Dark Places || ONC 2023

The Screams

The scream leaves Janelle shaking. Her headlamp shows nothing when she finally has the courage to turn around. There's just grey walls, small drips of water, and of course the tiny ledge where she and Adam are huddled.

"Holy shit," Adam breathes.

"You think that's someone who dove down here?" Janelle asks. There have been a few people over the year who, like them, thought the hole could tell them something about the universe. Those people tended to jump, but maybe they survived, maybe they're screaming at the bottom of the endless void.

"I hate it down here. I really hate it," Janelle says. Her voice shakes. All of her shakes.

Think about something that's not our imminent demise and the thing that screamed. Janelle thinks.

"Can you move?" She asks.

Adam hisses when he takes a deep breath. He pushes himself up higher on the wall and does a pretty good job acting like he's fine. He's not.

"What can I do to sure you up?" She asks. He's a doctor he should know something about something. "You're the doctor here, so I'm gonna need you to give me some idea of how to help you."

"Just let me-" His voice trails off, but the quiet doesn't last long. There's another shriek and this time it's louder. Meaner. There's a scratching on the wall and a growl that echoes. Janelle dives into Adam again, practically straddling him, but this time she doesn't think she can rescue him, she just wants him to hold tight. If they're going to die she would like to die with at least a little comfort. There's clattering that slowly fades, then bursts back closer than ever.

"I hate this I hate this Ihatethis" Janelle repeats into Adam's shoulder.

"Scary hole monster not covered in your climbing how-to classes?" Adam asks, aiming for a joke but coming up a short when his voice wavers.

Janelle swallows and pushes carefully away from Adam. Whatever it is has temporarily drifted back down the hole.

"We need to figure out how to scare that thing off," she says. Her heart is somewhere in her throat and her legs shake. With great effort she pushes away from Adam. He readjusts, then curiously, carefully he turns off his light. Then he reaches out and turns off hers as well.

Something Janelle knows about caves is that they're one of the few places where pure darkness exists. She can't see her hands, or Adams face or the rock wall. There is no light. Anywhere. They might as well be in a cave. All she can sense now is Adam's body heat- hotter than it should be- and closer as well.

There's another screech, and Janelle flinches, but it's farther away. There's still the haunting fear that something might be creeping up on her, but Adam is probably right, the beams that were their headlamps were probably leading whatever that monster was, right to them.

"I need a break," Adam says after a tense couple of minutes where they both wait to hear another threatening sound or for something to pull them down into the depths.

"Yeah," Janelle agrees. "Can I help. Can I like bandage you up or something?"

"Dunno," Adam admits. "Nothing's worked at the clinic yet."

"A wound is a wound," Janelle says. She's covered in layers of rope and other nonsense, but she manages to wiggle out of her backpack and set it in the small space between them. She has a small first aid kit with her, for whatever good that will do for a seeping wound. "Where is it exactly?"

"I have three cuts," he exhales shakily. "Ear, stomach, hip."

"This is how people die," Janelle reminds dryly. "blood loss. Infection."