– I would never hurt Mary," he muttered. Chris thought about the airplane that had gone down yesterday. It was clearly not a passenger airliner, but a freighter. He tried to recall important details and suddenly remembered that the tail of the airplane was labeled "Atmosphere".
– We'll have to hurry to get there before dark," Chris sighed and quickened his pace. As he made his way through the forest, he noticed that it was getting denser. It was good that it was not cloudy today, so he could orient himself by the sun. But he had to take into account the radius of change of direction every hour. Chris knew these places well because of his training. His father had been a wilderness survivalist for many years and had taught Chris everything he needed to know. It was his father who built this house in the woods.
After a few hours of wandering, Chris saw familiar places – two large rocks where he had once shot a wild boar, just like the ones he had seen in his dream.
– Yes, this is it," he exclaimed. – This is the place.
Chris quickly oriented himself in which direction to go to get on the hunting trail and reach his native forest home.
When he found the path, Chris tried his best to walk faster. He was so exhausted that he could hardly feel his legs. The terrible pain from his bruises reminded him that he was still on his feet. The sun was beginning to set when Chris noticed a bright glow that cast a purple light over the area.
– There's that glow again," he muttered, feeling uneasy. As he emerged from the thicket of the forest, he saw the roof of his forest home.
– Finally," he said with relief. But then he smelled a strange odor in the air. It was like the smell after a thunderstorm, only stronger. Chris thought he'd smelled it before, when the plane went down.
Suddenly Chris began to feel very dizzy. He realized that he had to speed up. Gathering all his strength, he ran towards the house. A crimson glow filled his entire gaze. It was a beautiful but ominous sight. Fear was growing.
Chris ran with all his might. His legs seemed to twitch, and his arms were cramping. Suddenly he stopped and threw his head back.
– What's happening to me? – he whispered. – Am I dead? – Is that the end of it?!
There was a lump in his throat, and he felt very sick at the thought that he would never see his Mary again. He remembered the dream he had seen in the hangar. It was as if he had seen Mary's silhouette in the fog, running from him toward the house, looking back and smiling.
Chris tried to move toward Mary. His legs wouldn't listen, and his hands felt like they were grasping for air. But he kept going. Suddenly his hand hit the porch railing. Chris grasped it as hard as he could and began to climb toward the door.
When he reached the door, he yanked on the knob, and the door popped the lock with a crash. As soon as Chris was inside the house, everything was muted, and he felt much better. He took a few steps into the back of the room and collapsed, unconscious.
