I always hated this part of the month as it was always so boring and time-consuming. Nothing fun about doing this: spending an entirety of three days searching for materials that I needed. From the morning until dusk I would walk around in the middle of this empty world, looking for the items that I needed to have restocked for my sake and the sake of my empty town because if I didn't, I'll die or everything I have will break down. It was all just annoying, going back and forth from one place to the other. The worst part of all of this is the fact that I have to listen to myself complain throughout it all.
But of course, I always managed to convince myself that everything is fine and to deal with it because, at the cost of three cruel days of work, in exchange, I give myself peace for the rest of the month, which, to my ears, sounds wonderful. Three days of hard work; twenty-seven days of peace. A good deal that is always worth the effort for me. Still, regardless of the amount of freedom I give myself, these three days are sons of bitches to deal with. I have to haul ass from the forest to a cave, and then to my town, and then to the mountains and plains, and then back to my town. In the midst of all of the traveling, I have to fight monsters that want to be hindrances to my momentum and carry a shit ton of supplies, all while making sure that I don't lose or forget any of them.
Of course, on top of all of that I have to feed myself, keep myself hydrated, and well-rested because just like anyone else with humanity, I don't want to die or pass out in the worst possible location. Luckily, today was the last day of this monthly bullcrap. The last errand I needed to accomplish was to gather wood and replant any trees I chopped down; all of which was going very well and smoothly. My only worry at the minute, however, was the fact that it was dark, and in this world, the dark brings monsters; such an annoying occurrence. Well, as of right now, my concern didn't matter much since I was almost done with my tasks. All I was doing was chopping my final tree for the day.
The irritating sound of my ax hitting the bark of the tree repeated over and over again. At this point in my life, such a short sound became a sickness to my mind. Nevertheless, after a couple of seconds, the tree became the victim of my continuous action and fell. Multiple pieces of wood fell to the floor, spreading across a small area. It was a nice sight; the view was a depiction of my finished work.
Ever so happy with myself, I crouched down and picked up the pieces of wood and placed them in my backpack. All I had to do now was head back home to the town that I have built. As I stood back up, I looked at my digital watch; it was 9:54 PM. It wasn't too late that it would be a big problem, but neither was it early enough that I could have an easy stroll back to where I'm supposed to be. How much I wished it was, though.
I looked at the dark sky which was plated with stars all over and one shiny white moon. It was a nice sight, one that was very relaxing. As if nature had a cue, a nice and subtle wind began to blow, giving me a chilly feeling that gave me goosebumps. The trees around me whistled and their leaves danced along with the air, creating a nice soothing ambiance that allowed my mind to indulge itself in silence and peace.
Man... How nice it'd be if all of the nights in this world could be like this.
Cutting myself off of my trance, I looked back down and turned in the direction in which my town was located. All I had to do now, was walk. Without any further delay, I began to move my legs.
It was all very quiet which was very surprising. Normally at this point, I would hear tons of horrendous and monstrous sounds coming from every angle possible. Groans, screeches, and crackles, all of which belonged to the monsters that would show up on schedule at night. But no, none of those were nowhere to be heard. Instead, all I could hear was the wind and my calm, silent footsteps.
I looked around the landscape in search of a horrendous creature to become displayed within my sight, however, there wasn't one thing anywhere to be found. Today must've been my lucky day. After all of my whining, it seems that destiny has chosen to give me a day off so I could shut the hell up.
Through this dark forest, I walked and walked in complete silence. It was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. It was astonishing how tranquil the atmosphere was without the cracking, growling, screeching, or moaning coming from every direction. The wind and the leaves were the only things that intruded on my hearing.
You know, nature sure is amazing in the way it can make someone feel. Just moments ago I was giving myself a bothersome time and now, all I felt was the harmony of silence. Honestly, if I wasn't outside kilometers away from home, I could've probably been able to fall asleep here without worries creeping into my brain and instincts.
My eyes wandered from tree to tree, from one side of the plain to the other, from the sky to the ground, and from my hands to my surroundings. Everything looked exquisite with the timid moonlight falling all over. The dim white lighting kept the environment from becoming unsettling and terrifying.
How I wish for every night to be just like this one. Is it so much to ask to have this wish of mine granted? Seriously, is there even a necessity for monsters to appear every night as if they have a schedule to follow through?
I gave a defeated sigh since I knew this will probably be the only peaceful night I'll have for months. After all, this world isn't so kind or forgiving in the area of survival.
I hadn't really paid attention to the amount of distance I had autonomously traveled, but by the looks of it, since I couldn't see my village anywhere within my sight, I still had a good bit to go. I looked up at the sky to see the bright white circle just hanging directly above me. It was midnight and I wasn't close to home. I knew that this would've happened if I chose to keep working myself. At least it was nice that I didn't have to engage anything. Otherwise, if I had to, I could guarantee that I would've been drained of my remaining stamina due to how tired I feel from everything else I've accomplished today.
About thirty minutes later, I had managed to cross the forest I was in and was going down a small hill. In the distance of the land, I was able to see my village which was surrounded by a towering wall of stone lit up by torches. Finally, my destination was within my grasp. As a result of my visual confirmation, my happiness and relief gave me a light boost of energy that kept me moving.
My eyes scanned the entire plane of land in front of me in search of any threats, however, there was nothing around that could've worried me. This current phenomenon was truly fascinating and confusing to me. Why was it so calm tonight of all nights? If my memory served me right, this has to be the only placid night that I could remember. I could not recall any other night that has shown the harmony of solitude like the way this night has shown.
I looked at my digital watch and noticed that it was barely over one in the morning. The night was still young so for all I knew, those shitty monsters might begin showing up sometime soon, perhaps right when it is time for me to sleep.
"Aaaaaaiiiiiihhhhhh!" All of a sudden the silence throughout the land was terminated by a sharp feminine squeal.
What in the living hell was that?
The scream was sharp and full of fear and despair. It killed all of the comfortable emptiness within my brain. Instinctually, I stopped walking and pulled out my sword. In an instant, a shit ton of questions clouded my mind.
Who the hell had screamed? Is that a girl? Why the hell could she be screaming about? Where in the hell is she? What the fuck?
After the squeal, the only thing that I was able to hear was my slow breathing, my quickened heartbeat, and a rising ringing noise in my ears. I stood still, waiting for something to happen. Was she going to scream again? Or am I going to go to my village and act as if I didn't hear anything?
Seriously though, what in the fuck could she be screaming about? There aren't any monsters anywhere.
I stood fixed on the ground for who knows how fucking long, waiting for anything to happen.
Did I just hallucinate? Am I so damned tired that I just heard an imaginary scream?
I turned my head from left to right, back and forth with my senses all rioting at their max. Nothing was happening, nothing at all.
"Aaaaaaiiiiieeeeeehhh!" There it was again, the same girl. That freakish squeal came from my right, all the way from what seemed to be the small entrance of a cave that I had found months ago.