“*heavy breathing* I did it..”

Finally finishing the monster off, he put the dagger into his pocket to make it more accessible in case he ran into another one of those nightmare inducing animals.

Ace was still in the heat of the moment. Now that he was finally done with the monster, he realized that he was losing blood, and fast.

He had no idea what to do to stop it.

His hobbies come in handy once again, remembering that people tie things on top of the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

But what did he have to stop the wound?

“—!”

He quickly reached into his bag to take out the rainbow-colored costume that filled him with rage just minutes before.

Holding the costume with his right and the dagger in his left, he ripped a piece off the costume to stop the bleeding in his right hand first, then proceeded to tie up his waist right after.

He needed to move towards the village quick and get help or he would bleed out.

He closed his eyes and opened his map, reconfirming the direction of the village.

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He started to make his move, taking his first steps into the forest, just hoping to get to the village without being attacked.

He tried to move silently but, he couldn’t focus on that right now because his mind was focused on his flesh that was ripped out and on the fact that he was going to bleed out.

Instead of trying to move silently, he tried to speed up his pace, his heartbeat speeding up along with it from the fear of being heard by the monsters.

He walked,

And walked.

It felt like he was in the forest for hours, struggling to keep himself conscious throughout the journey, pinching his arm every minute to make sure he wouldn’t pass out on the spot.

He continued to walk,

And walk.

He closed his eyes once again to check the distance from the village, also confirming how long he’s been walking for.

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8 minutes,

This journey that has felt like an eternity…

Has only been 8 minutes.

He would never reach the village in time, he was already struggling enough as is to keep himself alive, how the hell would he be able to make it there.

His determination to keep himself awake fell off a cliff, thinking it was hopeless to even keep moving his legs.

He might as well check the map anyways to confirm how far away he was.

364 Days

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He was hesitant to focus on this word that would be confirming his demise, but he opened it, thinking he was going to die anyways.

“—?!”

He was halfway there.

Right between the words “Furio Village” and “Palio Forest” was his marker, moving along with his footsteps, towards his saving grace.

The village was just another few minutes ahead of him.

He could make it through this.

Once again determined, he kept up the continuous pace and pinching, but his blood was still flowing out of his body, draining his life away.

Even so,

He walked,

And walked,

And walked,

And walked,

And walked,

And walked.

—

——

————

A light.

Peering into the forest like a little kid looking under their bed for monsters was a light.

It was like Ace was staring into heaven itself, getting closer to the source of the light with each step.

It was a streetlamp.

Surrounding it were houses, made from the same wood that he was holding onto with his right hand.

There were small roads paved in the dirt, showing him all the different directions that he could travel in the village.

There was a blacksmith workshop, small shops for everyday groceries, an inn, a city hall, and everything else you would find in a fantasy village, but...

All their lights were off.

It was 12 in the morning, of course no one would be wandering the streets, conveniently offering to patch up his life-threatening wounds.

His pace was getting slower, with more time and less distance between each step.

But he couldn’t stop now,

He made it this far.

He jerked his head right at the next intersection,

Nothing.

He turned his head in the opposite direction,

A light.

It was a small building with a sign at the front, with letters he wasn’t able to read.

But there was a light.

He still had a chance.

Once he got closer, he saw the picture of beer in a cup on the sign.

It was a bar.

The final steps to survival.

Those final steps were the longest he took throughout this 20 or so minute journey.

He made it to the entrance.

He opened the swinging doors to see a bar full of people,

Or were they people? His vision was so blurry, he couldn’t tell.

All he knew is that he needed help.

He walked inside the bar a little more, limping with his body bent over. His hand was gripped on his waist, trying to suppress the pain.

His dark brown hair hanging over his forehead and his eyes looking desperate,

He started to open his mouth to get something out.

His voice low but pleading...

“Help, pleas--”

And he collapsed.

He had lost way too much blood.

He looked up, hoping the people knew what he wanted.

“W..h…y?”

--

----

They were walking out of the bar.

He got a good look of one person walking by to see dog ears on the top of his head.

“De..mi..hu..mans?”

He was just speaking to himself, wondering why they weren’t helping him while he was bleeding out right in front of them.

He reached out his left arm to grab the leg of one, the demihuman giving him a look of disgust and kicking his hand away.

He was going to die, and these people could do something about it.

So why?

Why were they not helping him?

Tears filled his eyes once again,

He just wanted to live.

He thought back to the start of the day, remembering that he was the one forced into this,

So why?

Why did he have to be the one to go through all this?

“Pl..ea..se..”

One last desperate plea.

He wanted to live,

—please…

—help me…

Words weren’t even escaping from his mouth anymore; he was just thinking to himself.

Tears were now streaming from his eyes, his consciousness going to fade in less than 30 seconds.

—

——

———

“Hey! Hey! Are you okay?! We need to get you help!”

The words he wanted to hear were finally spoken...

A man? A woman? His vision was too blurry and his hearing fading so he couldn’t tell.

All he knew is that someone finally came…

And he passed out.