Chapter 2 - A Cruel And Dangerous World

A long time passed before Will came to and could move.

Desperately he searched to grab hold of a weapon in case the monstrous beast came back. Soon his hand found purchase on his bag. It wasn't a moment later when he had found another stick that would serve its purpose of defence, whether it was the same stick he was unsure as his mind was scattered. Regardless Will's heart settled if only slightly.

Will backed up towards a tree on shaky legs. He sat resting his quaking heart. Will then placed the large stick in front of him like some barrier hoping to ward away anything that came near. For the longest of time, the beast never returned to feast on him.

Will thought madly on his current situation. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed and experienced.

'What the fuck was that!? What was that thing? Jesus fucking Christ!'

Will thought more on the creature that had almost killed him. Something niggled at his thoughts yet the panic and stress wouldn't let him hold any coherent train-of-thought.

Some more time passed. Will couldn't quite tell how long. He was cold as well as terrified, so he had to will himself to stand up, he began to fish around in his pockets for his phone. He pressed the 'on' button and the phone came to life with a lively tune. Will desperately buried the loud noise into his chest. He begged that the loud noise didn't alert the monster that stalked the area.

Will looked at the phone's time and suddenly felt dread, it was still very early morning. Will decided that he should try to get another fire going. He used the phone's screen to light his surroundings and once more gathered sticks and logs in his general vicinity, all the while keeping his ears sharp for any sound like that of the monster prowling in the dark. Before long he had another pile of tinder, sticks and logs.

Will then set to work on building his second fire. Once he got his fire going again Will felt just a little safer. Some people would say that fire was humanity's first invention and perhaps the sight of fire does bring back that mentality, of course, humans used fire to cook their food, also as a weapon and finally a tool to keep themselves safe and shape the wilderness around them.

Will's heart settled at the sight of the fire. Will began to think deeper about what he encountered.

'That thing couldn't possibly exist. No wild wolves are in England. They went extinct long ago. So what was it? Another species of a wolf? None that I had ever seen. Yet… I can't say why it was so familiar?'

Will sighed heavily, releasing the built-up nerves in his body.

With his beacon of hope, he once again mulled over on what he should need to do. First off he decided he would need a weapon in the case that monster decided to return and feast on his flesh. A large stick won't cut it as bludgeoning it to death would be laughable against such a monster that size. So he needed to turn his large stick into a spear and hope that the length would keep him as far from the beast as possible and the pointy end would act as a deterrent. However, he had no knife to carve the wood into a point.

What he could do is get a rather large slab of stone and heat the tip of his stick until it blackened, then grind that tip upon the slab of stone until he got his desired point. Will completed his rudimentary spear some time later.

Now with the makeshift spear in hand he held it close to his body, it was his only weapon against whatever monster was out there. How he wished desperately that he had something better but it would have to do. Now left alone with his thoughts, Will evaluated his current situation in more detail.

'What was it? Something about that monster is so familiar to me. I'm sure I've seen something like it. No, it wasn't an animal. I am one hundred percent sure on that…'

Again he sighed. His thoughts went round in circles trying to identify the beast. Just as he ran through the terrifying events in his head something clicked.

"The moon." He uttered.

Will's eyes snapped towards the moon. In the gaps of the tree's Will shuddered as his eyes finally rested upon what was his biggest clue. His mind couldn't comprehend what he was seeing with his own eyes.

A small whisper was uttered beneath his breath, "Impossible."

There up high in the sky was a moon, unlike the one he was used too. The satellite was shattered. As if something had smashed through it.

Will could only shake his head. 'No, nononono, no! I'm dreaming. I've got to be fucking dreaming.'

Will's mind started putting the pieces in place. The shattered moon. The giant black monster that looked like a wolf. There was only one thing that reminded him of what he had seen. He finally identified the monster that had attacked him. A fictional monster.

'It can't be real. I'm dreaming. Or I've gone fucking mad!'

Yet, everything he experienced told him that this was his new reality. Will finally placed the name on the monster. It was one of the nemeses of a fictional world. What Will had witnessed was a creature called a Grimm. Will had encountered a Beowolf.

Will laughed.

He shook his head as he looked back towards the shattered satellite.

It was then that an even more terrifying realisation dawned upon Will, he was no longer on Earth. No, he was no longer within the known universe, he had stepped through a door into the fictional world; Will was on Remnant. The universe of the American web show RWBY.

'This can't be real. But… the moon. Oh, God. I'm on Remnant. I'm fucking lost on Remnant.'

Will could barely hold himself together, he buried his head in his hands as he considered the impossibility. If he was right then, he had to think of a solution to his problem. He set his mind to work.

'I'm on Remnant, Shit. Being on Remnant in the middle of some dingy forest filled with Grimm is a death sentence. Oh shit, there is more of those fucking things out there. Ohhh fuck, realistically I'm probably going to die…. I need some way to survive?'

Something for Will suddenly clicked and he had to look at his body, he pulled the sleeves up his arms and looked at the shallow cuts and grazes that appeared.

'Guess I have no Aura as any cuts would have healed by now, anyway, would an Earthling even have an Aura? We are living creatures after all and it's supposed to be the projection of one's soul.'

Will thought deeper on the subject. 'Do humans on Earth even have a soul? It's more of a philosophical question than an actual tangible thing back on Earth. So would a human of Earth even possess a tangible soul and in extension Aura now that I'm on Remnant?'

Will couldn't help but shrug his shoulders and sigh heavily. His eyes turned towards Remnant's shattered moon and once more he went to his pockets for a cigarette. When he pulled the carton from his pocket Will noticed that his packet had been crushed from his fall. He looked saddened, however, he still opened the carton and took a bent cigarette from its resting place. He lit it using the campfire and placed it between his lips.

He knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight. Taking a deep puff of warm smooth and bitter smoke Will thought back on his time on Earth. The people he left behind would they even notice he was gone?

'Well I know my mother would miss me, my sister too, can't say I had any close friends anyway.' Will sighed heavily once more releasing a puff of smoke. He watched as it danced in the air and mixed with the smoke from the campfire.

'Can I really get back home? Do I really want to go back to a monotonous life of waking up, going to work at a job I don't really care about then eat, go to sleep and repeat…?'

'...Yes, definitely fucking yes! It's way better than the situation I'm in right now'. Will nervously laughed.

Will then flicked the burnt out cig into the fire and watched as a cloud of embers rose into the air with an audible crackle. He then placed the rudimentary spear between his legs and kept watch, listening and waiting for his inevitable death. Will was still shaking with fright with the earlier encounter of a Grimm. He wouldn't dare sleep so he waited all night long.

With bags under his eyes, the first light of the sun began to appear through the dingey forest, the sun had yet to completely rise but now he could clearly see all around him in the predawn light. He decided now was his best time to move. Taking his satchel bag and rudimentary spear, Will set off in the direction of the sunrise leaving his beacon behind in hopes of burning the forest down and taking that monster with it.

A long time had passed since Will had left the rudimentary campsite.

Between the breaks in the trees, he could see the sun that rose high in the sky. Will's gut rumbled in protest at his hunger and his energy was draining ever faster. It was no use for him to hunt, he could only think to keep on moving and look for signs of any civilization.

Will thought to himself as he walked through the undergrowth wearily. 'I wonder where in the canon timeline I'm supposed to be? Would I be here during the events of volume one? Is this place the Emerald Forest? What if I'm here way before all that?'

Will ever pondered these questions in his head, sighing as he walked ever onward, 'Perhaps I might be rescued by team RWBY during their initiation? But honestly, what are the chances I'm here at the same time as the canon events? What if I was on another continent? What if I was dropped somewhere random, far from any civilization? What do I do?'

The weary extra-dimensional traveller raised his hands to his head and furiously shuffled his hair. He was slick with sweat from the arduous journey, he stopped and stared into the canopy looking for any sign of the sun. He then swept his eyes across the endless trees that surrounded him watching intently.

Luckily no signs of that monster or any other Grimm.

Will closed his eyes and listened intently. Hoping for any signs of a river or civilization far in the distance. As usual, he was only greeted by the sounds of the forest. He smacked his dry lips as his thirst was getting pretty desperate.

Thus once more he set off trudging through the trees now at a severely slowed pace. He needed to conserve what little energy he had, in case he had to run.

The day luckily passed without any signs of Grimm. But Will had yet to find any clue to human activity in the area. It was now getting to twilight and he had to prepare once more for another cold and lonely night.

Will pondered two options. Either have a fire tonight and stay warm but in danger of being approached by Grimm. Or he could stay up in a tree away from the ground and safe from the claws of any hungry Grimm. He knew both those options did not include any sleep. He just wished he wasn't alone. Having someone take turns on watch while the other could sleep would mean they could get safety and rest.

For now, he decided to go with the safer option, he searched quickly for a large tree that was accessible for him to climb. Preferably one with thick sturdy branches so that he may comfortably rest. It wasn't long till he found what he was looking for.

As he began to climb up on the huge trunk, its gnarled flaky bark made it tough for him with his lack of energy. Still, Will persisted slowly shuffling up the tree, it wasn't a second later when he reached for the first branch for purchase when he suddenly slipped and fell to the ground. He crashed on the floor knocking the wind out of him and his already bruised body screamed in pain.

He caught his breath slowly and glared at the tree, once more Will steeled his resolve as he rubbed his back.

"Alright, I'll show you not to take the piss with me!" He spoke to no one in particular.

He removed his belt and undid the zipper upon his trousers, then proceeded to piss on the tree. The strong smell of urine assaulted him along with the damp smell of woodland. He could clearly tell he was dehydrated.

Once he finished marking his territory he then moved around to the other side of the tree. He wrapped the belt around the other side of its thick trunk and lent backwards supporting his weight. He then began to shimmy himself upwards slowly and carefully. He made it to the previous point from where he fell and quickly dived for the branch. Luckily catching a break Will had managed to find purchase some fifteen feet off the ground. He then stood upon the precarious branch and heard it creak from under his weight. He then decided to get higher looking for a more sturdy branch.

Will reached for another branch and hauled himself upwards, he swung his legs up and over and sat on the sturdier branch. Will then peered towards the ground and found himself somewhere twenty feet up. He wondered how high some Grimm could jump so he decided to get a little higher. He made his way to the next sturdier branch till finally, he was happy with the current position.

"Yeah, this is high enough." He whispered in nervousness.

He leant against the trunk with his bag resting against the small of his back. While a little more comfortable the gnarled bark was still not as comfy as he hoped.

"No way am I getting any sleep tonight either." he sighed heavily.

He waited and watched as soon twilight gave way to pure darkness. The sounds of the forest melted away to the cold wind howling between the trees. Will then flipped up the collars of his favourite brown leather bomber jacket and rested his cheek upon the warm sheepskin collar. His steel-blue eyes glanced towards Remnants broken moon now visible high in the sky.

'This world… a world made by bonafide Gods. Fuck me, to think that God of Darkness smashed right through that thing and created Dust. He was also responsible for the Grimm too. Shit, I hope there aren't any around?

Will listened for any signs of the dark creatures once more. His eyes scanned the moonlit darkness, he couldn't see far but just enough to make out the rough shape of the surrounding area.

He pulled the phone from his pocket and switched it on. By now Will had put his phone on silent and set the phones setting to a low power mode. Still, the brightness of the screen lit up the branch he was on. He looked at the time and sighed dreadfully.

'March 6th, 21:28'

"This is gonna be a long night…" Will whispered to himself.

Will didn't usually talk to himself, however now it's been roughly two days since he's seen a single person. The sound of his own voice brought him little joy in this messed up situation.

He then briefly thought on what he'd do on a night like this back on Earth. Usually, around this time, he is in some pub or club with a cold beer and some friends he used to meet up with. However usually by early morning, they all go their separate ways either lonely and drunk or with a girl in their arms. Heck, one lad Will knew would take home another lad given the chance. Will shrugged and gave a hollow chuckle. He wondered how they'd be doing now… probably haven't noticed he was gone anyway. With that thought, he felt lonely.

Will switched his phone off and proceeded to put it within his jacket pocket. He then reached into his pockets once more for a cigarette. Opening the crushed packet and suddenly his heartfelt dread once more.

There he found only one badly mangled cig was left. He was now down one more carton. Since coming to this world Will had smoked like a chimney… rather, Will had always smoked like a chimney. But the duress of his current circumstances made him smoke all the more. Luckily he had two more packs within his bag. However, he had no idea how long he'll be in this forest. Or rather if he will even live long enough to smoke the rest.

He pulled the bent cig from its carton and cast the carton itself towards the forest floor. The carton was perhaps the first human trash to grace this part of the pristine woodland forest.

Will placed the cig limply between his lips and lit it, savouring the warm smooth smoke. Once more nicotine flooded his body sending tingles down his spine. Will felt surprised as that's the first time he felt a nicotine rush in a while.

He lazily drew puff and after a puff of the smoke. Before finally, he felt its heat begin to touch his fingers. He then lazily flicked the nub from the top of his branch. He watched as the burning embers gracefully fell from the sky and disappear into the darkness.

The man in the tree sat in silence for what felt like forever. His eyelids began to flutter closed, clearly, even today sleep was catching up to him. Slowly but surely his lids closed as thoughts of loneliness and worry consumed him.

But as soon as they did, shuffling on the forest floor could be heard. The same noise from the previous night haunted him making Will shoot awake in a panic. Will almost lost balance upon his branch and frightfully his eyes scanned the area.

Seconds later, a dark lumbering form entered into the area of Will's tree. While its shape was hard to make out, Will could clearly see its glowing red eyes. They were searching hungrily for prey, for him.

Will's breathing hitched as he panicked, but just as suddenly he forced his fear down. Will knew Grimm reacted to fear, so the best thing for him now was to conquer it. He slowed his own breathing and kept a sharp eye on the beast so many meters below him.

He watched as the Beowolf moved between the trees in its hunt. Suddenly as the light from the broken moon highlighted its faceplate, Will recognised the creature was the same as the previous night. Its bone-white faceplate was cracked and adorned with a huge gash.

As the monster came closer to Wills tree, it sniffed around the area. It seemed as if it caught the scent of something and moved ever closer. Will had hoped that it couldn't sense him, he tried his hardest to suppress his fear. Knowing these creatures called Grimm were attracted to negative emotion. He sat deathly still with his hand gripping the branch tightly.

The monster then slowly drew in the smell at the base of the tree and as if it smelt something it didn't like its dark fur raised on end. The lumbering beast shook as if snubbing the smell. The Beowolf scanned the area, before once more setting off in the opposite direction away from the tree.

Will didn't realise he was holding his breath. Once the monster had stepped far enough away he released his breath all in one go. He could see how the air was getting frigid. His breath pooled clouds of steam. He worked to get his breathing under control. His eyes watched as the beast had completely vanished into the darkness.

He lent back against the tree, placing his hand against his furiously beating heart. Soon as the seconds or perhaps minutes passed by he began to calm. He felt his heart settle into a more stable rhythm. Will couldn't tell how much longer he waited. He just desperately prayed that the morning sun would rise and that he would live to see it.

Hours passed as Will checked his phone. The battery was now sitting at sixty-four percent. He knew now that there would no longer be any hope for a signal. Especially since this was a different world to the one he came from. As the time ticked on morning drew closer. And once more Will was greeted by encroaching predawn light. After checking the area was clear Will slowly descended the tree.

He then walked in the opposite direction from which the black beast left.

It was perhaps mid-afternoon of the third day on Remnant when Will spotted something peculiar far off in the distance. Through the gaps in the treetop canopy, he could see smoke. As he headed in its general direction he was assaulted by the smell of it. He choked when he imagined he could also smell cooking meat. His saliva then began to pool into his mouth.

He ran through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him when suddenly he stepped upon a dirt road. The shock of finding something made by civilization brought him such joy he almost danced. Will then inwardly pumped his fist and silently cheered. He followed the road desperate for his first human or even perhaps Faunus contact.

Will strode up the road, he wondered how he would make his first contact. 'Oh man, what should I do? Do I just introduce myself, then beg for help? Do I tell them that I come from another world? Nah, that'd be bad, they would think I'm a mental nutcase. Should I just give as little information as possible? Say that I was just lost? Yeah, that would be a good start. But what if they asked how I got lost? I could make up something.'

As soon as Will finished his mental plan he could soon see what looked to be more signs of civilization. In his excitement Will began to run, however, he stumbled when his body realised how much lack of energy it had. He settled once more back into his slow methodical pace. It was then that he turned a slow bend in the road that he witnessed something that made him pause.

Away up he saw a person lying in the middle of the road. His clothes were tattered and as Will got closer he began to see more signs of something grim. Blood stained the man's clothes and what seemed to be a deep gash that had made its mark across the man's back. As Will surveyed the body he could tell the man was running from something and was cut down as he fled.

Will bent a knee at the bodies side, he prodded and poked hoping for a response. Wills' face looked bleak, he rolled the person on his back and he could clearly tell this man had been gone a few days now. His skin was cold and putrid. A sickly sweet smell unique to death washed over him. Will looked up at the road following the bloody trail towards the settlement far in the distance and clearly saw the smoke rising from within. With a grimace on his face, he stepped onward towards the settlement.

Step after step Will got closer towards uncertainty. Every so often he found spatterings of blood but he avoided them as if they were diseased. As he neared the huge gated settlement he could see it was left ajar. Blood seemed to have caked the small gap and Will gingerly peeked through the gate.

Within was a ghost town. Littered with piles upon piles of burnt corpses. The smell of burning meat Will had earlier encountered was that of this town's previous inhabitants. He remembered how his mouth drooled with saliva at the prospect of cooking meat. His face twisted in disgust. Will looked away and almost dry heaved but since he had nothing left there was nothing but a raspy noise from his gut and throat.

As he caught his breath and wiped his mouth Will began to walk forward into the main thoroughfare. The wide-open town square was eerily quiet. Will had no clue as to what happened here. But he acknowledged that no help could be found here.

Will carefully made his way through the town giving a wide berth to the corpses that littered the streets. He then made a grim decision. He didn't know how this world viewed looting. However, it was all he could do to survive having not eaten or drunk for days. Will stared at a house that was not among those currently still smouldering. The door was ajar as if someone, or maybe something had forced its way in. He carefully peered into the home of one of the countless corpses that littered the streets of the town.

The place was ransacked. Clearly, all valuables had been taken. This told Will that this was not an attack by Grimm but by that of people.

"Bandits." He whispered.

As Will made his way through the broken furniture of the house he headed towards the room that looked to be some sort of kitchen. Inside he went straight for the tap. Twisting the cold metal knob the pipes groaned and creaked as if trying to pump something through. Precious seconds later water slowly trickled from the faucet. Will shoved his head under the tap and took precious little droplets of water. The tap began to shake and rasp as it began to pump the last remaining water from its pipes. And as soon as it started it stopped. It wasn't even enough to wet his tongue. Will slammed the counter with his fist.

"Fucking damn it!" he shouted.

Will leant against the counter and sink. He calmed his nerves and focused himself once more. He pondered what to do next. 'Alright… let's check for some food, anything like non-perishables. I garner that bandits took everything of value, even food. But hopefully, something had been left. They couldn't have gotten everything?'

Will went straight towards the closest cupboard and threw open its doors. He checked the far back in case anything was left, however, no luck. Of course, he went to the fridge in hopes, however as expected nothing remained. He went through every cupboard and draw in that kitchen, the bandits even stole the silverware. Nothing was left.

Will left the house dejected. He peered up the road looking for any other houses or buildings that had been left unscathed by fire or maybe even looters. However, no such signs made it so obvious that this town was truly ransacked. He walked towards the neighbouring houses and made his way inside. He went straight towards the kitchen and found the same situation there. Completely empty.

Will moved from house to house, he had found a few small empty plastic bottles in trash cans and proceeded to fill them with draining the pipes of their water. He immediately downed the first full bottle he had. In his search for food, Will also searched for anything else that might be of use to him.

First, he looked for weapons. He wanted to defend himself if he was attacked by Grimm or maybe even bandits if they came back. Second, he looked for anything that resembled money. As he searched house after house Will did manage to find a few spare liens. The plastic cards of this world served as its currency. In the end, he walked away with probably nothing more the sixteen lien from the houses he fully searched.

It was probably a miracle that Will had found any food at all. After he searched countless houses one had what he desired most. As he made his way into the kitchen of this particular home he was greeted by what seemed to be another corpse.

Her body lay strewn over the table that was in the middle of the room. Her blonde hair was dishevelled and her face was twisted in despair. Her throat slit open, the knife buried into the counter and her eyes stared lifelessly into its steel edge. What disturbed Will further was the now coagulated and cold blood that pooled upon the tabletop in which caked her exposed breasts. Her bottom half was also exposed for all the world to see. Will clearly could guess as to what happened.

Will's face twisted in disgust and sorrow. He turned away, pushing the sight from his mind and settled into the rhythm that he did with the previous houses. He drained the kitchen tap of water while he searched the fridge and cupboards. It was then that his sight caught something miraculous, it seemed while a bandit was getting it off he had forgotten to ransack this house. Will found that this particular house while didn't have much, most of the cupboards were still moderately filled with food.

Of course, most if not all had gone off and rotted but, the non-perishables were still here. Canned soup, some sort of canned pasta, canned fish and all manner of other non-perishable goods were still here. Will eagerly grabbed what he could and placed them upon the counter. Here he had enough that could last him days, perhaps even a week or two. He left the room looking for an extra bag. He went upstairs towards the bedrooms and upstairs bathroom. He immediately went ahead and drained the bathroom pipes of water and also moved towards the tank at the back of the toilet. Will had a sizable amount of both water and food now. He could finally eat and drink his fill. At least for the next few days and if rationed carefully weeks.

As he searched the rest of the house he opened a particular door into one of the three bedrooms where he found a few extra liens in what seemed to be the master bedroom.

When he finally reached the last door he was met with a shocking and gut-wrenching sight.

Blood.

Blood caked the childish wallpaper and even the cot. Will paused at the sight wide-eyed. He then slowly backed out of the room and quietly closed the door as if to not disturb he scene.

Will turned his back and leant against a wall, his legs gave out from beneath him as a tear rolled down his cheek. He began to pound the back of his head against the wall in an effort to wipe his mind of what he had just witnessed. In between gritted teeth, Will spoke.

"They didn't even spare the baby."

Will sat there lamenting at this cruelness. There was nothing for him to do. He couldn't fix all this even if he wanted to. All he could think was that this was his new reality. And once more Will pondered that this was a side of the world of RWBY the people of Earth had never seen.

Will sat there for the longest time thinking. He felt guilty about ransacking the home of this poor and unfortunate family. He felt guilty over the joy of finding food and water. He couldn't shake this dark feeling in his heart.

He stood up and inhaled a calm steady breath. He forcefully pushed everything out of his mind and went downstairs. In the hallway, he found what he had originally been looking for. A small black backpack was hitched upon the coat hanger behind a bunch of coats.

Will with another bag, filled both his satchel bag and backpack. He managed to fill his bags to the brim with both foods, water and lien. As he was stepping out of the kitchen, without even looking at the corpse. Will whispered an apology and his thanks. He then took the blade from the counter and moved on to another house.

The day was drawing to a close and night was soon upon him. He decided that it'd be best for him to stay in one of the less damaged houses. Will found himself in front of one of the houses he had previously been through. He chose this particular house because he found there were locks in the bedrooms. As he made his way into the bedroom he closed the door behind him and walked towards the window. He looked onto the main street and saw no sign of life. He closed the thick velvet red curtains and sat on the bed. He opened his newly acquired backpack and drunk from one of the bottles of water he had. He didn't care that this was perhaps one where the water was taken from the toilet's water tank. He then proceeded to open a can of pasta.

Using the knife from the woman's home, he managed to pry open a sizable hole. He drained the contents into his mouth and the cold flavour immediately whetted his tongue. He ate greedily its contents and then moved for a second helping. It was almost his third when he stopped and thought that maybe he should save something as he would never be sure if he got lucky again. He then threw himself back onto the bed and sunk into the quilt. He was exhausted and perhaps tonight was going to be the first night that he will actually get any sleep at all.

Wrapped within the quilt of some strangers home, Will was warm and comfy and proceeded to sleep. That night Will did not encounter that monster. Neither did he have any dreams. He slept soundly through the night, not waking well into the next day.

As he awoke, light dimly filtered into the room between the thick velvet red curtains. Will slowly rose from his nest and yawned with vigour. He felt that this was the best rest he could have asked for since coming to this new world. He slowly shuffled off the quilt and proceeded to stand up at the foot of the bed.

A small rumble gnawed at his gut, telling him he was still hungry for more sustenance. However, Will put that off and proceeded to his nasty habit. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he opened his olive green satchel bag and retrieved another carton of smokes. He lit the fresh cigarette with much vigour and inhaled its poison. He stood holding his breath before finally breathing out much of the smoke. He grimaced as he thought on what he wanted to do next.

'Man, I wish I could shower… It's been so many days.' Will lamented at this, he knew he smelt ripe. Of course, it was a given seeing as how he had spent the last few days running from the monster and surviving in the forest.

Will's next task was to find out where he was. Was he on the continent of Sanus? Or maybe he was somewhere in Anima close to Mistral? He knew it wasn't Atlas due to the weather being reasonably warm. Regardless Will had no clue to his current whereabouts.

So leaving his stuff behind Will set off to find a map within the now abandoned homes of the people who once lived here. As he passed their corpses on the street he still felt a great deal of guilt. He turned his gaze away as if trying to ignore the horror of being surrounded by nothing but death.

Before too long Will found what he was looking for. He found a map, more specifically a map of Sanus. However not knowing which town he was in made the map useless. So he looked for information about this settlement. It was around the gate area when he found a plaque that marked the name of this settlement.

He frowned as he spoke the words written upon the plaque, "Salut Village… huh".

What little salvation Will found here the previous inhabitants of the settlement did not. With map in hand Will headed back to the house he had spent the night previously. He then spread the map upon the bed and searched for the name of this small village upon the continent of Sanus.

"Salut… Salut… Salut Village… Ah." As Will's finger traced the map his finger stopped when he came upon the villages name. A small dot in the sea of forest. He looked over the surrounding areas and found very few settlements few and far between. Further north, much, much further north a large black square marked Vale. Will had no idea how far the capital would be, but what he did know was that he was very, very far away.

'Well, now I know…' He thought to himself.

As he once more searched the surrounding areas on the map the next closest town had been marked with an 'x' over the top of its small dot. He had no idea what that meant. But he could probably assume it meant that it was gone. Will sighed grimly.

Next, he searched for other settlements that didn't have the daunting 'x' marker. And not too far away at the bottom of what looked to be a river was a town called Verdant. It too looked to be surrounded by this forest that stretched for miles in either direction however no 'x' adorned its small dot. Perhaps Will thought. 'That people still live there.'

Will smiled at this small hope. He couldn't quite tell how far this river and its town was, but still judging by the distance it couldn't be that far. At least when compared to Vale.

Will studied the map then folded it over on itself and placed it within his satchel bag. He checked his late father's watch and saw that it was reading three and forty-seven. Will proceeded to then grab a bite to eat. As he filled his belly with food and water, he sighed with content. He mulled over the thought of making his way to this place called Verdant Town. He nodded once then twice as he decided that tomorrow after scouring the other houses for all their food, water, lien and perhaps something better to use as a weapon, he would make his way to this settlement.

Will set to work the next day scouring the abandoned village with purpose. He no longer could smell the stench of death. He wondered if he had become numb to its smell. Regardless he ignored the depressing atmosphere around him and willed himself to move.

Evening came and Will had found precious little. He had managed to grab another bottle of water or two, also refilling the bottles he drank from. In the way of food, he had managed to find just three cans of soup. As for the money he only found another handful of lien. The search for a weapon to defend himself was fruitless. He still only had his rudimentary wooden spear and a small cooking knife leftover from the house that had not been ransacked.

Soon evening came and the weather took a turn for the worse. As dark clouds loomed over Salut Village, rain began to pour. Will hurried back to his home soaked from head to toe.

That night as the rain poured, lightning flashed and distant thunder rumbled, Will sat at the foot of the bed. He used the knife to shave the wooden spear to an even sharper point. It was rough going as the knife even began to blunt. At the foot of his bed, Will gathered the wood chips and shavings and placed them within a small container he had found. He could use these as tinder since everything would be wet tomorrow.

Once all was finished Will was ready to leave at first light if the weather cleared up by morning. Will began to settle in for the night when he heard the shuffling of movement from outside the second story window in the rain. Will carefully made his way over to the window and slowly opened the curtains giving a little sliver of sight into the street below. It was then that he saw them.

Black as midnight, stalking their way through the ruined buildings. Lightning highlighted their forms as they feasted upon the corpses of the towns previous inhabitants. Will was witnessing a pack of Beowolves make their way through the dark drenched streets. Their red eyes searching hungrily for living prey.

Without making a sound Will slowly moved back from the window. As he carefully stepped through the bedroom the floorboards creaked under his weight, wincing at the sound each time. However, slowly and carefully, Will made his way to the door of the bedroom. He closed the door as silently as he possibly could and with a soft click he now had a small barrier. He then proceeded to lock the latch at the top of the door and finally with his back to the door he quietly slid to the floor.

It was then that Will noticed he was holding his breath. He calmly tried to keep his breathing and emotions under control. He could not let his fear leak out. No matter what. It wouldn't take much for the pack of Beowolves outside to break through this door.

So Will waited, wondering if they could smell his stink, his fear and loneliness. A sudden crashing sound from downstairs and the sound of things being knocked over and disturbed could be heard. He slowly put his ear to the floor and listened as something large and heavy paced through the house. Will once more held his breath as he listened to it begin to ascend the stairs. The stairs creaked under the duress as something hard scraped along the walls.

Will quickly but quietly moved away from the door and placed his spear before him. Its sharp point was the second only to the door that provided him defence against whatever was making its way upstairs. Then as if a monster on the other side was searching for something it came close to the door. A short and almost hollow snort gave from beneath the door. It sniffed at the crack of the door and blew dust into the air. Moments passed when all too sudden a terrible scratching could be heard.

Will held his breath shaking in fright, however, he closed his eyes and pushed that fear deep inside his heart. He gripped his spear tightly ready in case anything made it through his last defence. And as sudden as the scratching started, it stopped. A huff as if the creature on the other side lost interest and made its way back down the hall and then down the stairs.

Will listened intently as he could hear whatever creature he assumed to be a Grimm leave the house. Moments passed and Will exhaled in relief. He moved towards the window as quietly as he could and opened the curtains just ever so slightly. As he peered into the soaked street it was then that he saw his nemeses. The same Beowolf that stalked him constantly all those days ago, it was now pacing down the street. Its blood red eyes searching for him.

Will was beginning to shake, except this time it wasn't fear, but rage. He swore to himself that one day… one day he will kill that monster. The Beowolf's blood-red eyes turned towards Will as if sensing his malice. Will quickly backed away from the curtain in panic. He waited in bated breath for what seemed like forever.

Soon he began to calm himself when the beast never returned. Will moved towards the bed. He then sat on the bed as if drained of all energy. He laid back and listened in silence to the rain and thunder.

He did not sleep that night.