Sky was the first to take his tray and sit on a couch. Before Shane could even say a thing, he had gulped down a few spoons. Dai took his tray later and sat on the bed.
Shane was skeptical about eating. He stared at the bowl of porridge that still had steam rising from it for a while, before he carried it and walked towards the door.
''Are you going to eat outside?'' Sky asked, and Shane nodded;
''Yeah, I'll wake you up when it's time to switch. ''
''Okay. '' Sky replied and Shane left the room, closing the door behind him. He squatted in front of the door and looked at the bowl of porridge. He was hungry, but he didn't want to eat the food. They had limited supplies, as they couldn't travel with a lot of food, as it would wear out the horses, so he couldn't ask Nyx for the food they had brought with them.
Digging his spoon into the meal, he brought it to his mouth, but the putrid smell was so strong that he couldn't take even take a bite. Quickly, he dropped the spoon and pushed the tray to the side.
Standing up, he walked down the hallway. Lanterns were placed strategically on the opposite sides of the hall, lighting up the hallway. The doors to the other rooms in the inn were tightly locked and seemed quiet, like they were the only customers in the inn.
Shane made his way back to where he was before and sat down. He stayed awake for a long time. The occasional clinking of plates he heard on the bottom floor had subsided, and had been replaced by the hooting of owls and chirping of crickets.
The night breeze was chilly as it swept through the east window of the corridor. Shane was cold and wanted to go shut the window, but he was afraid, so he just sat there and wrapped his arms around his legs.
Shane didn't know how much longer he was awake before he began to nod.
He caught himself and woke up a few times, but finally, he succumbed to sleep and drifted into wonderland.
Krr… Krrr… Krrr…
Creaking sounds could be heard coming from the old floorboards of the inn as something crawled on them. It had two hands and four legs, and its claws were long and extended.
As it climbed the stairs, rotting flesh that was stuck under its claws brushed against the handrails. On its neck hung its head, which was missing a nose, and the other half of its face housed a gaping mouth that drooled purplish blood. A long tongue protruded out of its mouth and on its fangs were still remnants of flesh.
Krrr… Krrr…
It croaked as it reached the top of the stairs; its head, turning 180 degrees.
When it saw the human squatting against a wall, it croaked more loudly as it proceeded towards it. When the monster reached the human, it opened its mouth to chop off the head of the human, but it abruptly halted when it realized who it was.
Shane adjusted in his sleep but frowned when he felt a drop of liquid land on his face. He scowled, wondering what it was. He wiped it with his hand, but then he felt another drop, and then another.
Shane opened his eyes this time and touched his face, looking at his hand. His eyes widened in terror when he saw it was blood. He looked up instantly and in front of him stood a horrid-looking creature. Without giving himself any time to process what was happening; he screamed and launched an attack at the monster.
A bolt of lightning tore through the monster's arm, and it tumbled down the hallway. Before it could regain its footing, Shane dashed into Nyx's room and locked it behind him. Sprinting to the bed, he tried to wake them up;
''Nyx!!! A monster!!! There's a monster!!!'' he yelled, but they weren't waking up.
Shane couldn't believe his eyes. He jumped on the bed and shook them, but they did not move. Shane checked their pulse to confirm if they were still alive, and he sighed in relief when he saw they were all alive.
His eyes glanced at the empty bowls of porridge, and he cursed under his breath.
That lady put something in the food!! That woman had poisoned them!!
Fuuuccccckkkkkk!!!
Shane was almost exploding in fear. What was he going to do!! He did not plan to fight any monsters on his own. How was he going to fight this monster alone? This was not part of the plannn!!!
He didn't even get the luxury of thinking of what to do, as the door of the inn was kicked open by the monster, and it entered the room, looking visibly enraged.
There was a vexed frown on its forehead and the croaking at the back of its throat, considerably loud.
Shane stepped down from the bed, distracting it from the people on the bed. His mouth fell when he saw that the hand he had chopped off with his powers had grown back again.
''What the hell... '' he cursed, his brain becoming ten times sharper than it ordinarily was, as he tried to think of the best plan to defeat this beast.
The monster leaped towards Shane, its long claws stretched towards him, but Shane was quick to avoid the claws of the beast by a hairbreadth.
Shane rolled over to the door, panting heavily. The monster was quick, and if not that he had moved before it sprang at him, it would have caught him.
The croaking of the monster was louder now, as it was getting incredibly mad.
Shane did not want it to hurt the others, so he shifted carefully to the door, leading the monster out of the room.
The monster croaked as it followed Shane. When it was completely out of the room, Shane conjured a lightning bolt and then hurled it at it.
The creature evaded it easily. It climbed up the wall and hung from the ceiling, the head twitching. In an instant, the mouth opened and from it, a thousand razor-sharp wooden blades shot at Shane.
Shane ran for his life. He sprinted until he reached the end of the hallway. The monster, still suspended on the ceiling, started moving closer to him. Its claws burrowed into the roof as it came for him.
Shane raised his hand and attempted to fire a lightning bolt, but nothing came forth. He frowned and tried again, and yet there was nothing, and then he looked at his wrist. On his sigil was inscribed as clear as day, the number;
…0 …