It felt like mere moments ago when Zuno's eyes closed for the final time. It was a strange thing for a person to do, accept, and come this close to death but survive it; it was almost supernatural since he was missing a part of his skull.
His eyes opened, with the cold moonlight shining onto his pale skin. Was this a dream? Did he awake in heaven? Zuno's arm moved towards his chest, placing his palm against his heart.
The soft thumps of a heartbeat cleared any doubt; he was alive. He rolled over from his back before lifting himself off his stomach and standing up.
The forest surrounding him was nearly pitch-black, with the only sounds audible coming from wildlife and the actual bugs that called the place home.
Zuno let out a long sigh. Since he somehow managed to live, he wouldn't waste time just standing. He felt his shoulder, searching for the straps of his backpack, but they were gone.
Zuno looked down and grabbed his bag, which lay near his original position. One of the bag's straps was ripped in half, while the other was in decent condition.
He threw the working strap over his shoulder and walked towards the area where the monster had appeared, mainly looking for his rifle. The weapon's black metal, brightly reflected by the moonlight, made it easy to spot.
Two rifles lay in the grass, some distance apart. Zuno grasped the one nearest to him, took a couple of steps towards the other one, and brought out the magazine for it, checking the number of bullets inside it before placing it into his bag.
Now what lay before him was a choice, a decision that could very much change his entire life.
Does he try to regroup with the others
Or….
Does he go after Claire and that thing…
It wasn't a difficult choice to make; he's probably already considered dead by his allies, and if he was able to survive the amount of damage he received before again… maybe he has a winning chance.
With determination, Zuno rose from the ground, his knees buckling. He adjusted the sling of his rifle, picked up the spare gun, and whacked it against a tree, trying to damage the weapon before it got into the wrong hands…
After the weapon was deemed unusable, he dropped it onto the dirt below him and followed hints of crimson that dripped onto neon green grass leading a jagged line into the woods before him. Zuno let out a small grumbled sigh before reaching over his head and bringing his rifle to his chest.
The boy flicked the gun's safety off with his thumb before continuing to walk. The moon's light guided him as he moved throughout the forest. His rifle's stock placed firmly against his shoulder, the boy's brows furrowing as the trail of blood lessened as he continued. Which ended up only giving him a general direction to go off of, Zuno hoped they didn't take any unnecessary sharp turns.
***
His legs trembled beneath him as he lay against a tree, the sun's hue finally starting to show itself.
"Where the hell did he take her?"
Zuno muttered in frustration and exhaustion. He'd been walking for hours with his only lead being miles behind him.
The boy sighed before raising his free hand to unshoulder his backpack, letting his back fully smack against the bark of the tree, laying the bag down as he slid to the ground.
Zuno laid his rifle on his lap as he moved, using both hands to open the backpack and check inside. He hadn't actually opened the bag after he got "injured". His shoulder relaxed as he let out an exhale, before turning the bag over and dumping whatever was inside before him.
It was a rather disappointing sight, most of his rations were sand and his radio looked like it was run over. The only things still somewhat in shape were his canteen which had a visible dent and surprisingly the box, it seemed as if it wasn't damaged at all….. He didn't put much thought into it, since he didn't exactly know what the material of it was, who was he to guess its durability?
Zuno shook his open bag over the ground a few more times, making sure there wasn't any leftover debris before putting the usable items back inside of it.
After finishing putting everything in it, he slid the closed bag over his shoulder again, using both the tree and the muzzle of his gun to lift himself.
" Can't waste any more time."
He muttered to himself with a bit of sternness in his voice, his gaze looking at the morning sky above one last time as he began to move forward.
As Zuno's feet stepped one after the other, he once again took notice of his surroundings, he was in awe of the actual mass of the forest that enveloped him. The land where these things resided was much greener than it was back home, back in the hills, you were lucky to see a dead patch of grass, but it wasn't just the foliage that was different, the air felt smoother and fresh, each breath felt like a refreshing drink of cold water slipping down his chest. The difference between his lands and the beasts was immense, although he didn't know if it was their fault or his people's.
A small rumble broke his train of thought before he quickly took notice of a small twisting pain in his stomach. Zuno had no idea how much time had passed since he had last eaten and with his rations gone, it seemed like his only choice was to hunt for some food. He placed a hand on his stomach as his eyes glanced over his surroundings looking for any clues, but there was nothing but trees and bushes. Although if you listened closely you could hear the sound of rushing water.