章 3: To the Cabin

I climbed down the oak tree I was sitting in and immediately pulled out my bow and knocked an arrow in it when my feet hit the ground. Crouching down I scanned the area around me looking for any dangers now that I was out of my relatively safe shelter. Not seeing any dangers in my immediate area I did my best to move stealthily through the undergrowth of the forest. I knew it was in my best interests to stay calm and collected but based on the amount of adrenaline flowing through my body and the feeling of wanting to run even as I did my best to move as quickly and silently as possible made it difficult to do so.

'I've never heard the forest sound that way, and I've never felt like I might be in danger in it. But the sounds the animals were making sounded almost angry. Almost as if the peace of the forest has been broken and instead of an ecosystem each is looking to dominate the other. If that's true I need to keep myself from becoming prey. What was it that voice said? "Even your most docile of animals can turn violent." That doesn't sound good to me at all. Something else that worries me is the ranking system that has been mentioned in my shapeshift ability. What are these ranks and how do they work? Are there beasts of high rank here already?'

Upon thinking the last two sentences a line of text appears in the top right corner of my vision-

'Would you like the introduction to creature rankings now or later?'

'Later' I thought as I didn't need any distractions right now, then the line of text went away.

I kept moving through the forest that had gone from being a place of refuge and relaxation for me to being a place that seemed full of peril, as if every stick on the ground was a mine waiting to be stepped on. I made my way through the forest as quickly and quietly as I could similarly to when I would be tracking prey I was hunting, though this time I had an eerie feeling that I was more the prey than the hunter. After around an hour and a half I finally made it back to where I could see the edge of the forest and the clearing that my cabin was built in. I felt a rush of excitement at seeing my home and true safe haven, and even began questioning how in the hell I was going to make a five mile trek to town if that small distance made me feel that way.

*Crack!*

I froze and looked down at my feet to see a twig snapped in half under my right foot that had just taken a step.

'Damnit!' I cursed inwardly 'How could I let myself get so distracted in the home stretch?!'

A couple seconds later a menacing growl began to my right and I felt a cold sweat break out and shivers go up my spine.

'This is bad!' I thought.

I stayed frozen and crouched low to the ground hoping that whatever it was would pass me by, but I was wrong. I soon heard something come crashing through the underbrush in my direction at a rapid rate and I took off in a sprint. I knew if I could make it to my cabin in time I would be safe, but that thing sounded fast. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me bursting through the wood line and into the clearing, my cabin just thirty feet away now. I could hear the creature closing in on me and as I approached the halfway mark to the cabin I heard it break through the wood line. I looked over my shoulder and saw a lone wolf chasing after me practically foaming at the mouth in anticipation of the taste of my flesh.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" I yelled as I tried to increase my spread even more.

When I made it to the cabin the wolf was only five feet away from me and just as I slammed the door closed the wolf slammed into it. I locked the door as quickly as I could and waited to see if the wolf would leave on his own. Unfortunately, after two hours of waiting I could still hear the snarls and growls of the wolf pacing in front of the door waiting for me to come outside.

"Damn, I'm going to have to do something about this wolf. If I sneak out the back door I may be able to climb the ladder up to the roof and get him with my bow. But if it doesn't work or if he notices I'm risking being trapped on the roof or worse."

I thought about my options for a few more minutes before saying to myself "Fuck it, the wolf isn't going away and it's the only option I have. All or nothing."

I quietly made my way to the back door of my cabin and unlocked it, waiting to see if the wolf reacted to the noise. When it didn't I slowly opened the door thanking whoever made me insist on keeping things maintained so I avoided things like my hinges squeaking. Again I waited to see if the wolf would react and went it didn't I crept outside, shut the door, and crept over to the ladder. Taking a deep breath I slowly made my way up the ladder and before I knew it I had made my way to the roof and the wolf still hadn't reacted.

'Interesting, I wonder if it's related to the stealth ability the status page listed. If so I may have to look in to the two of those more.'

Nocking an arrow on my bow I slowly moved towards opposite edge of the roof. As I neared the edge I drew the arrow back preparing to fire. About 6 inches away from the edge I could see the wolf pacing by the door. I took aim at its neck, hoping the broad-head would give it a quick clean death. Then I let the arrow fly.