Attempting to find the TARDIS proved impossible, no matter how many times the pair tried, they found themselves back where they started, the interference from the heavy metals meant Al couldn't easily reach Theodore, using the Sonic Screwdriver proved fruitless because of the interference.
Regarding the camper, they haven't come across them, not even a set of footprints, haven't heard the gunshots, again, though Theodore wasn't taking a chance, his icy blue eyes scanning every inch of the forest as they walked.
He's alerted when Lila froze in place, a look on her face, when Theodore rejoined her side with worry in his icy blue eyes, he noticed the discomfort behind Lila's chestnut eyes.
Holding her stomach, Lila dashed past him, going around a large tree across from the pair, retching as she felt her insides twisting into knots, her stomach repelling her lunch.
Retching a few times, the feeling finally subsided, Lila feeling relief as she held her stomach, the awful taste under her tongue as she wobbled from behind the tree.
Theodore immediately wrapped his arms around her, concerned for her, as she mustered that something didn't agree with her stomach.
Frowning as he stroked her, Theodore encouraged her not to force herself, of course Lila remained stubborn as ever.
Checking the wound left by the thorn, there's concern from Theodore, as he noticed the wound hadn't stopped bleeding, a gentle touch, blood slowly oozed from the wound.
Lila squirmed from the pain, Theodore apologizing as he reached into his pocket, bringing out a folded square cloth.
With his free hand, he unfolds the cloth, gently resting it on the wound, before helping Lila tie it around her shoulder, a gentle press ensuring that the wound's covered.
Antibacterial sheets of cloth, strong enough to last under extreme weather, soft enough it won't bother Lila too much as she felt the reaction near instant as the cloth activated like a cotton ball of hydrogen peroxide.
"Let me know if something changes, hm?" Theodore gently touched her nose as Lila affirmed that he'll be the first one who'll know if something changed in her, feeling his gentle hand on her back as he rubbed it, mindful of the wound, a smile on his face.
Going through the forest, attempting to find their way back to the brook, the pair took in the sight of the large trees, taller than a skyscraper, wider than an industrial smoke stack, they made the pair look like ants, even Theodore barely made a difference walking alongside the trees.
The intertwining branches above cast them in a perpetual darkness, it's much cooler where they are, than out in the open, not even a sliver of sunlight managed to break through the dense branches.
In the air, there's a faint aroma coming from the different colored flowers that dotted the forest, some bigger than Theodore's fists, some no smaller than his and Lila's eyes, and Lila noticed one that looked almost translucent.
Could've fooled her as something fake, but these were translucent flowers, the only color coming from the yellow pollen collected around the stoma, the aroma coming from them nothing like a store-bought flower.
Fiddling with his Sonic Screwdriver, Theodore attempted to circumvent the issues surrounding the high metal count in the soil, the high pitch droning emitting from the Sonic Screwdriver as he tuned it to the TARDIS's signal.
It's a struggle, but Theodore forced the Sonic Screwdriver to only focus on the TARDIS, nothing else, and it put them on the right track.
Arms interlocked, the pair walked through the forest, the lack of ambiance bothered them, made Lila remember what they learned about the Drekker, how when they take over a forest like this, all the healthy animals flee while the sickly and lame become food.
Theodore comforted her as he assured her that they weren't dealing with them, again, though given his and Lila's situation, at least they'd be in familiar territory with their like than this.
Another gunshot rung out through the forest, echoing, sounded closer to them, causing the pair clamoring as they hid somewhere opposite of where they heard the gunshot.
Deducing it as a sniper rifle, given the delay hearing it fire, it's an older sniper rifle, hard to know for certain, but overall unusual, bizarre even.
"No animals in the forest, what the hell could he be hunting?" Lila questioned what sort of person would take up hunting in the forest with no animals, which Theodore gave her answer, reminding her of the camp they came across.
Shaking her head, Lila pointed out, "Jumping the shark a little too early, aren't you?"
Pointing at her while they hid, Theodore reminded her, "I only saw one set of footprints, no one would go through the effort hiding a beacon."
Only thing that made sense to him's that someone went through the effort drawing them here, for what reason, well, there's no animals present in the forest, and no one else except them.
"You think there's a mansion somewhere?" Lila asked Theodore, since this sounds very much like the short story, maybe whoever went through the effort doing this has a place somewhere in the forest, at least a base.
His wild hair bobbing as he nods, Theodore asserts that if they find that, they can figure out who they're up, against.
With Lila close to him, Theodore hunkered towards the forest ground, waiting for movement, his icy blue eyes slowly surveying from behind the thickets.
Crunching leaves, he sees someone coming out of the thickets adjacent of them, wearing a beige hunter's outfit, holding an older Remington Model 700.
Handlebar mustache to go along with the monocle, this man looked like he came out of an old illustration, only he's real, and walking with intent.
Slowly, the hunter moved around, looking at the ground closely, Theodore realizing that he's been tracking their footprints.
Raising the sniper rifle upwards, the hunter pointed it towards where he and Lila hid, causing Theodore to quickly pull Lila onto the hard forest ground as the hunter shot through the thickets.
By an inch, he missed the curls on top of Theodore's head, as he struggled with Lila, pushing themselves up from the ground, hurrying as they fled from the hunter, fully intent on hunting them.
Fleeing through the forest, Theodore tried keeping their footsteps erratic to prevent the hunter from catching on where they went, but it wouldn't do much for someone who knew the layout of the forest better than them.
Attempting to reach out to Al, Theodore tried warning him that there's a hunter after them, but the heavy metals messed with Al's communication servos.
Far more concentrated than anywhere they're familiar with, it's proven difficult for Theodore to communicate with Al, so he's forced to rely on his Sonic Screwdriver, which also proved difficult, as the droning noise risked alerting the hunter to their location.
Eventually, Theodore had the idea of going up one of the ancient trees, helping Lila up, as they climbed into the thick leaves, finding thick branches where they can sit with ease.
The leaves thick enough to hide them, they have coverage to watch for the hunter, while they tried coming up with an escape plan.
"Oh, wonderful, I thought reading the story was enough," Lila flinched as she watched for any movement from the hunter below.
Didn't see any dogs, traps even, but given this was the early stages of the hunt, no doubt the hunter had something in store for them.
Attempting to open a rift, Theodore struggled due to the heavy metals conflicting with his plans, that he's forced to forgo it, unable to safely open a rift to take back to the TARDIS without risking going somewhere unintentionally or worse.
Forced to stew in his thoughts, Theodore tried to think of a way out of this situation, as he did, he noticed the floating look in Lila's chestnut eyes, asking her, "What's wrong?"
Rubbing her eyes, Lila mustered, "Mhm, just my allergies, again."
Seeing the look in his eyes, Lila then admitted to him, "Just a little tired's, all."
Motioning with his large hand, Theodore pulled Lila close to him, having her rest her head against his chest, as he held her close.
"What are we going to do?" Lila asked Theodore as she heard his two beating hearts, his gentle hand stroking her back, her eyes grown heavy.
A frown on his usual jovial face, Theodore assured her that he'll think of something, for now, he instructed her to rest.
He felt her fall asleep in his arms as he kept watch for the hunter, lingering somewhere in the forest, calculating his next step.
Unlike the story, they weren't kidnapped and brought to a luxurious mansion to be propositioned by the hunter, this time around, the hunter went ahead, beginning to hunt them the moment it served him.
Which meant resolving this peacefully's out of the equation, though Theodore doubted it would've worked as well had they been taken to the mansion like in the story.
If they could find the hunter's base of operation, be it a camp or a mansion, maybe they can find equipment that'll help them find their way back to the TARDIS, or at the very least broadcast their location, allowing Al to come to them.
The hunter knows the forest from the back of his hands, that's why he didn't have problems tracking them down, why he easily found the camp they came across the first time.
As for what happened to the individual who used that camp and subsequently attempted to use the beacon's SOS mode, well, if the story's any indication, nothing good.
Having studied the hunter from afar, Theodore knew he was human, shouldn't be difficult handling him, though Theodore knew better not to make assumptions.
Gently stroking Lila's back, his chin on the top of her head, Theodore watched for the hunter, as he quietly contemplated to himself while listening for any signs of the hunter.
If the hunter's worth his salt, he's waiting for an opportune time to strike, he'll wait if it takes to get them where he wants them.
Theodore's mother taught him everything she knew about hunting, having hunted during her time under UNIT when the thought of eating another packaged meal would make her sick.
She didn't intend her son using this knowledge to hunt another person, but would've understood the reasoning behind Theodore's decisions.
Telepathy between organics wasn't affected by the metals, so Theodore has an advantage over the hunter, that when it's advantageous, he'll use it against him.
Doubt the hunter would realize this, having hunted humans so long, he probably never thought he'd have an opportunity hunting someone like Theodore.
With the knowledge his mother and father taught him, Theodore will wait for the opportune time to strike back against the hunter, with work, Theodore hoped to besiege the hunter's mind, get an idea where his base of operation's located in the forest.
Once he does, it's a matter of tiptoeing through the forest undetected.