◤this was the fifth night; the fifth time he wasn't going to have any light in this vast jungle. the trees loomed over his figure, stretching toward the sky with branches that resembled gnarled fingers. eyes flicked back to the pile of wood that he collected. he hadn't time to train back when he had the chance, this was all foreign. memories of people on television screens flickered in the back of his mind, reminding him that it took a lot of friction to get anything to catch aflame. but it wasn't working, the more he twirled the thin branch on a thicker one, the faster his confidence dropped. not another night alone, in the dark, freezing. he flinched at the sound of a twig snapping nearby. piercing seafoam blues darted over in the general direction, sweeping high and low for any sign of movement.
but there was too much of it. from his peripheral vision to the left, then to the right. there were creatures moving everywhere, taunting him from the shadows and peering at him as he made one mistake after the other. the jungle was eating him alive, eating at his mentality, breaking him down further than just the brittle, fragile bones that he was becoming. switching his attention back to the poor excuse of a fire pit, he started to work again. palms pressed together as he rubbed them back and forth with the twig in between, wearing and tearing away at his skin as he did. ❝C'mon, y'piece o' shit!❞ ◢