The unnamed town became a graveyard as a swarm of mutated human-rat hybrids swarmed, leaving death in their wake.

The size of small men, the rats were thin, but fast… some even still wearing the torn clothing from the time they were still human. Their beady eyes appeared dead, and the sound they made, like human screeching intermingled with rat chattering—

It still haunts my dreams to this day.

Before I knew it, I hid under a small ledge outside a nearby home. The wooden beams shielded me from sight, but I still clutched the dagger to my chest so hard my hand hurt.

Suddenly, the tranquility of the once peaceful town shattered as the screams of the fallen rang out. The wererats engaged with the town defenders, but there were far too few. The wererats quickly overcame, swarming past and entering the homes.

Women and children fled, but none could match the speed of the creatures—their dagger-like claws cutting slices in the backs of those who tried and failed.

One particularly large rat wrapped a tail around a young woman’s neck. Her child, clutching her hand, fell back, horror plain in those wide eyes.

She was slowly strangled by that whip-like tail, and when she lay dead on the ground, it fell upon her with a ravenous hunger.

Ganvil bellowed a roar nearby as he took a nasty rake to the side. But, undaunted, he drove his sword through the creature’s mouth and out the back of its head, blood exploding from the exposed brain as it fell off the tip of his red-soaked blade.

The boy still watched as his mother or sister was eaten. The creature had moved to the intestines, playfully devouring them like overstuffed sausage links.

"Get over here!" Ganvil called, and, surprisingly, the boy listened, turning from his loved one, determined to survive.

My breath caught in my throat at the carnage and my hand shook as I searched for my cigs… They weren’t there.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered to myself, half for my survival and half for my addiction. I knew that if one of those creatures had a lit cigarette, I would fight them to the death for it. That’s it! It’s time to admit I have a problem.

“Alright!” I screamed into the blood carnage sky, “that's what I was supposed to learn, right? Cigarettes are bad for you. Addiction is ugly. I get it now, I’ll buy the patch. Please, god… whoever or whatever you are. Let me wake up!”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like an idiot as the enormous wererat, still feasting on the woman, heard my cowardly call. Its ripped ear rose at the sound of my voice—

My stupid fucking voice.

“Oh, fuck me,” I said as noticed it sliding toward me. Leveling my knife forward, I forced myself to stand tall, but, even still, it stood a head taller than me.

The wererat, still holding the limp body of the dead woman, flung her aside, blood and guts spilling out as the body struck the ground. Unburdened, sharp teeth bared, already gorged from the blood of the woman it had half-eaten, the creature charged me.

This is it… I thought, Time to die.

The Dragon invaded my thoughts, shoving my doubts aside. “Nonsense, coward!” The Dragon roared in delight. “In your world, you’re weak! But here—here you have me. Together… We are strong!”

Inexplicably, like having a flood of water thrown on me, I felt a power awaken, and, like that, I knew:

My life would never be the same.

My body reacted on its own as I searched frantically for something to hide in; something to distract my enemy.

But, deep down, I knew the truth: My idiocy had finally killed me.

I heard Ganvil call out for me, but I couldn’t identify from where his voice came. The creature was here now, its fur fluffed out to make itself look even larger than before. From this vantage, I could see the long, blade-like claws in full, horrifying glory. Blood caked them still, and I noticed a long piece of torn skin slide down another finger, falling to the ground with a splat.

With little else to do, I raised my knife with a trembling hand, leveling it towards the wererat. It slowly circled me, as if it could sense danger, and was smart enough to appreciate it, waiting for the opportunity to strike cleanly into my warm flesh.

We circled each other for a time, like two dancers at a middle school formal; awkwardly. Then, without warning, the creature lashed out with a slash, as if to test how I would react. At the threat of the attack, time slowed around me; the creature’s muscles twitched, the shoulder swayed sideways, its eyes fixated. I could see the strike in its entirety and knew by instinct how to evade it.

The attack passed by harmlessly as I stepped back. Undaunted, they struck again—another dodge. One more slash, and I dodged again, this time, striking the creature’s hand with the knife in retaliation. I felt the blade glancing off one of the creature’s nails, a clinging of metal on bone breaking in the air. It scurried back a step, hissing at me.

I smiled. I’m actually doing it. I’m—

Time slowed again, but this time, I couldn’t perceive why. My body suddenly reacted on its own, as if I were a puppet controlled by strings. I ducked, and as I did, I saw, from my crouched position, the wererat’s tail streak by where my head had just been. A torrent of excitement flooded me as I knew…

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“I have Spidey-sense! Fucking Spider Sense!”

The Dragon pushed against my mind. “Spidey…Sense?”

“Nevermind… It means that I can feel attacks coming. Is this you? Did you make me a fucking super hero?” I asked, but was more focused on keeping the Wererat in full view. My trembling hands calmed and, for once, I welcomed the conflict as a means to test my new ability. Not waiting for an answer, I added,“What other powers do I have? Telekinesis? Super strength?”

“No… this is not me,” the Dragon replied, as if curious itself. “I merely awakened the power that already existed within you. As for super strength…”

The Wererat attacked again, cutting them off. It rained blow after blow towards me, and I effortlessly dodged each, thrusting out with my knife after each, and landing a few clean cuts. The creature screeched at the pain as it flung its tail at me. I reached out to catch it—a mistake—the force was like being hit by a sledgehammer. It struck my mid-section, throwing me to the ground, my body sliding a few feet, kicking the piss-laden dirt into the air.

I gasped out, surprised that I was able to breath at all.

Sensing the Dragon’s discontent, they said, “It appears you do not have ‘Super-strength’ at all. On the contrary, you appear weaker than most of the other humans here in raw physicality.”

“Fuck you…” I replied, and as my breath came back to me, I muttered. “Now you tell me.” Touching my side, I winced from the pain. I broke ribs—definitely broke some ribs. Shit…

My senses triggered again, and the Wererat lunged towards me, razor-like claws at the ready. I rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the claws. My body moved on its own as I ducked, dodging the tail, picking up the knife as I did so.

I could see the attacks easier now, my body becoming used to my sixth sense. The Wererat looked to be getting impatient with the fight, its eyes scurrying around to find easier targets. There was a human intelligence behind those beady black eyes, so slight it was almost impossible to see, but the animal, in the end, was too strong; it forced the human that existed within to the passenger seat in their own body.

The creature threw caution to the wind as it attacked me with all of its untapped rage. A frenzy of strikes—one swipe, then another. I dodged and twisted, letting its claws narrowly slide by me, not able to do much but evade for my very life. As the creature slowed, I cut a few more deep gashes in their forearms as I danced around, eventually changing my knife hand as I spun, ramming the blade up into the Wererat’s neck with a sickening snap!

I let the knife go as the creature convulsively swiped at me one last time, but I was too slow; the very tip of the creature’s nail catching my right side. Painfully, the creature pulled, leaving a gash from which blood poured.

The Wererat seemed to smile at me, an eerily human smile as blood spluttered from the open hole in its neck. Slowly, and not without pain, they fell to the ground. It writhed in the dirt before it managed to free the knife. Too late. Eventually, after sputtering on the ground for what felt like an eternity, the creature laid still, its only movement were the final twitches of its life flowing free.

Breathing heavily, I said, “Holy shit—that was intense.” Looking at my bloody hands, they shook from unused adrenaline.

“You did well enough,” the Dragon replied, with more than a bit of disappointment in its booming voice.. “You lack… Purpose. Prose—and the body of a warrior. It seems I will have some time changing this helplessly weak body into something worthy of my presence.”

“In the human world,” I replied, with the hint of annoyance. “We usually thank the person who helps us.”

The Dragon snorted in response to my condemnation, and I shook my head to no one in particular.

I was about to tell the Dragon to eat shit when Ganvil drew my attention, limping my way with a deterministic stare. He held his gashed side, and his red beard was now deeper red, caked with blood. When he reached me, his face was full of unmasked awe. “I thought ye’ were a spoiled noble lookin’ to take a pick of our women. But…” Ganvil’s eyes trailed over the dead Wererat. “The way ye’ fight. Incredible! If you don’t mind me sayin'.”

“Oh that,” I pointed to the dead creature, “It’s nothing. Barely broke a sweat.” As I lied, a stupid grin crossed my face.

“Fantastic! Then you’ll help train us. Prepare for the next raid—”

“Wait. What, I—”

“There will be lots of work to do. Are ye’ listening son? You alright?”

I looked at Ganvil, and his face appeared distorted. Wrong. “Yeah-I’m fine-just—” I felt my legs give out as I stumbled to the ground again. This really hasn’t been my day. The Wererats blood soaked my shirt—or was it my blood? I laid, staring at the black, dead eyes of my foe, and its dead face seemed to mock me.

“You aren’t fine, son. Come… let's get ya’ some rest. It’s not everyday someone slays an Alpha.”

“Just use silver,” I replied, holding my bloody side and forcing myself to sit. Each small movement was like another dagger to the flesh. “Everyone knows silver kills werewolves—I mean, Wererats.”

“Werewolves?” Ganvil said, shivering at the thought. “But silver, eh… I’ll keep that in mind.”

I felt the Dragon’s contentment at Ganvil’s praise, and, as he led me to a nearby house, I asked the Dragon in my mind, “Where did I get those powers? Do you know if I have any others? I wanna know if there is something else I can do.”

“Let’s see…” The Dragon replied, its consciousness flowing into mine. The pain was less than before as the information the Dragon searched for was less broad. They exited the depths of my mind after a time, my headache subsiding. “This is all I could find… %#$@&@^#%!@%”

Information exploded in my head, and I felt dizzy, reaching for a nearby wooden rail to hold myself stead.

“Are you alright?” I heard Ganvil ask, but he was far away now, a distant thing… an annoying gnat at the edge of my senses. I held the wooden rail with all my might as the world spun around me..

Eventually, the earth became straight again, and I panted, “What the fuck was that?”

“Your weak human mind cannot comprehend the transfer of information,” the Dragon replied. “So, I am working on a way to… convey it to you.”

“And how long will that take?”

“I don’t know.”

“Great…”

Ganvil took a step back, bringing his hand to his head, then his stomach, to his shoulder and then opposite… a cross. It was at this time I realized that I was talking out loud.

“It’s alright Ganvil,” I said, trying to find a way to explain this lunacy. “I’m tired; seeing things that aren’t there. Let me lie down.”

“Right…” Ganvil replied, but still looked at me with fear in his eyes. “This way.” As he led me up the stairs, he stopped, turning with shock on his face. “It’s right up here… Hey, what’s happening? GET AWAY FROM THERE!”

“I’m fine,” I said, but heard no sound as I spoke. Blinking, I found I was no longer in that Castlevania wannabe town, but standing in a land of pure darkness.

“What have we here?” Someone asked out from the empty.

Somehow, they sounded… familiar.

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