Femi's eyes fluttered open, his mind foggy and disoriented from the sudden loss of consciousness. The faint blue light in the room made his sensitive eyes squint, forcing him to adjust slowly.
The air was thick with the stench of mold and decay, a putrid mixture that clung to the back of his throat, making him cough weakly. He tried to recall what had happened before his death...yes, he had died. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, making his chest feel heavy.
"Ah, my enemies have finally succeeded," he thought, sadness swelling in his chest like a bitter taste. "They have killed me using jollof rice." The memory of the scalding hot rice and the market came flooding back, and his stomach growled with hunger.
"Ah, my enemies have finally succeeded," he thought, sadness swelling in his chest like a bitter tide. "They have killed me using jollof rice." The memory of the scalding hot rice and the bustling market flooded back, the shouts of vendors, the sizzle of fried plantains, the way the steam had risen from the plate.
"Stop it this is not the time for food." He scolded himself.
As he struggled to piece together his fractured memories, Femi gazed down and took in his surroundings. The rough, unyielding stone floor pressed into his paws..paws?...the chill of the floor seeping into his bones, making him shiver. He found himself in a cramped, dimly lit cell with stone walls. The air was still, oppressive, like a suffocating weight pressing down on him.
"Where am I?" he muttered, his voice unfamiliar, lighter and rougher than he remembered. His hands..no, claws..instinctively went to his face, but what he felt made his heart skip a beat. His fingers brushed against an unfamiliar snout. He looked down at his arms, and his mind reeled at the sight of four razor-sharp claws and dark, matted fur. His body was not human.
Fear began to settle in, making his heart pound and his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. But before Femi could succumb to the terror, a voice boomed from the shadows, deep and menacing, its laughter sending shivers down his spine.
"WELCOME BOY, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR A LITTLE GAME"
Femi held his far too sensitive ears as they perked up, swiveling toward the sound. The voice seemed familiar, yet he couldn't quite place it, as if it belonged to a half-forgotten dream.
The voice continued, its tone dripping with malice.
"AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SURVIVE THIS NIGHT, AND A GIFT WILL BE GRANTED TO YOU. FIND YOUR WAY OUT OF THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE WICKED DUNGEON."
The voice laughed again, the sound echoing off the walls fading into the darkness.
Femi stared into the empty air, his mind reeling. What is this place? What was that voice? And what did it mean, survive the dungeon? The silence that followed was oppressive and suffocating that was beginning to weigh heavily on his spirit.
He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs of confusion. "Ah, even the devil has come to torment me," he muttered, half-wondering if he had lost his mind entirely.
The darkness seemed to close in around him, making him feel trapped and helpless.
"Goooowl!"
A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the air, and Femi's heart skipped a beat, thinking it was more trouble, until he realized the sound was coming from his own stomach. The hunger pangs gnawed at his belly, making his stomach churn with a dull, aching sensation. He hadn't eaten in...he couldn't remember how long. His favorite jollof rice and fries flashed through his mind, and his mouth began to water at the memory of the spicy flavors and crunchy textures. The scent of sizzling meat and spices wafted through his imagination, teasing his senses and making his stomach growl louder.
"Ah, I'm hungry," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Despite the darkness, Femi's vision was surprisingly clear. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. The grey stone walls of the cell seemed to press in on him, making him feel claustrophobic. The air was thick and damp, with a musty scent that filled his nostrils and made him wrinkle his nose in distaste. A faint, flickering light came from beyond the small, barred door that led out of the cell, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
Femi took a step forward, his clawed feet scraping against the cold stone floor. The sound echoed, too loud in the silence, making him flinch, leaving him wondering whether he was trapped in a cavernous space.
His mind wandered to his mother, and he could almost hear her voice, tough and reassuring, urging him to stay strong. What would she even do in this situation?
But now, he was alone in this cold, damp place, wondering,
"Ah, why me?" The question hung in the air, echoing off the stone walls, as he stepped out of the cell, drawn to the flickering lights embedded in the walls.
The soft, ethereal glow cast eerie shadows on the stone floor, making him feel like he was walking through a dream. At first, he thought they were bulbs, and his mind wondered where the electricity could be coming from. But as he drew closer, he realized there were no wires or switches in sight.
The light seemed to emanate from the stones themselves, as if they were naturally luminescent. The gentle hum of the luminescent stones vibrated through the air, creating a strange, soothing melody that contrasted with the eerie atmosphere.
Femi's footsteps echoed through the corridors as he continued on, his mind a jumble of thoughts and emotions. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was losing himself, this body he now inhabited felt foreign, unnatural, the thought made him shiver.
What was he going to do now? What was this place? Was it hell? Was he being punished for not attending church for the past three months?
His mother's words echoed in his mind.
"Femi, you must go to church regularly, or you will face the consequences." He had ignored her warnings, and now he wondered if this was his punishment.
As he walked, the hollow growl of his stomach echoed through his empty belly, reminding him of his hunger. The damp earthy scent of the cold stone floor filled his nostrils, a morbid contrast to the savory aromas of food he craved..sizzling meat, fragrant rice, the sweetness of ripe mangoes, the recollection taunting him like a cruel tease.
His dry mouth watered, his stomach churned with anticipation, growling louder in protest of the emptiness that had been gnawing at him for what felt like an eternity.
When would he eat again? The thought was maddening, his hunger pangs growing more unbearable with each step, his senses heightened in desperation. His body weak, his mind clouded with desperation. The dungeon stretched before him, endless and unknowable, and Femi had no choice but to move forward, into the darkness, into the nonsense unknown.
---
Femi continued his slow, cautious walk through the corridor, his hunger gnawing at his belly like a restless beast was trapped inside him. At least he had a moment to calm down from the initial shock.
Noticing his gait, he realized he moved differently now, lighter, almost effortlessly. His body felt unnaturally weightless, as if he were gliding across the floor rather than walking. He raised one of his feet and noticed pads under them. He glanced down at his arm again, his eyes tracing the sharp claws that gleamed dully in the flickering light of the walls.
What kind of creature had he become? Part fox? Part wolf, like the movies? Or maybe even a lion, king of beasts? The thought made him chuckle darkly to himself. Thinking it would be cool to be a lion, or at least that would be better than being a rabbit.
The sound of his laughter echoed off the stone walls, as if it belonged to someone else or something else. The unfamiliar sound of his own voice brought him back to his current issue.
Pausing, Femi took a moment to assess his new form more carefully. He raised his clawed hands, turning them over in the eerie glow of the dungeon's ambient light. The dark fur covering his arms was thick and coarse, bristling slightly as he flexed his fingers. His claws were long, curved, and wickedly sharp, perfect for rending flesh. He tested them, dragging the tips lightly against the stone wall beside him. They left faint, hairline scratches in their wake.
His legs, too, were covered in the same fur, his feet now digitigrade, ending in the padded paws that muffled his footsteps. He pressed one against the ground, feeling the cold seep through the tough, leathery pads. His body was lean, too lean, ribs could be felt beneath the fur, as if he hadn't eaten in days. Yet, despite the gnawing hunger, his senses felt alive sharper, clearer than they had ever been.
But what struck him most was his height. Or rather, the lack of it. Femi had always been on the shorter side, standing at 5'5" in his human form, but now, in this new form, he felt even smaller, more compact. He reached up instinctively, as if to measure himself against some invisible mark, and sighed.
"Ah, even in this strange place, I'm still short," he muttered, a wry smile tugging at his snout. Yet there was a strange comfort in that small familiarity, a reminder that some things, at least, hadn't changed.
The corridor stretched out before him, lined with cell doors that seemed to march on forever. Femi's curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered over to the nearest door, gripping the handle with his clawed fingers. He twisted.
Clang.
The metallic sound reverberated down the empty hallway. Of course it was locked.
Undeterred, he moved to the next cell, trying again. Same result. But he couldn't shake the nagging urge to know what lay behind those cold metal doors. Pressing his face against the small, barred window, he peered into the darkness within.
The cell was dim, barely illuminated by the faint glow of the dungeon's stones. Dust motes drifted lazily in the stale air. His sharp eyes adjusted quickly, picking out shapes, broken wooden plaques scattered across the floor, shattered as if in a fit of rage. Names, perhaps? or....
Femi's gaze lingered on the destruction for a moment before he moved on, continuing his journey down the corridor, passing more cell doors. Some of which he glanced at briefly, while others he ignored altogether.
Then the corridor split, two paths, identical in their gloom. Femi hesitated, his ears twitching as he strained to hear any difference between them. Nothing but silence.
Finally, he chose the right fork, the stone walls seeming to press in tighter as he turned. A long, distorted shadow stretched ahead of him, cast by the light at his back, making the path ahead seem even more ominous.
The new corridor was narrower, the air thicker with dust and the stale scent of age. His paws kicked up tiny clouds of it with each step. But then..
In the distance, he saw a rectangle of light.
Femi's pulse quickened. He picked up his pace, his claws clicking softly against the stone. The light grew brighter as he approached, revealing an arched entrance into a vast chamber beyond.
What awaited him there? Safety? Danger? Answers?
He didn't know. But he had no choice but to find out.