Chapter 4

We both tumbled down the gravel slope, small rocks flying in the air as the creature clamped down on my shoulder. Each bounce against the hill grated against my skin, scraping it raw.

After a tumble of limbs and strangled groans, we both reached the bottom of the hill, a mass of misshapen body parts. I felt the creature's teeth tighten in the fleshy part of my shoulder, my teeth gritting in pain. I reached with my right arm to pull out the knife, before realizing that it must've slipped out during the fall, the uncomfortable object missing from my waistband.

The creature was under me slightly, squirming and trying to free itself. I could only grab at its face with my uninjured arm, my fingers rubbing against slimy, cracked skin. But iIn a flash I saw a clawed hand above me, ready to bring death with a simple swipe.

It streaked towards my face in a gleam of light, the razor sharp edge reflecting the soft light of the LED's. My instincts kicked in, and I held up my hand to grab it. Big mistake. The sharp points of three of its fingers stabbed through my hand, the blood bursting out onto my face.

I let out a strangled cry of pain, my own blood getting in my mouth and choking me slightly. In a cry of desperation and pain, I threw punches with my injured hand upward, battering the face of my assailant. Nothing. 

My desperation grew and mounted, pain and blood loss darkening my vision. I started fighting with reckless abandonment, survival the only thing on my mind. I straightened my legs, yelling a base, animalistic cry. I pushed the creature against the floor, as if hoping to crush it under the weight of my skinny body.

It let out a gasp, but didn't budge. In vain, I continuously tried to free my hands from its claws and punch its face. Nothing. And I glanced to my left in a moment of frustration, trying to find something, anything to help me live!

I saw a half -eaten face staring back at me, the exposed cheek bone and empty eye socket staring back at me. Part of the brain was exposed, and I could see where maggots had been whittling away at the dead flesh, a squirming mass of worms moving underneath the skin of the body. And in a moment of inspiration, I recognized the person. It was the guy from my class yesterday, who had been Selected that morning and must've been sent here. This was his fate. Sad, alone, halfway eaten in the dark recesses of a miserable cave.

No, NO! I did not want to end up like that, I wanted to live, to experience life beyond my twenties! But I could see nothing, couldn't  find anything to help me at all. No sharp rocks, no ledges, nothing.

I finally hung my head in defeat. I couldn't fight this monster off me, not even if I tried. I'm pathetic! But a gleam of metal alerted me to its presence in the dim light, and I saw it. A knife, tucked away in the dead man's hands. 

With a final roar of desperation, I sought out the knife, tearing away my hand from the claws that had impaled it. I lunged blindly in the dark, my hand closing around the edge of the blade. I yanked it towards me as hard as I could, fear of death driving me onwards and through the pain. The dead fingers posed no obstacle. I gripped it, the edge cutting into my fingers, and stabbed downward towards the head of the creature.

With a meaty CHUNK the knife sank all the way to where my fingers were in the head of whatever creature was attacking me. I felt the jaw suddenly go slack, the immense pressure on my shoulder suddenly vanishing. In a mad scramble, I pushed the head off my shoulder. I lay there panting, next to the dead body of a human and whatever monstrosity had attacked.

I glanced to my left, to where the dead body of the creature should be, and was greeted with the sight of a small, knobby body, green skin, and red eyes. I stared in exhaustion for a few moments, not comprehending what I was seeing, before the name came to me. It was a goblin.

My panting continued, my breath coming in hitched gasps. I killed one, I thought to myself. I KILLED ONE! Elation soared through my heart before it all came crashing back down. What if more were coming, what if they heard that scuffle? I quickly sat up before being greeted by a terrible, terrible smell, coming from my immediate right. The dead body.

In disgust and fear, I moved away from both lifeless corpses, my heart thundering in my chest. Then I heard a screech echo from one of the doorways.

I stood up with my back against the wall. The knife was still in my hands, and with a quivering body I righted it, holding it firmly by the handle, pointed directly at the doorway where the sound had come from.

I desperately wanted to run. After witnessing the strength they possess first hand, I wanted to run away, as fast as I could. Back up the hill. Outside. Down the street. Away forever. But just as I took a step away from the wall, stealing my heart for my decision, a pair of gleaming, red eyes appeared in a doorway to my left, slowly emerging from the shadows. The head of the goblins was revealed, before the rest of his body followed suit, as if he had been born out of the darkness. And with a sinking feeling I knew it would never let me leave without a fight.

On shaky legs, I stood my ground. My knife quivered uncontrollably in front of me. But thinking it was just one of them kept me from trying to run away. But those hopes were dashed when two more slid out from the shadows.

The three goblins stood across from me, arrogance pulsing through their whole bodies. They've dealt with humans before, and they didn't expect me to be any different. With a screech, the lead goblin pointed a clawed hand at me before the three began charging me, running at me as if I was the only thing standing between them and a good meal. I probably was.

With shaky hands, I planted my feet and ran forward at them, a desperate roar tearing itself from my throat.

A black car slid up beside the pavement in front of me, dark smoke coughing from itshis exhaust pipe. I sat in the hot sun, staring into space, blood slowly seeping in a pool around me, staining the concrete a dark, crimson red. I didn't even notice the driver get out of the car, nor did I notice him yelling at me from the street, asking if I needed medical attention. No, all I could focus on was the sharp pain across my chest, and the sounds of my ragged breathing. 

The driver grabbed my arm, pulling me to stand in front of him. Blood dripped down the front of his casual clothing. He didn't seem to care. He opened the back door and shoved me in. I collapsed sideways, ringing in my ears. I vaguely heard a car door slam, and the driver rushing back to his seat and taking off at breakneck speed. After that, I couldn't remember. Everything turned black.