Kane awoke to the sound of crackling wood, his head throbbing and his body heavy as if he had been asleep for a very long time. He looked around, trying to find his bearings in the unfamiliar environment. The blurred outlines of a small hut slowly came into view, with crude wooden walls and a basic layout, with a campfire lying in the centre.

Trying to get to his feet, Kane stumbled forward, dropping to the ground with a thud. Memories assaulted his mind, flooding and piercing into his mind relentlessly, experiences of a past he had never experienced. He attempted to roar, a guttural sputter coming out of his mouth as the torture continued, embedding each thought deeply into his mind.

With a heavy hand, he rose, stumbling into the washroom, confirming his worst fears.

What the…

A pair of red eyes stared back into him with an inhuman colour, a shimmering blood red. His eyes were surrounded by a void of black, an utterly inhuman face into focus. This wasn’t him, or was it? Memories of who this person was came into mind. He was a half-breed, not a demon and not human either, a being who lived in a grey zone, hidden away from humans. He recalled some facts from the event earlier; this house, his life up until now, has been hidden away in a forest with a caretaker.

His body followed in the same manner. Despite an apparent 12 years of age, the body Kane was in had larger, broader features than his memories of other human children, before he was taken away into hiding.

A dull sense of dread came across Kane’s features, realising the gravity of the situation. What was done was done, a feeling of finality upon his awakening. This wasn’t reversible. Nothing that had happened was out of the norm.

A tingling ran down Kane’s back, snapping him out of his reverie.

Something’s here

Dull thuds came at the door, followed by the skitters of creatures unknown. Peering through the wooden planks, Kane saw flashes of green. Something or some things were trying to get in.

“Goblins,”, He spoke instinctively, memories of creatures flitting into his head. Before the passing of his caretaker, both he and the child had gone hunting. The forest surrounding the hut was home to many monsters and creatures alike, with varying degrees of strength and magical ability.

Magic!

The thought was fleeting, though, as Kane was once more snapped out of his thoughts. The twats were going to break in. Kane shuddered; taking out a couple of goblins himself wasn’t a problem in this body, his memories proving himself to be a somewhat capable brawler and bowsman. The problem was the numbers. The shrieks outside only confirmed his fears. There were many, many more than he could handle.

Quick think

Panic erupted in Kane’s movement as he scattered around the house, searching desperately for something.

A bow in my room!

With memories coming to aid again, Kane shoved the door open and reached under the bed, finding a bow and a dagger. The sound of shrieks grew into a chorus of primal screams. The goblins were getting close. He could feel it. Scrambling from the floor, Kane reached for the bag on the wooden table in the hut.

Fuck

The door exploded in a package of dust and splinters. Revealing numerous green-skinned humanoids standing there, sniffing the air for something. Him. Goblins were weak creatures generally, with the frame of a young boy but with scary intelligence. Although not as smart as humans, goblins carried themselves with intuition, years of survival and fights carved into their way of living. They roamed in small packs usually, finding food to bring back to their villages. This time was different. The group of goblins outside the house was more than 15 from a glance. Kane shuddered. The goblins knew where he was and had been planning an attack for a while now. Their leathery green skin shivered in unison, spotting Kane hiding in his room.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Bollocks

With a scream, the goblins clambered forwards, stumbling and crawling over each other in a mad frenzy to get to their prey. Kane didn’t waste a second, slamming the door shut and looking for ways out. Sharp thuds bombarded the door he was holding onto, the pressure mounting as more goblins got behind the shove.

Window!

At the end of the room was a window. Not sparing a second, Kane charged across the small room, bracing himself as he leapt, well attempted to, through the window, landing on his wrist with a sharp spike of pain. The window had shattered loudly, alerting both the goblins behind his door and those outside of his location. He was royally screwed.

Getting to his feet and ignoring the throb coming from his right wrist, he pelted into the thick of the forest, goblins in his wake. His mind was racing, endless possibilities and paths, each leading to his demise, running through his head. Memories of countless years in this area of the forest served to his benefit, his legs navigating the thick brush with ease, gaining distance over.

With some space between Kane and the goblin, he started planning a way back. There were too many items back in the house to lose. Going from a run to a fast creep, Kane unsheathed his knife and waited behind a bush. After waiting a while, a lone goblin came through, Kane’s heightened senses able to smell the faint stench of rot from a distance. The goblin chittered as he crawled through the dense brush, its beady eyes scanning the forest, instilling a sense of panic in Kane’s hands, causing them to shake. His memories didn’t fully reflect his ability to hunt, just having the experiences in his mind wasn’t enough.

It’s ok.

Calming himself as the goblin came close, he perched himself into a position ready to strike, lifting his body slightly and tensing his arm. The goblin stood on a twig right in front of him, a crack hiding the sound of Kane leaping through the bush, dagger rushing down towards the unsuspecting goblin. It pierced the neck of the goblin, sinking deep into it and drawing a jet of blue arterial blood across his face. Grinning madly as he received the kill, the adrenaline rushing through his veins and the euphoria of slaying his first goblin in his new body, giving him a feeling almost orgasmic.

Removing the dagger with a squelch, Kane extracted the crystal embedded in the creature; if his memories served him right, it would be just above the eyes in the forehead. Despite the grim scene in front of him, there was no sense of disgust, no moral degradation, only excitement came across himself as he pried the gem from the goblin's head, stashing it in some form of a leather pouch he had snagged on the way out.

Let's find shelter. I don’t know what’s out there.

Kane ran through his thoughts, eventually ruling out going back to the house for at least a few days. For now, he would have to find some shelter. The forest seemed to be alive at night, the ebon trees covering his body from the numerous predators living in the woods.

Eventually, Kane stumbled upon a small cave. It wasn’t great, but it would do. From a quick inspection, it was more of a hole than a cave, with a small enough hole that only Kane or creatures smaller could fit into. Kane winced as he crawled into the hole, remembering his injured hand. Much to his surprise, he noticed the wound now only had heavy bruising surrounding it.

I heal quickly.

Heaving his tired body into the opening, Kane sighed, recalling the events during the day. From waking up to killing a goblin with his life barely intact. Eventful was one way to describe it.

“Fuck”, Kane sighed. With no real awareness of how or why he had awoken today as he did, Kane gave up thinking, his weariness winning over whatever lingering worries he had. Instead, hunger coursed through him, primal and full of longing. Recalling the feeling of the knife ending the goblin almost made him giddy. His complete dominance over the goblin showed in its beady eyes. Eventually, Kane drifted into a deep sleep, his body fatigued beyond what he had thought given the rush had died.

Tomorrow he would make it back, through hell or high water, and pack for the adventure he had in mind. Too long, Kane had been cooped up in that hut. Too long, he had been restricted from the rush of battle.