This place it isn’t for those weak souls.  You can’t just walk in here and expect to survive; with that mind set you will die within moments.  This place isn’t a game, one doesn’t just dare you to enter and you do.  This place is harsh and mean to those that enter it and only the strong manage to survive a few days. 

  The weak make it a few minutes.  The lucky, a few hours.  The strong, a few days.  The fighters, a week.  The hunters, a month.  This place will kill you one way or another, it is only a matter of time.  How long is the question we all want to know.

  I’m one of the only that has far outlasted any of these times.  I am the only one that has broken that cycle of time that kills those that enter this place.  I came in here weak and broken yet survived a few hours.  I got lucky and escaped the things trying to kill me and lived to see a new day.  I grew strong as I stayed here and watched a week go by.  I fought for my survival and roamed this place for a month.  I hunt the things in this place that wish to see my blood stain the floor.

  I have been here for three years and have scars to prove how harsh this life is.  I’ve become part of this place as one of the things people fear.  This is my home as it is to the beasts that reside here; and like them I do not like trespassers on my land.  As this place kills those that enter, I too aid them in removing the weak and useless.

  This is the Forest.  This is my home.

  I survive because this is all I have left.  My family hates me for being different so they cast me out of the house and left me in the Forest when I was sixteen.  I knew nothing of living on my own and of how to survive, but I quickly learned.  I have only come across dead humans here, never a living, breathing one I could talk to.  I’m alone, but it is better this way.

  Any friends I had have long since forgotten me.  Everyone has by now presumed me dead, but I’ve learned to not care.  I’ve shut off any emotions that do not help me survive this place.  Happiness doesn’t exist, sadness is rather useless and fear is pointless.  I thrive off anger and adrenaline. 

  The rush of hunting my prey and letting out my frustrations of being hunted down by the animals that call the Forest their home as well.  I strive to one day be able to leave this place behind and exit the Forest to start a life up again, but that will be very unlikely.  I don’t belong with my kind any longer.  This place has changed me, far more than I ever thought possible.

  I’m part of the Forest now and there is no escape from that.  My body and soul belong to this place.

  Letting out a tired sigh I pushed myself from the perch I had on one of the highest branches of the tree called my home.  With light nimble movements I climbed down branch by branch until I came to an opening in the truck that I slipped through.

  The large tree was hallow inside and served as my dwelling place.  Over the years I have built on it and made it livable, it became my only safe haven here.  It was the only place the creatures never touched.

  It was the very center of the Forest, and if anyone could reach here they would have been safe.  They would have been able to survive this place like I had, but now that I reside here I will not allow another such luxury.  If the creatures that inhabit this place do not kill you, I shall if you reach my home.

  The clothing I own are from the humans that wander though here and die.  I take them since they have no use for such things any longer.  I enjoy when they bring bags filled with objects they think will help them survive longer.  Guns and knives, pepper spray and insect repellent, and extra clothes and food.

  Those bags are a great help to me since this forest lives off the bodies and blood of humans, not their worldly goods.  The things I need are tossed aside for me to find and use.

  I hunt with a bow and arrows, the odd time a sword I crafted myself a year back.  Guns and ammunition are useless for me yet I still keep them as I reminder of how humans hunt.  Getting close to your prey is the best way to get rid of them at times. 

  I left my house and my safety zone as the sun began to rise higher and higher.  I had to hunt for food and scout more of the Forest out.  I’ve started mapping places and trails I know, marking where certain beasts reside and which places to avoid unless I find myself with a death wish.

  Grabbing my quiver filled with deadly sharp arrows and my bow along with my sword sheathed around my waist I made my way down the trail I knew best.  I spent half a year memorizing this one trail since it was the first I ever knew.  This trail was the one that lead back to where my parents first left me near the edge of the town I used to reside in.

  It was rare I would find anything down this path save for a few mutated bears and small rodents, but that never stopped me from going down it.  I like to once every few months hunt down this trail so I do not forget where I came from.  I never leave the Forest, only walk close to the border and stand where I last saw my parents. 

  It was quiet, which is quite normal for this area.  This was one of the most silent areas of the Forest; it wasn’t until near dusk when the large black and grey colored bear like beasts would come out to hunt.  The small rodents and animals never made much sound save for the occasional rustling of twigs and brush.

  My footsteps were equally as silent as I walked.  I tried to make as little noise as I could as I went along, I’d really rather not draw any unwanted attention my way as I strolled around.  I prefer to sneak up on my prey than have it come at me trying to kill me, any hunter would rather have be the surprise than be surprised.

  My footsteps stilled as a loud echoing roar reach my ears.  It was rare a bear would be awake at a time like this; the sun was just reaching its peak in the sky so it makes me wonder just why a bear would be out at this time.  Another roar filled my ears before I started silently moving towards the noise.  I crouched down slightly as I walked so I wouldn’t be easily seen over the plants that grew around me.

  Not far ahead laid a clearing surrounded by vibrant pink flowers.  Violet meadow was what I called it since the sun would reflect off the bright pink plants that outline the perimeter casting a violet hue over the meadow.  It wasn’t the ideal hunting place but if I wanted food this was the best I was going to get right now.

  In the center of the grassy clearing stood a large black and grey striped creature.  Standing on its hind legs it was well over twelve feet tall.  A large male from what I could tell from where I crouched, he would put up more of a fight if I tried to get to close.  I was lucky it had its back to me as I tried to come up with a plan to kill it before it spotted me hiding here. 

  The beast looks oddly like a grizzly bear, but I would never confuse the two.  These bears where at least twice the size of a normal bear and their fur color was drastically different.  They were never just a single fur color, and it was always strange patterns that the different color of fur made.  This bear before me was striped but I have seen ones with circles and triangles spotting their fur.  The odd time what might look like writing was scribbled all over them.  I’ve seen their color vary in shades of black, grey and white, and they tend to stand out if you know what to look for.

  Not only was the color and size different but also their talons were as sharp as knives and their teeth could rip into anything.  Dangerous and deadly, but when compared to some of the other things living in the Forest it didn’t seem so bad.

  Pulling my bow over my shoulder I held it in front of me before I grabbed one of my arrows and held it by my side.  Just shooting at the bear wasn’t going to do anything but anger it; I needed something to either kill or possibly paralyze it so I could get close enough to actually kill it should the need arise.

  A shot to the head wouldn’t work since their skulls were close to impossible to puncture and his heart was out of the question because my arrow wouldn’t be able to pierce through his body to touch it.  I didn’t have any poison or anything with me so the best I had to work with was hitting his spinal cord and severing it so he could not move.

  Notching my arrow I raised myself so I was standing and firmly placed my feet on the rough uneven floor.  Raising my bow I aimed to the very center of the beast’s back between his large shoulders.  Pulling the string back to my cheek I checked my aim before letting the string go.

  The arrow rushed through the air with the barest of whispers before lodging itself exactly where I intended for it to go.  The bear roared angrily before collapsing to the ground in a heap.  With no motor control to his arms and legs he was now left slowly dying on the forest floor.

  Pushing past the sphere of pink plants I entered the clearing.  My steps froze slightly when I heard soft whimpering and panting.  That was not a sound that originated from this forest.  I stopped by the bear I just killed and kicked it; the beast rolled over but was still to heavy for me to move with minimal effort.

  Most creatures in the Forest once they are killed begin to loose mass.  After about ten minutes they become no heavier than the weight of a school bag filled with books, if my memory of that feeling remains the same.  I never had trouble moving my food sources because of this.

  But the sight on the other side of my next few meals was what had me scowling and glaring.  The heap of clothing and flesh was crumpled on the ground clearly unconscious but alive.  Of all places and times to find another human, it just had to be when I as hunting.  It just also happened to be this human.

  Growling softly I grabbed the figure and tossed him on top of the now dead bear.  I don’t know if I will regret this later but for the moment I will bring him back with me.  I can always ditch him in the Forest later or kill him when I so pleased.  I wasn’t going to let him mess up what I have.

  For now I might as well figure out why the hell he entered the Forest in the first place and get as much as I can from him.  Grabbing the bear’s front paws, avoiding the claws as best I could I began to drag the two dead weights back up the trail to my tree.

 >.<

  I sat at the base of the tree skinning and preparing the bear so I could get at the meat.  The hide would be dried and I could use it for warmth and clothing due to the softness of the fur.  I did my best to ignore the small whimpers of fear coming from deeper within the tree.

  Weak and lucky, that was all that boy was.  He would make it past a day since I was stupid enough to help him but anything longer than I week I couldn’t see happening.  He would grow to annoy me and disturb the peace I found here thus causing me to find a way to get rid of him.

  I sighed and looked up at the blue sky hanging over me, “It’s sad when the people you know become the people you knew.” 

  I know who that boy is.  I grew up around him in my town.  We went to the same school and we knew the same people.  But things changed after I came here.  I knew him but do not know him now.  He was in my past, but does not exist in my present or future. 

  I do not know him any longer.  The both of us have changed, myself more than anyone would dream possible.  It would be best I not get too involved with that boy, I should cast him out once he wakes.  But the part of me I have long since buried tells me I should keep him close.  I already lost him once, why push him away when he’s come back?

  I heard the boy’s breathing increase.  Loud pants and gasps floated through the air from where the boy was resting.  It was clear he was awake and scared, and well he should be.  It didn’t take much long later before I could hear him moving about.  Pacing back and forth, running around the tree looking at where he was.

  I heard, as well as felt, when he came rushing down the stairs towards where I was sitting.  The gasp of air that escaped his mouth was of no surprise to me when he noticed I was sitting here with a giant beast before me.

  I chuckled dryly as I looked over my shoulder at his frozen state.  “What are you doing in the Forest?”  I asked him as I went back to removing the bear’s talons.  I paid him no more attention as I he stood there in the silence that now formed around us.

  Tossing the sharp talons aside as I removed them I continued to do my usual work when I brought one of these animals back here.  I hissed in frustration when what I was trying to do wasn’t working as quickly as I hoped for.  I don’t want to spend the rest of the daylight hours preparing this thing.

  “Who are you?”  I finally heard the boy behind me speak.  His voice quivered and broke as he managed to force those words from his mouth.

  “An inhabitant of the Forest.”  I told him in reply as I began to skin the beast.  “Why did you enter the boundary of this place?  I’m sure you are well aware that death greets those foolish enough to come here.”

  I want to know just why he got a thought in his mind to step foot in this place.  I can’t understand why anyone would willingly enter this place; I was forced in here and have lost hope of escape.  So was he forced to enter or did he willingly walk through the maze of trees to face death ahead of him?

  He would have died had I not killed this beast to obtain my next few meals.  Had I not gone down that trail today it would have been his mangled body I would have found.  His belongings ready for my use.

  Yet I did go down that trail and I did save him.  He isn’t dead because I haven’t killed him yet, he best not try and press his luck more than it’s been granted.  I may have a past with him but once his luck runs out he will just be another carcass in the brush.

  “A dare from my friends.”  He stated.  I couldn’t help but let out an amused laugh.  How foolish, I thought he might have been smarter than he looks.  Only the dumb come here for a dare to prove they can survive, they all end up the same, they all die.  “And to find a lost friend.”  He continued causing me to become silent.

  “You will just join your friend as one of the many deceased that rest here.”  I replied dryly.  “Once in here, a person is lost, there is no point in searching for them.”

  I got up from my place once I finished what I was doing.  My hands were bloody but it didn’t faze me at all as I walked to a stream not far from the base of my tree.  I placed my hands in the cold rushing water and watched as streams of red flowed down the stream and away from me.

  Standing up I turned back to look at my home where the boy stood in the entranceway.  His blonde hair was the same as I remember it from three years ago.  He’d grown taller and his face has slimmed.  His body was more toned and I could clearly see the outline of some of his muscles.

  His eyes were dull and constantly searching his surroundings.  He fidgeted constantly, showing how nervous he is to anyone watching him.  The closer I got to him the more I could see fear begin to fill his eyes.  He was afraid, just as every other person that came here was.

  “You should have never stepped foot in this place.”  I told him once again as I moved closer to the place he was rooted in.  “I can’t promise you are going to survive.”

  He visibly shivered as he watched me approach.  I could only smirk as I watch his face drain slightly in color, yet I was well aware it was for two different reasons he was acting this way.  I enjoyed one while dreaded the other, but I knew it was going to be unavoidable.

  “How?”  I heard the boy standing three meters from me breath in shock.  His jaw was slack and his eyes wide as he scanned me over.

  I’m different and I know it.  One look and anyone would recognize me, so it didn’t shock me that he was able to tell exactly who I was as soon as he got a look at my face.  My parents hated the mark I carry around my left eye, they hated that I was different from the moment I was born.

  Ink black lines run in curved shapes around my eye and up towards my temple.  The way they crossed and turned made it look as if the mark was moving every time I blinked.  I liked the tattoo like design I carried; I loved the way it brought out the black ring around my pale blue eyes.  But I was the only one who thought this way.

  I’ve kept my back to him so far, but I was aware that once I faced him he would figure things out.  “You shouldn’t have come here Daehyun.”  I said as I took my seat once again at the base of the stairs leading into the tree.

  “Narae.”  He breathed once again.  “How?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”  I sighed, “You shouldn’t have come looking Daehyun, you’re going to die just like everyone else.”

  Grabbing the ha