{GRIND}

  Chapter 1A : Dead. What Else Is New?

  Something, somewhere, felt horribly wrong.

  Wind rustled the sky, scattering dead leaves over the forest floor.

  The air was rather lovely today, not too hot, not too cold. I felt serene, and peaceful.

  White hot pain exploded from my side, neck and face, then faded away, as instantly as it had appeared, followed by a faint tingling numbness.

  “Ow…” I groaned.

  Harsh wind blew harsher, ripping leaves from their trees and swirling them around the forest.

  Whatever had happened, it had passed. I was fine. Well, I felt perfectly fine, anyway.

  Besides, I was sleepy.

  Beauty like mine doesn’t come without good sleep.

  I reached for my covers, instead finding something unfamiliar, cold and wet.

  I cracked one eye open, blinking a couple times as the forest came into view.

  The…uhh….Forest.

  Something…felt off about that…

  I wiped my hand on the grass, feeling the cool morning dew wash across my skin. It was cold, just enough to wake me up a little, without being painful, or shocking.

  I think I quite liked this patch of grass.

  Hang on.

  Grass.

  There was something important about that. I could feel it. Most people wouldn't be able to, but I’m particularly sensitive toward these sorts of things.

  Grass. Grassy green grass. Great green grassy-grass. Grass that twinkled in the sunrise, like a pixie’s smile. The kind so friendly you can’t help but be suspicious.

  Seemed alright to me.

  I smacked my lips and nuzzled into a neary bed of soft dirt.

  C’mon, give a guy a break. Why should I get up? My entire body was numb and my muscles felt like they’d been wrung out, and I had a real nasty bit of a headache coming on, so honestly sensibly speaking, there wasn’t much of a point trying to wake up, was there?

  Of course not, sensibly speaking.

  An explosion shook the ground, followed by the rustling of foliage and a sound akin to a five ton animal pawing its way through soft dirt toward a sleeping helpless man.

  I opened my eyes.

  A wet muzzle hung inches from my face, full of glistening razor-sharp teeth, the dull yellow kind that helps you admire your own dental abilities.

  Speaking of which, I ought to brush my teeth, shouldn’t I? It was certainly late enough in the morning for it, and I am nothing if not punctual. And tidy. And handsome.

  I yawned, wiping my soggy hands on the dry fur beside me.

  The bear started growling.

  Rubbing my face, I looked up into the soulless pairs of eyes of a three-headed bear, riddled with battle scars and roughly the size and weight of a military-grade police cruiser.

  I started screaming.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Thankfully, I’d startled the bear, buying enough time to scramble up into a nearby tree, hanging on a thick, sturdy branch.

  My heart said yes, but my arms said no, followed soon after by my hands in protest, reminding myself that I couldn’t climb a tree on a good day and frankly today wasn’t one of those, even by the most flexible definition.

  I fell ontop of the bear.

  The heads more on the sides of its neck were able to swivel toward me, and they started snarling.

  My legs snapped to attention and I was running again.

  Fortunately, the bear was pretty slow, so—

  It picked itself up on its hind legs and ran full sprint, crashing through the undergrowth in the sort of manner that mother nature had nothing to do with.

  One claw caught me in the side, and, with a snap of pain, I crashed into a tree, shattering the wood, along with a couple bones that I’d been awfully fond of.

  I coughed, spitting dark liquid onto the ground, chest throbbing as the world spun around me. In a burst of adrenaline, I started running again, away from the bear.

  Shouldn’t I be dead right now?

  My knees locked up and I planted into the ground, swallowing a mouthful of dirt.

  The bear rose up above me, blotting out the leafy canopy with a great big wall of brown fur.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a bad way to go. It was certainly better than the guys who got crushed by vending machines or slain by falling coconuts.

  Giving credit where it’s due, I’d say I’d made a remarkably good showing of myself. Running for what—sixty feet? Then a few feet more—after getting knocked into a tree? Now that isn’t half bad, not half bad at all.

  As the bear swung down, I was met with a startling sense of peace.

  This was it—

  A spray of black tarish goop splattered over my face and chest.

  “Ick,” I groaned, trying and failing to wipe my face.

  I guess I couldn’t complain. The bear was having a worse time.

  The carcass split down the middle, halves toppling onto the ground. Where you’d expect dead skin and meat, there was only black matter, separating away from a single glistening orb.

  If I’d had lunch, I wouldn’t have held onto it for much longer. But I hadn’t had lunch, and the crystal was really quite shiny, so I grabbed it.

  A young woman crushed my tender hand under a metal boot.

  “What do we have here?” she hissed with a wide smile not unlike the bear’s. “You’re not trying to steal from me, are you?”

  “NO,” I blurted, heart throbbing.

  Not in the romantic sense—though she was pretty—more in the sense this woman radiated hatred and evil.

  Also, hundreds of silver and gold chains over a black dress, covering her entire body, dangling from her arms and legs, so yeah that was something.

  They must’ve cost a fortune.

  I blinked, hard, forcing myself to think through the explosive pain in my right hand. And my side. And my entire body, for that matter.

  Whoever she was, she’d still be human, right? So she couldn’t be all that dangerous.

  I cleared my throat. “No, ma’am? I’m so sorry. Really.”

  “How very polite.” she smirked, stepping off my hand, metal jostling. She offered the orb, dangling it in front of my face. “Here, take it.”

  “Really?” I asked, sitting up from the ground, shaking feeling back into my swelling hand. “You’d give that to me? It’s awfully generous.”

  “Don’t mention it” she cackled, beaming.

  She cracked it in my hand, and the orb dissolved, cool energy soaking into my skin and down my arm. As it sank, I started feeling better. Even my broken ribs seemed to loosen up.

  “What is this?” I whispered, turning my hand over.

  “Wow,” she sighed, smiling brighter. “You don’t know anything? Then this is a treat indeed. That’s exp. It’s awfully important around here.”

  “This is quite a gift.”

  “It’s no problem,” she smiled, with a sigh. “I’ll be getting it back anyway.”

  Her hand blurred and a silver blade flashed across my neck.

  I didn't have time to scream. Black liquid ran down my chest, soaking the tattered black cloak I wore. At the very least, I didn’t feel any pain.

  I felt strangely warm, especially compared to the cool blood flowing from my body.

  The stranger held a scythe twice my size, spinning it around in her hand, smiling wide.

  Where’d she gotten that from?

  My vision dimmed, and I realized I wouldn’t have the time to find out.

  Black tar pooled on the ground. Shouldn’t there be blood?

  What was with this place?

  A bright white box appeared next to her shoulder, ticking upward.

  {Quest : Purge}

  [(+1) 23/100 victims.]

  The world vanished from sight, and I died.