Day One - Part 2

[Strazio Rockwell]

Karl’s words managed to wake me from my nap. Almost as soon as he had finished his monologue, rain began to trickle from the heavens. Another setback, but as with all the others I was determined to overcome this sour turn of events. The wolf corpse would have to rot on the beach, there was no way I could carry the mutt halfway across the damned island. So with a sigh I began my trek inland, using the compass to guide me south I hoped to find shelter from the elements.

No sooner was the beach out of sight that the rain began to pour harder. It felt good on my bruised and burned skin and I grinned slightly. The downpour was far from torrential and in fact it amounted to nothing more than a light summer shower. I was glad to have a chance to wash the dirt and blood from my body. My spear was used as a walking stick, guiding my way through the mucky underbrush of the forest. Covering ground in untamed wilderness was rough and going uphill in the rain did little to make matters easier.

In the distance a small building came into view, it was nestled in the valley between two hills. By this point the rain had picked up quite a bit and I had a hard time seeing into the windows of the building. Several minutes passed as I watched the building from an alright vantage point on one of the hills. The rain obscured my vision, but I did my best to keep watch for any potential threats. My boots were soaked and the warm rain had chilled and begun to freeze me to the bone.

“Fuck it” I grumbled and began to slink towards the building. It seemed to be a restaurant of sorts, with decor from an era or culture I’ve never experienced. The front door was unlocked and with a bit of trepidation I pushed it open. The diner was dark, even if someone was here I couldn’t tell. Slowly and carefully I shut the door behind me and slowly walked forward. Lightning cracked and I froze in my place, for the split second the room was lit and I was not alone. Whoever else was here stayed perfectly quiet and still as I strained, trying to listen for them. There was no way I could rest here, but I certainly wasn’t going out in the storm. I gripped my makeshift spear tightly and held the point outwards.

“Hey...” I spoke softly, hoping to seem non-threatening “let’s agree to not attack each other for the night yeah?” There was no response and no movement, I strained my ears to listen for movement, but there was none. “I’m serious, I’m hurt pretty bad and I just need to rest.”