The screams, the stench of decay, faces sunken in, rivers of bile and blood, gore schelching beneath my feet. Up in the skies a cursed green moon shines an eerie light, i look down, to the vile scene of this unholy puddle, but what gazes back isn't me, it's a white skeleton draped in dark robes. The thing appears to be gazing at me, and oddly enough, i think he is smiling, if a bare skull can smile that is.

I stare back for what feels like hours of unending tension, I feel uncofortable istaring at this... thing—if it can even call that. The skeleton tilts its head, streaches it's hand to the bloody surface in slow paced movements. To my surprise, the bony hand erupts out and grabs my ankle tightly, so tightly it hurts. Soon enough his other hand holds my remaining ankle, his 'smlle' grows and he yanks me downward. I start sinking into the blood sea, I flail around violently, desperately trying to get out of it's grasp, and I fail miserably as I only start sinking faster.

By the time the blood seeps into my mouth, my heart is pounding so violently that the veins in my ears pop like little embers in a fireplace. Slowly but surely I feel like I'm drowning in this gory mess.

Despair sinks in...

I try to scream as loudly as I can, but nothing comes out.

The skeleton appear again in front of me, reaching his hand towards my chest. Pain bursts ou as his claw-like fingers sink into my thorax, wrapping around my heart tightly, he squeezes it, once, twice... until everything goes black.

I wake up screaming at the top of my lungs, my throat raw, my body utterly drenched in cold sweat. But even as I gasp for air... I swear I can still feel his grip on my heart.

Looking around the room in a daze I notice someone staring at me, a woman I'm rather familiar with, my friend Lisanna. She looks at me in a funny way, she then sighs and comes near with a wet towel in hand.

"You gave us quite a scare."

She says in a soft tone while wiping my forehead with the towel. It's a sweet feeling being taken care of by her...

Away!

Vile thoughts!

You lost that one already...

"How long was I out for? And what the hell happened?"

"You were like that for a day, as for the rest... that's actually something we hoped you would answer, you just went out cold out of nowhere."

We? Who's we?

She's looking at me in a funny way... There is something off happening here. Then I notice her eyes trembling a bit, I blink and it's gone.

I'm just paranoid... I guess that dream really got to me huh?

"I don't know what happened, I started feeling uneasy, I look upwards at the moon and that's it."

"I see... well you should rest a bit more."

"Bah! I can rest when I'm dead."

I get up slowly from the bead, wary that I don't make too sudden of a move, as despite my bravado I still feel a bit weak. I put on my boots, grab my trusty chicken slaughterer and look at Lisanna.

"Shall we?"

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"I guess if you feel fine, then it's your choice to make."

When I was about to leave the houuse she stopped me. She grabbed me by the shoulders and shot me a nasty glare.

"Surely you're not trying to say that you are going to go out to work without eating for an entire day, are you?"

I smiled nervously. Sweat once more dripping from my back.

"Well i guess I'm not really that hungry... Lot's of chicken to butcher and all that you know? My work is important, can't have the good folk getting their dinner delayed for good ol' me!"

"I know your work is important, that's why Roy is taking care of it, now stop stalling and sit."

I try to get out as fast as I can, but her hands clasp tighter on my shoulders and i swear I can see a vein pop on her forehead. She pulls me forcefully and sits me down in front of the tabble, then she turns around and goes to the pot. I hear a ploping sound behind me and my stomach twists and turns weridly.

"Quick question though... who cooked?"

"Naturally I did. You know Roy can't cook, unleass you call that slop food."

"Haha yeah you're right..."

She puts the bowl in front of me and sticks a spoon on it, sitting besides me and staring at me intently. I smile weirdly and start eating the food, the momment it touches my tongue all i can feel is the taste of ashes, my brows furrow quickly and I'm left staring at the bowl in confusion.

I was always quite fond of Lisanna's food, maybe i was biased yes but... even with the simplicity of it, her food was something to look forward to. This isn't what I remember, know that I think about it, I can't smell it...

What the hell? I can't smell it... Why can't I smell it?

My hands trembled slightly, my eyes shaking a bit, unease sinking into my heart.

What's going on... What's going on... What's going on...

I feel a warm pair of soft hands over my trembling one. I look up in a haze and I see my friend's tender gaze.

"I know it might be a bit bitter then what you're used to, the village elder said to put a bit of medicine on it."

She smiled apologetically.

"Yeah bitter... Not really used to it, but it's alright, thank you for doing all of this."

My eyes avert from hers, the guilt from lying to her sinking in, but more than that the strangeness of it all. I spent a whole day lying down, yet I'm not hungry, I'm eating a food that I've always been fond of, yet all I can taste is ash, there is a whole fucking pot of food in the house, yet I can't smell anything.

What is happening to me?

I grit my teeth and eat the rest of the food, swallowing it quickly, trying to keep it away from my tongue as much as I can. At the corner of my eyes Lisanna eases up at me wolfing down the food, her shoulders seeming like a giant weight has been lifted from them, after I finish eating Lisanna hands me a cup of clean water. I take it and start to drink, in the hopes of washing down the ashen taste, instead of the predicted refreshing feeling of the cool water washing down my gullet, it actually flows down burning my tongue and my throat, I tear up but still force myself to drink the bloody thing, despite the pain. Handing back the cup to her i get up and go out of the house while thanking her for care.

I walk in quick strides, desperately trying to find some desolate corner, every second feels like torture, every step makes the food and water in my oesophagus churn, deepening my agony. When I do find somewhere safe, I retch violently, vomiting everything along with a sticky black bile. Finally I feel 'normal' again.

What is this?

I cover up the unholy mess with dirt and decide to work and keep it away from my mind.

I walk around the village trying to find Roy and relieve him of 'my' work so that I can do it myself. While doing it I notice the gazes of the rest of the villagers are more distant than the usual one.

Odd.

Soon enough i find the hulking mass of muscles that i call a friend walking around with his hands stained in blood, for a split second I can almost see that blood as my own, a quick and fleeting nonsensical thought but my world crumbles down with it...

"Hey Kael! How are you feeling? Doing better now? You were tossing and turning in your sleep."

"Ah... I'm alright thank you. But can I handle the rest of the work? I feel uneasy with having nothing to do."

"Sure thing buddy, I should check up on Lis, she didn't catch a wink this whole time. I should make sure she gets some rest."

Yeah right... you're going to help her rest alright. My world turns red, like that sea of blood, for a second and I can see the bony hand from my dreams, streching out and squashing Roy's head like a rottten apple, a sense of satisfaction washes over me...

"Hey Kael!"

I blink and it is all gone, the red world, the bone hand and Roy's dead body. My mind turns when i remember how I felt when watching it all, I curse myself for feeling that way, scurrying to respond to Roy.

"Yeah I was just lost for a second there... Wasn't ready for the sickening lovey-dovey aura around you that's all."

"Haha, well then see you later."

He walks past me and disappears in the distance.

The hell just happened?