#armyofone

The forest whispered around her. Angela could hear it in the wind which wove through the trees, in the rare, solemn cry of creatures which lurked in the canopy. The human mind possessed great power to turn something innocent into a nonexistent threat, she knew, and it was instinctive to deny the deep, instinctive fear prickling just underneath her skin. A smooth, logical voice within her provided logical commentary against the things that felt so terribly wrong. It was only the dark, she insisted. It was only the nocturnal chill creeping in around her.

Always seeking solutions, Angela would not resign herself to the uneasiness. Instead she sought usable tinder and fallen branches, arranging these in a cone and setting fire to them with her cigarette lighter. Her anxieties translated to a desperate need to care for the fire, feeding it until it had grown from a meager campfire to a mighty blaze. It staved off the cold, but it did not feel like her friend. When her compulsion suddenly ended and she stood before her creation she could scarcely look at it. The dancing flames were ravenous, reaching vicious fingers toward her. Shadows danced along the circumference of the fire’s illumination, taking shape where the light grew dim. Only in the periphery of Angela’s vision could she see them weaving through the trees and seeking a way in; when she turned wide eyes upon them they dissipated into the unyielding darkness of the forest.

Once the sun rose sensibility would return to the world, she was sure. She lowered herself to the ground near the fire, away from its grasping claws but out of reach of the cavorting shadows. With shaking hands she dug through her well-loved backpack in search of something to eat. Though she was not hungry, she decided to eat if only to clutch at some semblance of normalcy. Between the frantic, whirling nature of her attentions and the too-loud cricket song around them she did not hear Jack’s approach, nor did she know of his presence until he spoke.

Wound up as she was, Angela jumped visibly and nearly scrambled to her feet, stopping herself at the last moment as she took in the sight of him. Flesh, bone, a man and not a monster. She exhaled shakily and nodded, finding her voice only slowly.