It was nearly noon when I woke up. I must have been more tired than I thought. I felt much better than the previous evening - I felt well rested and there was no trace of my strange illness. I was, however, ravenous. I was about to start making late breakfast when I heard a voice outside the door: "I'm alone, as always."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYVBlTTX71
She must be talking to the landlady, I thought. The landlady allowed the residents of the apartment to stay under the condition that we brought no men into the apartment, which was partly why I hadn't wanted Jim and Allen following me home the previous day. Finding nothing curious in the words, I returned to my cooking.
It was quite fortunate that I hadn't had to go to the library, or I would have been very late. After my meal, I decided that I would go for a walk - I didn't want to do anything strenuous in case my illness returned.
I wondered around, not really paying attention to where I was going. I ended up at what looked like a frozen lake. An arched bridge went over the narrowest part. I went on it, stopping at the highest point.
It was really quite beautiful. The snow was perfectly white and covered every surface. It looked like a photograph, sparkling with an almost unnatural brilliance.
A strange sound tore me from my thoughts. It was somewhat familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. It sounded as though it were very close.
Then I saw it. To anyone else, it would have looked like some odd rhinoceros, but it was much too big and its horn glowed as though it were made from the embers of a dying fire. I knew it for what it was - an erumpet.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6YiYKoeS4
Where had it come from? I knew that erumpets were not native to America, so it must have been brought here. But by whom and why? I thought about the occamy cry I thought I'd heard last night. Was it possible that I was right?
I was so completely stunned by the erumpet's presence that I almost didn't notice the symptoms of my illness return. I was afraid, but I didn't know how to fight it. Just as before, I felt a burst of energy and everything went black.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2cUBK92lO
