An Anvil Chorus ((OPEN))

[[Jay] Waterdrop66]

^Ashby Oxwell^

"Ohhhh..."

How long had she been here? Hours? Days? Years? Time was like water now, it just slipped through her fingers. Nothing made sense, she swore that she saw her father walking above her. She saw President Snow sitting on the rock. She even saw her dog Anubis biting off her toes. What was real anymore? The only thing she could do was close her eyes.

Her leg was pinned under a boulder. She was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Her hallucinations must have been caused by her loss of blood. But she grinded her teeth and came back to reality. She looked at her left leg. It looked like crap. She was in trouble. The rock wasn't that huge, just large enough to mangle her leg. If there was another human being here, they could probably roll it off. But of course Ashby had to be so reserved and reclusive. Her only companion was a freaking dog. Anubis was still just sitting there. He looked distressed, he had been walking around the rock, trying to think of what to do. But he was just an animal. Ashby began to cry. Not from the agonizing pain, but from the anguish and the irony of the situation. This is not how she wanted to die. She had made peace with her inevitable death long ago, but she still wanted to live longer. She wanted to get shot by a team of Peacekeepers. She wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. But that's not what she's getting.

She gets death by rock.

Ashby continued to cry, and laid back. She closed her eyes and choked up. It hurts... she thought to herself. I don't want to go like this. She took a few shallow breaths and calmed herself down. She understood the situation. She was going to die. And Anubis must have understood that too. He crawled over to her and licked her cheek. Ashby managed a small giggle and held the dog. Maybe once she died her body could feed him for a while. It would be good for something at least. Maybe it was for the best anyway, she was going crazy. She only had a dog to talk to. She sometimes found herself barking or eating raw meat. She was going
primal. Dying would keep her humanity. She'd no longer be some wild animal.

Anubis began to whine. He almost looked sad.No... No. Ashby opened her eyes. She wasn't going to die. Not today at least. She looked to Anubis and let him go. She stared him in the eye. "Find... Help..." She managed to say. She knew it was ridiculous, Anubis couldn't talk, and she was almost positive no one else here. But she trusted that mutt. And she had run into other Wanderers before. It was worth a shot. And Anubis must have understood, because he darted off quickly, barking loudly into the woods. Ashby smiled, and gave a silent prayer that that gangly dog could find someone.

TL;DR Ashby's leg is pinned under a boulder. She's delirious and passing out, but she sends her dog Anubis to find help.

[Sage]

My feet make no sound on the soft ground as I wander the woods, looking for pray. My stomach growls, telling me to put some food in it soon or else. The rabbit I'd had about a day ago didn't keep me full, in fact, I think I burned it faster than I ate it. The bushes rustle and I freeze. A squirrel scurries out and I hit it cleanly with my knife. Collecting it, I decide to set up a quick fire to cook it. I gather firewood and soon have a small blaze going. The squirrels pelt will make a nice pair of gloves for the cold weather.

As the meat cooks, I set to work making gloves. They don't have fingers but that's alright. I don't mind though, my fingers are collateral damage, in my opinion. If I lose a few it should be alright. I make the gloves so that the fur lines the inside, its something I've learned makes a great insulator of warmth. I slide them onto my hands and check on the squirrel. It's cooked and ready to eat. Just as I'm about to bite into the meat, the bushes rustle. I tense, poising my knife. A snout appears from the bushes and a soft bark sounds. It's a dog. "What do you want, boy?" I ask. The dog steps out from the bushes and approaches me warily. I put down the knife, not wanting to be seen as a threat. The dogs nose touches my hand, its cold and wet, and he yips. "What is it?" I ask. The dog clamps down on my shirt sleeve and tugs urgently. "What?" I say impatiantly. The dog seems to have something important. I stand and the dog starts to lead me somewhere. I pick up my pack, stamp out the fire, and follow.

The dog leads me to another part of the forest that is covered in rocks. At first I don't really get why its brought me hear but then I hear, faintly, a cry for help and the dog runs off towards the sound. I sprint after it and find the dog nudging a girl who's leg has been pinned by a boulder. She's close to passing out. I run to her and try to lift the boulder, my muscles strain as I manage to pull the boulder enough that I can lift her out. I lift her and lay her down away from any more boulders. Her leg looks bad, more than likely the bone is broken or at least fractured. The dog seems very nervous, it keeps yipping and padding back and forth. "It's okay, boy, she's gonna be alright" I say soothingly. I turn back to the girl. "Hey, can you hear me? Are you alright?" I ask.