Maximus Augilleris Steefan was tired. He wasn't going to die here. He wanted to live a long life. A very long life. But as things were now, it didn't seem like he would survive long. It had been four hours since he woke up in this post apocalyptic looking world, and he had already suffered immensely with a whiplash of information. It would've been really helpful if he actually understood everything that they were saying though. And unfortunately, every single person he had met here never gave him the entire story. To Max, it felt like he was watching the twenty third film in a franchise, without watching the first twenty two. It was a horrible experience.
Everyone he had met were gone now. The Samurai, was emotional when he had left. The kid in tattered clothes was gone. Xi Fei Lin and Melissa had abandoned him for obvious reasons. And the mysterious being called Time wasn't here to help. He was all alone. So he had started walking, hoping to find some building or a place, where he could meet normal humans.
He was in an area covered with trees. Calling it a forest would not do it justice. There were occasional patches of plains every now and then. Max wasn't an expert at navigation. He was afraid he'd be lost at first, but thanks to the huge tower like structure ahead of him, he was able to walk without altering his line of route. But he had clearly misjudged the distance between him and the Tower because it still looked like he needed to travel a hundred kilometers to get there.
He had been travelling now for the last three hours. Without food, without water. He had hoped someone would help him. But as he had expected, no one was around him anymore. Typical Maximus luck. The sun was already setting and it was about to get dark in here. He hadn't seen any animals or weird fantastical creatures while he was journeying, but he was afraid they might spawn out of nowhere when the moon comes out.
He wanted go find shelter as fast as possible. It felt like he was playing Minecraft in real life now. And he hated the idea of doing that now. But just as he had almost given up on it, he saw something shine in between the trees. He started running towards the glint of light and what he found there was a reward. In front of his eyes lay a huge water body. A lake. He was overjoyed.
Max: Finally, something good...
Max was happy to finally see something gifting his efforts. He was hungry, and he wanted food. He was reminded again with his stomach growling when he started thinking about it. But for now, all he had was this lake. He kneeled down in front of it and bent down to cup his hands. He dipped his hands in the water and lifted it up, ready to drink it. He saw his left arm, again grossed out by how weird it looks, but he had no choice other than accepting that this is how it will look from now on.
Max: Wait...what if this is poisonous?
Max was about to drink it until his pessimistic brain took over again. He had the answer to his thirst right in front of him, but he was scared of the consequences he might have if he drank it.
Max: Well...here goes nothing.
Max ignored the warning his own brain gave him. He had practically given up on himself at this point. There was no way to know if he was just schizophrenic. He had no way to confirm if this was all in his head. But all he knew was, he had an incredibly confusing day and didn't want to continue being here. He immediately took a sip and enjoyed the moment the water touched his lips. The water going down his throat felt like heaven to him. Only a thirsty man knows the value of a single drop of water, Max thought.
When Max was drinking the water, reveling in joy, his brain sensed something. His survival instincts came back to him. Not because he thought the water was contaminated, but he sensed movement. There was someone up ahead in the midst of the woods. Max quickly got up on his feet, bracing himself for a fight. He had seen the Samurai earlier, so he wouldn't be surprised if it was him.
But what he saw there wasn't the Samurai. There was a man peeking out from the tree. He didn't have any sort of expression on him. He was just blank faced. He was wearing something that resembled a suit you wear to parties. He had a monocle under one of his eyes, and white hair and beard. His moustache was very long though. He had quite an interesting appearance.
Max could only see half his body from the side as the other half was behind the tree. The man was looking directly into his eyes. Max shuddered at this. He was always scared of ghosts when he was a kid. But then the man made it even worse by going back behind the tree. And now it felt like the presence of the man was completely gone.
Max: Dammit....come on..!
Max started circling the forest to get to the tree that the man was standing behind. He went there, slowly, and peeked through the tree. But to his surprise there was no one there. He chuckled nervously, knowing what it meant.
Max: Hey creepy guy, I dont know where you are, but I don't like stuff like this. So please, if you are playing with me, stop it!!
Max uttered these words with fear, but he didn't mind that anymore. Yes, he had an indestructible arm and fought a literal Samurai by bringing forth a fricking star from his palm. But ghosts...were a different problem entirely.
Ever since he was a kid at his orphanage he was terrified of ghosts. It was mostly because of his brother, David, that he was traumatized. He remembered David taking Lonnie's help when Lonnie himself was years younger than Max.
Lonnie was an unusual kid. He was just twelve years old and he loved horror films. He loved watching gore and zombie films at that age. He used to get scolded by their mom whenever he did that. But he didn't care. And he used to laugh at Max who was always scared of ghosts, even though he was four years older than him.
Max quietly turned back, after waiting a few seconds in silence. It was so quiet that all he could hear were ripples in the lake behind him and the slight breeze going through the woods.
When Max turned he was astounded. He saw women, men, children all staring at him from different trees. They were all maintaining the same pose as the old man before. Only half their bodies were visible and all had a dead look in their eyes. They LOOKED.....DEAD. And then, as if on cue, all of them stepped back behind the tree, out of Max's sight. Max was nervous, but he still walked towards the tree and found no one behind. An entire group of people had vanished right in front of him. If this wasn't an affirmation that this forest was haunted, nothing else was.
Max took two steps behind, knowing what he was about to do. He can't stay here anymore. He didn't care about water. He had his priorities straight. He needed to get away from these ghost-like people. He turned immediately and started running
Max was running as fast as he could. He tripped and fell once, and slowly got back up again. He turned back to make sure he wasn't being followed. But instead he saw all of them still behind him, in the same way they were before. They were all peeking out of the tree looking at him. There was no escape, but he still had to try. He brushed away his injuries and started running. There was absolutely no time to stop.
Just as Max was about to be out of breath, he heard a voice.
???: Hey big bro, are you lost?
Max, heard voice for the first time, in what felt like centuries. He turned behind to see a young familiar face. He would've been glad if it was Xi Fei Lin or Melissa...but instead it was the slightly chubby boy.
He had curly hair, freckles, and he was in tattered brown clothes. He had an expression of concern on his face.
???: Are you okay?...