Chapter 2: Dark Forest (Revised)

Strider didn't know how long he had been walking, ten minutes, an hour, he wasn't keeping track. What he was keeping track of were the noises that seemed to spiral around him. Every twig snap, every crunch of dry leaves below his feet, every noise that could be from a creature stalking him.

Strider hadn't stopped to check on his leg, so he didn't know how bad it was. The only factors were from the streaks pf pain that shot through him every time he took a step. But that didn't stop him for even a second, his mind focusing on other things that were far more important. He kept the DC-15A's safety off and wasn't afraid to point it at shadows he mistook for a creature, waiting full minutes until he was sure that it had simply been his imagination.

After lowering the blaster from a tree that he thought had a rattling noise emitting from it, Strider began walking again. This time however, he didn't hear anything besides his own footsteps. It was as if the whole forest had just been frozen in time. It was definitely unnerving, and Strider didn't like it one bit.

The trooper continued on his way through the forest, not letting the silence shake up his nerves to badly. He didn't stop walking this time when he thought he saw something. The more time he wasted in this forest, the more time predators had to plan attacks.

SNAP

Strider whirled around, pointing the DC-15A at the area he had heard the noise. The sound had been as clear as a plasma bolt, something breaking a twig into pieces. He waited a few moments for any signs of movement, but he knew that even if nothing happened, that snap hadn't simply been his imagination this time.

Nothing could see it because of the helmet, but sweat was dripping down Strider's forehead as he watched the area, eyes unblinking. He slowly began to back away from the area, making sure to keep his blaster pointed at the spot he heard the noise come from at all times.

Then, a shadowy figure emerged from the trees with lightning fast speeds. It advanced towards the trooper quickly, the nearby moon slowly revealing what it looked like with its light. It somewhat resembled a Zalorian rock-lion, but it had some key differences.

It had dark yellow fur and a red mane that was styled like a rock lion, but it also had wings on its back and a much longer and sharper tail. Two large white fangs stuck out of its mouth, seemingly glittering in the light, and its red eyes locked onto Strider's helmet, as if staring right through the visor and into his eyes.

"STAY BACK!" Strider commanded, aiming the DC-15A's barrel at the creature.

But before he could fire, it sprang forward with a burst of speed, claws outstretched towards him. Strider tried to pull the trigger, but the blaster was quickly swatted out of his hands before the creature swiped at his chest. Claw met plastoid alloy, the armor plating protecting the troopers skin from what would have been a deadly slash.

Strider quickly doubled back to get out of its reach, staring at the beast as he tried to put a name to it. While he did this, he glanced over to his left, spotting the DC-15A lying horizontal next to the base of a tree. He returned his gaze to the beast, right as it charged at him again with its claws aimed right at his face. He rolled to the left, narrowly dodging the attack which went mere inches above his head.

Strider was quick to get back to his feet, swinging his fist at the beasts face. The swing made contact, landing right on the creatures nose. However, this only seemed to anger it even more than it already had been.

With one swipe, Strider was launched into a tree, breath knocked clean out of him as his back made contact with the solid wooden trunk. He gasped for air and tried to get up, but the creature was already back in striking distance. It slashed against his chest, chipping parts of the plating away, but that was all the damage it had done.

Strider eyed the DC-15A which was now more than a dozen feet away from his grasp, with a very angry beast standing between himself and the blaster. Luckily, when he crashed into the tree, a branch that had been clinging onto it broke off, landing right next to him. He grabbed the branch and held it like a makeshift spear at the beast, who didn't seem deterred by the troopers actions.

The beast began circling Strider, faint growls escaping its mouth as it took in the sight of the strange creature once more. Strider did the same, making sure to keep his grip on the branch tight in preparation for an attack. Then, the beast pounced onto Strider, the stick getting snapped in half from its weight.

Strider was quickly pinned to the ground, the beast smiling at the sight of its snack getting trapped. Strider looked around for anything he could use, only for his eyes to lock onto the DC-15A which was now lying right next to him. He made a frantic grab for the blaster, only for his arms to get stopped by the creature as it put both its front paws over them.

The beast leaned down towards Strider's helmet, its mouth opening in preparation to claim its meal. Instead, it was met with a headbutt that slammed right against one of its fangs. The fang cracked, sending streaks of pain into the creatures mouth. It moved away from Strider and held up a paw to its now broken fang, before it glared at the trooper once more.

Strider scrambled back to his feet, grabbing the DC-15A and pointing it at the beast. However, before he could fire, a rather familiar looking wooden wolf-like creature emerged from the underbrush, its lime green eyes taking in the scene. The wolf spotted the wounded beast, then the trooper, its mind wondering whether or not it would be worth hunting it.

After deciding it wouldn't pass up this meal, it advanced on the trooper, its wooden paws crunching dry leaves below them. Strider squeezed the trigger, watching as a bolt of blue plasma was unleashed from the DC-15A. It strike the wooden wolf in the leg, which shattered into several bits and pieces on impact as well as sending the wolf to the ground.

The yellow furred beast quickly vanished into the underbrush, not wanting to lose its other fang, not to mention avoid getting hit by whatever had come from the trooper. That left Strider to take a moment to calm himself back down, until the wood making up the wolf suddenly was outlined in a lime green aura. The pieces suddenly began re-attaching themselves to the wolf's leg, returning it to its original status before getting struck by the plasma bolt.

Strider took aim again at the wolf, ready to blast it to pieces again, but stopped when two more wolves emerged behind the original one. So, he instead took off in the opposite direction of them, taking a few shots at them when he got the chance.

The wolves quickly gave chase, weaving through the trees and around the blue projectiles they now knew were quite lethal. Strider's leg was also working in the wolves favor, stinking more and more as the trooper tried to pick up speed in an attempt to get away.

The trooper ducked between two arched trees before he came across a large patch of blue flowers. He was about to run through them, but halted in his tracks when noticing that the plants gave him a feeling of unease. He already didn't have any information on the wolves chasing him, and these flowers might be poisonous, even with his armor on. So he scanned the area for a bridge of some sorts.

His eyes rested on a fallen tree whose trunk managed to reach the other side of the field, perfect! He made his way over to the fallen tree and made his way across, upon reaching the other side he took a defensive position next to a few rocks.

His assumption must have been right, because the wolves came to a dead stop before it could even touch a single flower in the field. The wolves looked around a little, before turning and walking away in the other direction. With a sigh of relief, Strider sat down against a tree, exhaustion taking over. He could feel his body shutting down, trying to get some sleep. But he needed to keep going. Even if he escaped those wolves, he was still in a forest with other creatures that could be even worse than it or that lion creature.

After recovering his breath, Strider got up and once again began walking, this time limping much worse.

Strider's body went on autopilot while his mind began to wonder. Hopefully there was a nearby town where he could send out a signal to the G.A.R. and get off world. How did he even end up here? All he could remember was getting shoved into a gunship before it launched from a Venator class cruiser, then it crashed.

Before long, Strider didn't even notice he had made it to the edge of the forest, until he collapsed from exhaustion to the ground. The last thing he saw was a cottage, it's windows filled with golden yellow light. He reached out a hand towards the building, before he fell into a cold slumber.