The Curse of Hidden Hollow

The Origin of the Crystal

He felt the rumbling of something coming from behind the wooden wall that the power box was on. That decaying smell he knew so well began to fill the room. The rumbling coming from behind the wall was almost rhythmic, and it took Ash a second to realize what that meant, and before he knew it, the Wendigo came smashing through the wall. Ash put up his arms to shield the debris. He shouted in pain as the splinters embedded themselves into his arms and legs. He didn't have any time to pull them out though. He had a different problem on his hands. Most of the debris had clogged up the way he came in. He frantically looked around for any means of escape, when he noticed the hole the Wendigo had made in the wall. He looked for an opening and took it. He used all of his might to dive underneath the Wendigo, and roll into the hole. Before the Wendigo could even process what had happened, Ash was already booking it down the tunnel that it had come from. It roared in anger and took off after him. Ash was breathing heavily, running with all his might. He had no idea where this tunnel went. He had to find his way back to the elevator! He looked back, and the Wendigo was gaining on him. "There has to be an end to this tunnel!" He shouted as he kept running. He could feel his energy draining, and he had that coppery taste in his mouth. He felt into his pocket. "The gun!" He dreaded it, but he knew he had to face the beast. He turned around to the Wendigo barreling towards him. He hurried to load the colt and managed to get one bullet in before the Wendigo got into range. He held the gun up and fired. The Wendigo stumbled back for a moment, giving Ash enough time to catch his breath really quickly, and turn and keep running down the tunnel. He heard the Wendigo start to run again, and it sounded angrier than before. Maybe he shouldn't have shot it. He didn't realize that he had run right onto an old wooden platform, and by the time he noticed, he was already falling through the rotted wood. He tumbled down into the dark, and hit hard, knocking the wind out of him. He lay gasping for air, wondering if the Wendigo knew where he was. He didn't hear it, so he figured he was safe, at least for the moment; He sat up, and looked around. His jaw dropped when he figured out where he was: The Crystal Caves. He got shakily to his feet and began to walk around. From both the ground and the ceiling of the chamber, large, purple crystals were protruding from every which way. It was more silent here than it had been anywhere else in the mines. There was a hallowed aura about the place. It was beautiful in a rather creepy way. He got a chill down his spine. While it was beautiful, it still didn't feel right. He felt like he wasn't supposed to be here. It was a sacred place. Somewhere he wasn't welcome. He shuddered and kept going. He looked down at the crystal and saw that it was glowing. "This place must have more power toward the crystal." He looked around from where he was. "I wonder where the exit is." He eventually found another tunnel leading off from the caves, after about half an hour of walking. "Of course another tunnel!" He shouted, exasperated. "How many freaking tunnels are in this joint!" he sighed and started his way down the next tunnel. He heard a hissing sound and looked back toward the Crystal Cave. The purple mist was back again. Ash's fight or flight response activated, and he looked around the tunnel and the entrance of the cave. He expected to see the Wendigo, but it didn't come. Instead, the whole cave started to rumble and shake. Ash stepped back into the tunnel, trying to keep his balance. His eyes widened in pure horror as the cave started to collapse towards him.