The Cave Underneath

Prologue

Fire crackled as it ate away at the wood of her burning home. Smoke filled her tiny nose as she pressed herself against the wall in terror, squinting to shield her catlike eyes from the light of the flames. Her furry black ears were pulled back in fear at the sight before her.

An evil being loomed over her hiding spot, more monster than man, though she could barely see him through the crack in the cupboard she was hiding in. She made sure to bite her tongue to keep herself from screaming. Her black hair, now singed at the tips from the flames, was hanging in front of her face, but she didn't dare move to pull it back, afraid the beast would spot her. Her pupils turned to slits out of fear and blinding light.

There was a huff outside her hiding spot. The monster-man turned his head to face her cupboard. She drew in a sharp gasp of breath.

Don't look this way, she thought. Don't find me. Look away.

The man sniffed, as if he were trying to follow her scent. She was disgusted at the thought that he could sniff her out.

"Come out!" he commanded. "I'll kill you quicker, then." He laughed at his own comment, his voice more like crunching gravel than a real human sound.

She didn't make a sound, didn't make a move, and definitely didn't come out. The prospect of looking the man in the face was a true horror in itself.

The man moved away for a moment. There was the incomprehensible sound of a thwap, clop, thwap, clop, as if two completely different feet were working together to walk on the wooden floor. Just as she thought she was safe, he snorted before whipping around and stretching out an arm to open the cupboard she was hiding in.

She scrambled back in the small space, the claws on her fingers scraping the cherry wood as she tried to get away. The cupboard door was ripped completely off its hinges as he yanked it open and stared inside.

The woman couldn't stop herself from screaming this time.