Panicked, I hid in the only possible location, the bottom of the cleaning cart. There is no way I can use the secret technique. I do not know the layout and cannot run back to the room for fear of leading them there. It is way too risky.

  Veiled by a cloth that draped over the sides of the cloth, I covered my mouth in ancipiation. For a few minutes, I waited in quiet agony until the doors to which I first entered the room in swung open. Even though I could only see their legs, that was enough to confirm that I would die if they found me. They were hulking, green something or another going by their legs.

  One pair of legs stood out. They strongly contrasted with the rest. They were skinny and covered in black pinstripe pants along with black shoes. I swore I could of heard quiet giggling from their direction.

  The green legs fanned out through the room and thankfully ignored the cleaning cart. Finding nothing, they turned to the frail legs before suddenly flooding through the hallway where the butler went oddly. The thin legs went in the same direction yet stopped moving when passing by the cart. “So you want to play hide and seek, human? Do not worry, this will be between us, I will not tattle on you. I will give you an hour to find a better spot than this.” Cackling, he left.

  My heart was still recovering as he existed with a loud slam from the door. It was like a shard of ice stabbed my heart. I… well… but… I cannot think of anything. The dominating terror left no room for rational thought. This was a demon, a fucking demons. A strong one at that seeing that it seems to be a leader of some sort. If it finds me, and it very well will probably, I stand no chance. This is a foe that I cannot win against. My tactics of trickery are useless in the face of an overwhelming force. An ant cannot hope to take down an elephant by itself no matter what it may do. It was like staring down that truck all over again. I do not want to die like this. What may they do to my body? The blood on the table earlier was not a sign of a good fate for my corpse. What if they eat me? These questions went on and on and I was trapped within my own mind.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Twenty minutes had passed until I started to reign in the tide of worry and fright flooding my thoughts. I am… ok… I need... to think. While fear still gripped my heart, some semblance of logic returned to my head. Well… perhaps the best way... to hide is in… plain sight. Would he expect me to hide this way? If I get… a disguise then… maybe? Laughing to comfort myself, I crawled out of the cart and reactivated my ‘sneak.’

  I stalked down the hallway, putting my ear to each door to figure out if they are occupied or not. I heard countless sounds: gurgles, growls, groans, and various others. What the fuck.

  This hall is endless, room upon room lined it. Some leaked goo while others blood. Some had a chorus of sounds while others was one single being. Undead butlers and maids scurried about with what could vaguely be called food. Many plates were filled with intestines and the soups filled with blood. I am not sure if their senses are lacking or my sneak works well on them as they seemingly ignore me. I guess I do look like a zombie with all these wounds and paler skin from blood loss. They may just think I am one of them. While it does not feel the best to look like an undead, I will take what I can get.

  I finally find a room with no noise and entered with my dagger just in case. It was a pristine kitchen without filth. A few small monster corpses sat on cutting boards to be used in meals. However, it turned out it was not empty and I found the bone butler from earlier.

  Holding up my dagger, I pointed it at the skeleton who looked more scared than myself. “Sorry but, mind if I borrow that suit?”