The monsters take me back to the village. I’m dumbfounded at the sight in front of me.

There’s some sunshine already, so I can see the state the villagers are in. Pieces.

Other monsters are wandering around the village, feeding on the corpses. I close my eyes, hoping I’ll wake up when I open them.

“It’s just a bad dream. A bad dream. Wake up, Uzziye.”

I open my eyes just to see once more the gruesome landscape. This time, instead of fear, I feel my anger growing.

Why is this happening to me?! The only thing I didn’t want to experience happens again and again! What did I do wrong to deserve this? Is it my punishment for being alive?!

The monsters place me on the ground and restrain me, with the sickles pressing me with the flat side.

“Ahhh! Stop!”

One of them makes cuts over my body. The cuts aren’t deep, so I keep still until it’s over. For some reason, I feel calm. I don’t feel like my life is at risk.

I wonder what will happen to me. Are the monsters going to play with me, torturing me for a long time? Maybe there is something else they want?

My body is still weak. I try to move my arms and legs, but it’s futile. So I stare at the monsters. I watch them eat the villagers.

Do I hold animosity towards them? I hated what they did to me, but there’s no reason to wish such a thing for them. Though I wonder what their ritual was supposed to do. They are dead, and I’m alive. They wanted food to survive but became food instead. Ironic.

They are dead, so I don’t think more about them. What worries me is my future. If the monsters take me with them, even though I’m curious, I’d need to live like them. I doubt they’ll be gentle enough to hunt for me. Do you get what I’m saying? I’ll have to eat humans.

I’d prefer to die. There are things you shouldn’t do, no matter what. It’s similar to eating other animals? Leaving aside that I don’t enjoy eating animals, I don’t think we are animals. Animals don’t have a choice. They follow their instincts and do the same every day each year.

Some humans act like animals, that’s true. But most of us don’t act on instinct; we have rules to guide us. Unlike animals, we can choose our path in life. We have cookers, blacksmiths, adventurers, thugs, kings, and more.

Cassandra is a human that acts like an animal. She eats, fucks, and sleeps. That’s what her life is like. She lets the sensations her body provides guide her life. Like with food, she’s in a desperate search for the best taste. She gets horny and grabs anyone to have sex with. She’s happy when she has amazing clothes to dress in but becomes moody if she doesn’t. She has no control, just like an animal.

I’m the same?! No way. I don’t search for physical pleasure. I search for the greatest human emotion, love. I also read books and do other things apart from spreading my legs. And even if I look similar to her, I won’t waste this opportunity if I can survive.

When the monsters finish eating the villagers, they approach me. They make some crispy noises that echo in my head before leaving.

This feels familiar. Too familiar. This isn’t good. I…

An intense headache, like when you slam your head with the table, attacks me. I roll on the ground while holding my head.

“Ahhh!!!”

“Kuh… Argh! Ugh. Bleurgh!”

I puke a black liquid…