Lost Within

It was back. That eerie feeling of isolation he'd thought was left behind after the passing of winter. Only this time, there was an added feeling of dread accompanying it. Studying the environment around him, it was not difficult to see the reason why. Unlike the orchards of fruit trees he had left behind, which had been full of color and life, this forest seemed absent of those things. Colors here had been reduced to browns and green, making it difficult to judge direction. The intense vegetation and the strange presence of a misty fog were not aiding his efforts to traverse it, either.

But perhaps the most unnerving thing by far was the abject silence, permeated only by the sounds of his own movement. It was almost impossible to keep quiet at times, without standing completely still. Even so, it was not very good for morale. He reasoned that the sooner he could get out of this place, the better. There was only one benefit Adrian had discovered so far, and that was plentiful shelter. He'd found more than a few mangled caves made of roots, trees, or other vegetation, some of them disguised so well in fact that someone might miss him completely if he were to take shelter within them. Perhaps if he ever needed to evade anyone.. he could come here. It seemed as if someone might be able to live out their entire life here, hiding away in the darkness, without anyone ever knowing otherwise.

How unfortunate that would be. He hoped he would not end up this way.