A Survivor's Nightmare

Twigs cracked under my plated feet as I backed into a clearing in the dense forest. There were eyes out there, and arrows that struck with an unnatural accuracy, and claws that dented and buckled armour with the force of their strike.

I kept backing up, not daring to show my back to the enemies. Where the rest of my squad had gone, I knew not, but it all felt familiar to me. Like I had been here before, alone in the forest with the darkness all around me.

I turned, a presence behind me that had not been there moments ago. A lone survivor, a face I did not recognise, succumbing to wounds innumerable upon the rocky earth in the centre of the clearing.

I went to him. No one should be alone when they leave this life for the one that follows, but he was gone by the time I reached him, his last words lost to the forest.

The rock stretched and erupted into unholy life before me, but I am unconcerned. I am ready to die here, alone amongst the trees.

The darkness laughs.

"Not yet, fearful one. Not yet."