Kali woke to the sound of leaves stirring in the wind. She sat up, and realized that she wasn't in Montana anymore; she was in the middle of a sun filled forest. She stood up slowly, carful to not disturb a single leaf.
I remember… a truck coming out from nowhere and hitting me on my side here, then this…. Where am I?
Sunlight filtered down through the fiery colored leaves on her. No sounds but her breathing filled the air, and that's when she realized that something was completely wrong; she didn't feel her heart beat. It was gone, that pulse that she took for granted was no more. She waited to fall over and die, but she didn't, she reached up and touched where her heart was; nothing, no sound, no feeling.
This is freaky… she thought. Maybe I'm in a coma after I got hit by that truck and this is all a dream. Else this is heaven.
She reached her hand out and touched the trunk of a tree lightly; she traced the bark with her finger,
I can still feel, that's good.
She walked slowly around; her body felt like it normally did, except lighter. She licked her lips, for a moment her tongue brushed the tips of her canine teeth. Sharp, they were sharp, sharper than they ever had been.
She reached a hand up and felt them; they were longer, pointier, and more wolf-like.
This dream gets stranger and stranger, now I'm a vampire or something.
A sudden clang of metal on metal made Kali jump in momentary panic.
Off deeper in the woods, grunts and roars came sounded, followed by clanks and sounds of metal chopping wood.
I have got to find out where I am and how I can get home from wherever this is... She thought and began walking in the direction of the noises.
As she was walking through the forest, out of the corner of her eye she saw something grey come swiping at her, she dodged barely in time, almost getting a cut on her cheek from a crooked and tarnished sword.
Adrenaline kicked in and she let her instincts take over, she bit down hard on whatever came at her, the goblin screeched in pain and hissed, she unclenched her jaw and pushed him away, finding it easier than she anticipated thanks to his small frame.
His blood tasted really bad, but it filled Kali with a feeling of satiation.
She, without really thinking, bit into the same goblin again, it howled in pain once more and thrashed, kicking her in the gut.
All the air in her lungs whooshed out of her mouth and she fell to her knees, luckily, avoiding at the same time, a swing from another goblin.
She turned her full attention to the other one, feeling that her life was in danger, her body moving almost on it's own. She took him down easily, it helped again that goblins are half her size.
After she had incapacitated the second one, she realized for the first time that they were of an unknown species to her. She examined the fragile bone structure of one of them and the green-grey skin that they had.
They reminded her a little of the aliens she had seen in a movie long ago as a child back at home, they had frightened her then, they frightened her now.
But for now she had no focus on finding people, actual, live, people-people.
With that in mind, she set off deeper into the woods as the sky was beginning to darken, but she didn't get far before it became evident that darkness has fallen on the forest and there was no sign of civilization. So, she sat down propped up against a fallen tree that didn't look too insect-ridden and tried to recall any survival classes she took as a child, and eventually, she dozed off.
Having no heartbeat scared her more than when she lay there alone that night on the forest floor. She tossed and turned that night, unable to settle her nerves. She woke up a few times, lying there in the dark was even worse than not knowing what was going on around her while she was unconscious.
Because when she opened her eyes it never seemed like it was truly dark, it was lie a muted, less-colorful daytime with a tad less light.
Seeing everything that went on in the woods at night with her improved vision was worse than not knowing. Sometimes she saw giant creatures hulk about, she could sense every small lizard that scuttled across the forest floor next to her. Leaves crackles, branches snapped, owls called.
She gasped and held her ears, hoping it would all stop, squeezing her eyes shut tight. She heard some giant rumbles, it sounded like talking, or bellowing.
She jumped to her feet quickly, and looked around.
Firelight nearby, just past the clearing, illuminated the trees in an orange glow, she crept closer through the bushes, keeping out of sight.
Three Trolls stood around a bonfire, shoving each other and grumbling about what small morsels they found. One of the Trolls held the two goblins that Kali had killed earlier, and a sheep was roasting over the fire… kind of alive.
Kali frowned; this seems like something out of a fairytale… man, I really am delusional!
Kali waited in the shadows as she saw the Trolls take the sheep off the stake and rip it apart and stuff their faces, they roared in annoyance as the fleece caught in their teeth. Kali felt her hunger rise,
Not now, stomach! Please no!
She waited for the earth-shattering rumbles hat would give away her position, but they never came.
She backed away while looking at the creatures,
I've got to get out of here...
But as she was doing so she began to drool while staring at the Trolls. They look so disgusting, yet so satisfying.
She crept closer and got a better look; they were too busy arguing to notice her come ever so closer.
Something that tasted like bitter saliva dripped from her canine teeth, she mentally slapped herself.
No, no. No, Kali, you are not going over there, they are clearly bigger than you. Stop no.
Despite her mind's protests she crept up behind the largest and easiest to hide behind and searched for a place to bite. As she sunk her teeth into him he gurgled and fell over dead.
The other Trolls watched in astonishment as their friend fell down and once they realized what that meant, another one was dead on the ground and only one was left standing holding a club.
Kali licked her lips and launched herself at the last one and scrambled up it's arm and shoulder clamping down on his neck, draining this one as well.
She hopped down a little unsteadily and licked the rest of the residue off her lips.
Okay, that was gross, ew... Slimy, yet satisfying. Yep. Nope. Not a good time for a Lion King quote. That just ruined a childhood movie for me, great.
Though it was gross, she did feel satiated for some reason.
Full now, she climbed a tree and sat in its branches and she sat there, gazing at the stars until the morning.