I was already awake before my eyes opened.
Four presences. I knew them by the weight of their steps, the spacing between each footfall. I looked up—I always looked back then, as if knowing which ones had come this time would make it hurt less.
It never did.
The cave walls pressed in on all sides. I curled up small and waited. That was the only move I had: make yourself small, take it, wait for them to finish.
The first hit landed on my head. Claws scraped across my back. Teeth pierced my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut and let their fists and feet pound into me, listening to their breath grow louder and faster. Then it stopped.
Was it over? I strained my ears. When I finally opened my eyes, they weren't looking at me anymore—they were sniffing the air. Then I smelled it too. Food. My mouth started to water. My stomach let out a loud, traitorous growl. One of them heard it and looked down. Our eyes met. He smiled and kicked me square in the nose. Warm liquid ran down my face. I curled back up and held still, terrified the beating would start again.
Their footsteps moved away. I counted what had to be about twenty breaths before I dared move.
Everything ached as I pulled myself upright. Across the cave, a group of green bodies shoved and clawed at each other around the food. My stomach growled again. I stumbled forward and tried to push in, but was immediately shoved back out. I tried again. The goblin in front of me turned and raked his claws across my face. I fell back screaming, holding my face and rolling side to side on the ground. Then something broke inside me. My screaming stopped. My eyes went dull. I pulled back and sat up, watching as my peers clawed and pushed each other for the day's meal. I no longer felt hungry. I no longer felt anything.
I had the same green skin. Same pointed ears, claws, and teeth—and yet I was so much weaker than all of them. I'd always known that weakness was why they punished me. Here, only the strong survived. But what do you do if you are weak?