My eyes were hurting by the point I stopped blinking; that very act was what caused me pain. I couldn’t bear seeing grass that reached up to the upper part of my thigh surrounding me, allowing itself to indulge in the wind’s chilling comfort. Normally, I'd enjoy this, seeing it as some sort of comfort that comes with living in the country, away from the now-pleasant city life.

Standing up, I kept glancing from side to side, trying to figure out what had happened. "It’s a dream, it must be!"

That's what I was thinking at the time. It was quite the reassuring excuse; how else could I have gone in such a short time from my house to this forsaken place? How wrong I was...

My legs decided to take me on a ride, moving my body all around, tumbling the grass under my legs. Every blade of grass fell under my step, unable to rise back up all the way. "Yes, a dream, a pleasant one." My eyes gave up and closed, doing the wind’s bidding. I let myself be carried by the wind, like I did once in a dream. I just hope no one was there to see the way I fell, like a boulder rolling over a ledge, letting gravity take its course. Luckily, the grass was soft; otherwise, I’d have suffered more than a few bruises and cuts.

"Ouch! My face, it hurts! "It..." I cut myself off as realization hit me harder than my fall. No dream could allow one to feel pain; only the cruel reality could do that, and I was the prey of such cruelty this time around. I stumbled on my feet, forcing myself to stand up straight. My mind started rushing, thinking about everything at once, my heart thumping on my ribs, as if wanting to force them open, to break free from this insanity. I screamed, pushing every feeling out, then passed out, falling on my back.

The dead cold of the night was enough to shake me awake, forcing every inch of my muscles to start trembling. There I was, lying flat on the ground, watching a silvery moon, accompanied by what seemed to be another moon, a more greenish color, boast their might right in my face. The shivers were not the worst thing; my hunger and thirst were killing me. "Oh, great. I’m out in the middle of nowhere, hungry, thirsty, and cold. Ha, haha..."

I felt like my fate was carved in stone, and this was the end of those carvings, accepting what was soon to be. My body, on the other hand, didn’t do such a thing. A screech, not human or animal, made my hair curl up, and every feeling vanished in that instance. I stood up, watching, waiting. Whatever was out there wanted to get me, at least my instinct said so. If not for the moon’s light, I would have been a goner, unarmed and unaware of what dangers lurked around.

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Feeling my way under the grass, a rock came to be my weapon of choice. Not the best, but a blunt hit might do something. Steps, quick and rapid, circled around me. I readied my weapon, keeping it ready. Closer, closer, rattling more and more, faster and faster. Then silence. Right as I thought the thing was about to get me, silence akin to that of a cemetery at night fell over the whole place. Sweat dripped from my brow, blood pumping through my veins.

Zipt! I turned around, bashing whatever that thing was right in the head with a quick motion. It fell to the ground, but not before toppling me over. I forced it aside with another strike, followed by another one aimed to the same place. My eyes shook, trembling with every breath, looking at the blood on my hands, shirt and the lifeless body of something I had never before seen. As big as a dog, perhaps slightly bigger, a mouth larger than what would have been normal, with teeth like that of a saw, and two horns, one on one side of the mouth, and one on the other. What freaked me out the most, though, was a lack of eyes. I turned around, gagging, puking, a whole mess.

After my brief crisis had passed, I put myself face to face with the deceased being.I had no clue what to do with it, except getting the horns. "Might come in handy," I thought as I used my rock to break the horns apart.By the end of it all, I was fighting another puking session, forcing it down. I must get used to it, those were my thoughts. I decided to keep the rock, it fit my hand quite well, and who knew what else was lurking around.

My resolve made, I braced for my journey in the unknown place I’ve found myself into.

"Which way should I go?"

My gaze crept around, looking aimlessly in the dark nothingness of the night.

"Well, I might as well go any way I want," and so I did.

By this point, the eerie feelings of hunger, thirst, and coldness were back. That's exactly what anyone lost in the middle of nowhere would want. My only hope lay in there being a human settlement somewhere, that or a source of food and water I could use.

I’ve always had a bit of an athletic side, yet never did I expect walking to be this tiresome after some time. My legs were shaking, and the moon had completed quite a big part of its cycle. I only had my hope to cling to, yet not a trace of humanity was within sight. That was, until I heard some more screaming. Out of nowhere, in the distance, fire rose up, as if from thin air. My first instinct was to go there, check for signs of life, yet the bit of rationality left within me told me to stay hidden. Screams were there for a reason, and fire where there should be none is alarming as it is.

Nobody could see me hidden beneath the grass, lying on my stomach, or so I hoped. The screams went on for a few more minutes, during which I could barely breath, shaking with fear. Oh, what I’d have given during that time to be back home.