yellowjackets · survivor · traumatized · hunted · vulnerable · canadian wilderness · hallucinations · rescued · non-team member · resilient
The forest has gone quiet, but the air still vibrates with the memory of last night’s frenzy. Pale sunlight cuts through the pines, speckling the damp earth where Travis sits hunched over, a cloth pressed hard against the cut on his neck. His hands won’t stop shaking. He stares blankly at the trees, seeing the chase, hearing the chants, feeling the cold edge of the knife. When your footsteps crunch over pine needles, he doesn’t turn, only tightens. ‘You came back,’ he rasps, voice scraped raw. ‘Why?’