Rick sighed as he came out of the luxury restaurant, feeling out of place, like a dog surrounded by cats. But once outside, he met with a new sight, one he didn’t like, maybe even worse than the dogs and the cats. Seeing two guards, one recognizable, the other not. Standing on each side of an expensively clothed and angry looking lady, the same lady that had shouted at the girl earlier on in the day. She took a step forward, grabbed the little girl firmly and shouted with such a booming voice that one could think she had only screamed her entire life.

“What are you doing? First you run from home, then I see you hanging out with a bum. Has the cold gone to your head?”

The girl struggled against the ladies’ iron grip, Rick casting glances at the guards, lady, then the little girl. Feeling helpless, feeling hopeless, feeling tiny, smaller than even the little girl. The girl shouted back, screaming “let me go” and “I don’t want to go home.” Words that echoed through Rick’s mind, his soul, but he didn’t know what he could do, should do. He couldn’t do anything, he was helpless.

The wooden princess seemed to think otherwise, for she stomped up to the ladies’ iron grip, and bit down with mighty chompers, eliciting a loud and panicked yelp from the lady. With her grip released, the girl tumbled to the ground, quickly followed by the wooden princess, tugging at the little girl, trying to lift her, lift what was impossible.

The two guards and lady stared with wide eyes at the wooden statue, only coming out of their trance once the little girl pushed herself up on two feet, running away with the wooden princess hanging onto her shoulder, whipping around and holding on for dear life.

“After her!”

The lady screamed after a few seconds of silence, the two guards sharing a confused look, only running once the lady screamed for the third time. The lady crossed her arms and stomped her foot, tapping away as if listening to the most fast-paced song ever written.

Rick took the opportunity to walk away, getting out of sight and out of mind before the prestigious lady could get any ideas about him. Still, it did little to sooth his aching heart and shame welling up. She had treated him right, been treated fairly. Yet, he could do nothing for the little girl. It shamed him to the core, to his very being.

Walking in a direction, a direction he knew by heart, he walked to his part of the forest. His stomach was content, his body bruised, he could not achieve anything else today, time to go "home". It was getting dark too, orange murky clouds overhead, clouding both him and his mind, trying to suffocate the less favorable thoughts, those that he didn’t like. It didn’t work.

When he got back, he let his pack fall down ungracefully off of his back, falling down on his butt and staring out into the now darker night. Light hadn’t quite settled, but it was dimming. Soon it would be impossible to see. Rick didn’t mind the dark, he hadn’t ever. But right now, it wasn’t comforting him; It was bringing sad thoughts were light would have grabbed his attention.

He stared at a tree, a tree that held old bark and moss, diseased to its core, limp like a frail leg. It would fall any day, barely holding onto life, its leaves brown and blank were others were green and luscious. His staring stopped once light snuffed out, and Rick did his best to sleep. Mind doing its best to keep him awake.

Rick had dreams, dreams about a shining little princess who brough cakes to a kingdom of filth. The princess didn’t mind, the princess just kept coming with cakes. She came and came until eventually; The kingdom was cured, its filth washing away with the sugary contents that were the cakes.

Something tugged at Rick’s hair, waking a startled man, eyes wet and red. He searched for the culprit. It took him several turns to spot it, to spot her, the wooden princess, standing at the ground with wooden droplets falling down her face. If it weren’t for the princess obvious distress, he would have pondered the emotion more deeply. But at the moment, he was to surprised too.

The wooden princess started mimicking, gesturing, doing her best to express what had happened. Luckily for her, Rick was an expert at mimicking. Quickly understanding that someone had kidnapped the little girl, that the little girl had been kidnapped by a monster.

Rick gulped, mind ticking like the fastest clock, thinking on what he should do, could do. He gestured, asking where she was, told that she was close, close enough that Rick could easily get there within the minute.

But Rick didn’t go, instead he ran, ran towards town, ran away. Hobbling along with his shaky and pained legs, face tinkling out blood from newly opened wounds. He hobbled quickly, stumbling frequently by hidden branches. He had to hurry; The girl was in danger.

Town within view, he spotted a closed gate and two guards standing at attention, the two quickly spotting Rick. He made his way towards them, gesturing wildly with his hands, gaining their attention when he already had it. The guards pointing their spears, taking a step back.

“Stop right there!”

One of the guards shouted, taking one brave step forward where his compatriot took another back. Rick gestured even more wildly, trying to make them follow him, trying to express the importance, trying to get them to help him. All he got in response was a poke of their spear, barely missing his stomach, glancing blow that bled shallowly, yet terrifyingly. Rick stared in shock. The guard stared in shock, the two in shock.

Rick turned and ran, ran back to where his "home" was. His mind not knowing what to do, panicking at what to do. This shouldn’t happen like this, this shouldn’t have happened. The wooden princess screamed soundlessly at his ear, tugging like a drunkerd. Rick closed his eyes, tumbling in his run, not caring.

He ran and ran, swiftly getting back to his pack, the big one, filled to the brim with statues. And he stopped, staring down at it, his mind thinking, thinking and thinking. Time could have gone past in hours per second, or seconds per hour, Rick wouldn’t know. He just thought, thinking about the pack and its many statues.

And then he made a decision, grabbing the pack and gesturing for the wooden princess to show him where the little girl was. The princess saluted, pointing in a direction while Rick grabbed a random statue from his pack, his mind feeling for the life inside of him, filling the uzur rune within the statue with life. The second it was brough to life, it looked up at him, but he paid it no mind, putting the statue on his other shoulder and grabbing yet another statue, the other hand holding a knife.

Rick flew through the forest, the pain in his body feeling less than it was. Statue after statue gaining life, gaining an understanding of the situation by the wooden princess, something Rick didn't see. Rick was giving too much life, too much for his meager body, he was feeling it; He was slowing down, the statues on the ground could even keep up. But he didn’t stop, he couldn’t stop, he would not stop.

Then suddenly, the princess by his ear tugged at him, gesturing for him to stop, gesturing that this was the place where the girl had been. Rick looked around in a panic, searching, scanning. Stopping when he felt something wet on his feet. Bending down, his heart clamped up, for he saw red, saw blood.

He quickly ambled in the blood's direction, first going slow, but quickly heightening his pace. The princess on his shoulder crying wooden tears, soundlessly. He moved, he ran, he flew. Each step painful, each step making his heart burn.

Then he saw light, unnatural red light peeking out from one of the trees. Rounding the tree, he spotted it, spotted the monster. It was no bigger than a wolf, no slimmer than a cat, resembling a toad in appearance yet having tentacles that seemed far longer than they had a right to be. Each tentacle holding something in their vicious grip. Holding the little girl, who had closed eyes with an open mouth, blood trickling down it.

Rick opened his mouth to scream, mind forgetting it had none, and jumped out into the red light streaming from the monster. The monster immediately noticed him, turning towards him while dropping the little girl. Exposing tiny mouths filled with countless teeth on each tentacle, too many tentacles for Rick to count in the dark night.

The two screaming at each other, one soundlessly, the other ferociously. But Rick didn’t back down, he didn’t falter, strength he didn’t know he had welled up, the grip around his dagger tightened and he took a big step forward.

But before the two could clash, an army of statues raced in front of Rick, amongst them the wooden princess, all aiming for the monstrosity. They gained ground faster than Rick knew possible, and just as quickly jumped on it, pelting it with their slender wooden arms. The monster reacted in freight, then rage, each punch hurtful but not harmful. Its tentacles doing their best to throw the infuriating statues away. But there were too many, too many for the tentacles to deal with. Soon they reached vulnerable places, eyes, ears, scrotum. Each statue doing its utmost to harm, to kill the monster. Rick watched in awe, but shook himself out of it, running like mad in the whirlwind of thrashing tentacles. One of them grabbing a hold of Rick, sucking like an eel trying to devour his life.

With a slice, he cut it away, falling down on his rump as another tentacle punched him down. The monster screaming like a dying hyena from the continued onslaught of the statues. But with each swipe of the tentacles, a statue would fall, never to get up again, maimed beyond repair.

Rick pushed himself up, withering the countless hits from the tentacles, crawling with his life on the line, slicing any tentacles that dared to latch on to him. The blows getting harder and harder, his insides feeling like mashed potatoes. But he saw it, he saw his opening. With a jump and an outstretched arm, he plunged the dagger deep into the eye socket of the monster, killing one of his statues in the process.

The monster reeled back, pulling Rick with it as it screamed even louder. Rick felt his ears straining dangerously at the sound, blood flowing freely from his many wounds. But he held fast, held firm, pushing as hard as his feeble body let him.

The monster grew more silent as time went on. Rick grew more purple and bloodied. Then the monster grew silent, Rick wasn’t getting pelted, the monster was dead.

Rick couldn’t believe it at first, neither could the few statues he had left, continuing bombarding the monster with punches and kicks. But eventually, it sunk in, and he immediately darted for the little girl. The pain quickly incapacitating him, but pushed through it, he didn’t have time for that.

Crawling up to the girl, the wooden princess resting on her chest, his eyes scrunched up, not liking what he saw. For the girl had numerous bite marks on her body, looking frail and white, drained of her life. He pushed a staggering and shaking hand on her neck, feeling for a pulse. Not feeling one. He was too late, why had he gone to the guards, why had- Then he felt a pulse.

Immediately he took a firm grip around her back and legs, pushing himself up on two bloody and shaking legs, the girl in an embrace, feeling dangerously light. Rick wasn’t a godly man, but he cast a prayer to the gods, he wished that they would help him, just this once, give him strength to at least save this one girl.

One shaky step, two shaky steps. Pain lingering and pulsating like the worst headache. But it wouldn’t stop him, nothing would. He didn’t give the pain a second thought; He pushed through it, he walked, then jogged, then ran. The wooden princess somehow guiding him through the dark night.

His eyes watered, they flowed, he had done this, and he would fix this. More water flowed, water of blue and red, coming from many parts on his body. It didn’t stop him, even as his vision went blurry. Instinctually following the princess guiding hand, blindly running through the forest.

Light. Light suddenly hit his glazed eyes, it was dim and further away, but he knew it meant civilization. He further increased his step, gaining strength, from where he couldn’t tell. He wasn’t even sure if he had gained strength.

Suddenly he stumbled, the ground going unnaturally flat. He had to blink, blinking away the water, the haze, spotting the gate in the distance. He took more steps, and his eyes slowly regained focus, seeing guards. He had to blink twice as he saw more than two guards; He saw several, a team, a platoon. At the forefront was the lady and a regal lady beside her, screaming and yelling.

Rick stopped and gently placed the girl down, brushing a hair from her face. As he stood, he started waving frantically, quickly gaining the attention of the guards. Two splitting off from the group, running towards Rick and the little girl at a breakneck speed.

With that, Rick turned and ran, faster now that the girl wasn’t weighing him down, not even casting the slightest of glances back as he did. Barking voices echoed out from behind him, quickly stopping once they got to the girl, Rick assumed.

Yet Rick didn’t stop. He kept running and running and running, running. Running. Run. Run away.

He collapsed, he pushed himself up, fell back down. His breathing ragged and unnatural, the grassy ground pooling wet. Rick didn’t know why.

Rick was tired now, oh so tired. He just wanted to sleep. Sleep would be nice.

Rick noticed something, and he glanced up, seeing his old friend, his best friend, his very first statue he had ever made.

He saw Bob.

Bob was oh so ugly, oh so bad, oh so misshapen. Yet he loved Bob more than any of his other creations.

Bob must have fallen out of his pocket as he fell, Rick found himself thinking through his tired haze. He even found himself looking happily at him. He was glad that he wasn’t alone right now. He was glad he wouldn’t have to die by himself.

Bob wobbled up on his stumpy legs, one bigger than the other. Rick watched Bob as he turned in circles, stopping once he saw Rick, hobbling forwards in an awkward gait. Standing still once he reached Rick’s face.

Then Bob hugged him, and Rick smiled. A real smile, a first in ages.

Then everything went dark.