DS: The Dark Within (Prologue)

Wilson couldn’t handle it anymore. This whole ‘living in the wilderness’ thing was for the birds; quite literally. There were birds everywhere. Red ones, blue ones. And they were all so annoying. The moment he dared to try and think, they started chirping. Like it wasn’t hard enough to concentrate on his science machine, but then the damn birds started up. It was like they were waiting just for him to start working again. Now that he thought about it, they probably were. Maxwell probably had them under his control. He was probably being watched through them.
He sighed. He could imagine Maxwell, sitting in a throne somewhere, viewing Wilson through the eyes of those birds, and laughing at him. Laughing at his despair and fear, which he was careful not to show outwardly, but he knew Maxwell could sense it in him.
“Berries for friend!”
Wilson turned away from the science machine to see Hadrian returning from a walk.
Hadrian had been abandoned in a dark forest to the south of the island, somehow left to fend for himself by the other pigmen, who had migrated somewhere else. Wilson had come across the lonely lost pigman and given it a small morsel to eat, which he snapped up heartily and decided that Wilson was worthing of being a “friend”.
Growing up, Wilson had never had any friends. Well, not in the traditional sense. He had had colleagues, who would decide to ditch him soon after realizing just how dedicated to science he really was.
And that was what Hadrian was to him. Though he had little brain power (almost none at all, Wilson thought), he meant well, and would do anything Wilson said. Besides that, he was a great body guard. The pigman had strong arms and could easily break down rocks and smaller trees, and wouldn’t hesitate to do so if Wilson asked. Hadrian was also very protective of Wilson. If anything came within a few foot range of him, Hadrian stomped it flat.
Wilson appreciated the pigman in a way not perceived by most people. He didn’t think of the…thing, as a friend, but as a valuable asset to his work. And this was just fine for him. He had no need of friends. No one understood him anyway, or wanted to, and definitely didn’t care to, so he didn’t care either. That was why he secluded himself in the woods so long ago. It was just him and his inventions out there where no one could interfere.
Hadrian approached Wilson and held his hands out (if you could call them hands). Red berries were sprinkled across his palms.
“Berries for friend!” he said again.
“Thanks,” Wilson replied, taking a few of the sweet morsels. They were one of the only good things to eat out here.
That reminded him, he needed to go check on the rabbit traps soon. It had been almost an entire day since he had last set them up, but he wanted to finish constructing his science machine first. He wasn’t very hungry when he worked, he just wanted to get things done. He felt he could finish the machine probably by the next morning, if he worked into the night. But he need more string, and for that he need spider silk, of which he had no more.
As he got to the last berry in his hand, something nudged his leg. He looked down to see his (was pet the right word?) companion of sorts, Otto Von Chesterfield, whom Wilson simply called Chester. Wilson had absolutely no idea what Chester was. Some sort of strange creation not of the world he had come from. Chester acted as a carrying case for numerous goodies Wilson found the need to save. Chester simply opened his mouth (or lid, whatever it was) and appeared to eat the item, yet was able to spit it back out whenever Wilson needed it. And yet the creature somehow did in fact eat. He was asking for the last berry now, which Wilson tossed into the small creatures maw. He did not know how the animal-thing found a way to both store and digest thing inside itself, but he didn’t have the time to run to tests on it, not yet anyway. It was on his list of things to do, however. That and take some blood tests of Hadrian. He had to know how pigmen were accomplished.
“Chester, may I have my axe?” Wilson asked the small creature at his feet. Chester opened his mouth, and out of the black void appeared Wilson’s handmade axe. He took it quickly, mildly frightened by the void in the things throat.
“Adventure?” Hadrian asked, visibly excited. “Like adventure!”
“Yes, Hadrian, we’re going on an adventure,” Wilson answered. “We need to find spiders.”
Hadrian put his arms up in fear. “Not like spiders.”
“I don’t like spiders either, but I need them.”
“Why?”
“I need their webs.”
“Icky.”
“I know. Just come on.” Wilson rested the axe over his shoulder and started off. Hadrian hesitated for a moment before following his friend, along with Chester. None of them liked spiders.

Walking through this dense forest, Wilson could almost believe he was back home, if it weren’t for the strange companions following him. That was the weird thing about this place. So much of it was normal, and then there were those times when it just…wasn’t. For once in his life, it made him homesick. He wanted back in his house, with all his inventions, even most of them were just failures. He wanted the comfort of being able to work alone, and be surrounded by things he created. He supposed that was why he was making a science machine now. It reminded him of old times, before that guy Maxwell tricked him into this world. Of course, he did need a science machine anyway. With it, he was able to make things not otherwise possible by hand. But still, part of him knew he was doing it just for the comfort. Besides, there wasn’t much else to do around this place, other than search for a way out, which hadn’t been very fruitful lately. He had managed to scribble out a map on a piece of parchment so he could remember where he could find certain resources, like rocks and tall grass. He was following that map now, heading out west from his base camp to find the large spiders that lurked in the forest.
God, he hated spiders.
He looked behind him. Hadrian was looking around the forest nervously. The trees were so close together it was hard to see through them. Even Chester, having no real face, somehow looked frightened. The morning sun above them did little to lighten the mood, as the cover of pine needles was so thick. It was quite eerie, and Wilson didn’t like it.
He hated this forest. He had come through it when he first got to this island (or whatever it was). It went up North and to the west for what seemed like forever. He wasn’t usually a jumpy guy, but this forest gave him the creeps.
Man he wanted revenge on Maxwell. How dare he trick me, Wilson thought. Wilson felt like a fool, letting himself be tricked by someone on the radio. But he was just so frustrated, and nothing had worked for him for so long.
Anyway, in a place like this, since it actually seemed to exist and this wasn’t some sort of nightmare, surely Maxwell did indeed have “forbidden knowledge”. Now, however, Wilson would simply take it forcefully. No more trades or trickery. Wilson was too smart to fall for something like that again, anyway. He would have what he came here to get, and Maxwell would pay for what he did. Wilson would get his revenge no matter what he had to do.