The prey were blocking me in. There were lots of sounds, thumping, scraping. I tried opening the door. But it didn’t budge. The little bit of light that came from the slit underneath, it disappeared. Something was blocking it. The prey, they didn’t want me to leave. Were they planning on keeping me here forever? Starve me to mindlessness? After I killed the two new prey that came, the other prey must’ve wanted to flee. But why would they flee from their territory when they know I’m not going to leave my chokepoint? It makes sense for them to block me in.

That’s why, I’ll dig out. The floor is solid. There’s no point in digging a hole down then back up. I’ll cut down the wall. I have the wood-cutting tool. The walls are made of wood. Simple. It’s a bit loud. I think the prey will notice. But even if they do, what can do they? Come in to stop me? They’ve already shown they aren’t going to do that. Once I create an opening, I can use it as a chokepoint since the door is blocked. I don’t know how easy it is for the prey to unblock it. I may be exposing myself, may be putting myself in danger. But if the prey want to trap me inside, I have to respond appropriately, escape outside.

The wall isn’t hard to cut. There isn’t much room for swinging. But there’s enough. The wall isn’t only made of wood. There’s some material holding it together. It’s too dark to see. But the material isn’t that strong. The wood-cutting tool is enough to break it. Light is pouring in through a crack. The room is connected to the outside. I’ll stop cutting for now, wait a bit, hear if the prey are saying anything.

There aren’t any voices. But there’s footsteps. Very muffled. They’re walking inside the building. Then, they leave behind a sound on the other side of the door. Like they’re dropping something inside the room. It must be what they’re using to barricade the door. That’s fine. I’ll continue cutting. I should cut the wall evenly: wear down all sides so that they only need one cut each to be broken. That way, the wall will fall all at once. It’s better that way to avoid catching the preys’ attentions. It’s already loud as is.

It took a while, enough time to get hungry. But the wall’s carved down enough to only need a few more swings to break. The sounds from outside are still coming. The prey are cutting down trees, using the wood to barricade me in. Too bad for them, it was a waste of time. While they cut down the trees, I cut down the wall. Now, when the footsteps walk out and away from the building, I’ll break out. But I wonder if the prey have noticed my actions. What if they trapped me in there to force me to leave? It doesn’t matter. It’s my only option either way. I can only prepare myself. If I were the prey, I’d have a bow waiting to shoot me. I’ll cut the wall, make it weak enough for one kick to push it out. I’ll hold up one of the prey’s body as a shield. I’m not as strong as Big Other. But if it’s only for a moment, I can hold up a dead prey to crouch behind.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The footsteps have disappeared. Now’s the time. I kicked the wall. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times. Maybe I should’ve cut deeper. I kicked the wall again. It groaned. It groaned more as the top portion tilted. It cracked, splintered, the portion I cut separating from the rest, top down. With a crash, the wall collapsed, light streaming into the room. I hid behind the body. But no arrows came. I shifted over, peering outside. It wasn’t an ambush. The prey weren’t waiting. I pushed the dead prey out. If there were any hidden traps, the prey would fall through the ground. But there weren’t any. Did the prey really not expect me to exit? They’re supposed to be smart.

I readied my bow, prepared an arrow, pressing it against the string, ready to raise and shoot at any moment. There aren’t any prey nearby to attack me the instant I exit. I stepped on top of the dead prey’s body. I crouched, stuck one leg out, used it to tap the ground around myself. There really weren’t any hidden traps. But there were less bodies. The prey weren’t cutting down trees. They were dragging bodies inside to barricade the door. There’s bloody trails leaving disgusting smells all over the ground.

But now that I’m outside, what do I do? Find another room to hide in? I only thought to do what the prey didn’t want me to do. But I didn’t plan what to do after. I’ll scout around, assess the situation. Too bad I don’t have any small reflective surfaces I can use to peak around corners without exposing myself. I’ll just have to move slowly, slow enough to not draw attention. I checked around the corner of the building. There was a prey dragging a dead body. It was alone. Do I attack? I should. Unless I want to escape the garrison without being noticed. But to do that, I’ll need to find a motorcycle. And the keys will be on the prey. Escape isn’t an option. I have to fight.

Twang!

I’m getting better. The arrow hit the prey’s leg, above its knee, below its hips, right where I was aiming for. Killing the prey is unnecessary, crippling it is much more practical, less chance of missing. There’s only one neck. But there’s two legs. The prey screamed. Prey ran out of the building, heading towards the injured prey. They hadn’t found my location yet.

Twang!

Another prey down. But the rest have noticed me. They pointed at me. But instead of rushing at me, they crouched down, grabbed the injured preys’ arms, dragged them away. It’s a good thing I only injured them instead of killing them. They’re slower when pulling the prey. Slow enough for one more arrow before they disappear from sight.

Twang!