He heard me. How? I was extremely far away, enough that I had trouble even seeing him. Perfect, I thought to myself. Abnormal strength, abnormal hearing, abnormal agility, what else? Could they smell what I had for dinner too?

After a few tense minutes, the man finally returned to his meal.

Frankly, I'd stopped thinking too hard about nonsensical things a while ago. The whole magical translation incident was the last straw. I needed to survive first; I could always question my sanity later. Wait... could I? I'd never been insane before, so I didn't exactly know the proceedings. Or maybe I'd always been insane? I'd heard stories of people unable to tell the difference between reality and fantasy before...

My train of thought was interrupted by a distant screech/roar. The man immediately stopped eating and turned unnaturally toward the direction of the noise. Barely hesitating, he dropped to all fours and started running — like a dog.

...Okay?

At least the path was clear now. Considering the freakishly good hearing he apparently had, I was worried I'd have to stay hidden in this bush until morning.

Leaving my hiding spot, I continued walking, deciding not to investigate that guy's dinner — it didn’t seem proper! It had nothing to do with the fact that he was a crazy cannibal.

My progress was slow, mostly because I was crouch-walking and watching every step. After that horror show, caution became my top priority.

Hours later, another house appeared, far off on the horizon. I might have missed it if I hadn’t been paying close attention. It was completely dark, with no lights on, leaving only its outline visible against the landscape.

Should I go in? I considered. It didn't seem like a good idea. Whoever those people were, they could be living there. Besides, the manor I'd come from had no communication devices of any kind — why would this place be any different?

Keeping my eyes on the house, I decided to go around it. The construction was old and partially destroyed. From this far away, the extent of the damage wasn't easily visible, but the place looked severely run down. There were holes in the walls, and part of the ceiling appeared to have caved in. The structure was mostly made of expensive-looking wood and stone, but even in its ruined state, it retained hints of its former glory.

Too busy contemplating the house, I forgot to watch my surroundings for a bit. When I turned back to watch for threats...

A shape to my right.

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Two hundred meters away, someone with long arms and a curved back was languidly walking. Stopping right in my tracks, my eyes widened and my pulse quickened. Damn. I'd let my guard down.

Looking around to make sure we were alone, my heart dropped further.

A second man stood a bit further away, blocking my way forward. The saving grace was that neither seemed to be walking exactly in my direction, so I probably hadn't been spotted — yet.

Making a split-second decision, I crouched and began making my way to the dilapidated house. Being seen was not an option; it was better to hide and wait. Minding my step, I slowly distanced myself from the two suspicious men.

A few moments later, and thanks to a big hole in the wall, I easily found my way inside the broken house.

Where should I stay? Inspecting the dark living room, I stepped towards the—

'Creeak'.

Hells. THE FLOOR. Quickly looking back, I noticed that the men had stopped walking, their heads tilted unnaturally in my direction, faces hidden in the darkness.

Not wasting any time, I hurried inside. After crossing the living room and the hallway, I entered the first room to my left. I needed to hide, fast. Opening a wardrobe, I clumsily climbed inside and closed the doors with my shaking hands. The air inside was dusty and smelled of old mold, but I didn't care.

Huff, huff. My heart pounded so loudly I feared they'd hear it. My breath came in ragged gasps, but I fought to control it. What should I do if they find me? I still had the knife at my waist at the very least. I really, really, hope it doesn't come to that.

'Creak'. The creaking of the floorboards echoed outside. Shit, they were hunting me. Were they in the hallway already? Everything sounded amplified in my ears, including my own heartbeat, I couldn't tell.

Thud, thud.

Oh god, please. I pressed my hands over my mouth, praying they wouldn't hear me. My muscles tensed further, in an effort to stop my trembling.

Thud, thud. I held my breath and bit my lips. Someone was close.

"Urrrghghhh"

A low growl. They had foun—

'BOOM'

I froze in fear. I needed to move, I had to— .

"Urrghhgaaa!"

'CRASH'

Crashing noises echoed outside. What was happening? Were they fighting?

The noises got louder and louder as the room trembled. Let them fight. Let them fight and forget about me, please.

Furniture crashed.

Blood spattered.

Bones cracked.

A wall crumbled somewhere.

And then...

Slowly, the noises faded. Am I safe?

It wasn't until a long while later, when the sounds had vanished completely into the night, that I dared take a deep breath.

I was sweating violently and felt on the cusp of a heart attack. My fingers felt frigidly cold and numb. I tried to relax my tensed muscles and recompose myself, but it was impossible.

What had just happened? People do not... snarl like that. Those things, they were not human. Not anymore, at least. I thought back on the stitched man I encountered in the torture chambers. He too had been feral, as if... as if his mind had been broken by something. Was that what they were doing here? Maybe torture could explain this... erratic behavior, but what about the rest — the insane strength and the exceptional hearing?

Sighing and resting my head on the sides of the wardrobe, I tried to make sense of all this. What a messed up situation, huh? One day you are living your very normal life in a very normal place and then... 'POOF! ', you appear naked, chained in a dark dungeon, surrounded by nothing but crazy cannibals. And that's it! No explanation, no tutorial, no nothing. Just you and your good old magical necklace! Why not, right?

I kept grumbling to myself like that until the urge to close my eyes overcame me.