Adrian froze, every muscle tensing. Footsteps crunched against the loose ground behind them.

  He slowly crouched lower, the gun pressing comfortably against his shoulder, fingers brushing the trigger. Beside him, Alex stiffened, eyes wide.

  The sounds grew closer. Adrian’s heart hammered, but his breath stayed steady. He flicked a hand sign toward Alex—hide. Together they crept toward the nearest cove. A massive tree stump loomed just ahead, wide enough to swallow them both from sight. They pressed against its rough bark, silence wrapping around them as the footsteps drew nearer.

  From behind the cover, they had an unobstructed view of the path. A few seconds later, five figures emerged. Three bore clear deformities, while the other two looked unmarked. Among them, only one was female. Three carried spears, one had a bow slung across his back, and the girl gripped a crossbow tight in her hands.

  "Hunters," whispered Alex.

  Adrian nodded, trying not to make a noise.

  The youngest was the girl, maybe in her early twenties. The others looked only a few years older, though the roughness of their lives made them seem far older at first glance. They were already way past the point that they could see them, but they didn't relax.

  After the group disappeared down the path, Adrian exhaled. “Two of them didn’t have deformities. At least, not visible ones.”

  “Yeah, I caught that too,” Alex muttered. He hesitated, then added, “And their weapons. Two of the spears were rough, homemade jobs. But one was of good quality. The crossbow, though, was way more advanced than anything we saw back in the village.”

  “Their clothes were strange too,” Adrian added. “Some had rough hides, but a couple were wearing… I don’t know, cotton? Whatever it was, it looked way more advanced than the rest.”

  “It’s really weird.”

  “Yeah. Let’s watch the village a bit longer before we do anything,” Adrian said. Alex just nodded.

  They moved to get a better and closer vantage point.

  From their hidden vantage point behind a thick cluster of trees, Adrian and Alex watched the village. Smoke curled lazily from half-collapsed chimneys, the scent of burning wood and something earthy drifting toward them.

  A young woman, her left arm slightly shorter than the other, hauled water from the nearby stream in a woven basket. She carefully balanced it on her hip as she navigated a narrow path, pausing occasionally to adjust the weight. Her fingers were nimble, compensating for the deformity, and she moved with practiced precision. A boy with one eye larger than the other trailed behind, carrying firewood, struggling to keep up but laughing at a stumble.

  Near a cluster of stone-and-wood huts, an older man with a curved spine worked on a windmill-like contraption. Beside him, a girl with an extra joint in one finger helped weave reeds into mats.

  In the central clearing, another villager, a woman with a noticeably tilted shoulder, stirred a pot over a fire. She added roots and grains, moving efficiently despite the awkward posture, speaking softly to a younger child. The child mimicked her motions, spilling some grains, only to have the woman guide the little hands with gentle patience.

  Adrian and Alex noticed the rhythm of the day: work, teaching, crafting, preparing food, tending gardens. Despite the deformities, or perhaps because of them, each villager seemed perfectly matched to their task.

  Children darted between adults, some with extra fingers or uneven limbs, learning the ways of survival early. One boy carefully carried a bundle of herbs, his crooked back barely bending under the weight, while another child practiced knots on ropes used to hold baskets of food.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Occasionally, fragments of conversation drifted on the wind.

  “Did you patch the roof...,” a man called.

  “Yes, but the clay’s almost gone. We’ll need more...,” another replied.

  “Check the traps near the stream,” said a woman, glancing toward the tree line, though Adrian and Alex remained unseen.

  They overheard this conversation from people passing close by them.

  They watched the hunters who had returned empty-handed. Now, they were busy helping with other tasks around the village, one crouched over a fire, carefully stoking it, while another carried bundles of supplies from one side of the clearing to the other. The archers moved among the villagers, patiently teaching them how to use bows and crossbows. From a distance, it looked like any normal village… if you ignored the subtle, strange things that set it apart.

  “Yeah… I don’t even know what to make of this place,” Alex muttered, eyes scanning the village.

  Adrian nodded slowly, his brow furrowed. “It’s… strange. Most of them have some kind of deformity, but a few look… normal. And everything they use—it’s all over the place. Tools, weapons… some feel ancient, some more advanced.”

  Alex let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “It’s like time forgot them… or shoved a few centuries into one place.”

  Adrian gave a small, uneasy laugh. “Yeah… definitely not your average village.”

  “How do we approach this?” Alex whispered, eyes on the village.

  “I don’t know… but we’re not going straight in,” Adrian muttered, scanning the area.

  “So… any other ideas?” Alex nudged.

  “Maybe… we let them find us,” Adrian said slowly.

  “They… find us?” Alex raised an eyebrow. “Might work… but how?”

  “Hang around. Stay hidden,” Adrian replied, voice low.

  Alex squinted. “Hmm… what if we start a fire? Cook something? They might come check it out.”

  “That could work,” Adrian said, frowning. “But what if they spot us first… shoot first?”

  Alex shrugged, a grim smile on his face. “Yeah… that would suck.”

  “You got that right,” Adrian muttered.

  “But… maybe they come to talk first. And if they shoot first? We blast and run,” Alex added quickly.

  “I mean… yeah. But do you really want to blast villagers?” Adrian asked, voice tight.

  “Got no better idea. So if you’ve got one, I’m listening,” Alex said.

  “Me neither,” Adrian admitted, glancing around. “We just need a place we can defend ourselves. That’s it.”

  “Alright… let’s do that. But first—we hunt a rabbit,” Alex said, grinning.

  “You really like getting yourself messed up, huh?” Adrian muttered.

  “No,” Alex said, smirking. “It’s just tasty.”

  Adrian shook his head. “We need to hunt it today. Tomorrow, we’ll be ready need to be ready when they go out hunting.”

  “And we need to find a good spot to set up, too,” Alex added.

  “That too… but what if the rabbit messes with our heads again?” Adrian muttered, a shadow of concern crossing his face.

  “We shoot it before it has a chance,” Alex said firmly.

  “That’ll work… if we spot it before it spots us,” Adrian replied, narrowing his eyes.

  Adrian felt uneasy about the plan, but with so little information, it was the best they could come up with. It was better than nothing, at least. They needed to learn more about this world because what they had seen so far only raised more questions than answers.

  They spent the rest of the day walking blindly in the forest, hoping to find what they were looking for.

  After an hour of careful wandering, they finally found the spot they had been looking for. It wasn’t far from the village, close enough to catch the hunters’ attention but far enough to stay hidden. They needed to get a fire going at least two hours before daylight, giving them a chance to see if the hunters were preparing to leave.

  They had managed to hunt something, though it wasn’t a rabbit—it was a boar-like creature. Luckily, they found it near the spot they had chosen. If they’d had to carry it any farther, the weight alone would have slowed them down too much, and they probably wouldn’t have made it in time to set their plan in motion. It was also less dangerous than a wild boar, or so they thought.

  The spot they found had an open side facing the village, where the trees were sparse, while the opposite side was choked with dense forest. The branches of the trees hung low, creating a natural ceiling that would block arrows from afar. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than anything else they've seen. The other two approaches were blocked, one by a boulder, the other by a massive tree, making it easier to control any encounter.

  Alex worked quickly, skinning the boar while Adrian surveyed the area. He moved with purpose, marking a few spots where they could take cover if things went wrong. He mapped out a clear escape route in his mind, noting the paths that led deeper into the dense forest and the gaps that could provide quick exits if they needed to disappear fast. Every branch, every dip in the ground, every tree trunk became part of his plan, shaping the ambush site into something that gave them a fighting chance if things went south.

  Daylight was still a few hours away. They lit the fire, smoke curling lazily into the cool morning air. Carefully, they set up the boar for roasting. It took them a while to secure it, but eventually, they had it ready, the crackle of flames mingling with the faint rustle of the forest around them.

  They were sitting on the trunks that they placed next to the fire.

  After more than an hour, with daylight up.

  A lone woman was approaching them.