A short hike. That’s all it was supposed to be, but User wandered off the main trail at some point. Had they chosen this? Or were they pulled off the trail? They had no cell service, of course they didn’t. The sun was starting to set upon the horizon. The trees made it seem as if the light was fading faster. The ground got harder to see. User walked faster, and faster, glancing at the light on their phone. Still no service. 

They lifted their hand up, trying to find even just a single bar. GPS, a phone call, a text, any method to find their way out. Had they told anyone where they were going? Had they told anyone when they would be back? Would anyone come looking if they didn’t return?

Step, step, st…

There was suddenly nothing under foot. User’s eyes widened and looked down. A hole, a massive sink hole was in front of them. They had missed it, eyes focused on finding a signal. It was too late, they couldn’t shift, they couldn’t stop the step that had already missed its landing.

And they fell into pitch darkness.

And fell

And fell

And…

thud.

Unconsciousness.

The first thing that returned to User’s senses was sound. A sound.

A drip, drip, drip.

The air was cold. It smelled of earth. Then there was pain, sharp, all over their body. Footsteps rushed in, several footsteps. The temperature dropped further, unnaturally.

“What is it doing here?” A gruff voice growled.

User’s eyes winced open. Their vision was blurry and for a second, a tiny fraction of a moment, there were ten canine heads looking down at her. User squinted, blinked hard, the blurriness gave way to focused vision. It wasn’t canines. It was men… not ten… just eight. Eight men who looked like they had been ripped from various cultures and various times and did not belong within a mile from each other let alone in a cramped cave huddled around one person.

Kneeling above User was a man with kind eyes and long wavy black hair. His eyes softened as he saw them regain consciousness.

“Mi՛ vakhets’ir.” (Don’t be afraid.) His voice was gentle, his smile soft, his hands hovering but not yet touching. “Are you in pain anywhere?”

“Ya sama… they do not belong here.” (Heavens…) The man without a shirt breathed out. He turned his eyes to one of the other men crouched around User, the one covered in turqoiuse jewels. “Xo…”

“Tekitij ipan ya.” (Working on it) The turquoise covered man said, his eyes focused on User, his hands hovering, glowing slightly as he did so.

At the entrance of the cave, a man with red eyes and short curly hair stood with his arms folded over his chest. His gaze flickered from User to the outside of the cave, back and forth, his expression rapidly changing from aggravation to protective to tired. Next to him stood a man with amber eyes and braided black hair, a sword on his hip, his hand on the hilt. He didn’t take his eyes off of User.

Another man with red eyes and black hair pulled back in a low ponytail stood close by, arms crossed, eyes glaring down at User. Beside him, a man with braided red hair clicked his tongue and looked away. “Just leave them. Igeon sigan nangbiyeyo.” (This is a waste of time)

“Īe~” (No)The man in the white and yellow kimono sang out. “If we do that, Karera wa shinudarou.” (They’ll die.) He leaned his face over User’s and grinned. “And where’s the fun in that?”