Waiting in a clump of brush strewn with pine needles, I listen to the sporadic baying, sighing in relief when it fades into the distance. Finishing the third pear-like fruit, I relax, prodding at Halima’s memories to try to get the name of this fruit. After wracking her mind, I’m frustratedly unable to summon it.

They have a citrus-like flavor, very much like an orange crossed with a banana. A pie made with these things would be utterly delicious!

With only one fruit left in my food stash, I crawl up to my feet and break into a run through the woods, my skin pebbling from the dropping temperatures. As the hours grind onwards and what feels like midnight passes, it only gets colder, going further into the early morning.

If I don’t do something about my lack of clothes sometime soon, I’ll catch an illness or die.

If only I could start a fire, at least… but… Reviewing the contents of more outdoorsy videos in my mind, I seriously think about wasting time trying to rub some wood together and create friction that would start a fire, but I shake my head negatively. There’s no way I’ll get the knack of it, spur of the moment, and there are pressing reasons to not. Carelessly building a fire, monsters could find me. After having seen Halima’s mother turn into one of them, I don’t doubt that there are others prowling around in this valley, searching for prey.  Not to mention that the light coming from it would call attention along with the suspicious scent of smoke.

Standing and turning back towards where I saw the column of smoke drifting up, at least so I think, I get moving again, forcing my aching and stiff muscles back into action. In order to be truly safe now, I have to keep moving. I’ve got no choice but to suffer through it. Hmmmmm… Come to think of it, a fire might have also helped Vayne to track me down once he’s finished. I shake my head again. Nah… I’m just trying to bargain for warmth, making excuses. Honestly, after having seen what he can do, I doubt he needs the help finding me, assuming he’d even bother to come after me. He came into the mountains for goblin heads, not me. There’s no reason to expect that I’ll ever see him again, either way.

As I walk onwards, I turn my thoughts back to Vayne’s actions, blowing me out from the cavern with wind magick  he summoned up. Just a single slash of his sword and I woke up outside. I can’t help musing about why he made that choice when he was close to killing me before Jeraldyne turned.

I don’t get it. Did such a selfish and paranoid man like Vayne, someone that was so worried about my identity, so concerned about where I came from that he nearly killed me over it, actually possibly sacrifice his life to save mine? Why would he do that?!

Looking over my shoulder as I come to a stop, I stare up at the shadowy visage of the mountain rising behind me. I look for any sign of a conflict, any source of light, but unable to see any sign of anything happening there, I sigh and turn back. 

Am I afraid to be alone? It never bothered me before, not that I…

…

…Wow, How far have I managed to come by now? Am I far enough away from the cave? Possibly, but that won’t change the fact that without clothes and a weapon of some sort, I’ll certainly freeze or get killed by something nasty.

….

……

Maybe this is all just a dream. If so, would it be so bad to just get killed and then I get to wake up? Does it even work like that? Death might…

Doubt worms around in my heart. Death isn’t an easy thing to think about, and even assuming that I’d be safe and free of this nightmare, Halima is still a human being here and if I let myself die, that would make me a deplorable villain instead of a hero.

Why am I even thinking of heroes at all? Why should I bother trying to be one? Halima is clearly too weak to become one. I’m not the one who wanted this. It was that strange voice… or whatever that sent me here into Halima’s body.

Gritting my teeth, I plunge through more dense foliage, the pines giving way to seasonal green trees with assorted leaves, varying from thin, long, short, broad, all green, suggesting that it’s spring.

As I walk, I try to minimize the noise of my footfalls as I pass through. Insects buzz around me, getting louder than up on the mountainside and night birds sing and call above in the branches of the trees. The soft loam of the forest floor is a pleasure to run across, more so than the stretches of stony ground with pine needles and uneven ground. I clamber down another ledge and hillside, feeling winded.

Wondering if I’m heading in the right direction, I charge ahead, my heart pounding. Aside from my tiredness, a growing feeling inside. I don’t get why I’m so anxious. Is my heart pounding so hard just because of all the running? Before breaking through another leafy barrier ahead that looks like it might be another sheltering copse of trees, I drop onto the ground on impulse. 

Crawling forward, making as little noise as I can, I peek through, not seeing anything particularly dangerous for a long moment, just the large strange shapes of the twisted trunks of trees around and bulk of large bushes. With a sigh, I smile and start rising, the ground shaking slightly and I drop flat, scanning around in the darkness.

The shadows in front of me shift and a sliver of moonlight slides through the clouds above for a moment, long enough to see a large figure, looking very much like Jeraldyne’s transformed form, standing here in the clearing.

…

……

As I wait, my sweat feels like it’s freezing on my skin. I shiver and force myself to remain still, fighting it.

Making myself small to conserve body heat, I watch quietly for a long moment.

Finally, it turns with heavy steps, making the local ground quake.

This is probably another of those villagers that was left behind by the goblins to become a monster. Just as Vayne was thinking, they’re maybe wandering around, spreading out aimlessly. I wonder how many of them linger in the village?

Slowing my breathing to something close to sleep to minimize my presence, I wait and as I remain small and still, my sweating reduces, now fueled only by fear. Not moving makes me feel all the colder and waiting, all my body heat dissipates, each of my limbs feeling somewhat numb and very cold. Carefully and quietly, I curl up more, wondering if it’ll move first or I’ll succumb to the cold. I listen, holding my nose to suppress an urge to sneeze. Finally the ogre moves and when it does, I feel the ground shake again. The tremors grow stronger, signaling that its heading my general direction. Is it out of chance, or has it seen or smelled me?

As it heads my way, the rumbling intensifies.

…

…..

BAM!

……

…………

BAM! BAM!

……….

BAM! BAM BAM BAM!

………

My whole body shakes with every step it takes. 

Halima, we’re going to die. I’m sorry. We’re—

………..

Doomed.

The ground shakes ever more violently and the air fills with the ogre’s body stench. 

Do I smell as bad as it does yet?

Preparing myself to run for my life, I uncoil my body and dig my shoe’s toe tips into the turf, getting on my elbows very slowly. But then there’s a loud howling noise to the side. The ogre roars and the ground shakes dangerously as the monster’s stride increases and it moves with surprising speed. Shit… there’s no way I could have escaped if it saw me. It lumbers along, almost like a bear walking on two legs and managing to go about as fast. It feels like I’m amid an earthquake in Tokyo. Bracing my head by reflex, I wait for the end, but the earthquake-like shaking of the ground subsides as the ogre chases after the howling monster.

Springing into action, I dash away like a rabbit through the clearing that the monster was standing in. As I go, I hope now that I’m sprinting in the general direction of where the village waits. Leaves and other foliage slap against my unprotected and cold skin, making rustling noises and  slapping noises as I burst through the brush on the other side, feeling my body warm again. My stiff legs loosen as they churn. 

I’m running out of steam, even with a break. The cold is taking it out of me. It’s sapping my strength. There’s no way I can keep this up forever. Halima isn’t used to getting this kind of intense exercise. I don’t think I could stand up to it very well even if I had my normal body. All the stress of being on the point of death is too much. 

My heart pounds as I press onwards, tired. 

The river should be somewhere ahead and if I follow it, I should soon reach the village, but what then?

I finally burst out from the forest and out onto the shoreline, but hesitate. Another large shape stands in front of me by the river. Like the last, I just barely noticed it in time, but this time, I burst out from the cover of the trees before noticing it.

Dropping into a crouch, my lips twist bitterly. 

To come this far and lose my life now that I’m too tired to think.

….

Was another monster waiting here? The amorphous shape shakes and I hear a menacing snort come from it. I turn my eyes upwards to the sky, seeing that clouds covering the softly glowing moon still choke the sky. A soft breeze blows across the river, feeling more chilling than ever. The sound of running water fills the air. I lick my sweaty lips, tasting salt.

There’s a crushing noise and I turn to run before the thing gores me to death.

The thing hits me, bowling me over into the nearby grass and leans down to slobber on my neck, its heavy exhalations blasting across my face and upper body.