Dusk had fallen just as it had every single day since she'd woken up here. That hadn't changed, at least, though so many things were different, now.

The wind had caught a scent, dangled it tantalizingly at the end of her nose. Though she hadn't been particularly hungry at the time, they'd found themselves following it anyway. She crept, slow and cautious, the source just visible through the autumn-leaved trees. It was in the vague shape of a deer, but the skin hung gaunt and loose off its near skeletal form. Large swatches of its fur were missing, the skin beneath ugly and inflamed, and it's mouth hung open, the lower jaw dangling loose like it was only held by a few strings of tendon. When it turned to look at her, the eyes were dead and glassy and it was the single most delicious thing Gladiator had ever seen.

It fled when she pounced for it, surprisingly nimble despite its horrifying, jerking movements. She chased it as the light grew dim and died and a heavy, sickly green fog rolled in. She chased it like her life depended on it, and was swallowed by the mouth of a cave.

Zora