An unknown amount of time had passed without eating even a morsel of food, and his stomach was starting to hurt. Worse yet, the longer he continued, the weaker Charlie felt - he needed to eat, and soon.

Charlie had continued moving forward, darting between groups unseen and undetected. The Cults patrols were thick now, the number of their members increasing dramatically with time. Their numbers rarely left gaps between patrols that Charlie could exploit, and was forced to make too many hasty decisions for his own liking - too many and Charlie was bound to be caught eventually.

The temptation to use [Hollow Fang] on the humans was sometimes a little too much, the hunger pains in his stomach started to make him a little delirious, but he held on and banished the insane thoughts as quickly as they emerged. Even if he wasn't noticed and successfully killed one, there was no chance of him being able to consume a whole human body without being found.

Charlie was getting desperate - the deeper he delved into the darkness, the less hopeful he became. Dreams of finding an exit were almost completely forgotten - the stone room felt impossibly large, too big to ever cross in a single trip. There were even wind currents powerful enough to shift the darkness, but never enough to clear it to help him see.

Charlie had been following this particular group of humans for a while now, and for once, they had taken a path that didn't involve meeting other people. Charlie hoped that they would be the key to his escape, but the longer he spent following, the worse his mood soured.

That was until the darkness began to part. Elation erupted from Charlie's heart for a split second, before his logic kicked it back down. Even if Charlie felt overjoyed by the simple sight of the ground before him, he knew better than that. If he could see, so could the humans.

It had become even more dangerous to keep following them - yet there was simply no choice. Charlie didn't have a clue as to where he needed to go, and the humans before him were his only way out.

Gritting his teeth at the injustice of the situation, Charlie continued forward. As always.

These days, all Charlie wished for was the calm life back in the cave. At least there he knew where he stood, and the environment he was in. If death came, at least he would see it.

As the darkness cleared, sound and light returned with great intensity, the bright contrast stung Charlie's underused eyes. Sounds of shovels digging, men shouting something in the distance and the bleats of animals filled the air. Light cast down through the misty fog like a beacon on a stormy light, powerful golden rays penetrated the darkness and filled Charlie's scales with warmth.

Charlie's heart rate increased by the second, he could barely believe it, surely his own eyes lied to him.

I'm... Outside?

The blue sky above, covered in thin wispy clouds, and it's beautiful golden sun were like a picture straight out of a dream. It was almost too beautiful to be real, too distant of an idea to believe.

Yet, as unbelievable as it was, he couldn't deny the truth that surrounded him from all sides.

Quickly scanning his surroundings, Charlie could see a plethora animals carrying large wheelbarrows of dirt and stone, of workers on an open dirt field working and chatting amongst each other. The workers that weren't in the middle of a conversation were digging up the ground in a wide area with shovels, but, something was strange about the picture.

Stolen story; please report.

While most of the workers, drenched in sweat and grime, used their physical bodies to shovel up the dirt, some were simply standing there with their arms crossed, or lazily held in their pockets. Well, that wasn't quite right. They didn't simply stand there, instead, much like the man that mysteriously made the pen write for him, the shovels moved themselves and dug into the dirt without a muscle needing to be moved.

Even though it wasn't Charlie's first time seeing an object have a mind of its own, it still made him pause for a moment. It was simply too bizarre of a sight! How easy life would have been if the work did itself?

Tearing himself away from the mystifying, and frustrating, image, Charlie searched for a safe path through all of these humans. He'd have time to observe the men working from a distance, if he could survive the escape attempt.

The field had been sloped at a relatively sharp angle, probably searching for the entrance into the mysterious tunnels Charlie had just come from. They were probably clearing out the area for one reason or another, so finding an escape route through would be difficult, if not impossible.

The sun was high in the sky, almost directly above Charlie. It was too bright, and there were simply too many people working out in the open for him to find a safe route. He was too close to successfully escaping to make any hasty decisions - instead, Charlie will wait out the day within the cover of the impenetrable darkness and wait for night to fall.

Before slithering back into the dark, Charlie assessed how close he was to the nearest wall and decided to get a bit closer. In his mind, having fewer directions to worry about was a boon he could not overlook , and having his back to the wall felt a bit more comforting, anyway.

Charlie didn't have enough information, nor time, to understand the routes the humans would take throughout their work day, so he focused entirely on what he could control. The scents, sights and sounds of everything around him - none would escape his gaze.

The sun was still high up, so he would have to wait for a while for night to arrive - Charlie hoped that his stomach would hold out until then. It hurt, but it could still be endured for the time being.

And so, Charlie waited. He waited for hours, stretching his mind to its utmost limits and balancing between focusing on his surroundings, and his stomach. The hunger pains were starting to really hurt, and Charlie was starting to feel anxious. The few people that passed nearby were no better help to his already strained mind, either. But, he was given a bit of time to think about his situation.

Even if he got out of the dirt pit, Charlie couldn't be certain where he had emerged from exactly. The slope was too steep to see anything beyond the high walls. The only hope Charlie still had was that this place was close to the forest, and not inside a human settlement.

Eventually, night fell. Charlie periodically left the depths of the thick darkness to check roughly what time of day it had been, and night had finally come - it was time for his long overdue escape.

Even though the workers had finished up earlier, Charlie did not want to leave anything up to chance. If he got caught now, at the final leg of his escape, it would spell his death in no uncertain terms.

Slowly, Charlie slithered out from the dark grasp of the impenetrable shadows and could finally feel the cool evening breeze gently wash over his scales. It was revitalising, and Charlie felt a new wave of energy fill his body.

Charlie couldn't help but increase his pace, anxiety and excitement in equal measure filled each one of his movements, bringing him closer and closer to the escape. Over the dirt slope, Charlie could see the green tips of trees line the horizon, and a seed of hope wormed it's way into his heart.

There were no strange scents, no people that he could see and everything was silent, there was no better chance. Charlie stood atop the slope, and let out a shaky breath.

Charlie had made it. He had finally completed his long and arduous journey, badly clinging on to life by the skin of his fangs - he survived the near insurmountable encounters and was rewarded with the sweetest freedom.

The great forest was in view, and Charlie took in its majestic sight with a new appreciation for the thick foliage. The once terrifying home of an innumerable amount of alien creatures, now welcomed him back with dreams of safety.

Without wasting another moment, Charlie dove into the underbrush and allowed himself to be overrun with joy and excitement for the first time since coming to this foreign world.

The sensation of leaves caressing his scales, the soft grass and dirt below - he was home!

The simple sensations he had once taken for granted felt like heaven on his stressed mind. Charlie promised himself to never forget about the simplest pleasures in times of peace, even if it didn't feel that way in the moment.

Finally... I'm starving!