2 A humanoid monster

I burned him like we did the others.

Now this place was truly empty.

And although the limited space always gave me a sense of security before, now it only served as a prison.

A prison I would soon leave.

The research base was build inside a cave, and although we tried to expand as good as we could, the bubble soon gave us a limit with a radius of about 100 meters.

The only thing that kept us from starving was the mysterious energy that seeped through an expanding opening and made it possible for plants to grow.

It was a fascinating discovery.

This and the small amount of books we found inside the cave gave our stay a pourpos.

But all of that soon wasn't going to matter any more.

I checked my appearance one last time in the mirror.

My raven black hair was cut short, so that it would not get in the way. It and my blue eyes were the only thing still familiar I had on me.

The rest of my clothes consisted of steady footwork, long but wide and mobile pants and a jacket.

I also had gloves and a breathing mask in case the environment got hazardous.

All painted in dull grey colours.

I hated it.

I much preferred a suit or at least a lab coat, that one was still acceptable.

But it was a necessary evil, as I couldn't be sure of what I would experience outside the Bubble.

And I didn't have so much leisure space so that I could bring fashion attires with me.

I then did a last check of my backpack, to avoid being too slow as well as hindering me at some of the smaller parts of the tunnel system I would have to cross soon, I had a strict weight and size limit.

The first thing that greeted me was a gun and a bit of ammunition. Sadly we weren't able to produce more, with the limited amount of resources we got.

I also got a small tent and a sleeping bag, it still amazes me how the I back on earth IATDT got them this small and light. These and a few other things you could make out as comping equipment filled a good chunk of the space.

The rest of it belonged to a small solar panel and a few machines for research, aswell as another few wonders of technology.

Sadly I could not take with me all the other technical masterpieces inside the station as they would be to big to transport.

A bit later in the day it was finally time, I stood in front of the tiny hole inside the bubble having the size of a needle it would not allow anyone to leave jet.

Any time now it should..

I was cut of by the rapid expansion of the opening as I rushed out with inhuman speed and through the complex tunnel system.

Luckily we were able to scout the exit and my enhanced vision allowed me to see through the dark.

When I was almost there I heard a loud rambling. Stumbling out of the darkness into the open I collapsed on the floor.

The bubble had collapsed, destroyed everything inside and the cave would soon follow with it.

Then I looked up in the sky, but instead of the sun, or at least the stars I had dreamed of so many times, what greeted me was only darkness.

It wasn't completely black, as one could still see about ten meters in front, but it was not pleasurable.

That and the fact that I was in the middle of a forest dampened my mood.

Finding a civilisation would be much harder with a limited field of view. And there was the danger of wildlife.

Well the first thing I had to do was to find water,

it would act as a guide and quell my thirst.

I guess I was lucky as I stumbled upon one after only a few minuits of walking.

I hope it will be enough.

The thing is I am technically not weak.

With superhuman reflexes and strength as well as modern technology on my side there were no real threads to my safety, well apart from natural disasters.

And possible super powered monsters and mages roaming the world.

That was also the reason why I was extremely cautious when seeing a source of light in the forest.

I slowly crept near, remembering the training I had gone through I covered my eyes with a thin cloth to avoid my eyes reflecting the light.

That would limit my visibility, but better save than sorry. Out of this reason I also took out my desert eagle and crouched in the bushes, slowly so I wouldn't make any noise.

A man sat across a bonfire roasting some sort of animal.

His clothing, if it could be called as such, consisted of sewn together pieces of cloth in various forms and colour but all sharing the same washed out appearance. It vaguely resembled a gamberson and was stuffed to protect against weapons.

He looked poor, but I held the suspicion that he simply could not care less. The only somehow functional looking piece of equipment seemed to be his large backpack which was made out of sturdy line.

An image further supported by the scars one could observe on his hands.

I had a fair skill of medical knowledge and the old wounds were definitely not caused by a work accident.

His weathered face which stood in contrast to his young age further supported my suspicion that he went through a fair share of trouble during his life. His sharp features stood in contrast to the unkept long hair he bound behind his back.

Suddenly the flame began to flicker and dim considerably only illuminating half of what it did before.

The young man sprang to his feet and turned his gaze to a spot near me.

Slowly as not to alert him to my presence I turned my head.

There a white slender hand adorned by unnatural long fingers clawed around the tree pulling its owner straight out of the darkness of the forest.

My body trembled as the distorted view of a man greeted me.

This monster without eyes or any other feature on its pale face suddenly began sniffing through a pair of holes that opened up where a normal man's nose would be.

Then It abruptly turned towards me and opened up a mouth where there previously seemed to only be skin. The mouth was spiked with layers and layers of teeth and spanned across his whole face contorting it to an unnatural grinning.

Hiding was impossible.

My mind turned numb and my hands were shaking, this was one of the primordial fears of mankind, the fear of the unknown.

And although it would be wise to rune, no to do anything, I just stared at it like I was possessed.

Then suddenly Its scream threw me out of my stupor as a dagger penetrated where the heart of a normal person was.

It was a high unnatural screech.

The young man made his move, but I could clearly see that it was not dead, as the dagger seemed to be struck I the ribcage.

And as if straight out of a nightmare it began sprinting towards me.

It was this action that led to my years of training taking over.

Humans cling to familiarity in despair.

I drew the pistol I previously readied and fired, once, twice, thrice.

The rest of what happened was like a trance. I felt the recoil and the witnessed the bullets hitting with such a force that it ripped holes through the faceless monster. The young man looked utterly surprised but immediately composed himself, took out a piece of wood out of the fire and threw it onto the monster.

It burned like cinder, and as the ashes rose into the dark sky the reality of what just happened crashed down to me.