The footsteps finally reached the entrance.
One by one, figures emerged from the darkness beyond the vines.
Elias watched them carefully.
Five.
There were five of them.
They looked human.
But there was something deeply wrong about the way they carried themselves.
Their clothes were torn and stained. Their bodies were covered in scars, and their eyes held a hunger Elias had never seen in another human being.
The one at the front stepped forward.
He was taller than the others, with a crooked smile stretched across his face.
"So..." he said.
His eyes moved over Elias.
"Look what wandered into our little den."
The others chuckled.
Elias clenched his fists.
His body was exhausted, but he forced himself to stand straight.
"I'm not going to let you..."
His voice weakened.
"...eat me."
The leader laughed.
"Eat you?"
He tilted his head.
"Who said anything about eating you?"
Elias stared at him.
The man's smile widened.
Then he slowly raised the weapon in his hand.
A crude club made from a large, sharpened bone.
"You humans always look so confident before you realize how helpless you are."
He swung the bone upward.
Then—
He threw it.
WHOOSH!
The bone club shot toward Elias's head.
Elias's eyes widened.
He raised both arms just in time.
CLANG!
The impact shook his entire body.
But then—
Crack.
Elias's expression changed.
The bone in his hands moved.
It was stretching.
Growing longer.
"What—?"
The bone suddenly extended with terrifying speed.
BANG!
It slammed directly into Elias's chest.
His body was launched backward.
CRASH!
His back struck the cave wall.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Elias slid down the rock.
His vision blurred.
He tried to move.
Nothing.
The blood he had already lost had weakened him too much.
His eyelids became heavier.
The last thing he saw was the silhouette of the cannibal leader walking toward him.
Then everything went black.
---
Elias slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment, he didn't know where he was.
His vision was blurry.
His body felt strangely warm.
He tried to move his arm.
Pain shot through him.
But something was different.
The bleeding had stopped.
Elias looked down.
Herbs had been pressed against his wounds and secured over them.
Someone had treated him.
His eyes narrowed.
Why?
He slowly lifted his head.
The cave was no longer silent.
A fire burned in the center of the den.
The cannibals were gathered around it.
Something was being roasted over the flames.
Elias's stomach twisted.
He couldn't tell what it was.
He didn't want to know.
One of the cannibals noticed that he was awake.
The man walked over.
Elias immediately tensed.
The cannibal crouched beside him and pushed a wooden bowl across the ground.
Inside were crushed herbs mixed into a thick paste.
Elias stared at it.
Then he shook his head.
He wasn't eating anything they gave him.
The cannibal simply watched him.
Then his hand slowly moved toward the bone club lying beside him.
Elias's expression changed.
His throat tightened.
He immediately swallowed.
"Fine..."
He picked up the bowl.
The cannibal pointed toward it.
Eat.
Elias hesitated.
Then he brought the herbs to his mouth.
The taste was bitter.
Extremely bitter.
But he forced himself to swallow.
The cannibal nodded.
For a few moments, nothing happened.
Then—
"You're special."
Elias froze.
His eyes widened slightly.
He looked toward the cannibal who had spoken.
"What do you mean?"
The cannibal stared at him.
"You're pure-breed."
Elias's heart skipped.
"Pure... breed?"
The cannibal nodded.
A crooked smile appeared across his face.
"We'll give you to the boss."
He leaned closer.
His smile widened.
"He'll love you."