N1, Awakening.

Munch, munch, munch.

“…”

“Blaargh.”

‘Ugh, that tasted awful.’

I was eating something disgusting, but at the moment that was nothing more than an insignificant detail.

‘This place... I don’t recognize it.’

I was in a huge vaulted hallway made out of large stone blocks, the place was damp and had a gloomy atmosphere. Some kind of dark green moss started growing halfway up the walls and covered most of their upper half and the ceiling.

‘I’m… Underground?’

The hallway slowly turned left making it impossible to see what lay ahead. I wanted to take some time to recall why I was in this place, but I couldn’t keep ignoring the animal sounds coming from behind.

I slowly turned around, my mind felt sluggish, and my body moved awkwardly. Finally, I was able to see where the noises were coming from.

‘Rats! Huge rats!’

A pack of enormous brown rats came into sight, they were frantically moving around, their long tails wriggling like snakes. Other than their size, they weren't much different from the ones I knew, but that was enough to overwhelm me, for each of them seemed to be as big as me.

I was frozen in place, the horror made me unable to avert my eyes from the sight in front of me. Thankfully the beasts didn’t seem aware, or most probably, concerned by my presence, they were focused on something big that was laying in the middle of the pack.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

I knew what was happening here, but for some reason, my mind was unable to process it all at once.

‘They are eating… something…’

As I watched the scene unfold, little by little, my brain managed to piece together the reality of my situation. Those rats were devouring whatever lay in their midst and I would be the next meal if one of them decided to turn its attention on me.

‘I have to flee!’

Finally, my mind managed to reach a conclusion. I was in a very dangerous place and had to run away fast if I didn’t want to die right there.

Once again I started to move my body, but my hands and feet seemed to hamper each other. I panicked and all I managed to do was to tumble head-first onto the ground.

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‘Shit!’

Despite barely moving I was breathing heavily due to fear.

‘Alright, cool down.’

The fall wasn’t hard, I needed to calm down a bit. I realized I had been crouched all along and had to get up if I wanted to run. I tried to move one more time, but my limbs weren’t moving the right way. Frustration started to build up and it soon overtook the fear.

‘Damn it, move!’

I was struggling on the floor, unable to get up.

‘I must have been drugged.’

As I began to ponder about the possibility that I had been poisoned I heard shouts coming from the other side of the pack of rats. Whoever it was, his voice had a tone of urgency.

Soon after I heard the sound of steps and the rattling of metal. Every noise seemed to rumble in the stone hallway.

‘Oh!’

I cheered internally and stopped moving. I could tell a group of people was coming, I only needed to wait a few moments and I would be safe. Rather than writhe on the cold floor it was better to stay quiet and avoid alerting any of the rats.

Calmer now, I paid more attention to the pack of beasts. They kept moving around, looking for the best spots to feed. As the rats moved around I began to discern what they were eating, it was something very large and long. While I tried to appease my disgust at the revolting scene the details slowly became clear.

‘No way…’

I realized with horror that the rats weren’t eating the corpse of an enormous beast, but the body of a gigantic human. I could tell the shape of a pair of leather boots and torn pieces of cloth. The head was completely surrounded by the beasts, but I clearly distinguished a half-eaten hand inside a torn glove.

Unrest was once again swelling up inside me, and my breath turned ragged. Meanwhile, the sounds of the people approaching were growing thunderous. The shouts became deafening, the steps shook the floor, and the gritting of metal made my body stiffen.

The hallway was becoming blindingly bright. Finally, gigantic human shapes came into sight from within the hurtful light, I was unable to make out any features before shielding my eyes from the brightness.

I could hear the giants’ loud voices, they were talking with each other. I felt a tone of grimness from their words, but I was unable to tell what they were saying, and only managed to pick up a few familiar-sounding words.

Soon the noise of a fight broke out. The shrieks of the rats and the yells of the giants got mixed with the sound of thorn flesh and the thuds of crashed bodies.

I forced my eyes open and bore witness to the carnage in from of me. The huge rats, which measured up to the giants’ knees, were getting stabbed by big spears. If one managed to get closer they were kicked by heavy boots, and the few bolder ones that jumped against the warriors were bashed by wooden shields.

The one-sided massacre didn’t last long, soon all the rats that had survived the carnage began to flee or laid wounded on the floor.

As things calmed down the giant warriors took vigilant positions around one of their members. Meanwhile, that individual approached the body of the giant lying on the ground and began rummaging around what was left of the corpse’s clothes.

A moment later the warrior inspecting the body began talking again, this time his tone sounded calmer. I vaguely recognized a few words, but their meaning escaped me once again.

After rummaging for a while the giant suddenly stopped, taking a small pouch in his hands. He grew silent and I saw his expression change from a stern look into an enraged one. He stood up and shouted something to the other warriors.

“Split them open!” This time I finally managed to recognize some of the words.

After hearing the last sentence, the other warriors began to move. A couple of them used their spears to finish the rats that lay wounded on the ground, while another took out a knife and proceeded to cut the rats’ corpses from the neck down, spilling their innards.

As I watched them do this I noticed a gaze on me. The giant giving the orders was looking my way. I realized that so far none of the warriors had paid any attention to me. I felt compelled to say something, but no word came out of my mouth.

“Shriik.”

A cold sensation took over my body.

Some thought tried to push its way from the back of my brain, but I was unable to pay any attention to it. I could only watch in shock as the warrior slowly approached me.

Once he came closer he raised a menacing spear, despite it, all my attention was focused on the warrior’s eyes, they were telling me I was just a fleeting thought in his mind.

Some part of me was blaring that I should run, but I didn’t move, it was already too late. The spear fell and everything went dark.