A Soviet's Struggle

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Laughing. That's all she could hear. Insistent laughing. Mariya was standing in a pool of water, the dark space around her felt claustrophobic, her red beacons for eyes becoming the only source of light. Where was she, exactly? This wasn't the dorm room, that's for damn sure. A cave? A well, perhaps? Wherever she was, she definitely knew the sensation of wet feet and laughter. This wasn't the kind of laughter for mockery, nor was it the laughter of fun. It was hollow. Emotionless. Child-like. She scanned her surroundings to the best of her given ability. The room was a circle in shape, about 24 feet in diameter - enough for four of her to lay head-to-feet and cover the whole distance. There was no source of the sounds she heard from what she could see. Just this big fucking circle.

The top of this room she was in was a black void. No source of light at the top. Nothing. The Hybrid walked around slowly, shuffling her way to the edge of the room. She touched the wall. It was made of brick, or was it rock? Jagged material, that's what she concluded. If she wasn't careful, she could slice her pads on the wall, she could bleed. She looked up, took a deep breath, and securely grabbed a hanging ledge of stone.

As she was about to hoist herself up and being climbing, she heard the laughter get louder for a moment - then ceased, followed by a splash. Slowly, she turned her body, looking at the source of the sound. A mass of flesh laid there, where she once stood, about 12 feet away from her. It contorted, writhing on the ground, turning the water red. Red with fresh blood. Mariya squinted, frozen solid with her back against the wall, the gagged spikes pushing deep into her back. As the mass moved, she noticed a limb of sorts slowly rise out of the lump of flesh, with fingers attached to the end. And then another rose. Mariya watched in silent horror as this thing from hell hoisted itself upward, limb after limb spawning out from the mass, standing upright, gurgling as it did so.

Mariya scanned for a face, pushing her back harder against the wall to attempt to make some progress to further create distance between her and the flesh-monster. Unfortunately, this was to no avail. There wasn't a face, at least, not to her knowledge - with what her eyes could gather in this damp and dark room. The lump made a horrible cracking noise as more limbs sprawled out of its mass; arms, legs, hands and feet, causing Mariya to cringe. She watched this thing gain feet in height. 4 feet. 5 feet. 6 feet. 7 feet. It was 7 feet tall. To the Hybrid's surprise, it had unfolded itself, regaining a form of skeleton or some structural integrity. It was now that she could make out faces.

1, 4, 5? No; was it 9? The faces just kept contorting out of the flesh, covering every inch of the monster, controting with expressions of pain, discomfort, or sadistic malice. As Mariya counted the faces, she noticed the mass slowly inching its way towards her, echoing all sorts of noises. Groans, laughs, gurgles, crunching, sloshing. As it approached her, she saw no skin, nor any fur or hair. Just flayed meat, oozing blood from most crevices, dawned with shimmering veins. Its heads swayed as it shuffled like big tumours attached to someone, contorted with agony and pain. Out of all of the heads that beckoned and called, one stood out to Mariya, who still stood in her spot - frozen with fear.

This head, which sat on what Mariya assumed was its neck, was in the shape of a skinned feline. The eyes glowed an unforgettable glow - much like Mariya's own. The hue of Blue Zircon. Like Alyosha's. Like Carolines. The month of December. There couldn't be a way, it would be impossible. It couldn't be. It couldn't be her.

The mass gurgled and writhed yet again, now within 4 feet of Mariya's position. The laughter now began to mix with sobs; the sobs slowly overpowering the laughter. The Hybrid fell to the floor - to the pool of water - hyperventilating. Her paws wrapped around her head, her face in between her legs. She could hear it, smell it, feel its pain. She wanted to puke. She slammed her eyes shut, screaming.

All she could do was scream - to no avail.

The stench of death invaded her nostrils, it made her wince. The sobs of the creature had begun to heave, much like one would do when out of breath. She slowly opened one eye, looking at the water between her feet. The water was red. She felt its presence. It was right above her.