Having just left Ayla’s house, Nathan entered the first alleyway he saw and stopped in his tracks. Unlike the wide main street, the alleys appeared to be quite cramped. With snaking, maze-like paths to follow, it was uncertain whether he would hit a dead end or not.
Reluctant as he was, the map in his possession pointed that way, and Nathan decided to trust Ayla’s words. ‘It better be safe…’ Walking down the otherwise cramped alley, he mused over how substantially run-down the houses in these parts were. Different from the neatly built castle-like houses on the main street, the ones found inside the alleys were a jumbled mess. They cared little for aesthetics and just fought over who held the most space inside the alley.
Looking over the chaotic mess before his wide-open eyes, Nathan made it a point to stick to the middle of the alley, fearful of a house collapsing on his head. Not that he had much of a choice though, as most of the stony paths he walked through were only two to three meters wide, and some of them were even as narrow as a single meter wide.
‘Why is it so damn cold,’ having hit the roads for a few minutes already, only now did Nathan realize how cold the streets actually were. Blame it on adrenaline, the moisture hanging in the air, having stayed in Ayla’s cozy house, or whatever, his body heat was slowly dropping. ‘I won’t die from this, but man is it annoying…’ Recalling the pitch-black coat he donned while fighting the nightmare, Nathan couldn’t help regretting his choice to discard it. Not that he had a choice to begin with, the poor coat had been turned to shreds by the nightmarish creature’s claws when it had descended upon him.
Rubbing his forearm in annoyance, the white shirt he wore turned wrinkled due to the friction, as a chilly current sent shivers running down his spine.
“Achoo!!” He sneezed. And, almost immediately,
*Grrr!! Awooo!!!*
‘Oh, no…’ An all too familiar growl echoed in the distance. Pausing in his tracks, Nathan frantically looked around for a place to hide. Going by experience, he didn’t have a lot of time before the dogs made it here, and, unwilling as he was, running away wasn’t a valid option either. If he somehow ended up lost inside this maze of sorts, it was questionable whether he would be able to find the way back out or not!
‘Where to hide, where to hide? Hmm, this one will do...’ No more than a few meters ahead, Nathan spotted one of the many gaping holes in the wall of buildings. Obviously, the residents were unwilling to waste the tiniest bit of cement, even if it meant making the area look better, allowing for many such gaps to appear. Barely half a meter in width, the small gap lay quietly, hidden and out of view.
Rushing madly to hide, Nathan didn’t bother checking for threats as he struggled to fit in. Crouching behind some medium-sized wooden crates, Nathan wrapped his arms defensively around his knees, the grip he had on the knife tightening as he held his breath.
*Grrr…*
The growling sounds were getting closer and closer. Nathan’s heartbeat quickened as a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. Even though he couldn’t see them, he could hear them getting closer to his hiding hole. ‘I hope their noses aren't as good as their bloody ears…’ Wished Nathan while clenching his teeth.
*Rrrr!!*
A beastly shadow appeared over the brown crate along with the wild grumble, ‘Fuck, they found me!’ Regretting his choice to not make a run for it when he had the choice, Nathan was ready to stab the first snout he saw. Alas,
*Awooooo!*
A howl louder than the ones he heard before, echoed in the distance. The beast’s head was momentarily turned left, pondering whether it should follow the calling or not, before turning back to the meal hiding inside the narrow gap in the building.
‘Come on fucker! I dare you to make a move on me!’ thought Nathan, his gaze sharp and steady as he stared at the beast’s shadow growing bigger.
*Awoooo!*
Another howl resounded and this time, the dog growled back. Unwilling as it was, it could no longer ignore the calling from its pack leader and turned around to leave, growling angrily on the way. “Haaaah,” exhaling the mouthful of cold air he had been holding in for a while now, Nathan’s sleeve was tinted yellow as he wiped away the drops of sweat forming on his forehead. ‘Fuckin’ dogs… Why are they bloody everywhere?!’ Resting with his eyes closed for a moment, Ayla’s figure emerged in Nathan’s mind for some weird reason.
Her pale blue hair waved along with a non-existent wind as her playful gaze pierced right through him. Casually sitting on her comfy chair, Ayla seemed to know everything that Nathan was going through, chuckling at his misery. ‘Damn you… Who do you think is the cause for this predicament I am in?! You damn… You, you… Haah...!’ Unable to find the right words to describe her, Nathan tried to relax, waving her figure out of his weary mind.
‘Hmm?’ Something felt wrong. Unwilling to open his eyelids to check, Nathan prayed inwardly. ‘If there is a God, Buddha, Devil or whatever out there… Please, I am begging you… Tell me I didn’t just pee in my pants…’ Getting scared was one thing, but peeing his pants due to fear was a totally different matter. Hesitantly opening his eyes, Nathan’s gaze slowly landed on his pants, wondering whether he had actually pissed himself or not.
‘What the…’ His mind shut down momentarily Nathan wasn’t exactly sure what he was staring at. In between his legs, right where his crotch was, a small, liquid-looking white blob rested quietly. Wetting his pants in the process.
‘The heck is this thing now…’ Being more than a little curious about the strange creature in between his legs, Nathan tried to poke it with his hand. It felt slimy to the touch, and its surface bounced back to position as soon as he retrieved the finger. ‘...’ Lost for words, Nathan repeated his earlier action again, and again, and again… ‘This is actually pretty fun,’ he thought and a small chuckle escaped his lips. Addicted to poking the strangely quiet creature, Nathan waited for the dogs to get further away. However, immense as the little blob’s patience was, it wasn’t endless.
‘Haah?’ Nathan’s eyes opened wide as a pitch-black zig-zagging line formed vertically on its slimy body. Staring in disbelief at the sudden change, his dagger was already half-heartedly pointing at it. Ready to stab it just in case it decided to go nuts on him. Instead of going nuts though, the creature went directly for HIS nuts. Revealing a toothless maw, it bit down or, more precisely, crashed on the closest part it could reach.
“Ughhh!!!” A surprised and slightly muffled yelp escaped Nathan’s mouth, unprepared as he was; the creature’s course of action was all too sudden for him. Had it not been for its earlier ‘cuddling nature’ of sorts, he might have been better prepared but, as the dogs left, so did the adrenaline from Nathan’s system, lowering his defenses enough for something like this to happen.
Flailing frantically, Nathan tried to pull the small white blob away from there... And, believe it or not, he actually succeeded on the first try. Apparently, the creature’s ‘maw’ wasn’t strong enough to hold down on the leathery pants he wore. Throwing the ball of slime on the opposite wall, Nathan hurriedly crawled his way out of the small gap in the wall.
More surprised than hurt, Nathan realized that his scream was more than enough to wary the canine's attention. ‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’ Cursing loudly in his mind, he was once more back inside the cramped alleyway.
*Grrr!*
Standing some tens of meters away, the damned monstrosity of a dog was angrily looking down at Nathan’s figure. Even though it had unwillingly left earlier due to its leader’s calling, it clearly heard Nathan’s muffled scream, making it turn around. Previously, it had only dropped the hunt because it thought Nathan was a small mouse but, now that Nathan’s tasty body was visible, the dog was more than happy to accommodate him, or eat him. Either way, Nathan was stuck in a fierce staring contest with the seven-eyed dog. He could see it in its eyes, the beast was out for blood and Nathan was a perfectly sized meal for it.
‘Make a move and I’ll stab you to death!’ He didn’t need to say it out loud, the desperate, murderous glint of a cornered animal inside Nathan’s pitch-black pupils was more than enough to transfer the meaning. Moving back one step at a time, he tried to open the distance between them. Alas, the dog was having none of that; with its head raised high, it let out a deafening howl.
*Awoooooooo!!!*
Following closely after, more and more howls echoed in the area. Now, every single dog in the area would surely be chasing after Nathan! “Damn it! There is not enough meat for all of you fuckers!” Turning around to make a run for it, all he could do was curse his bad luck.
The moment Nathan turned his back to the dog, a game of chase and being chased began. It was going to be tough, but, if Nathan wanted to get out of this alive, he would have to stick closely to the path Ayla had drawn out for him. Thankfully, according to the map, his current position was already quite close to the cathedral.
All Nathan had to do was go left on the next intersection, then left again, make a turn right, pass under the bridge cause it was dangerous to go above it, and then follow along the path until he reached… What was it again? ‘Fuck! You couldn’t make the directions any more complicated than this, could you?!’ Cursing in his mind because his mouth was huffing and puffing steam as he ran, Nathan made a sharp turn left.
“Woof! Grr!!” Luckily, even if the dog’s body was accustomed to making such sharp turns, the boxes, crates, and other small things Nathan kicked as he rushed ahead forced it to slow down, if only by a little. Making one more left turn, Nathan was happy to discover the alley he entered was quite a tight fit. He had to walk sideways for about ten meters before it turned wider again. “Haha! Serves you right you bastard!” Laughing at the massive dog’s inability to pass through, Nathan didn’t waste time getting to the other side.
Growling in anger, the beast turned tail and rushed to catch up from a different path. Having made it to the other side, Nathan ignored the enormous amounts of dust covering his clothes and inspected the surroundings. “Clear,” he mumbled and turned right, running straight for the stone-paved bridge that was curving upwards in the distance. ‘Just a few more meters to go… Wait a minute, I have to cross it from below? Right...’ Recalling the map’s instructions, Nathan mused over the information. Was there actually a way under the bridge or not?
‘Oh, well… There has better be a way, otherwise, I’ll have to go from above...’ Nathan had no clue as to why he had to go strictly under the bridge, all Ayla mentioned was that it would be dangerous if he crossed the bridge normally.
*Grrr!!*
With the bridge no further than fifteen meters away, Nathan failed to realize there was a beast lurking in the shadows of a small alley to his right. ‘Why the fuck are you hiding?! You are supposed to be chasing me!’ Disbelief was painted all over his face as he hurriedly turned to defend himself. With his right arm raised, Nathan’s makeshift shield was used to block the blow. Biting the wood so hard that it sent splinters flying all over the place, the dog was forced to a momentary stop even as Nathan was pushed to the ground.
But even as he fell backward, Nathan didn’t waste the opportunity to strike back. Reflexes sharpened by adrenaline, he used the knife in his left hand to stab the bloody creature straight in the guts. However, with no training whatsoever, Nathan’s aim was slightly off and, instead of gutting it, all he achieved was a cut running down the creature’s hind leg.
The dog let out a pained growl as it let go of the tattered shield. Its leg might have been injured, but in no way was it debilitated. Using its body mass to overpower him, it utilized its front paws, extending its pair of sharp claws before making shallow cuts in Nathan’s torso. Biting his tongue hard enough to draw blood, Nathan refused to let a scream out. He had already garnered enough attention to himself, and, any more than that would literally be calling death at his doorstep. Be it by the dogs, or, something else wandering the streets.
Being over Nathan gave the beast somewhat of an advantage, but who was Nathan to let it have its way? Before the dog had a chance to use its maw as well, Nathan pulled the knife back and went for a second stab. This time he didn’t miss though and got it straight in the guts.
Releasing the hold he had on the dagger, Nathan kicked the wailing beast off him and rolled sideways, aiming to open the distance between them. Jolting to his feet, he stared down at the bleeding creature a few feet away from him.
Needless to say, the seven-eyed dog was unable to continue fighting; with a knife stuck inside its underbelly, any sudden moves could spell death for it. Growling angrily at Nathan’s figure, it showed a sharp row of teeth, a clear indication of its will to fight. ‘Heh, what do you think you can do with those injuries?’ Scoffing at the bleeding dog, Nathan discarded the kitchen knife stuck inside its belly, and turned tail to ran! He was also badly injured, but adrenaline is the power to feel okay.
Staying to fight further was out of the question; for, even if he butchered the bloody monster, more would be coming his way shortly afterward, and by then, his chances of escaping would literally fall down to zero.
With that pleasant thought in mind, Nathan made a mad dash for the bridge, ignoring the blood trail he left behind as he ran.
