Preknowings: Success Always Fails (PUBLISHED ON AMAZON)

Creature's Lair

"Aaahhh!!!" Pauline and I screamed at the top of our lungs. Spiders landed on us. I could feel their large, hairy legs scurrying across my back and up my neck. Somehow, one made it onto my face even though I was covering it. Then, they started biting. Pinches all over my body, I started bleeding. I ripped the spider off of my face and screamed, my body shaking violently. I ran down the stairs, grabbed Pauline, and came to an opening at the bottom of the staircase. We flew through it and landed on a stone floor on top of each other. We shook off the remaining spiders and they scurried off into the shadows. "Where's Ralph?" Pauline asked. "The spiders!" I yelled. We ran back into the chaos, frantically searching for Ralph.

After a few seconds of searching, we found Ralph. His eyes were closed and he was still, laying on a stair. He had wet, green, goopy holes covering his body. Probably from the spider bites, I thought. I wondered if I looked like that. Then I remembered all those spiders around us and scooped Ralph up, the smell of Horned Walapus fluids filled my nostrils. Pauline and I then tore down the stairs and whacked a hairy spider off of Ralph's back. We laid him down on the stone floor in the darkness. "Is he.... dead?" Pauline asked worriedly. "I hope not." I replied. Suddenly, Ralph's body vibrated, then sprung up into the musty air and turned bright golden. The disgusting holes were healed with new, healthy flesh and skin. He opened his eyes wide and his trunk wiggled slowly. The golden glow died down back to darkness. "Whatcha starin' at?" Ralph asked. Pauline and I grinned. "How did you get better?" Pauline asked. "My family's enchanted, so we heal very fast and never die." "Cool!" I exclaimed, "I wish humans could be enchanted like you. Except Karter." "This is a horrific place," said Pauline. I agreed. Everything was built out of stone. It was very dark in that dungeon, but it was possible to barely make out silhouettes of pillars, corners, and anything living. All was silent. Finally, something across the large dungeon moved. "Is that you over there, Pauline?" I called. I had dropped the flashlight running from the spiders and it got switched off. "No," she answered, "I'm right beside you." "Me too." Ralph added. "Then what's over there?" The unknown creature moved again. Then, it screeched and the sound of rattling chains could be heard even over that. I could see the silhouette of the thing's head and neck stretch irregularly to howl at the ceiling . I covered my ears. After the screeching stopped, I uncovered my ears and quickly opened my bookbag, searching for another flashlight. Although I wasn't actually sure I wanted to see that.... thing. And I was right. As soon as that flashlight was flicked on, I regretted it. The creature was a distorted human; thankfully it was chained to the wall from its wrists and ankles. "Oh. Mygosh." Pauline exclaimed and looked away. I grabbed her shoulder and said "Sshh." Ralph shuddered by my side. It looked female. It wasn't wearing any clothes, but there was nothing to identify its gender. Its skin was a very pale whitish-gray color and you could clearly see the bones through the thin skin. Its nails hadn't been cut in what looked like a very, very long time. Its hair was gray and it was tied back in a long straight ponytail spread across its back. It was hideous. The thing opened its mouth and it looked like all of its teeth had been filed to a point. It growled at us as if warning us not to come any closer. "Don't make any sudden movements." I whispered. Slowly, we all scooted to the farthest corner of the room from the creature, the flashlight still aimed in its direction. When it finally relaxed, we got out our pillows and settled.

Suddenly, it lunged at us and screamed inhumanly. We yelled. Slowly, its eyes sunk inside the head and it lowered itself into a crouching position. We relaxed again. "I'm sorry," I apologized to Pauline and Ralph, "This is my fault. If I just missed jumping into the water-" Pauline cut me off, "Birche, no." "Wha-" "Don't you get it? They're testing us. This was meant to happen. I think." She said that last part quietly. "Then how do you explain my dreams?" I asked. "What dreams?" Pauline questioned. "The night before Ralph came to me in the school bathroom for the first time, I had a dream that I fell into the ocean and couldn't breathe. Then the flash appeared." "Huh?" I could tell Pauline was lost. "Long story." I added. "Then what?" She asked. "A few days later, after we swam into the flash, after our training-" "I get it." Pauline cut in. "I had another dream. We were in the forest in the tree. The men were running around under us. We were both holding onto the grappling hook gun and we swung and fell. Then it happened in real life. Then when we were on the boat in the crate, I fell asleep and had a dream that we were on the Great Wall of China and the man lifted the four stones out of the floor. Men made us go in and gave us our backpacks and sealed up the hole." "Wow," Pauline exclaimed, "Why didn't you ever tell me?" "Because we were so busy that I forgot all about them." "Oh," She said. "Anyway, I think I know why we fell from the tree." I changed the subject, "But it was still my fault." "Why'd we fall?"Ralph asked. "Because I sort of hooked the gun to my belt loop and my leg hit the retract button which pulled too hard and broke part of the branch." "Oh," Pauline and Ralph replied at the same time. "But that doesn't help us now." Pauline added. "Right," I agreed, "We have to find a way out of this place." "Yes!" Ralph cheered. We laughed, but only for a split second because the creature on the other side of the dungeon growled threateningly. Ralph whimpered. "But first," I went on, "We've gotta put that thing out of its misery." Pauline nodded. "So- wait. We still have the grappling hook gun, right?" "Yeah," I answered. "We have to make that.... thing get angry, and then when it opens its mouth again, we shoot the hook into its mouth and press the retract button. The hook will cut into its tongue and gums and the pain will be so great that it dies." "Got it." Ralph and I confirmed simultaneously.