Just a few more Steps

Just a few more steps..

I'd never thought that this would become my new mantra, repeating over and over in my head. I have to make it, I must. If I don't, no don't you think of that. I have to keep going. Just keep going, one foot in front of the other as I race through the murky darkness.

Running, I feel my breath heaving in and out of my lungs as my footsteps thud steadily on the uneven ground beneath me. The loud echoing breaths of the others ring through the air, showing where they are. It was so stupid, to go into the labyrinthine caves that snake beneath the town. To walk down past the boarded-up entrance to the old mine, ignoring the "No Trespassing" sign and to sneak down into the dark depths. Everyone knew better, or at least everyone from the town did. Anyone who could hear had been told the legends ever since they were children.

Stories that have been told for years, about the creature that lived in the dark recesses. Tales of the miners that vanished back in the late eighteen-hundreds, back when the town was first founded. Whispers of the Boy Scout troop that explored too far back in the fifties and were never seen again. Echoes of the campers, and hikers, and all around dare devils who pushed their luck too far and ventured down into the dark depths, and to their demise. And now, the news will have another story to tell. Of the two teenagers, a boy and a girl (can you get any more stereotypical) who went into the fatal caverns on a dare. A silly, dumb, pointless dare.

A loud screech fills the air, echoing down the tunnels, intertwining with the croaking laughter of the creature and the terrified screams of its prey. Looking around I try to find a faster route, a way to get to the entrance quicker, but the stone wall, arching up to meet as a ceiling, is eerily smooth. If I didn't know better I would think that the walls had been run smooth by years of water flowing constantly over its surface, but the tunnels were as dry as a bone, without a drop of water to be seen.

Walking down into the caves it doesn't seem too bad, as the floor gradually winds down in a gentle slope with a fine dusting of gravel making the way little slippery. Even the light filtering down through the depths wasn't too bad, this being a portion of the maze that was relatively straight and for once was lacking in the usual twists and turns that the old mine was known for. Of course, it seems simple, what better a way to set a trap.

There are stories up in the town above the labyrinth. Of the old demon who lived in the caves far below the small civilization that had been built deep within the mountains. The horrid beast who has never been truly described, for all that is left of those that see it are a few fragments of bone and pieces of cloth. Though there are stories. Tales of horrid claws, the sharper than knives. Of great pointed teeth.... No, no they would definitely be better described as fangs, longer than a child's finger and jagged like a saw. Of big, burning eyes that glow with the very fires of Hell itself. A big, hulking beast straight out of a grown man's nightmare, too horrible to be dreamt up in the mind of a child.

Of course, the stories are all true. I know this, for as I run I can see glimpses of the horrid eyes glowing in the dark. Through holes in the wall, or is it a fragment of mirror, left behind by the minors who once used it to brighten their candle's light. The ringing of claws scraping across the stone floor a sharp contrast to the steady thud of tennis shoes. Two of the three breaths are turning into wheezing gasps now, as the slope seems steeper and steeper, the light still so far away.

The distance to the cave system's entryway is steadily growing smaller, the crooked boards a slight buffer of safety between glorious life and certain death. Escape seems so close, but the swiping of vicious claws is closing in faster, monstrous legs propelling death faster than any human can run. A pained laugh bursts forth from my throat, rasping out over the irony of it all. Life and death closing in, one slightly faster than the other. The sparkling of the exposed gems seems mocking, as the ringing of frightened calls ring from frantic throats. The shadows seeming to cling to us as we race through the dark, grabbing us and pulling as back into the depths of the abyss. I'm so, so very close.

Then, of course, tragedy strikes, for fate is a cruel mistress with a sense of humor based off of a mocking irony. The papers will lament how the boy was the first to be caught, slipping on the loose gravel, feet sliding out from under him and he falls to the ground with a harsh thump. Just like a cheesy horror novel, for what a better way for the brave hero to fall than with a shout for his companion to run. To go and leave him behind. The dim, grainy light filters around us just enough for a wickedly sharp claw to be seen slicing into a jean covered thigh. Pained screams filling the air, mixing with my shrieks, as blood flies across the tunnel. A girl frozen in fear as her boyfriend is torn to shreds, blood pooling on the floor now, and beast destroys those that dared intrude on it's territory.

Once again it goes quiet. For one, two, three seconds, before we both, the beastly creature and the innocent girl, jump into action. As I run towards the light of freedom, slipping on the now wet gravel, the dust and blood filling the air and coating seemingly every surface make it hard to see. The cave entrance, which once seemed so far, so unobtainable, now draws closer. Still so far, but maybe, just maybe, it can be reached. There can't be more than fifty yards left. Seventy-five at most. The upper world drawing ever nearer, as the murky depths of the maze of caverns comes slowly to an end.

It's just a straight path now, in order to get to the world outside this endless darkness. Suddenly, I notice that the steady upwards slope of the ground had finally evened out and my steps come easier, though the running begins to take its toll and my breath grows more and more labored. The only other downfall is that I'm not the only one the flat ground has helped. For anyone unlucky enough to observe the scene, they would see that the distance between the horrid creature and the terrified girl was steadily decreasing. The chase was coming to a close.

I glance down and see the blood dripping off of my claws, and I can feel a few scraps of cloth stuck between my fangs as I run my tongue across them, drooling at the thought if another victim. Two in one day is unheard of, and yet they're all mine. They did trespass after all, that makes them free game. There are the stories that ward them off, to warn them against coming close, to prevent them from intruding, to protect them. They ignored them all, and now they will pay the ultimate price. Now, they are mine.

Just a few more steps...

Lead Image Source: https://pin.it/4LMWdog

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