The floating whistle is what brought her to, her fingers instantly gripping the pistol still clutched against the outside of her thigh. Orange light filtered through the cracks of her shelter, it must either had been only hours since she was left here, or the night was past them already. Her consciousness rushed to clarity as the second soft whistle of a familiar tune cut through the silence, this time paired with the stuttering of an engine turning over. Had Cristian found help, someone strong, and gotten the jeep righted back onto its wheels? Maybe the village had a mechanic, it had to with the amount of rotten farm equipment dotting the countryside. She'd pay any man who helped them out of this place his weight in leu, hell, she might even kiss the poor bastard for good measure.

Elena's muscles screamed as she shifted towards the small space in the makeshift doorway, leaning into the rough metal as the melody rose in volume along with crunching footsteps. Without hesitation she curled her fingers around the rough edges of the metal that had sheltered her, feeling the jagged edges tear into the soft skin of her palms but pushing through the pain. If it meant getting out of this place, of moving forward to her next destination and being able to melt away this horrible blemish on her trip with hot water and a warm bed, she could deal with a few more minor injuries.

Somewhere between the screeching of the grinding metal that released her and her muffled curses at the long cuts that began to weep into the earth beneath, the whistling stopped. She picked up the pistol, stumbling towards the direction of the overturned jeep with barely a look around her. It sat upright, mangled and twisted, and it was empty. Confused, Elena scanned the area quickly for the familiar form of her guide, but the field around her seemed lifeless.

"Cristian?"

No answer, he wasn't here. Where was he? Had he forgotten where he'd so carefully put her, was he searching through the car carcusses for spare parts, perhaps another working vehicle, or had he abandoned her here entirely? No, if he'd come back he would surely call out to her when she'd left her hiding spot, help her move the barricade.

Leaning into the driver's seat in search for some sign of what had become of Crisitan, her attention turned to the torn wires sitting under the steering wheel, sparking with recent use. No key, no using the ignition, and she'd seen too many crime shows to know what that meant. Someone had been here, attempting to jumpstart the carnage before she revealed herself. They couldn't have gotten far, unless…

Her hands shook as she ducked her head to look under the jeep.

Nothing.

A sigh of relief escaped her, her chin dropping to her chest as her shoulders relaxed.

And then she heard it.

The shuffle and sharp huff of breath from in front of her sent her heart sinking into her stomach, her fingers tightening on the pistol as she jolted upright. The firearm clicked hollowly, her grip on the trigger faltering as it resisted and no gunshot came. Elena braced herself to run, shuffling backwards slightly before she could recognize the threat before her. The threat with long flowing hair, muscular back and four hooves, that is.

The horse whickered, shuffling back as she did and bowing its head at her outburst. A burst of laugh startled it, Elena giggling to herself as it reared back and galloped away to the edge of the field.

"It's your lucky day horse, I may be a little trigger happy but at least the safety was on."

A sharp whinny echoed off the nearby building, an agreement of the creature's own kind. She watched as it circled tankers and the fallen remains of fighter jets, throwing back it's head to let out another loud call towards her before it disappeared behind the gate, it's metal doors left ajar. It was almost peaceful for a moment, the wind whipping loose strands of her braids around her neck and carrying the soft call of crows overhead. Elena turned back to the jeep, digging the toes of her boots into the mud as she searched her options. Finding Cristian in this area seemed like the important first step, but veered away from his instructions of staying put until he came to get her, which he hadn't. If he hadn't, who had whistled for her? Surely not the horse, as impressive as that would be, the notion was as unlikely as her success in getting out of here by herself. She circled to the passengers side of the vehicle slowly, trying to assess the damage herself by pushing her boots into the tires as she went. The front left tire was flat, it's rubber wilted against the dirt beside the deep imprints of horseshoes and boots in the mud. Her own boot settled into the imprints, finding her own set of prints easily.

She'd just begun comparing it to the other boot markings when a sharp howl shook the chain link of the fence beside her. Elena shrieked, startled to attention as her fingers worked furiously to turn off the safety of her gun. A low growl began to fill the air around her, the cluster of bushes across the river began to shake, and the birds around her took off with a cry. This time, she was going to be sure that she was ready, holding her pistol confidently in front of her even as her breath became locked in her throat as the sounds grew closer, moving through the thicket with purpose that she assumed only existed in predators.

Suddenly, it all fell silent. Even the river itself fell into a hush, joining the sick stillness that stood her hair on end. The heart beat thrumming in her ears became dizzying, flooding her mind until her vision blurred and her mouth filled with cotton. Whatever it was, she thought, had stopped suddenly, waiting patiently for its opportunity and lulling her into a false sense of security. The notion only drove her to ready the trigger, eyes trained on the underbrush even as they began to tear fearfully.

"Hello, little girl!"

The gunshot drowned out her scream, feeling the slight recoil strain her already stress torn muscles. She felt her knees give way beneath her, gripping her wrist and cursing herself for not having a better hold on the handgun. The sharp sounds of ricochet echoed through the field, and she swore she felt the whizz of the rogue bullet fly past her ear. Her hip met the hard metal of the jeep, her weight falling into it as she turned to meet the voice of whatever soul she'd shot in her panic.

"Well, that's quite an explosive first impression."

Before her stood a man, towering above her even if she had been standing at full height. He was older in a way where she couldn't discern his age, like looking at a vintage photograph with no date, and dressed in worn clothes. His face was impossible to inspect, shadowed by a brimmed hat and coated in a barely-kept beard. The slightest glint of light hinted that he wore a pair of glasses, but it was impossible to tell with the sunset casting long shadows across his person, even as he tilted his head at her.

"Who are you?"

Her voice felt small as she spoke, and the feeling only grew as he let out a short, barking laugh.

"I believe that's something I should be asking you, since you are trespassing on my property, outsider."

Elena couldn't help the shudder that ran through her as her blood ran cold, attempting to push herself back to a standing position even as her legs wobbled. It was only when the dented piece of metal hit the ground at his feet that she noticed it. Had he been carrying it? She assumed she'd just missed entirely, but now it seemed like she'd hit her mark without planning for him to have a fucking shield. The sheer dumb luck of it placed doubt in her mind and a target on her back, the shift of her focus onto the simple piece of sheet metal allowing heavy boots to advance on her quicker than she could have expected. The gun was ripped from her hand, tossed to the ground like a crumpled can as she was backed up against the cold metal of the car behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

His hand braced against the jeep's cage above them, gripping into the dents of the wreck easily as he invaded her space and the air around them seemed to spark. All at once her mind rushed through any escape routes she could find, digging into her memory of freshman year self defense classes just in case she needed them. Elena couldn't stop the small whimper that left her throat when he leaned down, dark sunglasses keeping her from meeting his eyes but the gaze burning all the same. When she finally found her voice, it was softer than she'd wanted.

"In case you hadn't noticed, the car I came in is wrecked. We hit something, and now I'm pretty damn sure it's hunting me."

"This piece of shit is done for, you're right about that, it should have stayed on the main road.."

"The main road is blocked, one of your statues is knocked over by the way, we had to go around."

He snorted, pushing away from her with a jolt that nearly knocked the car over again.

"There is no "going around" the village. Mother Miranda's bastard children have made sure of that."

"Who?"

There was no answer as he began to pace before her, turning his head to look at her with every pass. She was becoming more uneasy by the second, if that was even possible after the day she'd had. Slowly, she slid her foot up into the passenger seat of the car behind her, lifting herself into the vehicle and sliding backwards as slowly as she could. His back turned to her as he sighed to himself, and she took the chance to get herself out the other side and effectively put the car between her and this stranger.

"If you're going to run, you won't get very far."

He spoke too casually to be normal, shoving his hands into the pockets of his duster as he turned to look over his shoulder at her.

"Your body is breaking down from shock, and you don't even have a gun."

"If you're trying to get me to stay here, you're not very convincing."

"Really? And here I thought I was being so hospitable. You're still alive, aren't you?"

"I would prefer it to stay that way."

She became aware of the growling that had returned to the chorus of sounds around them, a murder of crows screaming through the air above them as it grew in volume. Her chances of getting away were weighed heavily against her; he was right, her muscles were fighting against the movement with each backwards step she took, and the gun still lay at his feet. But he made no advances towards her, no movement to stop her from turning and running . He just watched her, head tilted in thought as a slow smile spread across his face, his voice too calm as he spoke.

"Well, then-"

Listening to his answer no longer was an option as a shape barreled out from the bushes, shaking the length of the chain link fence as it collided with it. She took off in an instant, pushing through all the pain as she turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could back towards the village. Someone had to help her, maybe Cristian had made it there and was calling for help, maybe there was another option than standing here with this stranger. The barking caught her attention first, sounding hot on her heels as she swerved around rusting metal that seemed to bend towards her. The tops of houses appeared as she broke the top of the hill, and in her moment of relief she chanced a look over her shoulder.

She never saw the chain coming.

Heavy metal collided with the backs of her ankles, grinding against her tendons as the links wound around them. It was like her feet had been ripped out from under her, pulling them back towards the smoking factory as her boots clunked heavily together.

"Mother fu-"

Elena's head collided with the ground before she could properly curse, her forearms taking the brunt of the fall but not stopping her from falling forward completely in her state. Her vision quickly filled with black, and she could do nothing but curl into herself as the snarling of whatever creature was after her grew closer. Through the ringing in her ears she recognized the yelling voice of a man as she was hauled upwards, her chest colliding with the solid expanse of a ragged duster jacket, and her exhaustion finally dragging her into the depths of unconsciousness.