Chapter 9: The Villagers
Lucas and Leo crashed into the cave floor, tumbling over scattered stones. Leo groaned, clutching his side.
The beast's distant roar still echoed behind them.
Eline rushed forward, dropping beside Leo. She reached into her satchel, pulled out the glowing red potion, and uncorked it. "Drink this. Quick."
Leo didn't argue. He grabbed the vial and drank in three long gulps. The effect was instant—his breathing slowed, his wounds began to close, and the pain dulled.
Eric stumbled in next, panting, his face pale with panic. "Is… is it gone?"
Lucas nodded, sitting with his back against the cave wall. "For now. But it won't stay away long."
Leo sat up and slammed his fist against the ground. "What the hell was that?! I cut off its arm! I cut off its nose! I saw it bleeding purple! I was winning!"
Lucas didn't answer at first. His face was pale, his eyes distant.
Leo turned to him. "You saw it too, right? That thing just… grew its parts back! What kind of monster does that?"
"I don't know," Lucas replied. "I really don't. That's why I had to get us out. It wasn't just strong—it was unnatural."
Eric was still shaking. "I—I thought we had it. I thought the plan would work."
Leo stood up and paced the cave. "This world is cheating. I swear, I had that thing! I was this close to taking its head! And then bam—its arm grows back like it never happened!"
He pointed at Lucas. "You teleported us away! You should've let me finish it!"
"That's enough!" Eline's voice cut sharply through the cave.
Leo stopped.
"Lucas saved your life, Leo," she said. "You were down to 35% HP. That thing was about to crush your skull. He did what he had to do."
Leo clenched his fists. "So what? We just keep running away?"
"No," Lucas said firmly, standing now. "We need to re-strategize. But first, we have to get out of this cave. It's not safe anymore."
Eric nodded quickly. "Where do we go?"
Lucas looked toward the east, his head tilted slightly. "Away from the scent. I can still track the beast's movement—it's heading west."
So the group packed what little they had and left the cave behind.
They walked in silence, each of them trapped in their thoughts. The jungle grew dense again, with thick vines and glowing mushrooms lighting their path. Birds with too many eyes chirped overhead. The sun filtered weakly through the leaves.
After nearly an hour of hiking, they reached a clearing.
Leo stopped. "Is that… a village?"
Dozens of small huts were scattered beneath the trees, with smoke curling from chimneys and lanterns swaying in the breeze. Children ran barefoot, laughing. Adults tended gardens and cooked over fires.
Eline squinted. "They look… human."
Lucas frowned. "Something's wrong."
But before he could explain, a group of villagers noticed them and rushed forward. "Guests! Travelers!" one woman called, her smile too wide.
The villagers offered baskets of fruit, cups of sweet-smelling drink, flower necklaces, and cloths for drying sweat. They clapped and sang, welcoming the four as if they were long-lost heroes.
Leo grinned. "Now this is more like it." He bit into a yellow fruit. "Whoa! Sweeter than cake and ice cream combined!"
Eline hesitated, then took a small bite of a red fruit. "It's… really good."
Eric was already halfway through a plate of some sticky, glowing berries.
Only Lucas didn't eat.
He stayed still, his senses alert. Every time a villager passed near him, his instincts screamed. The smiles were too perfect. The children's laughter too synchronized. And the scent—it was sweet, but sickening.
"Guys," he said. "We need to be careful. Something's wrong here."
"Relax," Leo said through a mouthful. "They're friendly. Probably the first good thing we've found in this nightmare."
Lucas stared at the villagers. "They're smiling too much."
The village lit up with celebration as night fell. Drums beat around the fire, children danced, and the air was filled with music and smoke. The four of them were given a hut to rest in, and one by one—except Lucas—they all fell asleep, full and happy.
Lucas sat quietly on the thick branch of an old tree, high above the strange village that had welcomed them with too many smiles. The air was calm, the sky full of stars. Below, everything seemed… normal. Or at least, as normal as it could be in a world like this.
The villagers danced around fires, laughing and eating their fruit-only meals. There was no sign of danger—no monster, no spell, no shadows creeping in. Yet, Lucas couldn't shake the unease crawling through his chest.
Leo, Eline, and Eric were already fast asleep inside one of the village huts, snoring softly under warm blankets offered by the smiling villagers. But Lucas refused to rest there. Something about those smiles didn't feel right. They were too wide. Too perfect.
"I'll just stay up here," he told himself, settling into the crook of the branch.
But even Lucas—exhausted, drained, his body sore from the battle with the beast—couldn't keep his eyes open forever. The wind rocked the tree gently, and soon, his head slumped forward. He fell asleep, watching the village.
The first thing Lucas noticed when he woke up was the silence.
The dancing was gone. The drums had stopped. The village…
His eyes snapped open.
There was no village anymore.
Lucas sat up fast and looked down.
The huts were gone. The bonfires? Gone. The villagers? Gone.
In their place stood a dark, wide-mouthed cave surrounded by dry rocks and dust. It was as if the entire village had melted into the earth overnight.
He rubbed his eyes. "What the…?"
Lucas climbed down from the tree, slowly and carefully. His heart beat faster with every step. The smell of sweet fruit had vanished—replaced by something else: burning wood, smoke, and… meat?
He crouched low, hiding behind a rock at the cave entrance. From inside, he could hear the deep thump of drums again—but this time, they weren't cheerful. They were heavy, angry. And voices—guttural, snarling, nothing like the friendly villagers from last night.
He crept into the shadows of the cave, making sure no one saw him. What he saw inside froze his blood.
It was the same place. The same location where the village square had been.
But now… it was a dark cave lit by fire pits, and the villagers were gone.
In their place were orcs—huge, twisted creatures with tusks, sharp claws, and armor made of bones and iron. Their eyes glowed faintly red in the firelight, and their mouths stretched in horrible, toothy grins.
Lucas gasped quietly when he saw them. And then, he saw his friends.
Leo, Eline, and Eric were tied together with thick ropes, hanging slightly above the ground, suspended between two tall wooden poles near a roaring fire pit. Eric stirred first, blinking awake.
"Wha—what is this?" Eric stammered, realizing he couldn't move. "Where are we?!"
Eline's eyes shot open next. "It's a cave…" she whispered. "The village… it was never real."
Leo, the strongest of them all, struggled against the ropes furiously. "Damn it! Where's Lucas?! I swear I'll break these ropes—!"
The orcs danced around the fire, sharpening spears and laughing in their dark, snarling language. One of them—a hulking beast with a massive jaw and rusted chains on his arms—stood near the fire, turning a long metal spit. He looked over at the prisoners with hungry eyes and let out a deep laugh.
"Tonight," the orc barked, "we feast on outsider flesh!"
Lucas stayed hidden in the shadows, watching with wide, horrified eyes. He clenched his fists. This wasn't just an illusion anymore. It was a trap. A trap meant to make them let their guard down.
And it had almost worked.
Almost.
He looked around carefully, counting the orcs. There were too many for a head-on fight. He needed a plan. Fast.
His friends were minutes away from being burned alive, and only he knew the truth.
Lucas stepped back into the shadows and whispered to himself, "Don't worry, guys. I'm getting you out of this."