Pain filled my body as my eyes opened. I found myself lying down on my stomach, waking up from... honestly I'm not sure. A hangover maybe? I did recall having a drink or two. Hard to think, hurts to remember. Sure as hell wasn't a good sign. After a moment I regained enough of my strength to push myself off of the dirt filled ground and took in my surroundings, I came to a worrying realization. I had no clue where I was! It sure as hell wasn't anywhere close to home, I can guarantee that. Just trees and rock, a wall and some sort of building in the distance, those were the only landmarks around. There was no sign of civilization in the distance and even the fog covered building from far away looked abandoned. Unsure what to do, I moved forth. Carefully and slowly. The only sign of life seemed to be the crows that watched eerily from the tree tops, their beady eyes never looking away. A little unnerved by this, I locked eyes with the closest one as it did the same with me. Aside from the slight turn of the head I would have thought it a statue. The bird didn't even blink. After thirty seconds of this awkward staring competition I chose to move on, looking back every few moments just in case. Something about those things felt unnatural. Everything about this place did.

I followed the wall. It seemed to be the safest bet. There ought to have be a gate or an opening surely! It only made sense, I mean it couldn't go on forever right? Thankfully I did soon come across something that gave me hope. A large door of some sort. A gate that looked as though it slid open. Next to it, embedded in the brick wall sat an old switch. A way out possibly! Smiling, I quickly made my way over and gave the handle a firm tug. And to my disappointment nothing happened. Damn. Must be out of power. And looking at the glass on the top of the wall, climbing out wasn't an option either, even if I had a way to reach the top. Question was, what next? The most logical option was head to the abandoned building. Maybe it would give some sort of indication as to where I am or how far the nearest town was. It seemed to be my safest bet. I did exactly that and moved.

At least I did until I heard a scream. Loud, bloodcurdling... hairs on my neck stood on end and I nearly yelled myself. Good God that was loud! It took five seconds longer than it should have for me to realize that I wasn't alone. Someone was here, another poor soul trapped! And from the sounds of it in pain. A lot of pain if he was screaming like that. I didn't hesitate as I ran towards the noise, unsure what I'd find. But dammit I had to help him! What soulless bastard could ignore a desperate plea for help? The only thing that made me hesitate a little was the smell. Unique and unpleasant, and as though the closer I got to where the scream had originated from, the worse it got. Whatever it was, it smelt rotten. Very rotten. Like decaying flesh if I were to compare it to anything, even though I had never smelt such a thing. Christ it was bad! So bad I felt like I was going to throw up but I soldiered on, my determination pushing me on until I heard a new voice. Female this time right over the other side of the large rock that separated us. It sounded like she was chanting something in another language in a very calm monotone voice. Far too calm given the situation. Odd but I didn't think too much of it, reasoning to myself that it was something to distract her from the horrific stench that was now as strong as it could possibly be. Maybe a prayer even, I didn't know. I moved round the boulder ready to make my presence known and ready to give a helping hand. I turned to find her only twenty feet away.

I don't know how I didn't scream then and had been facing away from me when I saw her. A very good thing because if the back of her was anything like her front, I might have lost my mind in fear and wore an old, slightly tattered white robe that looked ceremonial, along with an ornate head dress of some sort. That was the only normal part of her. Her skin, good gracious her skin was covered in blistering festering sores and boils. At least on the parts there was actually skin. Some parts of her looked like they had been peeled off or rotted away. She was like she had some sort of disease, and a bad one at that. Toes and hands were blackened too. How could she even stand? The worst part was what lay before her. A body, smeared in bodily fluid. Vomit. Now I knew where both the scream and the smell had come thinking I backed away, back around the boulder as she continued her chant. I barely caught her turn before she left my sight and I hid behind the boulder. I held my mouth as though frightened it would betray my position. The chant grew louder as though converging on my location. Whatever that person... that thing was, it was about to find me. Should I run and expose myself entirely, or stay hidden and hope that she hadn't seen me at all? Both options carried great risk and I needed to choose in the next few seconds and the chanting was almost upon me.I decided that running was the better option. Considering her condition it would have been agonizing to chase after me, at least that's what I theorized. I got ready to run past the abandoned building and was about to break into the fastest sprint I could make until, suddenly the chanting stopped fading out to an echo before silence. My heart raced. The thing had stopped advancing. I could practically hear its raspy breath wheezing constantly as well as the odd cough that spluttered forth. I dared not move an inch unless knowing I was uncomfortable amount of time passed before, finally I could hear its footsteps now heading away. It didn't take long before they faded completely, but it still took a full minute to muster my courage and peek over the edge to find... Nothing...

What in Gods name was this place?