𝐼𝑁𝑁𝑂𝐶𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐸 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝑇 // 𝐴. 𝐷𝐸 𝑅𝑈𝑁𝐸

𝑋𝐼

| Vermin |

—

An uncomfortable silence enveloped the group as Father Tomas led them towards the Crypt of the Three Saints, the faded paintings of angels that lined the short corridor seemed to taunt Marion– their golden halo's shined just a bit too bright for her liking.

"Brother Morel should be here, we– we are the last two remaining." Father Tomas said, as he closed the door behind him.

This room was much larger, and much, much darker. The dim torchlight only brightened their immediate surroundings, and the candles that lined the entrance to the crypt didn't give Marion any reassurance; it felt like a warning. A warning that this crypt was no pathway to Aidenn.

Marion sucked in a breath, her eyes trailing over to Amicia. The brunette had her eyes trained to the crypt entrance, she almost looked as if she was in a trance.

"Brother Morel?" Father Tomas called out weakly, his eyes squinting to see in the limited light.

"Stay here..." He told Amicia, as he handed her the torch.

Marion felt her heart clench as that fool began to walk into the darkness, quietly calling out for Brother Morel. She clenched her jaw, her teeth subconsciously rubbing together as he walked further away from them. Hugo looked down, squeezing Amicia's hand just a bit tighter than usual.

"What is it?" Amicia asked, and that is when Marion felt it.

The rumbling under her feet.

The same rumbling that spooked her horse the day prior.

Within the blink of an eye, all of the candles were blown out by an unseen force, and Marion's heart dropped to her stomach. Thousands of rats scuttled up from the crypt, the sound of their squeals deafening. She couldn't hear the sound of Father Tomas' flesh being torn apart by the ravenous vermin, a sudden ringing filling her ears.

She couldn't move, there were thousands–no millions–of rats on their flank, the only thing that kept them from being eaten alive was the flimsy barrier that the light provided. They had eaten the Father, they fucking ate him! Her jaw trembled as they began to move, sweat dripped down her brow and her legs shook with pure, bone-chilling fear.

There was not a bone left behind. In less than a minute, the horde of vermin had eaten an entire man without leaving a trace.

Marion felt bile rise in her throat after they had descended some steps, and the half eaten corpse of who she assumed to be Brother Morel came into her view. The deeper in they went, the more vile the area had begun to smell. The putrid scent of death assaulted her nostrils, filling her lungs and making her want to puke up whatever was left in her mostly empty stomach.

"We're going to have to climb up, I'll have to put the torch down." Amicia Informed, and Marion's eyes widened even further.

"No!" Marion cried, "No you can't– you can't, the rats, oh God!"

Marion began to frantically fumble over her words, the once somewhat collected, headstrong girl reduced to a blubbering mess. Her teary eyes looked down at the rats that pooled around their feet, her breathing slowly growing choppy and uneven.

Amicia cupped Marion's face after she placed the torch in its holder, forcing her to look away from the horde. She knew her well enough to know that all this panicking would send the dark-haired girl into a cough-attack, and the last thing they needed was for her to pass out on a floor filled with carnivorous rats.

"Listen to me!" Amicia words were firm and loud, "We will be fine, stop looking at the fucking rats!"

Marion nodded wordlessly, her jaw locking in place as tears freely flowed out her eyes. After they'd climbed over the wood paneling, the children faced a hallway. A dark hallway. Marion's eyes caught a basket of flimsy sticks, Amicia moving to grab one before she could blink.

"The wood will burn quickly, we must hurry!" Amicia commanded, authority and determination laced into her voice.

The children had all but ran to the stairwell, the flame of the homemade torch nearly licking Amicia's skin before she was forced to drop it. The exit Father Tomas spoke of was just barely out of reach, the children needed to take a detour through another room.

Marion let out a strangled whimper when Amicia had shot down the brazier needed to make a clear path through said room, revealing the bodies of more dead men. The children quickly scuttled through the room, Marion kept her eyes trained on Amicia's back. She couldn't look anywhere else.

"Wait here with Hugo, I'll go see if there's another way through." Amicia commanded Marion, before she began to scale up the ladder.

Hugo's little fists clinged to her shirt, his face buried in her side away from the rats. Their beady, glowing eyes stared into their souls, Marion's gut churned at the thought of possibly becoming their dinner. She flinched when the chain of the brazier snapped, the light scaring away the rats.

"Run with the brazier!" Amicia yelled, as she climbed down the ladder.

Marion only began to chase after the brazier when Amicia grabbed her forearm, pulling her along. After they'd climbed up yet another set of stairs, they'd finally found a rat free room. Marion immediately guided Hugo towards the fire's, she didn't trust this place.

The calm lasted mere seconds, on the far corner of the room the ceiling caved in, rats flooding the area right in front of the door they needed to pass through. Marion let out a yelp, now there was no light to guide them. They had no sticks to light, no brazier's to shoot down.

Amicia shot down a large ham, the rats instantly flocking to it. Marion had a small feeling of what Amicia was about to do, and she didn't like it at all.

"Quickly, while they're distracted!" Amicia pulled Marion and Hugo through the darkness, her dark-haired companion shaking within her grasp.

"Down there, the Three Saints!" Hugo pointed out, looking over to the older girls.

They were almost out. Almost out. 

—

A/N 

Here's a short (and not so sweet) chapter for y'all. These children are going through it ;-;

As soon as the rats came into play Marion and Amicia did a little role reversal, I think now we know who mom is and who dad is... beneath all that ankle biting and mean glares, Marion is just a big ol' softie

have a good weekend y'all, and don't let the rats bite!

(Also y'all can thank Oliver Deriviere for this chapter, as soon as his music comes in contact with my ears my fingers start flying to the keyboard.)