Ian held his breath while covering his mouth and nose with both hands this time.
Not a single sound to be made.
The red-eyed monster was just on the other side of this thin wooden plank wall that Ian was using to hide from it.
Ian heard sniffing sound implying the monster was trying to locate him through scent. It kept sniffing as if honing in on Ian's location causing his blood to run cold at the thought of being caught.
Then....
"Miiiinnnnneeeee....."
Ian heard the feral-like demonic voice resounded out loud as he moved one of his hand to grip the hilt of his dagger. He waited for something to happen as the tension in the air was reaching its boiling point.
But nothing.
Only the sound of footsteps going farther away from Ian.
He waited until the footsteps were far enough to finally let go of the tension that built up within him. Ian breathe so fast that it felt like he ran a marathon along with him soaked in sweat from head to toe, he'd even believe it.
That monster...
That monster was hunting him.
He was sure of it.
It followed after him when it finished dealing with that minotaur-like monster and it probably killed or immobilized those worm zombies too.
No....maybe it was following him from the very beginning.
The thought sent chills down Ian's spine.
He couldn't rule out the thought but he wondered why it didn't kill him from the very beginning?
Did it enjoy the thrill of the hunt?
It seemed intelligent enough to speak granted so far the monster could only say one word.
And behind the feral demonic voice, it sounded....feminine?
Ian frowned at the thought.
Then an absurd thought quickly popped into his mind.
Ian shivered and threw that idea away before it could fully form.
'Get your head out of the gutter you idiot! That thing clearly wants to kill you. Gah this fucking place is messing with my head already.'
After reprimanding himself and blaming his environment for that idea, he wondered what his next course of action would be. It seems that the red-eyed monster was tracking him through scent-
"Oh..."
-Ian quickly realized that he was surrounded by spoiled meat. Around him were pieces of meat that seemed familiar to him such as beef, pork, and chicken maybe? Or what seems like chicken along with large cuts of meat that were alien to him.
Anyway, Ian knew what he had to do but the thought grossed him out even more. For his entire life, Ian grew up in a first world country with relative comfort in terms of hygiene. Meaning he never touched or interacted with anything that smelled so bad that he would need 24 hour long shower to wash the stink off.
Ian gulped as he picked up a random piece of meat.
It was do or die.
He shut his eyes tight as he rubbed spoiled meat onto him.
By now, Ian was used to the disgusting smell as he stopped gagging from before. Being buried underneath a hill of corpses helped with that plus he was forced to hide in this food stall earlier by the very reason he was rubbing spoiled meat onto himself.
His hatred towards the red-eyed monster grew as he rub the spoiled meat under his armpits.
Ian's thoughts drifted away to distract himself from the grotesque task. He thought of that one Tiktak challenge years ago where people would pickle meat and eat or lick it. Except the "pickled meat" was in reality spoiled meat, so people were consuming spoiled meat despite warnings from medical experts. Even Ian despite barely passing high school was smart enough to know pickled meat doesn't exist....at least through the normal techniques used on vegetables.
Now he was slathering spoiled meat onto himself while wondering how idiotic people were to put this stuff anywhere near their mouth.
The smell itself was simply revolting.
After a while, Ian was done with the grotesque task and he walked away silently. Unfortunately, he also brought a souvenir in the form of spoiled sausage links that he found and wrapped onto his neck as a safety precaution.
The things he do for survival.
He marched towards the orange glow in front of him now feeling the heat and smoky air flowing into his lungs. Ian would have to wrap the cleanest cloth he had on him to avoid breathing in smoke. At least there were a decent amount of cloths around him from the stalls, so he picked the cleanest he could find and wrapped it into a bandana.
The bandana itself also worked as a pseudo filter for the horrid smell on him although it only slightly reduced the rotten smell.
Ian kept walking along but this time he opted to stick close to the buildings in case the red-eyed monster backtracked. He wasn't entirely sure if it travelled by rooftops or roads or any other routes in the city but it seemed safer using the buildings as cover.
There were more twists and turns plus the buildings looked even shabbier as if Ian was nearing the poorest part of the city. Ian encountered a few monsters along the way but he was far enough to avoid them by taking an alternate route. He knew by now that he could never put up a proper fight against any of these nightmarish creatures. The only upper hand Ian had over these abominations was his wit. But it didn't make him complacent, the red-eyed monster humbled Ian in that aspect as he would occasionally scan the rooftops around him for his hunter.
Ian's guard was always raised now as his eyes and ears perked at any abnormality near him.
Then in front of Ian, he could finally see fire just down the slum streets. The crackle sound of blazing flames were welcoming to his ears yet his eyes caught sight of a much larger beast travelling towards his direction. Ian quickly hid inside the building next to him. He scanned inside for any danger only to find multiple straw beds in a tight space.
At least the room was clear but the thought of multiple people crammed into one small room didn't sit right for Ian. But it was an afterthought as Ian waited for the monster to pass by.
By now, Ian can hear stomping coming from outside prompting him to ready his weapons.
The stomps sounded closer.
His grip tighten around his club as Ian unconsciously clenched his teeth.
Then the stomps sounded farther.
And farther.
Until.
Ian heard the sound of fingernails scratching the wooden roof above him.
"Miiiiinnneeee...."