(August 28, 2025)
Daniel pulled their motorcycle to the side of the road and stared out over the beautiful expanse of clear, blue lake.
It was a beautiful day. The kind of day designed for making memories. Get the bike out, pick a pub, and off you go to enjoy the weather and leave all your stresses and cares behind you. And with scenery like this, how could any trouble find you?
Movement in the corner of Daniel’s eye caught their attention, and they turned their head, expecting to see a squirrel or a bird.
What they did not expect was the short, squat little man glowering at him from between two towering aspens.
“Oh, hello,” Daniel said.
The man’s eyes turned heated, raging.
“Um... can I help you?”
Daniel looked around, wondering if they’d accidentally hit this man’s dog without realizing, but the road was empty. Everything was empty. No one was here except for this short, squat, little man.
“Yes,” he said, his voice like gravel. “You can help me by come with me and agreeing to be our sacrifice.”
(October 9, 2025)
Daniel stared at the man. “Um. No, thank you?”
The man scowled. “Not a question. Come, come.”
He waved for Daniel to follow, then turned and walked away. Daniel stared after him for a moment, not sure what to make of any of this, then got back onto their motorcycle...
...and found themselves walking after the man.
Okay, well, that didn’t seem good.
The trees around them faded away, and sudden Daniel stood in the town square of a small village, surrounded by people who barely came up to their knee.
The man who’d led Daniel drew to a stop by a small stage. “Up. We need to get ready to kill you.”
Daniel fought with everything they had, but before long, they were on the stage.
(October 28, 2025)
“Okay, but, before you start, can I just ask... why do you need to kill me?”
A short female-appearing figure stared up at the sky. “To appease the gods, of course.”
“Your gods expect you to lure random people off the road and sacrifice them?”
She blinked. “What? No. What do you take us for? Monsters?”
Daniel said nothing, letting their stare to the talking.
She rolled her eyes. “We sacrifice those with the blood of our enemies?”
“Motorcyclists?”
“Are you not...? Do you not have...? You’re not an ogre?”
Daniel didn’t know whether or not to feel offended. “NO!”
As a whole, the group turned to the man who’d lured them here. He flushed. “Um.”
The sky darkened, and the woman let out a sigh. “Well, crap.”
(December 5, 2025)
Daniel stared up at the sky, waiting for the clouds to part and some great spiritual being to step through, but instead they received a raindrop in the eye.
“Son of a—”
“Get down!”
Someone grabbed their arm and pulled them out of a way just as a giant hand appeared from nowhere to swipe at the platform.
“Someone bleed!” cried the woman who’d grabbed Daniel’s arm. “Quick!”
The man who’d brought Daniel here sliced the palm of his hand and threw the blood into the air. The giant hand retreated, and the sky cleared.
“Well,” Daniel said, heart pounding in their chest. “That was exciting.”
“It’s not over yet,” the woman grumbled. “Everyone, prepare stations. We’ve got some pissed off gods coming through and no ogre on hand. You know what that means.”
The man gulped. “Someone’s getting eaten.”
Daniel glowered at him. “I hope it’s you.”