Hold On to that Hand

From the second he opened his eyes, all he could hear around him were screams.

Agonizing, soul-crushing sounds that echoed and reverberated throughout the space as if their one mission was to spread that pain. To let all living creatures in that place know the true meaning of suffering and death.

Where…am I?

Jack had never left his hometown once, in all his seventeen years of living. Yet even if he had lived in seven different countries, he would be asking himself that same question, because that was a forest like he had never seen before.

It was domineering. Overbearing. Mighty. From the size of its plants to the imposing trees that stared at him from above. And though all Jack wanted to do was find a way out of that place—

“PLEASE! Someone, anyone, help m—ack!”

“LET ME GO! LET GO OF ME!”

Those screams. They carried such a strong scent of blood…

…of death.

Tears ran down his face, his legs failing to gather strength.

“C’mon, Jack…you gotta move. You gotta leave this place…”

The fear that once was the thing keeping him still, unable to move, suddenly became the driving force that compelled his body to stand. First, he stumbled on his feet—cautious and reluctant, shaken—but as he continued to hear the screams, Jack started running.

And didn’t stop.

This is crazy, this is crazy…!

All around him, the man kept hearing branches breaking and leaves rustling, accompanied by animalistic growls and guttural sounds. Jack refused to look. To search for the source of those sounds.

*fwooosh*

Something flew right across his face, his left cheek burning as a thin line of blood trailed down his skin.

WHAT IS GOING ON?!

He continued to run, trying to get as far away as possible from those screams and noises.

Right then, his feet tripped on something, sending him face down to the ground. Jack’s lungs were burning, his breath uneven as sweat dripped down his chin. And when he turned around to see the thing that made him trip—

It was a dismembered arm.

“…ah…aaaAAGH!”

Jack began to back away until he was back to back with a tree, his body shaking with no control whatsoever.

*rustle rustle*

Slowly, he turned around.

“Ah…”

And met a pair of glowing, bloodthirsty eyes.

Someone…anyone…

Tears streamed down his face.

“…help me…”

At the same exact second the creature jumped at him, something pierced and went through its skull. Purple, viscous blood splattered across the strange vegetation, and before Jack had any time to process what had just happened—

A hand.

“Can you stand?”

A strong voice. A piercing gaze.

A warmth that reached Jack before he even took that hand. And it all belonged to the same person. A tall, Asian man with clear hazel eyes and rich black hair.

As fear melted into relief, more and more tears ran down his face, Jack’s heart continuously racing against his chest.

“Th-thank you…thank you so much…!”

If the man was as scared as Jack, he did not show. Instead, the stranger gave him a reassuring smile as he helped Jack get back on his feet.

“Hey, it’s okay. Let’s just make sure we get to safety. Can you still run?”

Jack wiped away his tears, nodding his head again and again.

It’s okay, I’m gonna be okay. If it’s this person—someone like him—I’m certain we will be all right.

I’m sure it will be—

*thwack*

Something wet and warm started to drip from his temple. In front of him, the stranger’s face paled while his eyes widened in bewilderment.

Jack’s body tumbled to the side, the pain his brain never had time to process already gone. And as darkness swallowed his entire being, never once did he see the light. Yet the warmth from that hand, it was the only thing that lingered.

Until he could feel nothing more.