Ruven dashes through the forest, evading unknown attackers. The sounds of growls and trees shaking follow behind him. He has know idea what they are. But, he does know, they aren't nice. He turns on a dime and swings his branch at one of the creatures, knocking it to the ground. The adrenaline makes it unclear to him what he's fighting, but none of that matters. He continues running.
After about ten minutes, he finally comes to a clearing, a rocky shore near the ocean. The pause doesn't last for long as the creatures gather at the edge of the forest. As Ruven prepares to fight, he notices they don't go beyond the dirt, like something is keeping them from moving closer. He sighs in relief, having only a branch as a weapon. The crash caused him to lose his machete in the water. He decides to search the shoreline for any signs of it.
As he advances towards where the crash site is, he stops to find a rock wall blocking the path. Frustrated by the inconvenience, he decides to search the other direction, hoping to find it here. Time passes, he feels that he has been walking for hours, but that was only the lack of any evidence of time moving. Without any sense of time, the sun still setting, what feels like hours could only be minutes, and exhaustion takes its toll. In the distance, he notices something moving near the shore line. A large, familiar shape, the ship, his ship. As he moves closer, he notices a strange fog gathering around him.
Soon, he struggles to see more than a few feet ahead of himself. It was as if the fog blotted out the sun, leaving only a gray view of everything. He manages to locate the boat and climbs aboard. He feels no presence aboard the ship, but continues searching for something. He comes upon a hatch set in front of the steering wheel below it. He locates a handle and opens the hatch, proceeding to jump inside. The room was somewhat large, the walls lined with different blades, handles, spikes, and any tool that could be used as a weapon. He looks upon a lantern, hanging from the roof in the center, and lights it. He scans the walls for a minute before looking upon a second machete, stained with blood all over the edge. He pulls it off and hops off the boat to the ground.
Suddenly, as he stands up, he hears a voice speak to him. "Is it necessary to have something like that?"
He turns on a dime to face a familiar figure in the distance. Ruven sighs in relief, thinking he knows who it is. "Hehe, don't scare me like that. I'll be honest, this place gives me the creeps, and not for what's out there." He responds.
"This 'creepy place' is my home," the figure says, moving closer, revealed to be Dylon to Ruven. "What, who are you?!" Ruven says, priming his weapon. Dylon gives no emotional response and walks closer to him. "Calm down, I don't want to fight. Look," Dylon pauses to hold up his hands before continuing. "I have no weapons, I just want to talk."
Ruven decides to let his guard down and moves closer to Dylon. They stand a few feet from each other, but Dylon could see Ruven's enormous stature. He only comes up to Ruven's shoulders. Ruven holds his left hand behind his back while Dylon tries to speak. Without warning, Ruven swings the branch out with all his force, smashing it against Dylon's head. However, Dylon doesn't move an inch or flinches, this catches Ruven off guard. Dylon charges and tries to take him down, tackling him in the stomach, but it has similar results. Ruven looks down at him. "You're not the only mutant with power," he grabs him by his sides, lifting him upside down, and slamming his torso into the ground. He backs away, thinking he was victorious. But, on closer inspection, Dylon recovers, pulling his body out, showing no pain or damage.
Ruven couldn't believe what he saw, he never encountered anyone like this,then again, Dylon is far from anyone. "Let's try this again," Dylon says, charging again, but this time, slamming his fist into Ruven's stomach. At first, Ruven shows no response, but mere seconds later, he collapses, holding his stomach in pain as he groans. Dylon backs off for a moment. Suddenly, Ruven begins to laugh, like it was a joke. He stands back up and looks to him. "Impressive," he says, "I never thought anyone else could hurt me that much."
Dylon retreats from his fighting stance. "Listen, I don't want to fight. It's just that… you took me off guard."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Ruven replies, "if I knew you were this strong, I would have kept talking. So, what do you want?" He places his machete in its sheath and awaits Dylon's answer. "First, are you the one they call Ruven?"
"Yes."
"Second, do you want to fight?"
"That depends if I have any chances of killing you. In this case…, maybe, but I don't like those odds."
"Lastly, is anyone else here with you?"
"No."
Dylon can sense he's lying. Ruven can see it in his eyes that lying is not an option, so he tells the truth. "Honestly, I'm not sure if the 'others' are still alive, not with those things out there. So why don't you send that sniper out there to see if they're still breathing."
Dylon flinches for a second. He knows Piers was out there, yet still chose to attack. Dylon never would have known he would meet someone like Ruven. He turns around and gestures for Piers to search the area. Piers moves from his spot and hurries. As Dylon turns back, Ruven stands right in front of him. He didn't know he would be this fast either. Moments turn to seconds, soon minutes, before Dylon speaks. "Follow me, Jacob is waiting inside."
"And who are you exactly?" Ruven asks.
"I'm his brother."