It had been a cold night of walking. You had decided against stopping, wanting to get as far away as possible as quickly as you could. The feeling in your fingers had gone a while ago, and the back of your legs were absolutely killing you. Your stomach growled, causing you to groan in frustration. "Just a little further..."

You didn't see any town in sight, but stopping felt like it would be a bad idea. You lift your gaze from the ground, pausing when you catch sight of someone walking your way. However, the rumble of motorcycles from behind makes you look back. "Oh no..." You breathe, recognizing the red hair that sat on the man in the front of the group. "Shit, shit, shit." Pulling up the hood of your jacket, you duck your head, praying that they wouldn't recognize you. The rumble became deafening, you lower your head as you feel the wind tug at you as they pass. You peer from under your hood, heart sinking when the redhead turns around, eyes and smile locked on you. "Noooo." You groan, backtracking a bit. "Why me? Why now?"

The motorcycle's turn around after him and you look around, eyes landing on the forest beside the road. Swallowing down your uneasiness, you rush into the underbrush and trees in hopes of losing the motorcycles. You run for a ways, tripping here and there, but you're able to keep your footing. Breathing heavily, you lean against a tree, looking behind you to see if you were being followed. The rumbling had died down, so you felt like you were going to be safe. But then you hear the crackle of leaves and sticks all around. You swallow, biting your lip harshly trying to figure out what to do until a gloved hand comes over your mouth. Your eyes widen and you scream but your voice goes nowhere against the gloved hand. A hush makes you glance over, eyes meeting silver hair and amber eyes. He places a finger to his lips, peering towards the sound of the bikers growing near. He uncovers your mouth before grabbing your arm and quickly leading you into dense underbrush making you sit down in the thick brush.

"Don't move." He breathes quietly. He then moves to the clearing next to it. You nod quickly, watching him move away. Holding your breath, you shut your eyes, hoping that your hiding place was good enough to keep you from being found. The bikers enter the clearing and pause as the silver haired man lights two cigars.

"Hey man, you see a woman pass through here?" The redhead questions. The silver haired man peers at him briefly.

"Even if I had, I wouldn't tell you. So get lost." He rumbles in response.

"Cheeky bastard... It's in your best interest to tell us if you saw her." Redhead growls.

"Maybe, but it wouldn't be in her best interest." Silver responds simply. You listen to the altercation, sinking a little deeper into the brush. Covering your mouth with your hand, you peek an eye open, the two men barely visible from where you had been hidden.

"That;s it... Teach this bastard a lesson." Redhead snarls. His men move forward and Silver stands up calmly at that. They lunge at him but he simply hits them away with ease. Redhead and his masked friend pull out their knives, coming at him now. Silver shifts, dodging Redhead's blade, grabbing the other's arm and popping it out of place before punching him in the face, sending him sprawling over the ground.

"Kid!" The masked man hurries to his leader's side.

"Now get lost." Silver rumbles, making them hastily retreat with the unconscious redhead. It had all happened so fast that it left you completely stunned. Even after the redhead and his group disappear, you don't move from your hiding spot, too afraid that they would come back.

Your protector returns to your hiding place. "Come on, that guy is going to be pissed when he wakes. Where you headed? I'll accompany you." He asks.

"I uh...I don't know." You tell him, standing from your spot and brushing the dirt from your clothes. "I'm just sorta, traveling I guess." He looks you over before folding his arms.

"Alright then... Why are you traveling?"

"Um well, that's sorta confusing. Even I'm not too sure what happened." You sigh, scratching your cheek. "I'm just trying to get away." He tilts his head. "Alright then... I guess backtracking is fine, I was wandering anyway. Come on. Let's get out of here before they return." He decides, starting off.

"O-oh okay!" You nod, stumbling behind him. "Thank you for that. I don't know what I would have done. And um, mind if I ask your name?"

"Smoker." He answers, briefly stopping to pick up a black duffle bag. He opens it before passing you a honey-bun. "Here, you don't look like you packed for traveling."

"No, I didn't." You say, taking the snack from him and opening it. "Thank you for this." Taking a bite, you begin following the man quietly. "Oh! Right, my name is _______."

"Nice to meet you..." He breathes. "Watch your step, looks like this way is going to get slippery." He adds.

"Right. Okay." You nod, looking down at the ground in front of you so you wouldn't fall. "Why are you wandering?"

"I just... Felt like taking a walk..." He shrugs. "Lucky for you. I was heading your way when those bikers showed up."

"Yeah...it really was." You nod in agreement, before falling into silence again. For 'just taking a walk' he seemed to have gotten pretty far from any kind of civilization, but he hadn't pushed you on your story, so you didn't want to push him on his.

"We'll reach town in the morning. We can rest once we find dry ground." He tells you, moving to the side when his foot sinks into mud. "Move that way a bit or you'll lose your shoe." You do as he says, moving quickly to the side so you wouldn't sink into the mud.

"Do you live around here?"

"... I don't live anywhere." He responds, moving away from the mud with you. "I just know where I am."

"Oh, I see." You nod, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your jacket. "So you travel constantly? That sounds like an interesting lifestyle."

"I suppose, sure is nice to be away from the city." He shrugs, looking ahead. "What did you do before this?"

"Worked at a movie theater to save enough money to move out." You murmur, a small frown coming to your lips.

"I see..." He peers at you. "And then you got chased from town by those bikers for some reason... Probably money linked." He comments.

"I uh...yeah. They ran into me last night on my way home from work, I got away and ran." You hum, your eyes on the ground. "And now I'm here." He glances at you again and stops, looking around the clearing.

"It's dry here, sit down, take a nap... Going nonstop all night is bad for you." He says before sitting down, taking a water bottle from his duffel bag and giving it to you. You take the bottle of water appreciatively, drinking almost half of it before laying down.

"Thank you so much." You murmur, laying your backpack down to use as a pillow and drifting off to sleep.He watches you briefly before relaxing and looking to the sky.

"It's no problem at all..." He mutters.

You didn't know how long you had been asleep when you stretch waking yourself up from your nap. Sitting up, you look around, your mind not completely caught up with where you were yet. "What..."

"Sleep well?" Smoker asks, and you look over at the man, he sat in front of a small fire, cooking some fish over it.

"Yeah. Well, I guess as well as I could. How long was I asleep?" You ask him, standing from where you were to join him beside the fire.

"... Four hours. I went fishing an hour after you fell asleep, figured the honey-bun didn't help... You like fish? I can find a rabbit if not." He offers.

"Fish is fine. I'm not picky." You tell him with a small shrug. "Right now just about anything sounds good." He nods, handing you a fish on a stick, moving a large leaf onto your lap.

"Ever have it like this?" He asks you. You chuckle, shaking your head.

"No, never. I guess there is a first time for everything though."

"Alright, mind the bones, they're sharp. I removed the scales best I could but sometimes I miss a few..." He says before starting to eat. You nod, starting to pick apart the fish and eat. It was good for something made over a fire. Once he's finished, he tosses the remains in the fire before getting up and getting ready to go.

"You alright traveling at night?" He inquires lightly.

"Yeah. I should be fine." You nod, standing and grabbing your backpack. "Might as well get somewhere when it isn't unbearably hot."

"Alright, we'll stop again when we reach town. Have any idea where you wanna go yet?" He asks.

"Nope. But it's okay. Once we get to town you don't have to stick around or anything. I'll figure something out from there." You hum. "Not that you have to stick around now. Sorry if I was implying anything or...yeah." He watches you for a moment.

"If you're lost, maybe you should go somewhere familiar to figure out where you want to go from there or... I don't know, figure out who you are." He suggests shrugging again. "I'll stay with you while you're in town, in case they're there. If you don't want to go on alone... I don't mind wandering around."

"Somewhere familiar..." You frown, chewing on your lip. "The most familiar place I know I'm running from."

"Is it really? If it was, you would've looked back more than you have." He comments.

"Heh. Well. When I say familiar I mean a couple of months." You shrug, dropping your gaze to the ground. "While I don't travel per se, I have been passed around quite a bit. Never had a home for more than a few weeks. So I guess I'm not really going to miss it." He stops at that.

"Orphan?" He guesses, looking at you. "Maybe seeing that place will help.... The orphanage I mean."

"Maybe." You shrug. "It's a few towns over. I guess I could start there."

"Long walk... You're going to need more than that." He comments, glancing at your bag. "I'll help you get ready for it."

"Oh okay. Thank you." You smile at him. "Really, I uh...You've been a big help." He drops his gaze.

"... I'm glad you think so... Maybe if I can help keep you safe, then I'll be able to sleep better." He sighs. You furrow your eyebrows, glancing sideways at him.

"Why do you say that?" He shakes his head, looking ahead again.

"Let's just say I don't mind sticking around."

"Oh okay." You hum, walking beside him quietly.

"It's nice to have the company..." He nods in agreement and silence follows. Darkness soon comes over the forest, he steps closer to you.

"You can grab my arm if it helps. Most people can't see well at night." You smile a little, taking his arm.

"It does." Even though the woods were dark, it was nice out, giving you a chance to let your mind wander. Part of you was beginning to wonder if last night had been a bad dream. Perhaps you had imagined it...no that couldn't be it. Or you wouldn't be here. You were left with far more questions than answers. Maybe he was right, finding the orphanage could possibly give you some answers to what had happened to you. He stayed silent, keeping a wary eye on your surroundings before suddenly stopping next to a tree. Stopping with him, you tilt your head. "Something wrong?"

"Climb up now, then keep your eyes shut no matter what." He breathes low and serious.

"O-okay." You nod quickly, looking up the tree before starting to climb. Once you make it about halfway up, you sit on a branch, lean against the trunk of the tree and shut your eyes. Then your ears pick up the oddest, but hair-raising sound. Feral growling? But it sounded like children. You hear Smoker's lighter click as he probably lit his cigars.

"Don't mind what you hear next. It's nothing." He tells you and you hear a soft sliding sound of a blade. You keep your eyes closed for a few seconds as the growling gets louder. A loud screech makes you jump, opening your eyes in surprise to see where the sound had come from. You look down, getting goosebumps as you see small figures dashing from the shadows and trying to jump on Smoker. He bats them away, the glint of a machete blade in his grasp. "Little pests..." He mutters.

"What the hell..." You murmur watching the figures in horror. Smoker easily cleaves a few of them into pieces, making you cover your mouth in shock. One leaps onto his arm, biting into his shoulder. Smoker growls, ripping it off and tossing it to the ground. He buries the blade into the creature's head before batting away a few more. They stop their attack, but you can still see them waiting in the shadows. Smoker fumbles through his bag, keeping an eye on them, blood glistening from where he was bitten. You watch in confusion as he digs through his bag, blood dripping from his arm into the grass below him.

"What are those..." He pulls out a pair of flares, igniting them and tossing them in front of him, igniting the clearing, as well as the dead creatures at his feet. Your stomach drops, they were the size of children, but their faces were slightly twisted, tiny mouths open to show razor sharp shark teeth. Their eyes were either black or white.

"I told you to keep your eyes closed." Smoker breathes, unzipping his jacket and taking it off. He was shirtless beneath, and you could see a few more injuries on him.

"I-I s-sorry." You mumble, voice shaking, as you cling to the tree to keep yourself from falling. There's an angry shriek and they suddenly charge at him. Smoker straightens, cleaving through most of them and kicking others away. Some of them run away but three remained, stalking around behind the plants. Smoker frowns, glancing at the new wound on his forearm.

You look around, trying to find something to help him. Spotting a branch a little ways away, you grab it, pulling as hard as you could to detach it from the tree. A loud snap echoed causing the three that were left to stop and look up at you.

Smoker gets ready when they start to pivot excitedly, suddenly rushing the tree with tiny demonic roars. You brace yourself against the tree holding the branch up in front of you to bat them away should they reach you. One jumps on Smoker, knocking him down while the other two start to claw their way up toward you.

You squeak, leaning down to hit one of them, knocking it off the tree and sending it flying into the brush. The other had made it up to the limb you were sitting in, its teeth chattering excitedly. Scooting back, you swipe the branch out again, but it just bites the branch, its jaws crushing the wood into dust. "Oh no..." You back further against the tree, your mind going completely haywire trying to figure out what to do. If you jumped down, you risked it following you, but staying here wasn't really an option either...

It comes closer but something silver flashes into its head, making it jerk slightly before falling off the branch and landing limp with a thud. Smoker goes over, wrenching the machete out of its head before throwing the blade into the last one. You watch the small body hit the ground, your body relaxing slightly now that they all seemed to be gone. Sighing, you start down the tree, your feet touching the ground a few seconds later. Turning to Smoker you stare at him with a mix of shock and worry written on your face. Blood still dripped down his arms and other parts of his body that were exposed, and a few splotches had started to show through the fabric of his pants. "We need to take care of those..." He turns back to you after retrieving the machete.

"Not here, we'll find a river first. You okay?" He asks coming over to look you over.

"I...yeah. I'm okay." You nod, watching him. "Just a little shaken up and confused I guess." He looks around before grabbing his duffle bag.

"The Native Americans call them Teihiihan," He says before leading you away from the massacre. "They're bloodthirsty and travel in packs, overpowering their prey. Unfortunately, humans also fall into that category"

"That's terrifying..." You murmur, your eyes going to the ground as you follow behind him. "I never knew those legends were true."

"... They are... Sorry, I should've known better than to stay in the forest..." He sighs heavily.

"It's okay." You tell him with a small shrug. "At least we are both okay...for the most part anyways..." You say, scanning the bites that littered his skin along with scars that looked long healed. He glances back at you.

"You're taking this surprisingly well." He comments.

"I've uh...had a lot of surprises the last few days. I'm sure it will catch up with me and I'll freak out later."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for it." He changes direction and you soon hear running water. He goes through his bag again, soon taking out a first aid kit, giving it a slight shake. "I'll have to stock up again..." He mutters.

"Do you get injured often?" You frown, eyes going to the first aid kit. He glances at you.

"This isn't the first time I have fought such things." He points out, sitting down at the water's edge, starting to wash off the blood.

"O-oh. I see." You nod, going to sit down beside him to make sure he didn't miss any spots of blood. "I guess that explains how quickly you got rid of the redhead too..."

"Those guys were too slow." He shrugs, looking over himself before starting to tend to his forearm. "Can you help me with the one on my shoulder?"

"Oh yeah sure." You rinse away some more blood from the bite mark, grimacing at how bad it had torn his skin. Taking a small packet of antibiotic ointment from the first aid kit, you open it, smoothing a thin layer of it over the bite. You place a piece of gauze over it, tapping it firmly in place. "There."

"Thanks, let me change and then we'll get into town and find an inn." He says getting up and picking out some clean clothes from his bag.

"Right." You look away as he changes, watching the moonlight shine on the water and thinking back to the ferocious little creatures that you had seen, their twisted faces making you shiver. He finishes getting dressed and grabs his bag, stepping beside you.

"Come on, you'll feel better after sleeping in an actual bed."

"True." You hum, looking up at him before pushing yourself up from the ground, resituating your backpack before the two of you start off for town again. He guides you out of the forest a half hour later. You relax, blinking at the buildings in relief. "It's nice to see civilization again." You smile, your pace quickening a bit, ready to be out of the middle of nowhere, at least for a little while. He follows along silently, pulling out his wallet to check the contents briefly.

"There's an in on the next street, you want to get something to eat before that?"

"I think I'm okay." You tell him, giving a little shrug. "Unless you were hungry, then we can go get something."

"Not right now." He replies as you both reach the inn. "You want your own room right?" He guesses lightly.

"Yeah. That would be nice." You nod a little, dropping your bag from one arm to take out your wallet. "I can get it though, I don't want you to have to pay for my room after you've already done so much for me."

"Up to you, I don't mind either way." He shrugs and stretches, wincing slightly from the pull of his injuries. Going over to the innkeeper, you take out your wallet, giving him a smile.

"Can we each get a room please?"

"Certainly, it's. 120 beri for both for twenty-four hours." The innkeeper rumbles, "And I need to see your ID so I may put your names in the books."

"Oh, I uh...I didn't bring my ID with me." You tell the innkeeper, rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly. "I sorta forgot to pack it." He blinks, frowning lightly until Smoker presents his ID.

"Then put them under my name. I'll pay for one room." He sets down the money.

"Thank you..." You mumble, looking at the floor a little awkwardly while you add money for your room to the stack. He pats your shoulder as the innkeeper hands you both a key card.

"Ready?" Smoker hums

"Yeah. Let's go." You nod, following him back to the room. He stops at your door.

"Knock on my door if you want me to go with you to the store or something. Sleep well ___."

"Okay. You too Smoker." You hum, unlocking the door to your room and slipping inside. You give him a small smile before shutting the door and heaving a sigh of relief now that you were inside. Turning, you go into the room, tossing your backpack onto a chair. You pull a change of clothes from the bag, going to the bathroom and running the hottest shower you could, trying to wash away the past 24 hours as best as you could. You stay in the shower until the water runs cold, getting out and changing into what you had brought with you. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon through the curtains, but you didn't care, collapsing down onto the bed with a huff and passing out almost instantly.