A sharp chill in the air brought awakening to Marlise; the sun was low in the eastern horizon. The bright sunlight that had tingled her skin only a few hours ago was now little more than a dusky orange glow.
The still, quiet air was alive with the smell of wet pine forest. Marlise sat up slowly and stretched out her arms. Over the last day the forest had become less and less populated with her fellow travellers. In the late afternoon only she and one other man remained. The two of them had managed to share warmth throughout the night by huddling close together. The air was no longer bitter cold, and without the wind it was bearable.
Marlise got to her feet and stretched again, rubbing at her arms to warm up. She looked around. She had been awake most of the night and was weak from lack of food. The man was to her left and had been asleep for some time. Sleeping in a pile was her preferred method of warming up. She had been able to save just enough energy to sap herself of the chill.
She looked about the camp a third time. It was a makeshift camp. Trees had been cut down and dragged to make a kind of shelter. Most of the work was done by the man to her left, who used a knife and a hatchet to cut trees. Marlise had only seen him use the blade a handful of times. He was strong and knew what he was doing. She smiled to herself, preparing to get some more sleep in.
The man was sitting with his back against a tree, gazing into the orange glow of the sunset. He was shirtless (he had never bothered to buy a shirt), and showed nearly all of his chest. She didn't know his name, and had never seen him before.
She looked away and looked around. It was odd, the way the man always remained quiet and still, despite the activity around him. It was almost as if he was ignoring the world around him.
"Good day," she said, giving him a small smile.
"Evenin', ma'am." he replied without turning to look at her.
"We slept very well last night."
He looked up and stared at her for a moment, then looked away with a casual shrug.
Marlise smiled, amused at his attitude. The man had obviously had much exposure to people like her.
"I've not seen you around before," she said, nodding at him. She approached him and looked him in the eye for a moment. He moved his head back.
"Don't worry. I don't bite." Marlise laughed.
"I like your shirt." The man looked down. "I'd love to see the rest of your chest. Sorry, that's a bit forward of me."
The man shook his head and drummed his fingers against his leg; Marlise couldn't read his facial expressions from where she stood.
"You're not very friendly." she said after a moment.
"I'm sorry?" There was something about this man's tone, the way he replied, that marked him as different from others. It made Marlise curious.
"I like to be friendly. I was out of my head for a while. I've no idea what brought me out here. I don't want to be left out here alone." The man looked up at her and nodded. "I can see that. I can appreciate that."
The two of them sat in silence side by side for a long time after that. Marlise still felt cold, despite the fact that the temperature was warmer now. She looked at her companion then, almost afraid to turn to him. He appeared to be deep in thought. After a minute, he seemed to have come to some kind of conclusion.
"No... No no no." He began to shake his head, making her falter. "That will not do."
Marlise looked between all the trees. No one seemed to be interested in the two of them.
"I was told to help anyone in the forest, by my brother. I must follow this rule at all times."
Marlise gave him a weak smile. She couldn't read him. She was unsure at times if he was mad or not.
"Come to my home. Stay with me for a while. I think we could do with a visit, and I'd like to be a little... less lonely. You're not scared of me, right?"
She shook her head. Her eyes widened. "No."
The man grunted with satisfaction at her reply. He looked up at the sky, and seemed to think it over. "Would you like something to eat?"
Marlise nodded. The man looked over at Marlise, then turned his attention back to the forest. He seemed to have made a decision, and he got up to his feet. He turned to her and smiled. "Let me take you to the place I live."
Marlise smiled back gratefully and stood up. "Thank you, sir. It is very kind of you."
Marlise looked at her companion with surprise. He never had introduced himself, or made his name known to her at any time.
There were few times in the last few weeks that Marlise had known fear. The bolt to her neck had ceased its constant tick. The only other time she had felt this way was the time that she had realised that this man had been pulling the trigger. She had been alone when she had found out about this. She was twenty-five years old, and had not been particularly caring of her self-preservation. It had taken a moment for what was going on to filter into her head. She ran. Keeping up with him was incredibly difficult and incredibly dull. She had injured her ankle but, despite the bleeding, he would not stop. She had crazier thoughts. She didn't want to die. She wanted to murder him, or herself. They made her think of weaknesses in her body. She felt naked and vulnerable. It was a strange feeling.
"Come on." The man said to her. He beckoned her over to a nearby tree. He was standing next to a collection of small, round berries. This was not the first time she had seen them. He had been gathering them and had put them in a woven basket that was strapped to his back. She approached him and looked at the berries in the questioning manner that she had seen him act like. He didn't seem to pick any, but he did grab another basket from the ground nearby. The basket was empty but seemed to consist of long pieces of cut wood. He placed it over her head. There wasn't much room to move in it. She lifted up her arms so that he could tie the wire handles around her chest and to her shoulders. She could now see over the top and look outside. She resisted the temptation to reach for it and remove it.
"Go on," she heard him say.
Marlise realised that there was a sense of urgency in his voice. She clenched her hands into fists and gripped her fabric until the knuckles whitened.
"Go on... Go on..." he seemed to repeat the same thing every five seconds. Marlise couldn't understand what he was saying. She didn't like the way he was acting.
"Be my guest."
"Come now, I'm not killing you. Come on."
"Go on. Be my guest."
"Can I ask you a question, please?" Marlise thought on this longer than usual. "Just answer one question. I won't be able to take it out, but it's a distraction from the situation. I don't know why he is being like this. Should I be like this with him, or will he do something if I don't?"
The man seemed to think over this for a moment. "No."
"Why not? I don't understand why."
"It is not my place to question him."
Marlise reached inside her clutch and retrieved the revolver. She saw his eyes widen for a split second, and his jaw drop slightly. She began to grip the revolver tightly and felt her index finger moving towards the trigger. The man just stared at her. When she had decided she was going to do it, she heard the voice inside of her head start to panic.
"No. No. I'm not going to die, I'm not. Stop being so serious," she kept repeating. She released her finger from the trigger, and the adrenaline faded. She could feel it in her body. She looked up at him. She had a sense of dread. "I thought..."
"Pray," he said, with dry humour, almost without breaking his stoic façade. He laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" Marlise asked with surprise.
"It was the only thing you could do before you died. I'm glad I am not holding a rifle and that I am not taking your head tonight." There was a real sense of compassion in the man's voice.
It wasn't long before they reached the man's home. Marlise took the basket off her head and looked around. It was a crudely built structure made from the bark of a tree. It was a large hut that was not very wide but the roof was high and made the space seem like a tight cavern. It was the only place to sleep and live in the near vicinity.
The man untied Marlise from the basket. He turned to look at her. She was still carrying the revolver in her clutch. He glared at her. "I'd like it back, please." he said, his tone changed dramatically, and it became threatening.
Marlise smiled and laughed nervously. She wasn't going to go through this again. She wasn't going to put herself through this. She wasn't going to be subservient. The man stared at her. She began to sweat, realising that this meant the end. She was going to die.
She could feel the gun in her hand. She could feel the button push in the palm of her hand. It was warm, and it felt terrible. The man threw it on a nearby rock. She stared at it, and started to sweat. She looked back at him. He was standing over her. His eyes were red. He seemed to be on the cusp of changing again. He was more beastly. His teeth had grown as he held his head up. A low, growling moan came from his mouth.
Marlise closed her eyes in panic. She had been on the verge of death. She doubted that she could stand this.
She felt a pain in her leg. The wound was bleeding once again.
The man in the small hut was screaming. The sound was strange, artificial. It was not made by a human being.
The door broke down, and it had come from outside. Marlise lurched forward. She was hit and she saw it. The man was on the floor, and he was trying to get to the basket. His head was cut open from one side to the other. His collar bone was to where it had been and his skull was a bloody mess. He was covered in blood as he crawled away.
Marlise screamed. She had never seen anything like that before. There was a madman in the forest.
She wanted to live.
