It was just after Nathan had secured his pack onto his back and was prepared to set off again that a wave of nausea and pain came over him. Dropping to the ground, he took a knee and grabbed his head, eyes clenched shut from the indescribable pain. It wasn’t like anything he had experienced before, and though it wasn’t the worst he had felt, it was certainly the most inexplicable. Gasping as the pain faded as quickly as it had come upon him, Nathan didn’t try to move and stayed as still as he could. The pain had faded to a dull ache that his entire body felt, and when he finally opened his eyes it was to a blurry world. “What the fuck…” he whispered rasply, his throat completely dry despite the fact that he had just taken a break. Shakily, he unhooked his canteen and took a small drink, the cool water soothing as it went down. 

As his vision began to return, Nathan finally attempted to stand up and managed to… with some success. He was unsteady on his feet and had to, almost instantly, lean against a nearby car to brace himself. He took a quick glance around him, surveying the area past the piled wrecks. He hadn’t noticed anything among the flat ground that stretched on for kilometers from the road before he had taken a break, and maybe that had given him some hope. Should have known better than to tempt fate like that. It was impossible for him to pick out the details at this distance with how his eyesight had been messed up, but there was a group of four or so individuals about a kilometer away. 

[b]“Shit,”[/b] he cursed as he dropped back down to the ground quickly. There was a slim chance that those were just friendly travelers and it was just hi-
[center][b]“!!!!!!!!!!”[/b][/center]
The noise reached his ears, even at this distance, and it gave Nathan the chills; not just because it meant he had been spotted, but also because of the unearthliness to it. No animal made a sound like that. He muttered more curses under his breath as he moved towards a car that faced where the four were, all while fumbling with his pistol. Finally managing to slip the firearm free, he poked his head up to the shattered window frame and took a view. 

All four of the demons were running at full tilt, bounding across the ground towards him. The things were fast, fast enough that he knew outrunning them would be downright impossible with his pack on. The trembling in his hands also meant he didn’t have a bloody chance to pick the things off at a range. As his eyes strayed to the massive claws on each of the demons, Nathan couldn’t help but feel a sinking feeling in his gut as he pulled his machete from its sheath. A quick glance at his weapons in comparison to the situation and his feelings were summed up in one word.

[b]“Fuck.”[/b]