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The sound of feet on the concrete resounded through the streets. Excited voices fill the surrounding area. 

School was out for the summer. Children chattering to their friends about their summer plans, walking home to see their families through the crowded streets. 

Turning down the street towards his house, Valentyn, a boy of only 10, walks down a quiet road, book in hand. Dressed in a button-down, knee-length shorts, socks that came short of reaching his knees, shiny dress shoes, and a tan sweater vest, his attire matched all the other children filing out of the elementary school. 

He walked under the trees, small wisteria flowers covering the ground. The sunlight walk complimented his good mood, immersed in the pages of his story, mind conjuring a hero on a grand adventure. Swords slashing, creatures unknown to his world, magic flying, heroes declaring their victory. 

Hearing feet running towards him, he looks over the top of his book, spotting a few adults and children running in the opposite direction, causing him to look up. The adults whisper words to the children, keeping them quiet with words of encouragement. 

They pass by him, not acknowledging him, almost like he was a ghost. He hears the words ‘safe’ and ‘go to the school.’

He looks back at them, wondering why they were running towards the school. School was over and there was no reason to go back to the building. 

‘Maybe they forgot something?’

While watching them, the wind seems to get colder, almost like a warning, a chill running down his spine at that, instinct telling him trouble is near. 

Turning away from the road, he sees a bush to his right. 

‘Hiding is easier than running. I’m already close to my house. I’ll stay until I see whatever is down there and then head home,’ He decides, curiosity winning over instinct. He walks over to a bush and crouches down, trying the hide himself as much as possible. ‘…I want to know what’s down there.’ 

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. 

A creature comes down the road, straight towards his hiding spot, seeming to have followed the adults and children from earlier.

 His eyes widened. The figure was unlike he had ever seen before, reminding him of the goblins from his book. 

A pig-like head with long tusks and a muscular build. It seemed tall, taller than any person or creature he had seen before, with grotesque skin hanging from different parts of its body, flesh poking out underneath. Stitches littered its body, almost like someone had tried to put it back together, with little success. 

The smell of rotting flesh coming from the monster was getting stronger with every step, causing nausea in the boy. 

‘What is that?’

He thought, sweat dripping down his neck, nerves on fire. The creature looked like it came straight out of those RPG video games he would play during the summer. His hands fly over his mouth as his breathing speeds up, trying his hardest to keep his breathing as silent as possible. 

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A woman comes around the corner of the road, scrolling through her phone. Valentyn faintly thought that she should be more aware of her surroundings, especially when walking home. 

 A loud squeal comes from the Goblin, a piercing sound, hurting his ears from the intensity. The creature was standing a few feet away from his bush, the woman at the other end of the street. 

The woman looked up in shock, taking a few steps back. She seemed to type something into her phone, probably emergency services. The phone slipped from her shaking hands. A scream reverberated through the air as the woman turned tail and ran the other way. 

 It was for naught because the Goblin chased after her, bringing its axe down on her, a horrible squelching noise accompanying it as it tore through her flesh. Blood splashed the ground around her body as she took her last breath. 

There were a few other screams from further down the road as people went back into the buildings, abandoning their stuff and heading to safety.

His body shakes at the sight, the smell of blood and rotting flesh filling the air. Against his will, bile rises in his throat. 

“Hrrk” 

The creature looks towards his bush, sniffing the air. It charges towards him, and the axe rises in the air when it catches his scent. 

He sprints from the bush, terrified at the thought of dying like the woman from before. The axe barely missed him, implanting itself where he had been sitting. He sprints toward his house, praying to make it before the goblin creature reaches him. 

‘I’ll make it home and Mom and Dad will be there with Lily and I’ll be safe. I’ll wake up from this nightmare and find myself in bed. I’ll wake up to pancakes and everyone surrounding the table. We will talk about how we slept and I can talk to them about this nightmare.’ 

His thoughts were spiraling out of control, trying to reassure himself that this was just an awful nightmare, even as terror racked every part of his body. This felt too real to be a nightmare. He couldn’t stop the tears that came with that thought. 

The Goblin right behind him squealed with fury, bringing its axe down mere feet from Valentyn. Missing again, it stuck into the ground, giving Valentyn a chance to widen the gap between him and the monster. 

He stopped before his house, eyes widening at the destruction before him. Tears streamed down his face, thoughts going blank. He stepped backward, feet tangling on each other. He fell onto his butt, curling into himself, knees to his chest. The creatures had destroyed his house.

‘I refused to believe they are dead. They can’t be, they just can’t. I bet they found a way out and are safe.’ His mind seemed to freeze at that thought, refusing to believe his family was gone. 

He barely registered the Goblin raising its weapon at him, caught up in his grief and reassurances. He turns his head, tears blurring his vision as he watches the axe, his body frozen in place. 

Time seemed to slow down in these last moments. 

‘I don’t want to die. Please… I want to see my family again!’ 

His mind screamed, pleading. He slammed his eyes shut, not wanting the grotesque monster to be the last thing he saw before his death. 

The surrounding air stilled, smoke filling the air. He opened his eyes at the sound of metal screeching together. The axe was right above him, being held up by a black sword, made of a material he didn’t recognize. He noticed the sword being held in the hands of a man, one who looked no older than 25.

He fell back on his hands, hitting his back on the chest of the older man who was crouching behind him. As he looked at the man, he saw his eyes fall on him. Piercing golden eyes stared back at him, jet-black hair fluttering through the air. 

The man looked strikingly similar to Valentyn himself, almost like an adult version of the little boy. 

“Cover your ears.”

That was all he heard before the sword screeched along the axe. His hands slammed over his ears as the man pushed the goblin back in a feat of strength that shouldn’t be possible for a human being. A loud squeal filled the air, the goblin raging about its kill being ruined. 

The man grabbed him and put him under his arm before smoke filled the area again. He felt his eyes struggling to stay open, his emotional and physical exhaustion catching up to him. His body relaxed as he succumbed to his exhaustion and let sleep take him.