Qin Xue opened her eyes.<br/><br/>Feeling imminent danger, she did not make any hasty movements. It was dark and only a tiny lantern was lit up next to her. She contemplated a little if she should scurry away from the light into the darkness, or crawl slowly closer, like a moth to the superficial safety of the lamp. Being seen is danger, not being seen is also danger.<br/>Before anything, she decided to look for any kind of attack or defense tool. Slowly, but steadily, her hands searched around until they gripped something like a sharp rock. Digging her fingernails into it, she carefully grabbed it, trying to make no noise while pulling steadily on it. The mission was harder than expected.<br/>Her eyes formed to tiny slits, Xue moved her head a little, seeing other tiny lanterns on the floor, around and next to her.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">They should not have noticed that I am awake, for now, no?</span>was her first thought about the others.<br/>Humans meant safety and danger in one.<br/>Safety of the masses, danger of quarrells and deadly fights. Most of them were still not moving.<br/>Qin Xue laid still, while she was observing, and her nails dug slowly and carefully around the soil of the sharp stone.<br/>Some people stirred now, stood up, others looked around and some made gestures, or noises trying to communicate, but not her.<br/>She would be one of the last to 'awaken', per own decision.<br/><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Suddenly, the darkness came alive and attacked.</span><br/><br/><br/>No, it was not darkness, it was a monster. Shuddering, Xue finally grasped her hands around the stone and pulled it out in the commotion. She could barely grasp her lantern, and roll into a corner, before half awake people stomped her to death in a panic.<br/>Luckily, the monster was feeding on another one of them, not her - that was her second thought.  Again, safety and danger intermingled with each other.<br/>The mass panic and the smell of blood left her a little moment of peace in her safe corner - no matter what, her instincts told her that moving prey was preferred to still one. But, soon it would finish the first snack - and she was not sure about that moving or non moving prey. Prey was prey - who would be next?<br/>Suppressing the urge to vomit at the crunching noises of breaking bones and the wafting thick odor of fresh blood, she gripped her stone tighter, and crawled a little on all fours, to secure a good position to look for a way to escape.