Out of the Darkness

119

Someone shouted some word that I didn't understand, but it was so close to me that it actually hurt my ears. "Jesus Christ, dude," I said, automatically bringing my hands to plug my ears against Ash's incessant chanting. His voice seemed to be getting louder, then I heard the snarls, hisses, and growls getting closer. I couldn't see anything, so I just held tight to Sam and waited for the end to come. I wanted to run, but where would I go? I couldn't see anything, so how would I know if I were running away from the demons or straight at them? The growls seemed to be coming from all around us now, giving me no direction in which way that I should go. I could almost swear that I felt hot, rancid breath on the back of my neck. "Sam?" I whispered, tightening my grip on his arm. "Yeah?" he whispered back. "What do we do?" I felt his arm go up like he was shrugging. "I have no idea, man." Ash's voice got louder, blocking out the snarls and hisses from the demons, booming in our ears. He was speaking a different language, so fast that I couldn't make out a single word. Then there was a loud bang, and my world went silent. Was I deaf? The silence rang in my ears. Maybe I was blind too. Maybe we all died. "You need to calm down," Ash said, from right beside me. My breathing, that had been coming out in short, frightened gasps, now heaved out in one big sigh of relief. "I can hear you," I gasped out, regaining my control. "Of course you can," he replied. "Sam, you good?" I asked. I could feel him but still could see nothing. "Yeah brother. Freaked out, out of breath, but good. So, how do we get out of here?" "Good question," I replied. "Where'd the demons go? Are they coming back?" "Eventually," Ash said, like he didn't have a care in the world. "I banished them to outside the cave and put a protective barrier up. They can't break it. At least not for a while. We need to find the door to the next realm." "How are we going to do that when we can't see?" I asked, throwing my free hand up in frustration. "Feel the walls. We should be able to feel it. It will be warmer than the rest of the rock. You may even find a door knob, or the groove of a door. You'll know it, if you find it." I sighed again, and, as much as I didn't want too, I let go of Sam. Holding my hands out in front of me, I started shuffling forwards. I could hear the others doing the same thing. When my hands hit the cold, damp rock wall, I started feeling around, shuffling to the side while I kept my hands on the rock. After a while, I started to get frustrated again. "How big is this damn place?" I said, letting my attitude get the best of my tone. "I don't know. Keep feeling," Ash replied. So we did. I searched until my hands were frozen, the cold from the rock seeping into them, and making my entire body shiver. I searched until my mouth was parched, aching for one sip of water. I was losing hope, thoughts that Ash had lied to us, and now we were going to just be stuck here until we died, unless the demons got us first. "I think I found something!" Sam's excited voice broke through my depressing thoughts. I didn't get excited, because there had been a few times that him or I had thought we found the exit. It had turned out to just be a normal groove in the rock walls of the cavern. "Let me find you," Ash replied, his voice still as calm as it had been since we started. I almost felt hate towards him, simply because this situation was so insane, frightening, and frustrating, but none of it was getting to him. "Hmm, I think you might be right, Samuel," I heard him say. "Really?" I asked, skeptically. Then I saw a bright white light shine blaze through the darkness of the cavern, making me shield my eyes. When it dimmed a little, I saw that the light was in the shape of an actual door. "Really," Ash replied, smiling at me. I found the one face that would reassure me, my best friend, and saw Sam standing next to him. His smile was proud, and relieved. I grinned back at him, then walked towards them. Ash pushed his hand against the door, and I heard a clicking noise, before it opened up towards us. We were all quiet as we watched it open, showing us the same bright light. I couldn't make out anything, the light searing into my retinas. "After you," Ash said, sweeping his arm forwards, looking at me. I took a deep breath, swallowed down the fear, and walked over the threshold, into the light. At first, it was just the light. I couldn't see anything but the bright whiteness surrounding me. It gradually started to dim, leaving behind the dark spots, like when you stare at a lightbulb for a few minutes. "Wow, I think I'm blind," Sam said, coming in behind me. I cracked a grin, then saw Ash step up behind him. He caught my eye and smiled. "Welcome to the next realm, gentlemen." Sam gasped, so I turned to see what he saw. It was amazing. There were flashing, colored lights everywhere, lighting up the night. "Is this a fair?!" I asked, starting to get excited. People were walking in between rides, food stands, and games, eating their cotton candy and funnel cakes. "Oh my God, it smells amazing," Sam groaned. I had to agree. "This could be fun," I said, winking at Sam. "Can we ride the rides?" "Yes," Ash replied, walking towards the first ride with us. "But don't let down your guard. We're still in a nightmare realm." "How could this be someone's nightmare?" Sam asked, holding out his arms and spinning around.