02

A man appeared from inside the guardhouse, holding a weapon in his large hands and an expression that mixed astonishment and anger. The very close eyebrows gave the expression of constant frowns on his square face. But what was scary was his size. If he wasn't more than two meters, then my years of mathematical studies wouldn't be worth anything.

"Hello," I said amicably when I realized that he was approaching. As pathetic as it seemed, I believed it would be good to get straight to the point. "I received the message."

The stranger walked on small debris from the sidewalk, but his boots did not produce sound. It was almost as if he floated, or as if he was trained not to draw attention in any way. A stealth predator. I wondered how long he knew I was there. If I hadn't seen it while I was approaching by car.

Although legends lead us to believe in supernatural and unreal creatures, there were also rumors of humans who ventured across borders and never returned, creating a group of survivors who spared no effort to have food and resources. This included cannibalism itself, but, of course, it should be nothing more than legends.

Honestly, when I noticed the physical size of that man, I was in doubt if I expected him to be a human who had deserted from our fields or a creature that hid in ordinary skin. I couldn't tell what the worst scenario was for a human alone and with nothing but a meter and sixty in height and a backpack with sandwiches to defend herself.

"Message from what?" The stranger asked, a step away. He didn't wear a military suit. He didn't speak like an officer. And his expression made me take a step back. The voice was thick, despite emitting an almost sung, surreal melody.

I lifted the map in my hands which suddenly became trembling, and the stranger didn't bother to look anywhere other than my face. The black eyes studied every millimeter of my pale skin. I felt cornered.

"The stars brought me here," I replied sincerely. And, to my surprise, the stranger didn't laugh and told me to go back to the hole I should have left. "I'm looking for something I still don't know what it is."

"You and who else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why would a human be out of her hiding place alone?"

I blinked, slightly stunned. The stranger tilted his head to the side, studying me even more carefully. An alert blinked in my head. He was not one of the fugitive humans, but he showed that he was very interested in getting food. And maybe the meat was me. I stepped back one more step.

"I'm not alone," I said which should have been the dumbest thing possible, because in addition to the guardhouse, almost as if arising by a mental command, other men emerged. Men really, wearing dark costumes and similar to that man. Men smaller, or the same size as his, but not bigger. "I'm just exploring this area for my group."

"A group," the stranger announced, out loud, for his companions to listen. If they mocked or made any sound, I didn't notice. I didn't dare look away from the one who stared at me. If I were to die, I would look at death until the end. "But then why do I only feel its only human smell?"

"My smell?" I laughed, even though I felt my mouth dry.

The men approached in a circle, without me noticing, and I felt trapped in an arena, where the main attraction would be me. When my eyes deviated from the stranger to ascertain the imminent danger coming from those various men, he took the opportunity to seal the steps I had taken to get away.

In a breath of the wind, he was completely taking over my space, and I just noticed that my wrists had been gripped by the pain that had spread around the place. Without me even being able to scream for help - even though I had no help coming from anywhere - the man lifted me by the wrists, pulling a shiver out of my stomach.

"You said you received a message," he said with that melodic and rude voice. "However, I smell your fear and despair."

I wouldn't be impressed if he knew about that, I was sweating and sweating absurdly. That wasn't in my plans, but honestly, how the hell did I intend to go through those parts of the city without drawing the attention of dark creatures?

But what bothered me was knowing that if it wasn't for his disproportionate height by human standards or the frown on a face that could even be beautiful, that man could very well have passed off as an ordinary citizen. And if he wasn't an ordinary citizen, what kind of creature would he be?

"The stars sent me here," I spoke with such conviction, that anyone couldn't say that that was the dumbest thing to listen to.

The group of men performed the same gesture with their heads, leaning to the side, like dogs that devote their attention to something curious. Noticing that behavior made me even more alert. Would they be hybrids of some specific creature? Super evolved humans who used cannibalism to increase their size and muscles? I was stunned.

"Very well," said the stranger, lifting me a little more in his hands. Now I could see almost the entire large shed behind the military guardhouse. Not only the shed but... People. Men, women. Tall, strong. All the newcomers looking out. Everyone is very aware of the strange and crazy conversation I was having with that stranger. "Since the stars sent you to us, then how are we going to refuse a slave delivered by such goodwill?"