Visionless

(Dear journal, I don't have an actual journal, so I'm just writing this in my mind) I say while walking in the forest.

(It's been about a week or so since I've woken up in this world and I think I'm doing pretty well for myself. I've managed to get a stable source of food and water, at least for now, and I've managed to get a job. Even if it only pays a handful of coins every day, I decided to hide them in the forest for now since I don't have anywhere to put them and I can't carry them with me in case I get robbed or something.) I look towards a certain direction in the forest and smile.

(Other than that, I managed to finally learn a few things about this place, mostly names of people. For example, I learned that the name of the receptionist at the guild is Varin; I heard one of the adventurers call her that.) I think back to the times she gave me my hard-earned coin.

(I also learned that the church guy with the weird hat is called Elrik, and I think he has a crush on one of the sisters there. I sometimes find him admiring one of them after he finishes his sermons. Also, I learned that they only give out food once a week at the church, which sucks a lot. Oh, and they seem to worship a moon deity,) I say as I continue walking through the forest.

(But the most important thing I learned is the name of an angel.) As I think about it, she manifests in my mind. I can see her golden locks, her gentle smile, and hear her sweet voice.

"Evangeline," I say her name and feel blessed by the gods.

I sigh and return back to my mission for today. "Alright, today I need to find something new to eat. I can't keep eating nuts and berries, and I can't go around wasting money on bread every day. Hopefully, I can find something edible. I'm going to collect a bunch of different things and test them to see if they are safe to eat. If they are, I'll add them to my collection. If they aren't, I'll throw them away for now."

(I'm in it for the long haul today. I'll be staying for as long as I can.)

With that said, I go on to look for different things to test, like mushrooms, fruit, and other stuff I can't identify.

and so the day goes by in a blink as i continue to harvest whatever i can in the forest till nightfall.

I lay on the ground, exhausted by today's endeavor. I look at the sky past the trees and see the many stars looking down upon the world. "Maybe this world isn't so bad after all," I muse as I stand up, ready to take my harvest home. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of fear and dread overcomes me. The muscles in my body refuse to move an inch, and even breathing becomes difficult. "What is happening?" My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden noise steadily creeping closer to me. "What's that sound? Is it an animal?" I wonder, still unable to move.

The sound stops, and an eerie voice starts talking. "Why do you keep coming back?"

The voice sends shivers down my spine. "What? How is it speaking English?" My thoughts are yet again interrupted by the horrible sound of breaking bones. I see a figure slowly moving next to me. It's a floating head, I think to myself, until it gets closer and looks me directly in the face. "No, it's not floating. It's connected to something." I follow its neck as far as I can to find its source. "It's right behind me!"

The head starts convulsing, and the flesh and bones seem to break and rearrange themselves. The head starts changing shape, quickly moving from one form to another until the sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking stops. The head now resembles that of a wolf, with lumps growing along its head and neck.

The head starts speaking yet again. "Why do you keep coming back here?" This time, it sounds far more animalistic and angry. "Leave!" it orders.

"Leave... it wants me to leave? But I can't! All my things are here! All my food comes from here, and so does all my coin! I can't leave, but if I don't then..." Before I can continue my train of thought, the beast interrupts me. "You have one hour to leave. I'll be watching." As it says that, the lumps on its head and neck slowly open, revealing multiple sets of eyes that all seem to belong to different animals and people. The head slowly retracts and disappears behind me, and I regain the ability to move.

I fall to the ground, clutching my heart as my breathing slowly returns to normal.

"I need to go. I need to get my things and get out of here now!" I stand up and say before running to gather all my belongings I put in the forest.

I pick up my burlap sack as it's the closest to me and run towards where I hid my coins near the base of a pine tree.

(There, that's the tree I hid them under!) I start running to it and look for a loose patch of dirt. Once I find it, I start digging with my hands until I find the small piece of cloth I wrapped them in. I shove the whole thing in my sack and start running towards the end of the forest so I can get back to town. As I get closer and closer to the tree line, I start seeing a figure following me. (It's the beast!) My heart starts pounding as I push myself even harder to reach the end of the forest.

I can hear the beast getting closer to me, to the point that I can almost feel its breath on the back of my neck. I jump at that moment and hear the sound of something tearing. As I land on the ground and start running, my back feels colder. (It ripped my shirt!) I start to panic.

"I thought you said I had an hour! Why are you attacking me?! I still have time!" I say, trying to distract the beast.

"LEAVE!!!" the beast roars.

Just as the beast finishes roaring at me, I manage to get out of the forest and into the open meadows.

"I did it! I'm safe!" I proclaim until I hear the sound of labored breathing behind me.

I look back and see the beast's neck extending out from behind a tree. I fall to the ground and shout, "Wait, I'm out of the forest! You can't attack me anymore!" The beast doesn't move. Instead, it slowly unhinges its jaw, and a voice comes from inside its neck. "Leave and never come back."

As it says that, my vision blurs, and I start to lose consciousness.

---

I wake up sometime later, lying in the meadow with the first light of dawn creeping over the horizon. My body aches, and my head is pounding. I gingerly sit up, looking around to make sure the beast is truly gone. My burlap sack is still clutched in my hand, the cloth-wrapped coins safely inside.

"I can't go back to the forest," I whisper to myself, the memory of the beast's horrific form and its command seared into my mind. "But I need to find a new place to get food and water and a new way to survive."

With a deep breath, I gather my strength and start walking towards the town, the morning sun guiding my way.