Chapter 5

I awoke to a bright light directly above my head, my throat dry and my muscles sore. I tried to wet my mouth to no avail, and tried to move my arms, which felt stiff and unresponsive. I tried lifting my head slightly off of the soft surface it was on, and my neck gave out, my head flopping back.

I managed to let out a small groan before trying again, succeeding in bringing my head up to look at my surroundings.

There was a door to my right, leading out into a brightly lit hallway. I was on an elevated bed and saw several tubes sticking out my arm, leading to a machine next to me. Another one stuck out of my other arm leading up to a small, clear bag. A hospital room.

In a chair to my left, the driver from before sat, fast asleep on a comfortable looking armchair, his chest rising and falling to the soft beeps of an unknown machine.

I tried to call out, but my throat closed up, and I was thrown into a fit of coughing rage. There was a loud creak, and the driver was up and by the bedside. I managed to glance up through the rough coughs, and I saw genuine emotion on his face for the first time. Concern was etched on his face, and another emotion I couldn't quite place. One that was much deeper than simple concern for another human being.

"Breathe". His deep voice had the bite of command to it. He reached over to a small bedside table and handed me a bottle of water. I fumbled with the cap before tearing it off. The water hitting my throat was heavenly,

The driver stepped back, watching as I downed the bottle in less than ten seconds. I slowly managed to gather my breath, taking deep breaths before finally exhaling.

"Good." I looked up at the driver weakly. "I'm here because you are part of a rare few who lived through their first encounter." His face looked slightly happy for a second before a mask was put in place again. "There must be something about you that let you live when so few ever do. Congratulations. You are our support now." He said it with a finality, as if everything was better now, like the government's support would make my life much easier now.

When he finished his final sentence, I shook my head. "No, there isn't anything about me." I remembered being pinned to the ground, two of the goblins above me laughing as they danced on my body. Blood spilled out of me in several places, wetting the bottom of the goblins gnarly feet as I lay there on the edge of consciousness. The one holding my arms down barked in a scratchy voice towards the other two, who stopped dancing in annoyance before looking down at me. I could see the glint of murderous intent in their eyes.

But just as they both raised their claws to finally end my life, another goblin emerged from the tunnel the first three had come from. And he was a monster.

He towered over the other goblins, as tall as a slightly above average human. And while the other goblins were skinny with very little muscles defining them, this one had actual definition to every part of his body; his stringy muscles a stark contrast to his shorter kin. And perhaps the most terrifying of all, his eyes held a glint of intelligence, as if he could see me and recognize me as more than just an enemy.

He barked at all three goblins, the two above me screeching in annoyance and gesturing down towards me. The tall one raised its voice and barked back at them, its voice thundering around the cave. The three recoiled in shock, and shuffled towards the tall one in stooped down poses, all semblance of the pride and arrogance that had been so palpable before vanishing in front of their apparent boss.

The tall one snorted in my direction, looking down at me in disgust, and even in my barely conscious stage I could understand what his body language meant. He's already dead. The four of them turned around and walked back into the shadowy tunnel, the quiet patter of their feet disappearing behind them.

After that it was a blur. I could only remember clawing my way up the gravel hill, blood loss causing my muscles to weaken and my vision to darken. I just barely managed to drag myself to the sidewalk, where I suppose the driver must've found me.

Bringing myself back to the present, I stared up at the driver. "I got lucky. The monsters that attacked me got called back by their boss or something." At this, even through the mask of coolness, I could see shock echo across the driver's face.

"Di-did you say boss?" At this, I got confused. I responded in a questioning tone. "Uh, yeah. Tall goblin, seemed pretty smart. Is that something that's not normal?"

The driver sat down roughly in his chair, his head in his hands as sorry began to set in. "Yes. There's a problem." He looked at me, concern for the situation plain on his face. "Monsters never team up. Period. They never take orders from anybody, and they only travel in small groups if there's a direct benefit to it. Which means that boss you're talking about, must've shown them something so incredibly advantageous to their survival that they're willing to take orders. Something big."

I was released from the hospital a day later, after checkups from doctors clearing my health. I had been asleep for two days, which they said would usually be longer, but the Selected abilities aided the healing process. The driver, who's name I learned was John, told me he had to make a call to The Selected Department branch of government to inform them of the situation. He told me that once he informed them of that, he would come back to get me, with new orders that would probably force me to delve back down and investigate. His prediction proved true.

The small city passed by again in a flash, the hospital located right in the center. In less than ten minutes, we were back in front of the concrete building. John slowed to a stop before looking back at me, his face apologetic. "I'm sorry", he said. "Usually, you would be able to go to your new home and rest first, but the Department determined that this situation needed immediate investigating. I hope you understand."

I wasn't really listening. I was too busy thinking about what waited for me down there, the memories from before flooding back in. My resentment for our government grew, because I knew for sure they were sending me in half assed because I was readily available.

I didn't respond to John. I opened the door and stepped out, a brand new knife clutched in my hand, before slamming the car door behind. I stalked forward into the dark building. I slipped my phone out of my pocket, checking the time. The glowing read out said two o' clock, and the sun blazing overhead confirmed it.

I approached the hole in the ground, glancing in, terror freezing me again before I jumped in, landing with a solid crunch. This time, I whirled around, checking the entire hill all the way around. Nothing. My hand tightened on the knife.

I could feel my skin crawling on the back of my neck, as if somebody or something was watching me. I could almost imagine a goblin hiding in the shadows, its mouth salivating at the thought of a fresh meal. Then the smell hit me. The stench of the dead.

I walked around the top of the hill, looking down and finding the dark shape of the dead human at the base. For a moment, sadness grabbed my heart. For almost a full semester he had been in my class, yet I hadn't even known his name.

I glanced at his body again and realized there was a leg missing from a few days ago. I almost threw up all over the gravel in front of me, picturing those sharp teeth and beady eyes of the goblins tearing into the flesh of that leg.

I stumbled away from that side of the hill, eager to get away from the stench and the images. I stepped on the edge of the hill, still gagging, and started to slide my way down, small rocks cascading next to my feet.

I met the flat surface of the cave floor within a few seconds. I took a few steps before wincing in discomfort. I popped my shoe off and began to shake the rocks out of it when I heard a yell. A human yell.

I stopped short, glancing around at the separate tunnel entryways. I hurried to put my shoe back on. I held my knife up in front of me, the tip quivering slightly.

I heard the yell again, coming from the tunnel directly to my left, the hill to my right looking like a better and better option than facing whatever was causing that yell.

Then I thought back to the dead body on the other side of the hill. Well, I thought to myself. It wouldn't hurt to at least take a look, even if I can't do anything. I turned my body to face the tunnel, hesitation seizing me before I forced my body to take a step forward into the shadows.

The darkness made me wish for a flashlight, but I looked ahead and noticed a light I couldn't see from outside of the tunnel. I ran towards it, eager to be in an area where I could actually see, to where I would have somewhat of a fighting chance. However, directly across the tunnel from the wall where the LED was, another tunnel sat, this one well illuminated. Another yell echoed throughout, confirming its origin was from this new tunnel.

I gritted my teeth and shuffled quietly into the new tunnel, careful to step softly. I heard the sounds of a commotion from ahead, and I pressed myself against the wall of the tunnel, working my way forward.

In another ten meters, the tunnel opened up into a small cave, and in the middle of the new, smaller cave was where the yelling and sounds of commotion originated.

There were four figures. The one in the center of the others was a tall man, his dark skin, marred by several fresh cuts. In his hands he had what looked like a common house hammer that he was desperately swinging at his assailants. The ones attacking him were three goblins, all of them bearing a crude assortment of weapons, such as a misshapen club, a short stick, and what looked like a knife made out of bone.

While the man looked quite imposing and powerful, he was clearly being beaten. He looked exhausted, and the places where he had been cut were leaking blood heavily. The short little bastards were dodging and weaving too quickly for the man to get a solid hit in with his weapon.

I watched the fight for a few seconds, convinced in my mind that jumping into the fray would just lead to a pointless death for the two of us. But then I realized the odds we were facing, and desperately thought about the chance of survival, the man quickly getting overwhelmed.

If I get a sneak hit on the one with the knife, it'll be a simple two on two, the chances of winning then would be about fifty percent. And if we both live, that's another person that could fight with me, meaning I could live longer!

I wiped sweat off my forehead before jumping into the cave. I focused my gaze on the goblin with a knife and began to charge forward, the light glinting off my knife. I tried to be as silent as possible, and it worked.

I was less than a meter away when the goblin began to turn around. Fear ripped through my heart, but I was committed. With a yell of desperation, I thrust my knife forward using the momentum from running, straight into the goblins eye. Eye tissue and blood exploded out onto my head, and the goblins body suddenly went slack, collapsing onto the floor with a thud, leaving me standing there with a bloody knife and hand.

The other three looked more surprised than anything. I stood there looking shocked at how that plan worked, looking down at the body. Movement restarted when the goblin closest to me-the one with the stick-suddenly snarled in outrage and leapt towards me. I whirled to face him, and when he was right about to collide into me, I swung my knife upwards from its position by my side in a desperate manner.

I felt the blade plug into the chest of my new attacker. I sidestepped desperately and felt the wind blow my face as the goblin flew by. He crashed into the wall of the cave, and sat up scratching at himself in pain. He looked at the knife sprouting from his chest incredulously, before fixing his gaze on mine in hatred. He was dead five seconds later.

The last goblin appeared shocked at the turn of events, before his head promptly caved in, looking like a soda can of brain and blood. The man had plunged his hammer downward into the last goblin before it could react, crushing his head in a devastating blow of ferocity and anger.

What had just been thirty seconds ago a losing battle suddenly transformed into a quiet, bloody scene, the bodies of the goblins broken and deformed. For a minute, we didn't talk to each other, just appreciating the fact that we were alive. The man's face broke into a big grin, and he stalked towards me, gratitude in every ounce of his body.

When he was in front of me, I noticed just how much he towered over me. If I had to guess, I would say he was six feet, five inches, much taller than the average man. Me.

He grabbed my hand roughly and shook it earnestly. "Hi, my name's Zach! Thank you for saving me, I thought I was gonna die!" His grin and happy vibe did not suit the words he just said, and I was taken aback for a second. But it wasn't until I looked at the dead bodies of the goblins that my attention was completely taken away.

I shook my hands out of his and approached the first goblin I had killed, crimson red liquid silently flowing out of the dark hole where it's eye was. But I wasn't focused on that, I was focused on its clothes.

It had a brown cloth covering its lower body, protecting whatever it had down there. But the real conundrum was that both of the other goblins had the exact same cloth on. And the upper body, which I hadn't noticed before in the commotion, had a leather piece covering its left shoulder, a strap connecting it to the bottom cloth piece. And on the front of the leather piece was a small circle with a symbol in it that looked almost like a fire. And the two other goblins had the exact same piece on their shoulders. In the exact same place. With the exact same symbol.

"Hey, Zach," I called out. "Do you notice anything weird about their clothes?" He walked his way to my side, his heavy footsteps echoing in the small, enclosed space. He took a few seconds looking at all the goblins' bodies before he looked at me, confusion in his face. "Yeah, they're all the same, what about it? I don't think they have a lot of options for clothes down here."

I shook my head before I looked back down at the goblin in front of me. "Doesn't it.... Don't they almost seem like a uniform of some sort?"