this test and we shall talk again," and with that they faded away, almost like they were mist.

While I was definitely confused, they were right. I had something else to do right now, so the angel would be a problem for later. For now, climbing the mountain. Luckily after the angel had touched me my body felt like it was back in tune with itself. At least mostly, there was still a faint buzzing in my ears and there was a slight green tint on everything. Otherwise I felt normal again.

Upon standing up I looked around the cave to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. Nothing I had on me was left in there, but what I did find, was a ring. It was nothing spectacular, just a silver bangle that had a semi-circle with a dot in the middle of it etched into the outside, and the word Bastian on the inside. The symbol seemed familiar but I wasn't sure where from, but the word was foreign to me. I thought it was an interesting find so I put it in my pocket to show Xynthia later and left the cave.

Part of me was worried that when I left the cave my senses would go back to crazy mode, but luckily they remained mostly normal. With that I began circling the mountain again, looking for the best way up. I took this time to also look around at the edge of the forest to take in everything around me, eventually finding what I thought where my own tracks, but then I saw multiple other sets of prints. Most looked like peoples shoes, but others, looked more beast-like.

"So I'm not alone on this island, but is that good or bad?"

The tracks went towards the mountain so I decided to follow them, finding more people sounded better than being alone, even if it might be a risk.

They lead to a winding path, something I probably went right passed when my senses were going wild. The tracks continued up the path, so I trudged along up the mountain. I noted several things as I was ascending. For starters there were several places that lava could be seen coming out of the side, secondly was the animals playing around inside of said lava.

At the lower ends of the moment it was just some kinds of birds and squirrels, but as I went higher, most of the animals became larger. Goats, mountain lions, others I couldn't identify. All sorts of creatures that should be avoiding something do dangerous are just in it like it's water.

With fear of what animals that could stand that temperature could do to me, I decided to stay as quiet as possible as I moved on the path. Doing my best to avoid any of their gaze. I would not become somethings meal.

Looking down at the tracks, the higher I went, the less sets there were. The most worrying part is the ones that kept disappearing were the human ones.

"I really wish I had a weapon or something, this feels more like we're being hunted than any test."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" Over the sounds of everything else I could hear the yell from higher up the path, and without hesitation I started running towards it.

With every warning bell in my head ringing as loud as they can I charged forward. Having just one other person with me gives us both better chances at survival, that should be how this works.

It didn't take me long to get to where the yelling was coming from, and I quickly understood why footprints kept disappearing up the path. A beast that that looked like a wolf, except it's tail was made of flames and smoke could be seen comb from its mouth. It was snarling at a boy on top of a rock. They seemed to be at a stalemate. It couldn't get up to him, but he couldn't get down without it being able to bite him.

"What do I do, what do I do? I can't get close to that thing or it'll just be me it gets, but I just can't leave him there to die either."

Every so often it would shoot a stream of fire towards the top of the rock. Either it's trying to hit him or knock him off, but he's holding tight and avoiding the flames.

"Well, only one thing to try then, here goes everything," I said as I threw a rock at the beast and then ran in an arc around the rock. My plan worked flawlessly and the easy came after me. That's as far as my plan had gotten. What to do with it coming to kill me, I wasn't sure.

Luckily I didn't need to think on that long as the beast had pounced on top of me. The heat radiating off of it made it hard to breath. It was taking all my strength to stop it from biting me, but it's claws were tearing into my shoulders and my hands were starting to burn from grabbing its head.

"Hopefully that other guy got out safely, then at least my death won't have been for nothing," I sputtered out between coughs from the smoke.

As my muscles were about to give up from the struggle, a loud cracking sound could be heard and the beast went limp. Standing over me was the guy I saved holding a large rock, panting heavily.

"How about we both survive? And by the by, we're even now aye?" He smiled at me.