I woke up - or not. I wasn't in my room. I was in some rusty room lit by the dim glow of a red emergency lamp, lying on a tall iron bed. To make things worse, my arms and legs were chained, and I couldn't feel my hands. What terrified me most: I was completely naked.

  Shit. This was the most fucked-up situation I had ever been in.

  I saw the white man, and it shattered me completely. He smiled, revealing a mouth full of black teeth, and the smell that came from him... it was the most disgusting thing I had ever smelled. But what terrified me even more was that he started to approach.

  What was he going to do to me? How? Why? What had I done to deserve this?

  There was something in his hand. A fucking apple.

  He grabbed my face. I tried to bite him, but he forced my mouth open and shoved the apple inside. He looked at me with grim satisfaction, then moved to another corner of the room. When he returned, he was carrying bricks. He started to lift the bed — I tried to stop him, but he punched me hard in the side. Finally, he fixed the bed to the wall with chains, suspending it above the floor. Then he dragged logs from the corner and stacked them beneath me.

  And then I understood.

  I was like a pig. This sick bastard was going to roast me alive.

  No. No, no, no. To be roasted alive was the worst thing I could imagine.

  He arranged the logs under me, took matches from his corner — what else did you have hidden in that damn corner? — and lit the fire. I struggled against the chains, but they were too strong. I tried to scream, but the apple in my mouth turned it into muffled, desperate sounds.

  The heat started to rise. I panicked. I wanted to die — anything to escape this — but I had no chance, no way out. Tears streamed down my face, only to evaporate instantly in the rising heat. It became unbearably hot. My skin turned red, then began to blister. The pain was excruciating.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. A big black dog emerged from the darkest corner of the room.

  It was Blacky. I had never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life.

  In the next instant, the dog lunged at the white man's leg and dragged him to the floor. Then he was beside me, leaping up to tear apart the chains that held me. The moment I was free, he turned back to the white man.

  I jumped off the blazing iron bed, spat out the apple. My skin was burned and screaming with pain, but the relief of not being roasted alive was overwhelming.

  For the next minute, I watched as Blacky — a flowing torrent of shadows and teeth — tore the white man apart. The creature never stood a chance.

  When it was over, the room was painted in blood. The dog was covered in it. Even I was spattered. The white man was most definitely dead.

  I found my clothes — torn and useless, but I covered myself with them anyway and sat in the corner of the room. Yes, the previous situations had been difficult and scary, but I'd had some control. Even when I died, it was fast. But this... this was too much.

  Blacky came to me, covered in blood, and nudged my head with his own, as if trying to comfort me. I petted his big head, and he curled up next to me. It helped me collect myself a little, but the tears kept coming.

  I needed to find a way out of this dungeon. But for now, I would wait just a little bit longer.

  I was still sitting on the floor of the rusty room with Blacky, thinking about the previous day. If I was right, the day should end soon, and I’d wake up in my room. I didn’t have the courage to leave, even with a protector like Blacky.

  The world began to dissolve. I’d been right. Such relief. I petted Blacky, and a black flash washed everything away.

  I opened my eyes. I was in my room. Such a profound relief. I was on the verge of falling apart but managed not to break down in tears again. I didn’t have time for that.

  Now that I knew there were more threats out there—that beyond being killed, I could be violated or worse, eaten alive—I needed to act. There had to be some conditions for surviving this day.

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  I tried again to get information about the books from my mother but failed. Why did she keep refusing to answer me?

  Mom left for work, and I started getting ready for school as usual. At that moment, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye in the darkest corner of my room. My blood ran cold.

  Then, a big black dog emerged from the shadows. A wave of relief washed over me - it was just Blacky. Now I understood how he had come to save me.

  "Hey, big boy. How did you get in here?"

  "Woof, woof."

  I wish I could understand him.

  "Come on, I’ll get you some meat. You’ve earned it."

  Blacky wagged his tail and followed me to the kitchen. I gave him some meat from the soup, as usual, and took a small knife. It was a shame we didn’t have any real weapons at home, so a knife wrapped in a cloth was my only option.

  Blacky finished the meat and vanished into the corner. He seemed to use the darkness to move.

  I got dressed and headed to school. This time, I would try to answer the teachers' questions. Maybe I needed to be active in class to truly be a "good girl"?

  As I stepped outside, I knew something was wrong. The sun wasn't as bright, and a slight haze hung in the air. The world was changing with each repetition. It worried me deeply.

  To make matters worse, another student from my class had disappeared, and just like the first time, no one remembered him. On the bright side, I was brilliant in my lessons and managed to get the books from my grandmother without any trouble.

  It was time for training. I was sparring with a younger boy when I finally caught that feeling—that clarity. The moment his leg was about to connect with my head, everything else became insignificant. There was only me, him, and the fight.

  I avoided his kick by dropping into a slight crouch and, before he could recover his stance, unleashed a series of blows to his stomach. As a final move, I hit him with a high kick.

  Oh my god. The boy collapsed, unconscious. Oh, shit. The clarity vanished, and I realized what I'd done. The poor kid. Had I hit him too hard? Or was it just too fast and precise? Even his helmet and pads hadn't protected him.

  Everyone was staring. I rushed over to help him, terrified for him, even if he probably wasn't a real person. I pulled off his helmet. He was okay—what a relief.

  "Hey, Ned, are you okay?"

  "Yeah, I think so."

  "Sorry, I hit you too hard."

  "It's okay. I'll just sit for a minute."

  "Okay, sorry again."

  I genuinely felt guilty.

  After training, I checked on Ned one more time.

  "Ned, are you sure you're okay?"

  "Yes, I think so. But... can I ask you a favor?"

  "Sure."

  Strange. I didn't think I'd ever really talked to any of these boys before. Was I suddenly popular?

  "Could we walk home together?"

  At that moment, Tom walked over.

  "Ned! How are you, man? I saw our princess knock you out!" I could see Ned was irritated by Tom, but he answered politely.

  "I'm okay, thanks."

  "Heard you're walking home together. I'm coming with you."

  Look at him. Such a confident, arrogant jerk.

  I decided to play along.

  "Okay, okay. Let's all go. I need to change."

  And so, the three of us set off: me, Ned-the fourteen-year-old and Tom.

  I really wanted to annoy Tom, so I started asking Ned questions.

  "Hey, Ned, I don't think we've ever spoken properly. Tell me about yourself. Which school do you go to?"

  "Actually, the same one as you."

  "Oh? I've never seen you there."

  So I kept asking questions. Tom kept trying to steer the conversation back to himself or to me, but I kept bringing it back to Ned. I could feel how displeased he was. It was kind of funny. I really can't stand people like Tom.

  But my fun was cut short. Another white man climbed out of a manhole cover.

  Fuck. Just when I was having a perfect day, this had to happen.

  I felt real fear, and my legs began to tremble. But this time, I thought I could run. Or maybe Tom, trying once again to impress me, would try to protect us.

  This one wasn't the same as the last. It had long arms but very short legs, and it was covered in hair. I hoped it would ignore us, but it started running in our direction—fast, like an orangutan.

  Shit. We're going to have to fight.

  I threw a glance at the boys. Ned was utterly terrified, backing away—I understood completely. Tom, well, Tom was being Tom. His eyes were full of grim determination; he was ready to fight. Such a poser.

  The white man slammed into Tom and sank its teeth into his shoulder. It was my time to act. I tapped into the clarity, and time seemed to slow. All hesitation vanished. My mind was clear, and I was ready.

  While Tom struggled to protect his neck, I silently closed the distance, pulled the knife from my pocket, and in one fluid motion, drove it into the creature's neck.

  But it didn't die. It punched Tom in the face and lunged at me, the knife still lodged in its throat. Damn. I dodged its leap and its long arms, but I couldn't keep it up forever. Tom was in no condition to fight.

  Just as I was almost cornered, a stone hit the thing's head. It wasn't a powerful blow, but it made the creature turn its attention to Ned, who had thrown it. That was my chance. I grabbed the hilt of the knife, twisting it as I pulled it free from its neck. Blood gushed from the wound. Before it could react, I stabbed it in the stomach. Even then, it managed to hit me with a wild backhand swing, sending me flying and snapping me out of my clarity.

  Fuck. Was this thing immortal?

  Apparently not. The next moment, it collapsed, blood pooling from its injuries.

  My hand felt broken - I couldn't move it, and the pain was intense. I stood up. Tom was still lying on the ground but seemed okay; being a big guy, he could probably handle it. Ned stood at a distance, shaking. Poor kid.

  I needed to call the police and an ambulance. Tom's injury looked serious, and my hand was a mess. So I did.

  When I approached Ned, he was still trembling.

  "Ned, it's okay. It's over. Just breathe," I said, giving him a one-armed hug.

  After a few minutes, I saw the flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance.

  An officer told us he'd visit us at the hospital. Tom and I were taken away.

  And yet, once again, the day ended in a black flash. I truly had no idea what I needed to do to finally see tomorrow.