Under the unrelenting sun and past the rough sand dunes and leaves from tall date trees waving at her, Hesi trudged the shifting horizon, aiming for the small human village at the center of the only oasis in this part of Rathome.

She bit her chapping lips, feeling the hardened skin with her tongue. Rathome. That's what the Mayaware—nasty, reptilian devils—call the place where they haven't sank their onyx teeth on yet. It's the unconquered, wild lands. It's where humans, like Hesi and the people in her village, survive.

The strap of the basket woven from hemp stalks dug against her exposed neck, her scarf barely protecting her skin from its assault as well as the blistering sunlight branding her skin. Hesi clicked her tongue. Those would leave marks which would either redden and itch or bleed and scar. Whichever route, she's going to experience pain.

When her sandaled feet crested the last dune towards her village, relief washed across her gut to see the oasis, with its lush line of trees, sparkling lake, and tents bunched together at one side, largely untouched. No Mayaware in sight.

She gripped the straps of her basket and ran down on the incline, letting the earth's pull propel her faster. The crops she gathered from the nearby uninhabited oasis bounced inside the basket. It would be a miracle if those emerge without blemish as soon as she gives them to her mother.

Villagers dressed in off-white to beige tunics and dresses looked up from their tasks of harvesting dates and watering the mules to assess her arrival with narrowed eyes and stiff, tense stances. Hesi closed her eyes and whistled a three-note tune. The sound washed over the oasis before being blown away by a passing breeze. Instantly, the villagers relaxed.

"Hesi, welcome back!" Armet, the oasis' only weaver, stood up from his place under the shade of a date tree and closed the distance between them to shake her hand—one of the gestures of acceptance left behind in humans after the Mayaware took over.

She nodded and squeezed the man's callous hand back. His grip was strong as ever. "How is work today?" she asked.

Armet jerked his chin towards the low, wooden table bearing needles, blases, and a handheld loom. "Same as always."

The basket made a soft thud against the hot sand as Hesi set it down. She passed a gurep root to him. "For the children."

"Thank you," the man responded before looking at the other villagers slowly gaining interest in their conversation. Hesi studied the emotions flickering in Armet's face, past his thick beard dotted by sand and the greasy hair which escaped the turban wrapped around his head.

"What's wrong?" She looked at Murpe, the woman in charge of rearing the mules used for pulling the carts when they had to evacuate. The woman had a dark brown shawl over her luscious dark hair—almost the same as Hesi's, only thicker and longer. Murpe rarely wore dark colors. Unless...

"Rassa and Horiem," Rurin, the white-haired man with crinkled, dark skin and a cane supporting his every step began, addressing Hesi's parents as he hobbled towards the small group of villagers forming around her. "They went westward the day before yesterday. They haven't made it back."

A stone dropped in Hesi's gut. It couldn't be...

"Perhaps they found something of worth wherever they went?" Hesi forced the hope out of her lips. If possible, her parched throat dried up more. "I left three days ago and I made it back."

Armet went back to his table and resumed treading his fingers and the threads he spun himself through the strings and across the loom with deft fingers. Hesi could watch him weave all day and not get tired. Just the wave-like motions of his fingers sent calming vibes in her muscles. Today, however, Armet weaving did nothing to the dread curling at the base of her stomach. "They went west," the weaver flicked his gaze briefly at Hesi. "Do you know what lies there?"

Berheqt. The Royal Capital of the Mayaware. That's what awaited them west. Hesi's sandals scratched against the sand when her knees threatened to knock together. "It couldn't be..." her voice died down. She turned to Murpe who drew her dark shawl around herself tighter. "Why would they even go there?"

"Rassa claimed there's korqeth there," Rurin said, tapping his can against his sandaled feet as he jerked his chin into the general direction of Hur, the village's hunter's tent. "See, his son got sick and by the looks of it, only korqeth can help."

"Father went with her?" Hesi was grateful she set her basket down. Her chest began heaving when her breathing didn't sound quite right. "Where's Pai?"

Murpe stroked the muzzle of the mule nearest to her. "She's friends with Hur's son. She insisted on coming," she looked at Hesi with soft eyes. "I'm sorry, child."

Hot tears matching the arid desert air pricked the sides of Hesi's eyes. "No," she whispered. Her feet marched forward, leaving the other villagers gazing at her with a mix of pity and sadness in their eyes. Hesi surged towards where their family tent stood. It couldn't be. It couldn't be.

It couldn't be.

She threw the flap backwards to reveal what meager possessions they owned arranged in neat piles. An indication they left as one. Her wrists slammed against the tattered mat her parents bartered for from the merchants from Ser-Methon as strength seeped out from her muscles.

This shouldn't be possible. They swore they wouldn't leave as one. It wasn't the right way to survive. They knew the Mayaware would be teeming near Berheqt. They knew but they went there anyway.

What were they thinking? Why didn't the other villagers stop them?

A sob filtered out of Hesi's lips. She shook her head, clamping her lips shut. No. Don't cry. They're alive. They must be. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Her body responded with a flood of tears flowing from her eyes, shaking more than her shoulders and the heart slowly hardening inside her. This wasn't fair. They did nothing wrong. No vile deed would even sprout from their hands. Why would they have to suffer such fate?

Hesi wiped her tears, smearing sand and dust on her eyelashes. Her legs regained some of their strength back as she braced the pole holding the tent upright and stood up. Her fingers clenched into fists beside her with nails in urgent need of being trimmed digging into her palms.

The Mayaware have taken their lands, their cities, and their freedom. They wouldn't take her family too. She wouldn't allow it.

She has to save them.

The other villagers in the oasis barely spared her a glance when she emerged from her tent with her features set in a determined glower. They didn't stop her from her reckless and thoughtless plan mostly because she didn't plan on telling them. Hesi didn't have much time. Or any time at all. Who knew how many days the Mayaware had her family? Which slaughterhouse were they even brought in?

Hesi had to try though. Her first guess would be the fort controlled by the Mayaware general, Festophis. He was one of the most ruthless feline demons, second only to the reptilian kind in terms of cravings for human flesh and harsh methods in procuring it.

It wasn't even long since the first signs of the uncontrollable demons first started popping. There was a dark force sent from the depths of hell one day and soon, those forces have driven most humans from Ser-Tehra and Ser-Djare to near extinction.

Those who survived were either taken to Berheqt to serve as offspring cradles or have migrated to neighboring territories like Ser-Methon and Ser-Neqhep. Hesi, her family, and some of the braver humans stayed in the unconquered parts of Ser-Djare, foolishly attempting to regain the control they lost instead of starting over.

After establishing Berheqt as a royal city, the Mayaware had built their own culture and developed their own ecosystems and politics. The noble Mayaware began hungering for sophisticated human entrails and the lesser demons were happy enough to build outposts hunting humans and processing them for delivery into the nobles' tables.

As much as that thought sickened Hesi to her core, it's a reality she and thousands of other humans like her had to swallow. The once great hunter had now become the hunted.

Now, Hesi perched behind a deshet bush, its scratchy thorns agitating the itch brought about by her spare shawl made from juni strands. She plucked a branch and tucked it into the small satchel slung over one shoulder. Here's hoping this could mask her scent from any nearby demons. She prayed enough prayers to Qer, the god of hunt and survival to grant her the strength for this dangerous endeavor.

Hesi pursed her lips and drew her long hair back into a low but strict bun by her neck. Next, she wrapped her shawl over her head in a hasty turban. Lastly, she checked the tight belt she tied around her waist and the wide slits she tore at both sides of her dress to facilitate more movement.

Uncouth or whatever. What's the use of ethics when her entire family would be demon food...or already have been?

She shook her head. No. They're alive. They have to be.

With that sentiment, she surged forward, tackling the small, sandy distance between the deshet bushes and the beige wall made from piled quarries signaling the start of Festophis' fortress. A tall, wooden gate creaked against their hinges, opening for a cart filled with human corpses no doubt lifted from the graveyards some villages insisted on keeping as a tradition.

Hesi pressed her shawl to her nose, blocking some of the smell out. Dear Ristep. That's worse than wershe flowers being cooked. She ducked beside it as the Mayaware bearing the handles set it down for a while to exchange quick pleasantries in Breidye.

"Supply food down this month next," came the garbled report from the sentries manning the gates. Hesi winced at the bad pronunciation of some of the words and their apparent lack of use of some of the important words. She sucked in a breath and rubbed the deshet's leaves from beside her. The leaves' strong-smelling sap coated her fingers and hopefully her scent to the Mayaware too.

She looked back to the Mayaware, noting their sienna skin resembling that of a normal human. Apart from their shaved, bald heads and the narrow slits in their eyes replacing the round pupil, they could almost pass off as one of Hesi's kind. She watched as the two Mayaware exchanged more broken sentences before giving each other a brief nod. The owner of the cart, a demon with only a kilt wrapped around their waist, trudged back to the handles and without even a grunt, hefted them up

Without thinking, Hesi gripped the cart's braces and hung on for dear life as the wheels started turning and the ground started moving from underneath her. The demon showed no signs of noticing the added weight in his cart which was either Hesi's luck or he's just dense. Whichever, if it plays to her favor, she wasn't going to complain.

When the cart stopped again and the Mayaware went to talk to another gatekeeper, Hesi dropped to the ground and rolled away before ducking behind a set of cages with human guts still strewn over their wooden walls. The smell of manure, dried blood, and rotten flesh was thick in this area. What was this anyway? Also, why were there so many gates?

Wood creaked behind her and the cart she had hitched a ride with finally made it to the other side of whatever was waiting behind the walls. Hesi braced the rough surface and looked around the space. Apart from the cubical cages stacked on top of each other and lining both sides of the walls, there was nothing. Not even a demon.

Hesi turned her attention back into the stacked cages. There was one particular stack that caught her eye. At least ten cages were stacked on top of each other forming an uneven pyramid. That should be tall enough to propel her to the top of the wall.

With the agility she honed for the last ten years of climbing trees for dates, she shimmied up the pyramid until she made it to the topmost layer. From there, she jumped and her fingers clamped on the dusty wall plate. After a couple of tries, she was able to hook her legs up and within seconds, she was perched on the wall on her fours.

A wide courtyard sprawled before her where pillars carved straight from stone held up some kind of triangular roof resembling the human temples which had fallen long ago. Hesi narrowed her eyes at the people gathered in the middle of the courtyard. Bald Mayaware patrolled four cardinal entrances, each guarded by tall, wooden gates.

She watched as Mayaware wearing jeweled collars sparkling against the midday sun prodded humans dressed in tattered tunics and dresses with the butts of their spears. Herding. They're herding them somewhere.

Hesi scanned the people being brought from the opened cages and her eyes caught a trace of her sister's scarf. Her breath hitched and her throat constricted as she watched a demon drive the blunt end of his spear into the back of a girl barely twelve. The scarlet scarf fluttered in the wind as Pai went down.

"Fast!" the Mayaware yelled, its voice floating over the courtyard above others of the same kind uttered by a different demon. Hesi gripped the wall's ledge until her knuckles turned white, watching her sister stand up without a word. Her mind was already going through several escape plans without getting her, her family, and the rest of the captured people here, killed.

Pai shuffled towards a new line of humans being formed behind the fourth row. Hesi's heart stopped when her sister came beside two familiar individuals. Her parents. From high up, Hesi could see her mother's distraught face and her father's empty expression. That's something Hesi wouldn't want to see in her family's face ever again.

She would save everyone in this fortress. She has to.

Then, a horn blew and the first spear went through a man's chest.

Her father.

"Kill!" The command swept through the entire courtyard followed by a series of gleeful cheers from the participating demons. "De-ca-pi-tate!"

Blood sprayed the marble and stained the ornate columns. Blades flashed in the light they caught when they swung. Screams and sobs joined the demons' revelry. An arm flew into the air. An eyeball rolled quietly on the dusty floor.

Horror gripped Hesi's muscles as she watched her mother's torso split in half. Dark red liquid poured off her mauled body. This couldn't be happening. Hesi has to do something. She has to...

But what? What could possibly a girl like her do?

"Take arm and leg to Festophis Master!" came the next command. The demons cried in joy as they swung their blades and spears again. Pai's screams as her limbs got lopped off echoed in Hesi's mind, over and over. The scarf ripped in an audible ring as a blade separated her sister's neck off her shoulders.

Hesi pressed her fingers to her mouth. Before she knew it, she had already swung and dropped back to the first layer of the piled cages. Tears traced scalding trails down her cheeks and blurred her vision. Too late. She's too late. It's over.

The gates opened again and a brand new cart filled with various arms and legs still trailing blood emerged. It's the same demon who brought the corpses in. Hesi's grip in the deshet branch beside her tightened until some of the thorns, no matter how fleshy, dug into her skin.

...kill them. She's going to kill them. Every last one of them.

Even if it's the last thing she's bound to do.