Who: Marco & Harper & Open! Multiples welcome! When: Close to 1am Where: Marker 4, the old car port
Marco was sure that he'd never been anywhere so dark before. While he'd spent many a night under the open sky, there was a major difference between being out at night in a place like LA and being out at night here. He felt like he could see every star, every galaxy that he didn't know was out there, and a million constellations that didn't make sense to him, but were pretty all the same.
Another night, that would have been really nice. Tonight, all that was ruined by the persistent panic of being lost in the woods and the screaming in his head, or maybe not in his head? Some of it was definitely just in his head. It wasn't like he could even really see the sky at first, with the thick canopy above him.
It had been a decent amount of time since he'd woken up at the edge of the river with just an arrow carved into the mud to guide him back to the house, and in that time he hadn't had a moment where he felt like his chances of survival were great. The walk back to the house hadn't gone well. He hadn't recognized the area that he'd woken up in as the same place that he'd first arrived in right away, despite some frustration that he once again had to cross the river. It had taken him crossing and walking a bit, then hopping up onto a fallen log before he realized that it was the same log that he'd slipped off of that first day, that Oliver had helped him bounce back from. He'd paused there, looking back and remembering that he'd met Oliver over at the river when that had happened. Was he supposed to be doing the same thing this time? He didn't have his phone, and couldn't confirm that Oliver was even out here with him. This could have been like the whole bog thing, without the danger of being stuck in the mud this time, but still leaving him alone in the woods. Or maybe Oliver had gone to meet him, but had turned back when he found that he wasn't there. Shit. He had to at least check, right? Maybe Oliver had his phone, if he was there at all.
He'd doubled back only a little before rethinking his plan, knowing that Oliver was better in the woods than he was, and would probably make his way home before dark. Marco was pretty sure that it was already too dark for him to make it back before he had something to worry about, so he returned the path that the arrow had pointed out for him, regretting that he was too scared to call out for his friend.
Without the arrow in front of him for guidance, he'd just assumed that he was still going in the same direction he'd started out in. He continued forward, not realizing that he'd veered north, figuring that he'd get spit out of the woods near the house, like that first day. The sun had set long before he finally made it out to the open area of plains, still quite a distance from where he thought the house was. He felt like it had been at least an hour of walking through the woods, hearing things that he knew were in his head, and others that he wasn't so sure about. It felt like the right moment to tuck himself against a tree and have a small panic attack, even at the risk of a monster jumping out and dragging him away. It took more time away from his walk back home, but he couldn't fight it off anymore, and was unable to move until it was done. When he was ready, he stood again, staying close to the trees as he tried to motivate himself to walk, and thankfully finding that this stretch of the journey wasn't as demanding or nightmarish.
In the dark, under the beautiful star-filled sky that he finally got a moment to somewhat enjoy, he continued forward, feeling raw and exhausted, but eventually making it to the lodge. He didn't know what to make of all the lights being off, and all the doors being missing. He should have known that it meant that things were dangerous here, but instead he easily convinced himself that the lights were all out because everyone was sleeping, and he let himself in, heading directly to his room and paying no mind to the thunks and thuds that he was still having trouble interpreting. He frowned to himself when he got to the room and didn't find Lucy sleeping there, and while he was concerned about the missing window, he was more concerned that his phone was also missing so he couldn't shoot Lucy a message to see where she was.
He started to leave his room, hoping to find some water and maybe Jack in the kitchen with an explanation of what was happening, but he stopped when he found himself staring at a figure outside, on the other side of where the hallway windows should have been. For a moment he wasn't sure what he was seeing was real, but he did recognize it as one of the things that had been outside the night before. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to make sense of the thing being here again, and it only clicked that the windows being gone was a real problem when the thing moved towards him, reaching one of it's elongated, clawed arms towards him through the empty window. He jumped back, not quite avoiding the swipe of the arm but still managing to avoid being actually grabbed. He hit his floor, sparing a second to glance down at the scratches the thing left on his arm before scrambling to his feet. The creature tried to cram itself through the window, and while Marco had wasted a moment to fumble for the bedroom door that wasn't there, he was already launching himself out the bedroom window by the time the creature was trying to get in the room.
Later, he'd wished that he'd had a moment to grab a few things. That water that he wanted, and maybe a jacket or blanket? His phone still would have been nice to have. Instead, he'd fallen in a heap outside his window and had run in a random direction, not stopping until he couldn't breathe anymore. Unsure of if it was safe to stop, he'd found another fallen log, tucking himself up against and under it as best he could as he broke down again, clamping one hand over his mouth to keep from being too loud and luring that thing back. The other arm stung from the row of scratches, and he tucked it up against his chest, still too rattled to register if they were really deep or not.
But eventually it was time to move again, and Marco, now truly unsure of where he was, figured that at this point it made just as much sense to pick a random direction as it did to not, and in his fog of fear and exhaustion he wandered through the trees, not sure if it was better to find something or nothing.
Walking aimlessly and unsure of his grip on reality was familiar, though uncomfortable. He didn't try to focus on where he was going, and the sounds around him felt like it was just wind through the trees, which he sure didn't mind when he felt like all the running and crying that he'd done might make him throw up. He hoped that maybe he'd find the river again, and the cold water might be grounding. Or maybe he'd just feel better floating while his consciousness didn't feel tethered to his body anyway.
Instead, he found a little dark shed with a little broken truck.
Marco felt like he could only stare at the structure for a long time. The shed itself was open, also missing it's doors, but was dark enough inside that he didn't want to go in and risk getting cornered. Sure, maybe there was a flashlight in there, or something else that could be helpful, but he was too frazzled and disassociated to think that far. Besides, he was more focused on the truck. It had no windows or doors, but the seat was a big cushion, even if it was worn and dingy. If he curled up on his side, maybe he could hide there for the night. Maybe he could sleep.
It was worth a try.
He glanced around, still expecting something to jump out at him, before carefully, quietly climbing into the cab. The leaves on the seat crunched under him, and the springs in the cushion creaked, and somewhere in the woods, he was sure that he'd heard something, but as soon as he was sitting he wasn't sure that it mattered. It probably wasn't even real. He sunk down into the seat, then turned onto his side, curling into a loose ball. His eyes shut easily after that, though he wasn't sure he'd actually sleep. It just felt nice to be off his feet for a moment, in a little space where he wasn't immediately visible and in danger.