“Why would you press the big red button that says 'do not press'?!" Riley barks.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33og6qxx4Q
"Uh ... it was shiny." I shrug, smiling sheepishly. “Especially since it’s the only shiny thing in this place.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1UmQeqsDf
A large, ancient metal door on the other side of the room creaks open, dust falling from the old wooden rafters holding the vaulted ceiling up. The rancid odor of stale blood and rotten flesh permeates the air, the scent wafting from the stone hallway behind the door. I watch as Riley and I choke as the taste floods our mouths. I feel lightheaded, like I’m going to puke.
I take a cautious step closer, but Riley grabs my arm roughly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He hisses. “You don’t know what’s in there, or what’s causing that smell.”
I look over at him and sigh. “And if someone’s in there? Hurt?” I ask softly.
Riley’s scowl deepens at my point, clearly weighing his trepidations with the knowledge that someone could need help. “Damnit, Shaya…I hate it when you’re right.” He mutters, stepping past me and pulling out his pocket knife. “Just stay behind me, and if I say run, run like tomorrow won’t exist.” He flicks the blade open, walking towards the door cautiously.
I nod, following close behind him and pulling my shirt over my nose, blocking the rotting smell. The second we steped through the old door, my foot sinks down on the cobblestone, and a grinding sound echoes through the hallway. My shoulders tense as I turn around, watching the metal door slam shut, trapping us. I carefully reach into my pocket, pulling out my lighter with shaky hands. “Riley?” I whisper, watching the small flame flicker to life.
”Right here, Shaya.” He says, crouching down in front of me, looking at something just outside of the ring of light from the lighter. “Shaya, come closer.” Riley says, peering into the shadows.
I step closer, reaching the lighter out over his shoulder. The flame’s light flickers back, reflecting off something that could’ve once been white. I hesitate, but as I see Riley leaning closer, I take another step. The sight is gruesome. The wall is stained with a deep brown, rusty color, dried blood. Below it is a half decomposed body. “The hell?!” I yell, dropping the lighter and stumbling back.
Riley sighs softly and picks the lighter back up, flicking it back to life. I watch as he leans closer, examining the dead corpse. One side of the body looks like it was stripped clean of all of its flesh, and the other side is decomposing slowly. The side that was stripped clean was what the lighter had been reflecting off of before I had dropped it. Upon even closer inspection, by Riley, he figured out what killed the poor bastard. “The neck was slit.” Riley says, leaning back on his heels, looking back at me. “From behind.”
”And the door closes behind whoever enters…” I whisper.
Riley nods. “Which means, whoever or whatever did this…”
”Is stuck in here with us.” I finish, my hands shaking slightly at the thought. “And I led us too it…”
Riley’s expression softens and he stands up, pulling me into a hug. “Hey, you didn’t know, you couldn’t have.” He says gently, rubbing my back slightly.
I nod against his shoulder, not fully believing him. “We need to get out of here.” I whisper.
Riley hands me back my lighter and intertwines our free hands, beginning to walk deeper into the hallway cautiously, his pocket knife brandished protectively. I squeeze his hand slightly, following closely. The hallway is pitch black beside the small, flickering light from my lighter.
Skittering from bugs and our footsteps is the only sounds filling the space, echoing through the hallway. I squeeze Riley’s hand again, the only thing exposing my anxiety. The deeper we go, the more bugs I hear, and the sound of dripping water fills the air as well. A few minutes later, the hallway widens out into a cavern, a small pool of water in the corner. “Shaya, there.” Riley whispers, pointing to a small tunnel in the side of the cavern that looks like it leads up. To support that, I hear the chitter of bats above us, which means there must be a way out somewhere, probably that tunnel.
I nod, following him towards it. The pool of water creates a small sloshing sound behind us, and my shoulders tense, feeling like we’re being watched. I look over my shoulder, my eyes scanning the shadows and the pool of water. Riley squeezes my hand slightly to get my attention . “Shaya? You okay?” He asks me.
”Yeah,” I whisper. “Just feel like something’s wrong.” I tell him, looking around again. I see something in the corner of my eye, something behind Riley, creeping up slowly. “Riley! Riley, turn around!” I hiss, raising the lighter higher.
Riley turns around, his shoulders tense, knife raised. The…thing, is terrifying. It looks vaguely humanoid, but the limbs are stretched out far too long, and it has long, rock like claws. Moss dangles from the head, it’s nose elongated into a snout, skin almost bark like and leathery. The eyes are the worst, hollow, empty things that you just know can still see, that are watching you, observing you as prey. The thing opens its mouth, a low growl sounding from its maw. The teeth are jagged, rock like, the same as the claws. “Holy…” Riley trails off, in shock.
My hand trembles as I hold the lighter, my eyes wide in fear at the awful creature. It stalks towards us slowly, and we back off towards the small tunnel Riley had seen. I keep looking over my shoulder, counting the yards between us and escape. A hundred yards…ninety five yards…ninety yards. The thing roars and charges Riley. Riley swipes at it with his pocket knife, but the creature’s elongated arm swiped back. The knife slices the wrist, but the rest of the arm keeps swinging, sending Riley flying into the cavern wall. “Riley!” I yell. The awful, sickening crunch of bone breaking echoes through the cavern, and Riley’s slumping to the ground of the rock wall. He’s groaning softly, his breathing shallow and erratic.
The pocket knife skitters across the ground, landing about fifteen yards away from me. The creature stalks towards Riley, teeth bared, growling. I freeze, my eyes widening even further in terror. My eyes dart between the creature, Riley, and the pocket knife. I begin walking very slowly to the side, making sure that the creature doesn’t pay attention to me. Fifteen yards….ten yards…eight yards….two yards…the creature looks up, it’s hollow eyes focusing on me. It begins to stalk towards me and I turn and dive for the pocket knife. I can hear the creature’s footsteps thundering towards me in the cavern as my fingers close around the hilt of the knife. I roll onto my back, my arm coming up in an arch.
The knife catches the creature across the throat. It’s brown, soil like blood falls down over me as it falls to the side, clawing at its neck. I feel…sympathy for the thing, watching it tear at its throat. I step closer and drive the knife into its chest, twisting the blade once for a cleaner kill. The creature stops moving, a raspy sigh escaping its maw as its body decomposes at a rapid rate, fading to soil and branches under me.
A low groan echoes through the cavern and I run over to Riley, kneeling in front of him. “Hey, hey Riley, it’s going to be okay.” I say, grabbing his hand. I had lost my lighter in the scramble for the pocket knife, but there’s bioluminescent algae in the pool, providing enough light to see by.
”Shaya…” Riley says, his voice horse and breathy. “I…I think…ribs…broke.” He struggles to say.
I nod. “Okay, we have to get you out of here.” I say, slipping an arm under his shoulder and helping him up gently. He cries out in pain, his jaw clenching tightly. We walk very slowly towards the tunnel, him leaning on me to stay upright. We walk out carefully, the tunnel leading up into the forest behind the old cabin we had been exploring. I gently lead him out onto the side of the road, calling paramedics.
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnK9ZhXqat
Twelve hours later
I was sitting next to his bedside in the hospital, holding his hand while I wait for him to wake up from the anesthetic they had given him. He stirs slowly, blinking groggily. “Ow…” He groans, cradling his chest carefully.
”Hey, Riley.” I murmur, squeezing his hand gently.
”Did…did that actually happen?” He asks quietly, looking over at me.
“Yeah.” I say softly.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnERQQVutIh
”Wow, okay…and what did we learn?” He asks, wincing.
”Don’t push buttons that say ‘don’t push’, even if they’re shiny.” I whisper sheepishly.
”Good.” He murmurs, closing his eyes. I lean over and kiss his forehead softly, watching him smile slightly as he drifts off again.
ns216.73.216.37da2
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