You know that feeling you get when things are going a little too well, and you just know something bad is about to happen? Yeah, I was having one of those moments. The village was in sight, the path seemed clear, and for the first time since I woke up in this wasteland, I almost let myself believe that things might turn out okay.
Of course, that's when the universe decided to remind me that it had a twisted sense of humor.
We were just starting the final stretch toward the village—Kara's and Varric's steps a little quicker, their posture a little straighter—when I felt it. That tingle at the back of my neck, the one that said, danger is about to make a grand entrance. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew. We were not alone.
"Get down!" I hissed, grabbing both Kara and Varric by the shoulders and pulling them behind a large boulder.
"What is it?" Kara asked, her voice low but tense.
"Not sure," I whispered, my eyes scanning the area around us. "But something's coming. Stay quiet and follow my lead."
I peeked over the top of the boulder, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had set off my internal alarms. The terrain was rocky and uneven, with plenty of places to hide. If I were an ambusher, this is exactly where I'd strike.
And that's when I saw them—figures moving silently through the rocks, their bodies low to the ground, cloaked in shadows. They were big, muscular, and armed to the teeth with crude but deadly-looking weapons. Their skin had a reddish tint, and their eyes glowed with a predatory intensity that made my stomach twist.
"Drakkan," Kara whispered, her voice filled with dread.
So these were the infamous Drakkan. I didn't need much context to understand that they were bad news. I watched as they fanned out, moving with a practiced efficiency that told me this wasn't their first ambush.
I quickly counted at least six of them, maybe more. Great. Outnumbered and outgunned. Just what I needed.
"We need a plan," I muttered, trying to think fast. "They haven't seen us yet, but they will soon. We can't outrun them, so we'll have to outsmart them."
"Outsmart them?" Varric grunted, his skepticism practically dripping from his words. "There's more of them than us. We don't stand a chance."
"We do if we play it right," I insisted, already formulating a strategy in my head. "Kara, how good are you with that throwing axe?"
"Good enough," she replied, her eyes narrowing as she followed my gaze to the closest Drakkan.
"Okay, here's the plan," I said, keeping my voice low and steady. "We take them by surprise. I'll draw their attention, get them to focus on me. Kara, you take out the ones that try to flank us. Varric, you stay close and cover my back."
"You want to draw them out?" Kara asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice. "That's suicide."
"It's only suicide if I don't know what I'm doing," I replied, though I wasn't entirely sure I believed that. "Trust me. I've got a feeling I can handle it."
Kara hesitated, but then she nodded, determination settling into her features. "Alright. I'm with you."
Varric, still skeptical, grunted but didn't argue. "Let's get this over with."
I nodded, feeling a mix of fear and adrenaline pumping through my veins. Something deep inside me, maybe some buried instinct, told me I'd been in situations like this before. I wasn't sure how I knew, but I had this strange sense that if I could stay calm and trust my instincts, I might actually make it out of this in one piece.
"This is it," I muttered to myself, steeling my nerves. "Time to see if these instincts are worth a damn."
I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the boulder, making myself visible to the Drakkan. The second they saw me, everything seemed to happen at once. The Drakkan raiders sprang into action, roaring as they charged toward me with a ferocity that made my heart skip a beat. There were at least six of them, maybe more, and they were all armed to the teeth with wicked-looking blades and crude axes.
"Come on, you ugly bastards!" I shouted, raising my arms and waving them like a lunatic. "You want a fight? Come and get it!"
They didn't need a second invitation. The first Drakkan reached me in seconds, swinging a massive club with enough force to turn me into a human pancake. But something inside me clicked. My body moved almost on its own, my head ducking just in time to avoid the blow. It was as if I knew exactly where he was going to strike before he even did it.
"What the hell?" I thought, momentarily stunned by my own reflexes. But there was no time to dwell on it. Another Drakkan was already coming at me, his blade flashing in the dim light. Again, my body reacted before I could even think. I twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade, and lashed out with a quick jab to his gut.
The Drakkan staggered back, more surprised than hurt. These guys were tough, but so far, I was holding my own. I kept moving, dodging and weaving through their attacks, using whatever I could find—a fallen branch, a loose rock, my own fists—to keep them at bay. Each time they swung at me, it was like I could see it coming a split second before it happened.
"Is this… another ability?" I wondered as I ducked under a wild swing from a Drakkan's axe. "I can see what they're going to do… before they do it."
The realization hit me like a lightning bolt, but it wasn't the time to analyze it. I was in the middle of a fight for my life, and if this strange foresight was going to keep me alive, I was all for it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kara hurl her throwing axe, taking down one of the Drakkan with a well-placed strike to the neck. Varric was doing his best to cover me, using his bulk to block the more aggressive raiders, but we were getting overwhelmed.
"Not good, not good," I muttered, narrowly avoiding another swipe from a Drakkan's claws. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. I could feel myself tiring, the constant strain of reacting and fighting taking its toll.
And then it happened. A sharp pain exploded in my side, and I stumbled, looking down to see a Drakkan's blade buried deep in my flesh. For a second, everything slowed down. The pain was white-hot, searing through my body, and I could feel my strength fading.
But I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. I gritted my teeth, yanking the blade out with a hiss of pain, and swung it back at the Drakkan who had stabbed me. He roared in surprise as the blade caught him across the throat, and he fell back, blood spraying across the rocks.
I was still standing, but barely. The wound was bad—really bad—but I knew what was going to happen next. The cool, soothing sensation washed over me, and within seconds, the flesh around the wound began to knit itself back together, the pain fading almost as quickly as it had come. I glanced down to see the blood flow slowing, then stopping entirely. In moments, the wound was nothing more than a faint scar.
Kara, who had fought her way over to my side, stared at me in shock. "How… how did you do that?"
I didn't have an answer for her. I didn't even understand it myself. But there was no time to figure it out. The Drakkan were regrouping, preparing for another assault, and we were still vastly outnumbered.
"We're not done yet," I said, pushing the confusion aside and focusing on the fight. "Let's finish this."
With renewed determination, I charged back into the fray, Kara and Varric at my side. The battle was chaotic, brutal, and terrifying, but we fought like our lives depended on it—because they did.
My newfound ability to predict the Drakkan's moves, combined with my natural reflexes, allowed me to stay one step ahead of them. Kara's throwing axes found their marks with deadly accuracy, and Varric's brute strength kept the raiders from overwhelming us. It was like we were all in sync, moving as one cohesive unit.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the last of the Drakkan fell, his body hitting the ground with a heavy thud. I stood there, panting, my hands trembling as I looked around at the carnage. We'd done it. We'd survived.
But at what cost?
Kara was the first to speak, her voice quiet but intense. "You're not like anyone I've ever met," she said, her eyes locked on mine. "You fought like you could see every move they made before they even made it. And that… that healing. What are you?"
I didn't have an answer for her. I wasn't even sure I wanted to know. "I'm… just trying to stay alive," I said finally, my voice rough. "Same as you."
Varric, who had been watching me with a mix of suspicion and respect, finally nodded. "You saved us," he said, his tone grudging but sincere. "I don't know who—or what—you are, but you've got my thanks."
I nodded back, though I didn't feel like I deserved their gratitude. I didn't know who I was, what I was, or why I had these abilities. All I knew was that I was different. And in this world, being different was as much a curse as it was a blessing.
"We need to get to the village," I said, trying to shake off the weight of their stares. "There could be more of them out there."
Kara and Varric exchanged a glance, then nodded. We moved out, weary but determined, leaving the bodies of the Drakkan behind us as we made our way toward the village. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning—that whatever I was, whatever abilities I had, they were going to be tested again. And soon.