Rejected Mate and Following Fate

I sit watching from my safe distance and secluded peeking spot at the large singular building nestled in an unnatural clearing, surrounded by ten feet of barbed wire fencing that stretches all the way around, save for a set of very large gates at the far side. All closed and locked tight and looking deserted. There are dirt tracks showing signs of infrequent visits from off road vehicles leading up to it, coming from the south, and I'm perched here for watching for signs of life for an hour now, as I try to figure out if it's safe to get closer.

It took the rest of the day to get here, following an imaginary line from my previous camp spot, in the general direction and sticking to hyper speed for most. I'm tired, my back agony from keeping on trekking at an hour I've grown accustomed to being the settling down and making camp stage. Sweating, breathless, hot, and sticky, and currently sat on my backpack as I try to figure out how stupid I would be if I went and further investigated.

There's no signs of life, no new tracks, or lingering scents of anyone being around the perimeter from this distance. It seems silent, but then it's a large white windowless building, with a rough cast of fine white stone, and looks exceptionally clean for being out here in the middle of no man's land. It has an aura of mystery and my gut is telling me to be wary, even if it's also urging me to investigate.

The mast on top is a huge metallic construction, like the Eiffel tower almost, and sits on the roof of it's a custom platform, stretching some thirty feet upwards. I thought at first it was a telecom mast, or maybe power, but there's nothing connecting to what looks like a radio antenna coming from the top of it. There's a generator steel box, almost half the size of the building, within the compound, yet sat apart from it, and it's humming on low within its own encasement, suggesting this building has constant power.

There's something off, even if on the surface it looks how I imagine an unmanned power plant substation would look, and despite that, my inner weird voice that kept pushing me east, it's telling me to get closer. My own mind and instincts battling with what to do and its why I've sat here staring at it for so long. The sensible part is screaming danger, the less logical me is telling me how harmless this looks and that there are no signs of life at all. The weak part of me is aching for some sort of connection to civilization, and a longing to touch something real and man made after so many weeks alone. It just reminds me that despite doing better, I've been crushingly lonely still.

I can't see any way in from this angle so the door must face those giant gates, which means it only has one entrance and nothing else. Not exactly a layout for any kind of worrying military base, I mean, it's not even that big. At most you could park two of the Santo trucks inside, so I doubt it homes any more than some power grid equipment for maybe some of the further rural homes. Maybe it's a radio station with sporadic visits or something. I don't have a clue, as it's hardly my area of expertise. It's not big enough to be anything much else.

The point is after an hour sat here, I haven't gotten any signs of life, or any reason to not go and have a closer look, and the only thing stopping me is my own terrified level of suspicion. I'm being overly cautious, my feeble side wading in, and even the wind blowing this way is picking up on no human scent in any way. It seems completely deserted.

I can see cameras at the corners of the building on this side and they probably have them at the front too, but they are all pointing down at the ground within the fences, so I can at least get that close without being caught on them. I guess they're to pick up on wildlife getting in, or something. I might see more if I go around the other side and figure out what it is. It might have signs, or maybe hazard warnings, if it is just a power plant. If I know for sure, then I can stop tiptoeing around and relax.

I exhale heavily, wiping the rolling beads of moisture from my brow and look up at the fading light in the greying sky. I should find a place to make camp and stop wasting what daylight I have left. Come back in the morning, but that means trekking further, as this is the first clearing I've come across in hours. There's nothing nearby that looks like a good place to set up, so maybe I might have to sacrifice a comfy night and roll up in the bear fur right here. I can't think of anything else to do.

either go check this out and then walk on when I know what it is, and if I can salvage anything, or camp and look at it in the new day. I'm exhausted, really need to eat and I don't have the energy to

up, mind in two halves, and pull my backpack up with me, lugging its heavy weight as I try to make a decision. I don't want to be out in the open when darkness falls, as despite not picking up on any creatures of the night, I can't be sure there aren't any lurking in caves, or underground tunnels of which I have come

trees in all directions but one, moving towards the building. It really

real sleep when I haven't found a good place to hide out. Up a tree I can

and finding the right kind of trees nearer the main gates of the building. One's with wide bases, multiple branches from mid-way up, with extra amounts of foliage and twisting crisscrossing boughs for platforms. I squeeze between two that are close together, about twenty feet up their branches merge, and

the trunk and lay out on top of my makeshift bed, stretching and wriggling to see how comfy I can get, satisfied that this isn't too bad as long as it doesn't get windy or rain tonight. I don't want to unroll pelts that could slide off if I roll in my sleep and draw attention to lurking wildlife. I won't have a fire to keep some of the natural creatures at bay up here, so I have to make do with cold meat, a bumpy bed, and the rustling and swaying of the trees to

become part of the dark surroundings as light fades fast. I'm already exhausted from my extended trekking, so settling down and beginning to drift off is easier than

wake with a start, jumping slightly, and sitting up fast, banging my head on rough wood and silently yelping as I properly come to. I must have drifted into a deeper sleep so fast, because it was a second ago, I could still see my hand in front of me and now I'm in utter pitch darkness and can't even make out what I'm sitting on. Disorientated at first until I remember where I am and how I got here and my belly rumbles because I didn't eat. I woke with a fright for sure, and my heart is thundering through my chest as my nocturnal eyesight kicks into touch, clawing

now bruised, lumpy, forehead, while scanning my surroundings for a cause. Taking deep breaths to calm down

road. They must have just pulled up, maybe the noise, and headlights, are what roused me to alert and I watch with held breath as someone slides out and makes their way around the fence to find the entrance. An eery solitary figure, shrouded in darkness. It's both a joy to see another person, but also a massive alarming worry, that

in black, wearing a hood pulled over their head so I can't see their face at all, but I can tell it's male. Tall, stocky, and as he moves around the gate with his focus on his task, eerily quiet on his feet. The wind picks up gently and blows this way,

scent we all carry and it red alerts me and wakes up my

power plant in the middle of the forest. I mean, maybe it's not that big a deal, some packs live and work in the human world and have regular jobs as they try to pass off as one of them. This could be a guy who works for the

likely, and it's too weird that all the way out here, alone for weeks on end, the first person I come in contact with is one of my kind. It's a little too coincidental, especially as I came

from my angle, and he disappears behind trees that sit between us, and out of sight. I don't want to lose track of him