"M-Matt...!" The drummer squeaked, squeezing shut his eyes once more, utterly terrified. He felt his fate was near, that the blinding light of death was almost here, that this was game over. The beast placed a powerful paw onto his leg, claws sinking deep inside his flesh. The mighty jaws opened opened wide, and then-


The tiger suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream. It yanked it's claws out from Jimmy's leg and stumbled away from the drummer as blood spurted out from a devastating wound in it's neck. Jimmy's eyes shot open as the warm, crimson liquid landed on his skin and trickled down his face and arms, and he witnessed his best friend brutally stabbing the beast over and over again right in front of him. He could do nothing but sit there against the tree, sprawled out, his eyes wide, his jaw hanging and his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he could feel it in every part of his body. And he watched as Matt drove the blade into the big cat once, twice, three times, over and over, until finally it's legs went limp and it crashed down on the bloodstained sands, laying lifeless on it's side.

It took a moment for everything to register within the shocked drummer's head. Staggering to his feet with trembling legs, Jimmy limped out of the den, past the tiger and the blade, and over to Matt, who had collapsed just past the beast and was writhing in pain. Hazel eyes were shut tight, three vicious claw marks that had been carved into his left cheek oozed blood down his twisted face. His fists were clenched tight enough that his knuckles turned pale and he emitted a quiet, pained whimper. His clothes and skin were stained with blood. Jimmy fell down to his knees beside his vocalist and gently pressed shaking hands to his shoulders.

"Shads..!" He breathed, watching as the younger man struggled to raise his head. "Shads, are you okay?"

With a helping hand from the taller man, Matt propped himself onto aching elbows, and then eventually to a sitting position. He wiped his bleeding face with his hand and looked at the liquid on his skin. Then, his eyes shifted up to the drummer's worried face. "I think so... My face stings so bad and my body feels like it's on fire." He replied as his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. "Are you alright, Jimmy..?"

The drummer gave a half shrug. "Emotionally or physically?"

"Both."

Jimmy lowered his head and observed his leg where the claws had pierced through his jeans and into his flesh. The bleeding wasn't terrible, a trickle of it here and there, which was a relief to him. Only thing was, it stung like rubbing salt into a graze. And there was the mental pain. He had literally been inches away from death; he'd never been more frightened, more petrified, more mortified in his entire life. So scared, in fact, that his body had seemingly turned to stone for a moment. "Physically, I'll be fine.. I hope. Mentally? Dude, I'm gonna have nightmares about that for weeks."

"I don't blame you, Rev. That was a bit scary, huh?"

"'A bit scary' is an understatement." Jimmy said. "Anyway, let's get you back inside and sort those cuts out for you." Matt agreed and they returned to the den, where Jimmy fetched the first aid kit from their supplies bag and began to clean the wounds. Every time that contact was made between the wounds and the wipe Jimmy used, Matt hissed in pain and his fists tightened. While it was bad, it was nothing compared to when the older man applied the healing ointment to the cuts. Matt cursed like a sailor, howled like a dog that had it's tail trapped in a door and he wriggled and squirmed to get away from the source of the stinging pain.

"Matt, stay still for me, dude. I can't do anythin' when you're fidgetin' like this." The drummer sighed, holding Matt still with both hands on his shoulders and pushing him against the tree lightly.

"Jimmy, this hurts like a bitch. I can't help it." Matt said, resting his head against the rough bark, wincing with every facial movement.

"I know it does, but I'm almost done, okay? Just hold still.."

After a few more excruciating minutes of treatment, Jimmy finally announced that he was finished, much to the relief of Matt. From there, he quickly treated his own wounds on his leg and stuffed the kit back inside the supply bag. Meanwhile, the vocalist had decided to venture back outside and inspect the beast he had murdered and to retrieve his weapon. Tugging the knife out of the cat, he tucked it back inside the sheath after wiping it clean and then he crouched down beside it's head and sighed. The creature was truly beautiful, and Matt almost felt awful for killing it as he ran his fingers through it's fur. He then turned his attention to the cat's collar, which he removed and inspected. He checked the small capsule attached, which contained a scrunched up piece of paper. He opened it up out of curiosity and saw a note scribbled onto it. The paper read:

'If you are reading this - Congratulations on defeating the tiger. That's no easy accomplishment, so we are impressed with you.
As you may have guessed, you are not alone on this island. There are many of us here. We are deep within the forest, but it is highly dangerous to enter without our guidance. For this reason, we urge you to say put. Survive one more night, and we will consider.

Just one warning though - Be prepared for a fright in the morning.
-TD'

Matt groaned. As if he and Jimmy hadn't been through enough yet, they had to survive one more ordeal. What could they possibly be put through this time? Another animal attack? Attacked by the inhabitants of the island? Being thrown into the sea? Matt dreaded to think how they would survive whatever was thrown at them, and what the consequences would be should they even manage that far as to survive.

The vocalist rose to his feet and returned inside the den. He tossed the note to Jimmy and slumped against the tree, heaving a heavy sigh. Jimmy examined the note and cursed under his breath.

"You're kiddin' me, right?" He asked, looking over at his bandmate.

"Dude, I wish."

The drummer raked his fingers through his hair. "What are they gonna do to us now? Attack us in our sleep?"

"Jimmy, they threw a fuckin' tiger at us... I'm pretty sure anythin's possible at this point." Matt pointed out. "Whatever it is, we just need to make sure we're ready. Is there anythin' left in the food bag?"

Jimmy leaned over and reached for the bag, dragging it over to him. He quickly unzipped it, poked his head inside. "Nope... Nothin' left." The vocalist grumbled. He could feel his stomach rumbling, demanding food.

"Damnit. Okay... We might have to resort to the tiger." He said. Jimmy shot him a look.

"What? Are you suggesting we eat the tiger?"

"Do we have a choice? Besides, It's better than nothin', right? You wanna go hungry?"

Jimmy sighed. He was starving hungry, and as much as he didn't want to eat such a beautiful, albeit violent animal, it was indeed better than nothing. "I guess you're right.." He admitted. Matt nodded.

"I'll sort it out for us in a bit. Do you need to catch up on some sleep or somethin'?" He asked.

"Yeah, I got little to nothin' last night." Jimmy said. He shifted over to the bed area and pulled the blanket over to his body, wrapping himself up and laying back on the sand. He closed his eyes, but all he could see was the tiger's massive jaws opening in front of him, the drool dripping from those deadly fangs, the fire in it's golden orbs. He had never been so uncertain about his fate before that point. If there was one thing he was certain of though, it's that he was eternally thankful for Matt saving his life. What would he do without that man...


"Wakey wakey, Sullivan! You don't wanna miss your food now, would you?"

The drummer slowly rose from his slumber and he scanned his surroundings, then frowned. He had managed to have a wonderful dream about being back home, away from this hell hole of a place. Sadly, that was just a dream. He heaved his heavy bones from his pit and made his way outside. The sun had set once again and the campfire had been reignited. Attending the fire was Matt, who was occupying himself by cooking whatever parts of the tiger he deemed edible. In the light of the flames, Matt's wounds looked as gruesome as ever, but at least they had scabbed over and weren't bleeding everywhere. As Jimmy approached, the vocalist took notice and rose his head with a smile.

"Heya sleepy head. Sit down, I'll have yours finished in just a moment." He spoke. In his hand, he held the long, previously sheathed knife, which he had stabbed through a piece of meat and was using it to hold the meat above the flames. It wasn't the most effective method, but with nothing else to use, it would have to do. After a few moments longer, Matt removed it from the heat of the fire and carefully handed it to Jimmy. "It'll take some time to cool down, so watch you don't burn yourself."

"Do you need the knife back?" He asked, looking at Matt as he took the food gratefully. Matt shook his head.

"No, I've already eaten, but I left the biggest, better bits all for you. Besides, you need it more." Matt said, shaking his head. Well, he had a fair point. Matt could probably live on practically nothing for a lot longer than Jimmy could. After all, he was quite thin, and Matt was built like a small tank. But still...

"Awh.. Shads, you didn't have to-"

"Jimmy, you need it buddy." Matt stated, shaking his head. "You need it more than me. Hell, I would've left the entire thing to you but I know you'd practically shove it down my throat if I did that. You and Val are the same when it comes to that sort of thing."

Jimmy let out a soft chuckle and smiled up at his best friend. "You have a tendency to put others first and sacrifice things for them to the point point that you end up with nothin' for yourself. I'm not sayin' that you need to stop bein' a nice guy, I'm just sayin' you gotta think about yourself too sometimes."

"Yeah well- Just shut up and eat, Sullivan." He grinned, sitting upon one of the logs surrounding the campfire.

"What, you know I'm right and you've got no smartass answer to it?"

"Hush your face and eat your food!" Matt laughed. Jimmy punched the air in victory and, after waiting a bit longer for the meat to cool, he took a bite and paused for a moment. Soon, Matt looked at him for the moment of truth. "How does it taste?"

"It's not too bad, actually. It's not perfect, obviously, and it's a bit chewy here and there. Apart from that, it's pretty good. I'm surprised." The drummer replied, taking a second bite.

Matt let out a dramatic sigh of relief and another laugh. "Glad to hear."

For the rest of the evening, they sat around the fire as they now always did, and both men were evidently in a great mood. Matt cooked up a few more pieces for the drummer, who gave his thanks and tucked in as soon as possible. Following that and a bit of chatter, they put out both campfires and decided to hit the hay for the night. As they settled down, Matt reminded himself of the note attached to the tiger's collar earlier on and frowned. He warned his companion as a reminder, and told him that should anything seem off, or if he awoke in the middle of the night and saw something, he was to alert him immediately. With that, they said goodnight to one another and closed their eyes.




Neither of them saw it coming, the two men that emerged from the bushes late into the night.
Neither of them saw it coming.

Notes

Hey guys!
So now I've managed to copy out all the chapters for this story, so now it's all up to date! If you are following this story, please make sure you follow the one on this account and not my old one, as that one won't be getting updated as I can't access it. This goes for all of my stories!

Thank you for all your support! It really means so much to me! I hope to update later on today or tomorrow!