“Shit oh shit. They’re catching up.”

Sio sprinted through the snow, ignoring the dull ache in his legs. The heavy pack didn’t help his cause, he had tightened it as much as he could but it still bounced against him as he ran. The barbaric warcry of the monsters echoed from a distance behind but the backpack, coupled with the snow that sapped his strength and left a trail, slowed him down to the point where he couldn’t go straight back to the others. He’d have to find another way.

Sio took off in another direction and half-heartedly hoped they’d follow him. Long ago, or what felt like long ago, his friend, Woon, asked him if he’d give up their life for them, the group. He smiled and, with all the bravery afforded to someone who’d never been close to death, said yes. Now being chased by monsters, goblins, that could very well kill him and his friends, he was glad that at least half his heart wanted the monsters to follow him.

His other half… He had an excuse for that half. He was tired, hungry, scared, and alone. Of course, a part of him would want the monsters off of him at any cost but that wasn’t what he really wanted, just what his survival instincts said he wanted. In the end, whether the monsters followed his new trail or not wasn’t up to him.

Snow. The snow would be his killer. Whatever he did wouldn’t matter, even if he was a thousand times faster than those monsters, they’d never lose track of him. Despite that, he ran because he knew he couldn’t fight them. If a shaman was with them he’d be done.

“There!” something behind him screamed. “Shoot!”

An arrow stuck out of the tree next to him, a little less than three feet from his head. Sio immediately threw up a barrier and ran with even more of his might. There were only two goblins. Only two goblins on him right now, each with a bow. Were there more, or were these the only ones? He gathered mana into his hand and sent sparks at one and a lighting bolt at the other. One fell instantly, and the other unsteadily drew its bow back for another shot.

'I can do this.' He thought. 'I can at least kill these two.'

Had it been a two months ago, a month ago, he wouldn’t have believed it to be possible, save for the naive part of him which felt invincible when he first started off as an adventurer. Now, after training under Rainen and the boost of power from the twilight flower, he could do it. He’d have to do it.

He gathered up more magic in his arms and cast a lightning bolt at the standing goblin. It jumped out of the way and shot back, it bounced harmlessly off the barrier. Sio, confident in his barrier but worried about more goblins, cast another lightning bolt and followed up with a fan of sparks. The goblin dodged the first but was caught off guard by the second attack, unable to hold its bow or even stand properly.

He couldn’t believe it. Just a few days ago, fighting with the others, he could barely hit a single goblin. A bit over a month ago, he’d almost died to some goblins, now, he took down two by himself. Finally, he’d be useful, maybe even something like an actual adventurer.

He shook himself from his thoughts and finished off the two goblins with lighting spells. He tried conserving mana by using a dagger but wasn’t able to bring himself to do it. He finished them off with another lightning spell. He wasn’t completely sure they were dead and he didn’t want to make sure with the knife. He took the dagger and a bow and left.

About ten minutes later, he heard a scream, a goblin’s scream, primal in its nature but not like their savage battle cries. He didn’t dawdle on it, he had to keep moving. The more distance he made from where the others were the better. Still, he didn’t know how many more goblins there were, probably enough to kill at least two of him.

It was getting dark. He knew, at the very least, that goblins were mainly nocturnal and could see much better than humans could at night. He needed to find someplace where he could rest for the night and eat what little he found. While returning to the others was his first choice, he couldn’t for obvious reasons.

A howl echoed through the forest. It sounded nearby but he didn’t have time to think of monsters aside from the goblins.

What about melting the snow? Although his mastery of fire magic lacked in many parts, he was at least capable of a fireball. How many and how strong would they have to be to get rid of the snow in the area? No, it wasn’t a good idea. He’d have to keep going through the snow and hope they’d lose interest.

Unfortunately for him, they didn’t.

He heard them before they saw him. He hid behind a tree but the tree could only hide him for so long, the trail eventually lead to him and no matter how well he hid, they’d find where he was. The tree is nothing more than a physical barrier, a short respite for him to think.

He glanced at the direction of the noise from behind cover. Five goblins waded through the snow with their spears, clubs, and daggers, their voices grew ever louder and more excited. One flashed its jagged teeth upon spotting him. They burst into sprints, some clawing at the ground like rabid dogs.

Sio let loose some sparks and a lightning bolt. They dodged the first and one took the spell with their shield, unharmed. They started their disgusting cries and Sio broke into a run. None of them had bows, so he harassed them as best he could with his magic. He’d down one but didn’t have the time to finish it off, the others were right on him.

In a melee, if it was against one, he might win but against all five he’d surely die. He hadn’t had the guts to even finish off a dying one, how’d he manage to kill one that’d fight just as hard if not harder than him?

Somewhere along the way, he had been hit in the head with a stone. He was still conscious, luckily enough, but each step was harder than the last and he couldn’t see where he was going. It was a miracle he didn’t already knock himself out against a tree.

“Urhk…!?”

He landed flat in the snow, unable to catch his breath. It had all been knocked out of him. He spun around as quick as he could and feebly tried to throw up a barrier. A goblin kicked his arms away and stepped on his chest pulling back to skewer him on its spear. Then, one of the other goblins pushed it off. It snarled and glared at the others.

Was it the leader of the little pack? Sio had no idea. It looked no different than the others.

The goblin swiped at Sio’s hand and the others held him down. The goblin that had saved him picked up its club from the snow, the same club that knocked Sio down, and stood over him. Their eyes met and for the first time ever, it seemed like there was something there, something inside of the monsters that made them feel human. It both terrified and amazed him. And as soon as it came, it was gone. The goblin raised the club and swung.

He closed his eyes and pleaded for someone to save him.

Using all his strength, he rolled his body to one side and the club missed. He cast a lightning bolt at one of the goblins pinning him down and shocked the other. Sio grabbed the legs of the goblin and pulled them out from under it. He scrambled to his feet and ran. He should have turned and finished one off, finished off as many as he could but he didn’t. He couldn’t commit and now the chase was back on.

Or so he thought.

Howls of whatever other creatures were stalking the night came loud and in great number. He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw three vattrida surrounding the goblins. The first time he saw the boar-like monsters was when Rainen appointed it their first monster they’d train against. Even now, seeing its thin upper lip curl back to reveal dozens of sharp teeth, made him shudder. He noticed that one of the goblins wasn’t moving. It was the one he’d hit with a lightning bolt. It’d be a massacre now. He ignored the screams of the goblins and circled back to his trail of footprints.

Was it the sound of the slaughter, the blood streaming down the back of his head, the exhaustion, or simply his own fears that had him seeing things in the dark? The screams of the dying goblins seemed to haunt him as he went further back up the trail he’d made. He shivered uncontrollably and every breath hurt him.

Was it always so cold?

Along the way, he saw something he hadn’t seen before. One of the trees he ran past earlier was open, its trunk hollowed out and the opening was big enough for a person to slip through. The walk back to where everyone else was would take, by his estimate, a little more than an hour. He’d have to endure one more hour in the forest, scared, cold, and alone.

He made his decision and crawled into the hollowed out shelter. Inside the tree, he felt safe, safer than being out of it at least. He opened his pack and scrounged for the food he gathered earlier in the day, a few winter berries, some mushrooms, and what he left with that morning. The day wasn’t anywhere close to a win but it wasn’t a total loss as he ate the berries along with what he brought with him for tonight’s meal. He’d save the mushrooms for later.

Still, his stomach wasn’t quite full, something he wanted since leaving. If only he had some bread or meat. Then the thought hit him.

What about eating the goblins?

Generally seen as some of the most human-like monsters and some of the more disgusting ones as well, Sio had never heard of anyone eating goblins, ever. But he couldn’t rid himself of the thought. They weren’t the meatiest of monsters but one would definitely be enough for what the group needed.

And then he remembered its eyes, the way it looked at him before swinging its club. Something was there, a spark of intelligence, maybe of humanity. Then he remembered how hungry he was and the process started all over again. He wrestled with his thoughts for another half hour or so until he remembered there were other people in the world. His friends, the people he’d been traveling with for the past couple of months. He grew increasingly worried and almost ventured out into the night a few times but his fear kept him inside the hollowed out tree until his worries exhausted him and he finally slept.

He left the hole ten minutes after he woke, too afraid to leave the entire time. When he stumbled back upon the two goblins he killed, the forest had already made a choice for him. Their bodies were ravaged, torn open by teeth and claws, all of the insides he could use, taken. He trudged away from the ugly scene.

Perhaps he felt extra tired today as it took him two hours to return to the others in contrast to the estimated one hour last night. He opened the door and sank to his knees. Everyone was still there, they were all still alive… As alive as they could be.

He threw his pack to the ground, defeated, and rummaged through their other supplies. With the amount he ate each day, there was enough food to last two more days, then he’d be forced back into the forest to search for food. He never wanted to go back out there again.

He sat in a corner and wrapped himself in a blanket. Safe in the home and in the company of his companions, he closed his eyes and wished for that dream again. The dream he had when he was on the brink of death, the dream that gave him strength, magic strong enough to kill monsters.

He took one last look before losing himself to his dreams. Istruan, Fia, Kat, Emile, Rainen, Axel, and the others, all of them still hadn't woken up. They'd been like this for over a week.

He joined everyone else in their sleep. The only sad part was, he’d wake up before them and wonder if they’d ever open their eyes again.

Deep inside, he also wished he wouldn’t wake up.