What happened?! He fell! Did he trip? Will I trip? What should I do? Is there someone here that can help him? Why did he seem so happy?

  As a stream of questions riddled my already addled mind, a figure ran down the hill towards me.

  “Non tak. Min fud!” the little man shouts towards the abyss, hopping, pointing, and laughing. “Wat hap? Der gew!”

  “Wat?!” I yelp out through a hoarse throat, startled by his strange, aggressive display.

  “Min fud!” he rages back at me angrily while pointing up the hill, finally noticing that I was standing at the edge beside him. “Non tak!”

  With nothing left after having flagrantly made his declaration, he proudly storms back up the hill.

  Had he murdered the other simply over food? Is it that scarce? However, upon realizing that this likely means that the little man is returning to that food, I scramble to follow him at a safe distance. Clearly it’s dangerous to take his, but there must be more than just that. Right? I’m so hungry, I can’t be too cautious or I’ll starve.

  As we both climb up to the peak, I spy many inlets into the barren dirt and rock of the hill. Small, mysterious caves snaking deeper inside the floating island. Are there more others living inside? It’s so dark that it’s hard to tell. No point taking the chance with these since following the odd proud man is more likely to lead me to something. There must be food up there, otherwise how did he survive? How could the others that greeted me have survived? There must be something.

  Arriving at the top, a large, flat stone circle with intricate markings sits to greet us both. At least a dozen little men wait spaced out around it, attempting to hide behind various rocks or other scattered debris. The proud one immediately marches straight into the center of the circle and waits excitedly.

  Not wanting to get too close, I imitate the others and hide inside a shallow hole conveniently near the platform. Then we all wait. Maybe ten minutes later, a glowing light emerges and floats above the middle of the platform. Proud energetically jumps and cheers at its appearance while the others cower, readying themselves.

  “Min fud! Min fud!” he practically screams in continuous repetition.

  Objects begin splattering out of the light in bursts, hitting the ground. Raw, meaty chunks and larger parts of various unidentifiable creatures plummet onto the stone circle in a series of loud plops. Proud pounces, viciously tearing into the meat while continuing his scream and declarations between bites and gags.

  With him now distracted, the others gradually slither out from their hiding spots. That must mean that it’s safe for me to eat now too? The aroma of the fresh meat tugs at my hunger, clouding my judgement. Yes. I’ll go too, I’ll go.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Too distracted by his feast, Proud misses the others approaching. I wonder how he’ll react? Is this how the smiler lost his life? I should hang back so I’m not the first to snatch something. I don’t want to be the first to test this.

  As the first few arrive, I recognize stones carried in their fists. They suddenly pounce on Proud rather than the meat. Furiously clubbing him in a fit of ravenous energy, a confused cloud of screams and sweat fills the circle.

  “Min fud! Min fud!” Proud continues to scream between the beatings, unwilling to let go of his prize in order to defend himself.

  The brief chaos ends, and the others kick Proud’s now lifeless body into the center of the circle with the rest of the delivery. Upon seeing me shocked and hesitant, one of the attackers turns to me, drops his rock, and opens his hands.

  “Non fite,” he says calmly to me, and then points to the corpse’s head. “Scarr der. Mad mud. Mad mad.”

  The calm one then returns to the others and takes a generous helping of the fleshy meat. Slowly following, I take a helping of my own. The closest to me is all I dare since I’m still wary of getting too close to the group. It’s an arm. A small arm, the same color as the others’ skin. A deep, dark green. The same color as mine?

  What am I? Am I really the same as the others here? They seemed so short and tiny when I first saw them, but why? I’m no bigger than they are. I really am the same. However, then is this little arm also…?

  A jolt racks my mind as the intensity of my hunger throbs, and mindlessly I chomp down on the beautiful treasure before me. After tearing it apart and swallowing, I even chew the bone to bits until it all completely disappears. I feel so fully alive now for the first time.

  As the others also finish, they gather what remains in their arms to carry away. Not knowing what else to do, I copy their actions in the hope that I can follow them to somewhere safer. They won’t be suspicious of me if they think I’m also helping, right?

  Taking all that we can and leaving the rest, we head back down the hill and enter the first opening we come across. It’s extremely dark, but the others enter so confidently. Having nowhere else to go, I follow. The sounds of their scraping feet and occasional grunts from the shifting weight of the food give me something to follow in the darkness. Despite that, I still smack into walls whenever the tunnels bend or turn.

  After a long deep descent, a dim, distant light casts shadows of the group ahead. My eyes adjust shockingly quickly despite its weak shine. We’re finally getting somewhere, and I’m getting excited.

  What’s down there beneath the center of the giant island? I don’t need more food, but a bed would be nice. No! I have questions and need answers. I must learn in order to survive. Or else I might end up as another punished hoarder like Proud. There must be more rules to follow. Rules to learn.

  “Awk!” one of the little men up front squawks to get our attention and then points down a smaller side path from the one we came down.

  Following the impromptu leader, the path leads to a small room covered in indiscriminate smears of blood and viscera. Piles of bone and remnants of skin have been pushed to the sides and small amounts of leftover rotting meat still sits at the center.

  “Awk! Awk!” the leader shouts again, pointing to the rancid meat pile in the middle.

  I lay my fleshy burden down along with the others and wait, hoping for more directions.