Something wakes you up

You hear a distant howl in your sleep, causing your eyes to slowly blink awake. At first, you wonder whether it was simply something you heard in your dream, but the sound starts up again, causing your heart to skip a beat and your body to come fully awake.

It’s still the middle of night. You notice the moon in full above you, letting a blue hue illuminate what would otherwise be a pitch black forest. You see nothing around you, but you fear what may be beyond the eye’s reach. You grip your spear and press your back against the cold stone wall of your shelter.

You look to the distance for any movement, but the forest holds still aside from the occasional gust of wind rustling the trees. You begin to relax slightly, no longer hearing the howls in the distance, when you feel a hand press against your shoulder. You yelp out loudly into the forest and hop on to your feet.

Turning around, you see nothing. Your heart races so fast that you can hear it in your chest. Your eyes wander about, trying to find anything or anyone that might have touched you.

But just as you begin to settle down, you hear a voice whisper in your ear, “Luna.”

You shriek again looking around you to find no one. “It better not be that imp trying to scare me,” you whisper to yourself. You look about the ruins you were sleeping in. Something about the stonework begins to make you feel uneasy, as if what remains of the walls are trying to close in around you. A cold shiver runs up your spine as a gust of wind blows from deeper within the ruins.

You shake your head. Any chance of you staying any longer at this place has become zero. You begin make your way into the forest, trying to distance yourself from that haunting place. You try and move quickly, as if running from an invisible ****.

As you keep moving, clouds slowly crawl over the bright moon above, blocking the moonlight and obscuring the forest in further darkness. The loss in visibility forces you to slow down and lets you catch a quick breath.

The imp seed churning in your stomach and lingering on your breath comes as an unfortunate reminder of the shameful act from last night. And the fact that a part of you enjoyed it enough to frig yourself afterwards makes it especially embarrassing. You wonder to yourself if you’re really so sexually frustrated that even a stubby demon was able to stir you up like that.

As you rest and think to yourself, you hear a voice further ahead. “Help,” the voice calls. “Somebody.” It sounds like a man’s voice, human and clearly in pain. You have every intention to turn the other way, but you conscience keeps you from simply walking in another direction. You figure you should at least investigate with caution. And with slow, quiet steps, you make your way towards the voice crying out for help.

You arrive to the source of the voice, a human male about your age groaning in pain. He leans against a tree, looking hurt. Most of his clothes are in taters, seemingly torn apart by some animal.

Realizing he needs help, you move towards him, foolish as it may be. You hold your spear tight, just in case it’s a trick, and speak out, “Are you alright? What happened to you?”

The man’s head shoot up, realizing someone is there. His face comes into what little light there is, revealing a handsome man with short dark hair and a light stubble. “Thank the gods,” he says. “I was on my way back to town in my cart… when an animal jumped out of the woods. I managed to escape when it turned its attention on my horse. I… I…” his voice trails off as he collapses to the ground.

You gasp and reach your hand out as the man falls flat on the ground. You don’t approach him further, fearing this is all a ploy to rob you—or worse. However, you goodhearted nature begins to take its effect on you. You can hear his labored breathes, making you crease your brow. You just pray that this isn’t all a trick.