Dawn- An age of Darkness

"Where am I?"

Everything was covered in pitch-black darkness. All I could see was the shadows darker still. I felt a slight breeze, the silence, and a tingling sensation up to my knee.

'Grass? But wasn't I inside my room? It's too dark to see. Wait, are those… stars?'

The next thought that came into my mind was this must be a dream. I was in an open field, overgrown with grass that reached my shin. I was barefoot. But the ground didn't feel hard. It was more like, soft and spongy. The grass was sharp, and I cut my fingers from it. Blood came out but gradually stopped. My skin felt different. And it was definitely not my room.

As I slowly adjusted to the environment, the silence broke from the buzz and chirp of insects. It wasn't sudden. It was there all along. I just hadn't noticed. The fresh smell of the air was refreshing at first but slowly turned into dread as a more sinister odor hovered about. It was the smell of blood and rot.

'Did the seniors throw me in some sort of field? I swear the way they treat freshmen… wait, what was that!'

There was a sound that could not possibly come from any insect I knew!

'What's that!'

An unrecognizable sound pierced my ears, and I knew I was not alone.

I desperately squinted my eyes and turned my head in the hopes of catching a glimpse of whatever was moving around in the grass.

It moved inside the grass, making low groans barely audible. My heartbeat kept rising. Sweat dripped from all my pores, drenching my shirt.

As my eyesight slowly adjusted to the night light, I saw a single object moving in the field. It was just a little bit taller than the grass, but what caught my eyes was the knife it was holding in its hand- a childlike humanoid creature. The knife glinted in the light of the stars. I was six feet two, so spotting the moving object wasn't that difficult for me, even in the darkness. But it moved blazingly fast, fast enough for me to lose it.

Backtracking slowly, I tried to figure out what it was. However, I couldn't make out its facial structure. All I could get was its color. A hellish sort of purple that held on to a knife. Honestly, I was too afraid to scream for help. My throat felt sore and not a sound would come out. Was there anyone here at all, besides me and the hellspawn that hounded me?

The creature came closer and closer. I decided that running away would be the better part of caution. My body felt light. I ran and ran and then ran some more. I could have run a hundred meters or just a few. I couldn't really tell the difference anymore. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't scream, I couldn't even think. As I was busy struggling, it caught up to me. It stabbed me in my leg as it managed to catch up to me from where I left the beast behind. A burning feeling spread through my leg. Excruciatingly and fierce like liquid fire. The air got knocked out of my lungs by the impact I made with the ground. A small stream of warm blood flowed from a shallow cut on the surface: it wasn't that deep. The knife had a jagged edge, it didn't cut clean. I stood up as the adrenaline spurred me on to live as I stood shakily on my legs. The creature jumped backward and made weird noises. Laughter?

Finally, I let out a scream and I believe that it was the loudest I've ever screamed in my entire life, almost tearing my throat. I couldn't stand anymore: I fell on my stomach but instantly rotated and turned myself towards that thing which was presumably trying to kill me, to protect myself from it. But why? Why would it need to kill me?

The creature made small groans and laughed in a wicked way as it saw me crawl backward. "Somebody! Please, anybody! Help me!" This couldn't possibly be a dream! It hurts! Ahh! I groaned. No answer came.

The creature looked at me as though it could comprehend my words. But how could it anyway? To me, it seemed like a twelve-year-old, who had put on a mask, a costume, and gone insane. But as it came ever closer I saw its face. It wasn't something as simple as a child, and it was definitely not sane. It was a face I had never seen before, and definitely something I'd never forget for as long as I live. If I lived that is.

Large red eyes reflected light: long sharp nose and scars were all over its face. But what made my blood go cold was its expression. It looked at me, smiled while saliva dripped, and licked its lips. He wants to eat me… as the thought went through my mind, my blood went even cooler.

It had similarities to the things in my culture, described as monsters: a goblin to be specific. But weren't those things supposed to be only in fairytales and fiction? I didn't have time to worry about that. My beating heart made thinking all the more convoluted.

It brought the knife over its head and I knew this was it! If I don't do something now, I'll be killed! My leg bled, meaning I couldn't run, so there was only one choice. Forgetting about everything else I waited for it to attack, with my heart constantly pounding like a steam engine. As the knife was about to land on my chest I caught it with both of my hands together. It was painful: blood-drenched the knife, dropped on my chest, and wetted the fabric. I could feel its breath, filled with rot.…

The creature was very persistent. It kept pushing the knife through my hands and I could feel what I can only describe as, my individual cells being cut. The feeling was anything but pleasant: in fact, the pain was soaring through my entire body. But instead of begging for help I deflected the knife with all my might and punched the creature's face with all my remaining strength. Flying away for a second, it dropped far but within sight. It was light, almost as though it wasn't even alive.

I tried my best and got up. Although the creature immediately got up as well, it was beyond surprised for the knife was now in my hands. It might have been just a stroke of luck but I finally saw hope.

"Grrr" It made groaning sounds I never heard before: it looked pissed, squinted its eyes and saliva kept dripping. My heart beat even faster.

With a desperate smirk, I waved the knife and yelled at the creature to run away. But it wouldn't let go of me that easily. Did humans taste that good? I had never seen something move so ferociously and with such agility as it began to approach me again. Although my eyes had adjusted to the little light that the stars provided, I still couldn't follow it with my eyes.

With great speed, it charged at me. I swung the knife, but it easily dodged my swing. I'd never used a knife before for fighting, I never needed to.

Suddenly its speed increased so much that I lost it for a split second. It was right next to my leg. I couldn't believe my eyes and tried to swing back. But that moment stung gravely. It bit off a chunk of meat from my left leg and immediately ate it while continuously licking its lips. Blood ran through the leg and painted my feet red. It was a small chunk but the pain was beyond believable. I couldn't believe my own senses. I screamed and groaned but still kept my eyes open. Tears streamed through my cheeks and I grinded my teeth.

Did the creator curse my left leg or something? It hurt more than before, but my brain was too focused on surviving. I could see the exposed muscles; yet, I remained standing while sweating, biting my lips and shedding a tear. For better or worse I didn't fall on the ground. The knife was still in my hands. It was my only consolation.

I didn't have a moment to think, I could only fight for my life. Again I waited for it to attack first. But this time before it even bit me I sliced its throat: it wasn't deep. Luck was really a fickle thing. To think my wild swing would land so fiercely.

At that moment it began to groan and beg. What astonished me most was that it spoke my language!

"Pleas…p-please forgive me… don't k-kill me!" It said as it screamed with it croaked throat splitting blood like a small fountain. The blood was glowing pink and rancid.

"Unfortunately I'm not that nice," I said.

The hellish thing kept mourning and groaning in agony as I stabbed it through the heart; it was struggling all the way. A poor face with a begging pose was not enough to make my resolve waver. I continuously stabbed it until the light left its eyes. But it didn't die. It felt pain, yet it didn't die.

What the hell is this? My horror returned and my whole body started to shiver. The small creature couldn't move but it still tried to and was definitely not dead. Its eyes slowly turned red. My time was limited. With shaking hands, I slashed its throat again and again. I couldn't cut through. It was hard. But I didn't stop.. My life depended on it.