Eli's eyes flew open with a start, expecting to find himself in his warm bed, his cat curled at his side. He expected to blink into the darkness and fumble for the broken chain of his bedside lamp, get up and meander sleepily though his apartment for a glass of water. Instead, what he got was the harsh reality of cold, hard dirt as he opened his eyes to a dark canopy of trees above him, blocking out all but the thinnest rays of sunlight.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">No, this can't be right. </span></i>He sat up, glancing into the dancing flames of the campsite he'd stumbled across before. In a dream.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"><i>I can't still be dreaming. If you die, you wake up. That's how this works.</i> </span>Not to mention, he doubted his subconscious could fabricate the ordeal he'd just experience. The all-too-realistic agony of dark spears lancing into his chest, bones snapping and screams tearing from his throat as he dissipated into the sky and faded into darkness.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">"I died . . . " </span>Indeed, he'd died a horrendous slaughter of a death. And yet . . .<br/><br/>Here he was, inching closer to a campfire in the middle of nowhere to stave off the cold that had seemed to take up permanent residence within him ever since he'd set foot into this hellish place. He didn't know how long he'd been here, or how he'd found himself trapped in this nightmare, but one thing was certain. Eli needed to find a way out. He eyed the treeline, that invisible barrier he dared not re-enter, knowing what sort of horrors lay beyond. Something out there didn't want him to leave and he didn't fancy the idea of being torn apart a second time. His hands patted his jeans and jacket pockets, feeling for the familiar weight of his cellphone.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"> "Fuck."</span>It was gone.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">Must have dropped it while running for my life. </span></i>With his only lifeline to the outside world gone, Eli suddenly felt stranded, panic rising in his chest.<br/><br/>Then he recalled how exactly he'd ended up in such a predicament in the first place and wondered what exactly had happened to the other guy, the one he'd set out to rescue from a trap only to end up hunted down and dangling like a slab of cold beef.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">He came back for me . . . </span></i>Then, as if on cue, Eli heard a light groan from behind him. Turning, he spotted the man who'd reached up to pull him off the meat hook only to have his good leg mutilated by a second bear trap. He winced in sympathy as he inched closer to the other, lying in the dirt as he'd been, himself, only a few moments before. Eli couldn't help but notice that both of his legs were uninjured. The man wasn't bad looking, quite the opposite in fact. Of course Eli hadn't gotten a good look at his would-be rescuer before, too busy struggling for his life. Now, though, he took the opportunity.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"><i>Can't be dreaming. I couldn't fabricate someone this attractive.</i> </span>He threw that thought aside. Wherever he was and however he'd gotten here, he needed to focus on getting out. Not on the plush, full lips of the unconscious man lying next to him.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"><i>Maybe he has answers.</i> </span>Decided, Eli placed his hand on a firm shoulder and shook gently.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">"Hey. Hey, come on, wake up."</span>