Jolted awake Ian gasp hungrily for air. Ian was surprised that he was still alive as he sat up to look around him.
It was dark.
But it wasn't entirely dark.
A small fire was burning near Ian so he was able to see where he was. Strangely enough, the fire was contained with proper ventilation leading upward to who knows where almost as if the person who put it there knew about carbon monoxide poisoning. Ian looked around to see stone walls with some moss growing here and there, plus a pitch black doorway with no doors. Ian immediately remembered one of Mike's useless tidbit where moss was an indicator that water was nearby, so he kept the thought in the back of his mind.
Then Ian notice broken pieces of furniture such as tables, chairs and even a bed around the room. There were more junk laying about as if a hoarder lived here. Ian continue to scan his environment until something shiny caught his eye.
A sword.
It was poking out from underneath the broken bed revealing a damaged hilt and bits of the blade. A smile slowly formed on Ian's face at the prospect of finally holding a sword. It was the most efficient weapon to use in this situation. And despite everything that Ian has gone through, he really wanted to hold a real sword.
So he stood up only to grimace at the pain in his left leg.
He forgotten the self-injury on his left leg. Ian looked at his leg to see that a piece of cloth was wrapped around the wound. His eyebrows raised at the sight before him then Ian tried to retrace the memories that led to his blackout.
He remembered the intense heat, the difficulty breathing, and the crushing feeling of being so close of escaping only for that hope to be crushed.
Then Ian remembered hearing....
"Miiinnnneee..."
....Ian turned towards the source of that demonic voice only to find a pair of red eyes at the doorway before the creature walked forward revealing itself. The small illumination from the fire showed a tall humanoid being covered by long black hair reaching past its waist wearing tattered dress of some sort. The being had abnormally long pale limbs with glowing red veins that aren't as illuminated as their eyes. Overall, the red-eyed monster was as tall as the tallest basketball player maybe even taller.
Instinctively, Ian backed away as the creature entered the room while dragging something big...and hairy.
It was a rat.
A large one.
Very large in fact that it was the size of the largest dog Ian could think of, a German Shepard. Luckily the enormous rat was dead, likely killed by the red-eyed monster.
The red-eyed monster kept walking forward while Ian kept backing away until his back touched the wall.
This was it.
It was do or die.
So Ian shakingly reached for the dagger on his hip and gripped the handle tightly waiting for the monster to make its move.
But it didn't.
Instead, the monster sat down and began skinning the dead rat with its long claws. The action itself disgusted Ian as he never seen a butcher working before. Ian quickly looked away from the grotesque sight and took a few moments to settle his confused mind.
Clearly, the red-eyed monster brought him here from the fiery district and even patched him up somewhat. But why? It was a question that Ian wanted to ask but was too afraid too. Perhaps the monster was saving him for dessert or keep him as a pet.
Then again, the being couldn't say any other word aside from 'mine'.
Working up the courage, Ian finally spoke.
"Ummm...thank you for saving me, but-"
Ian hesitated for a brief moment before continuing.
"-why? If you can understand me that is of course."
He acted as calm and polite as he could be in this strange situation.
The red-eyed monster looked up at Ian and stared at him for a brief moment before answering.
"Miinnnneee..."
"Of course, I understand heh"
Ian chuckled a little at its response.
He didn't understand what it was saying. Ian wasn't a mind reader. But at least this interaction helped relieve some of the tension in the air.
The red-eyed monster finished skinning the rat and even took out all of the inner organs before setting the rat meat on a makeshift grill over the fire.
The smell of grilling meat was....gross. Ian never knew what gamey smell or taste like until now. The meat was stinky and the fire amplified that smell until eventually the raw meat was roasted enough to stink less.
The red-eyed monster looked at Ian who was still standing far away and pointed at a broken stool across from it.
Its action suggested Ian to sit there to which he complied willingly. He was a guest at the monster's humble abode and it would be rude to ignore such a kind gesture of a free seat. So with that in mind, Ian cautiously walked over and sat down on the wobbly stool.
The whole time that the meat was being cooked, Ian was figuring out on how to convince the monster that he wanted to leave. The ghastly tall figure went through all that trouble of tracking him down so it was unlikely that it would let him leave. But Ian had a place to return to and people that would miss him dearly. Maybe he could trick the monster somehow, but it felt wrong when it saved him from the fire and even treated his wound.
Before he knew it, the red-eyed monster offered Ian a piece of the cooked rat meat. Ian looked at the meat hanging on one of the monster's long claws, the smell invading his nostril and...
"No thank you. I already ate."
....he politely declined with an added smile to ease the monster. The monster then nonchalantly began feasting on its meal as if it never offered Ian a share of it.
Ian looked at the monster while it was eating. The sight in front of him was interesting to say the least. It was messy but not animalistic suggesting that the monster was perhaps human or was human?
Then an idea popped into his mind.