Alexo

Chapter 14: In The Depths

Alexo sat in the darkness.

The sound of the body breathing in and out, causing the massive walls to shift and shutter.

Alexo took deep breaths, the smell of the stomach acid and dying animals reeking, but he had gotten used to it very quickly.

Alexo slowly rose to his feet, moving around the dark depths. Able to feel corpses around him.

Some of the animals were eaten whole, and others in various states of decay. The acid had melted their flesh and bone, turning them into nothing more than piles of once living meat.

Alexo began to walk across the intestines and islands of food, following the smells and sounds.

The loud shifting skin and lungs became much slower.
Relaxing.

Calming.

Alexo continued to walk until he could feel something in front of him. He reached his arm out, his hand gliding across wet and smooth skin. It shifted slightly, reacting to his small hand rubbing against it.

Alexo slowly kneeled down, reaching his hands around until he felt something hard.
A bone.

He pulled, the bone seeming stuck to something. Flesh and muscle wrapped around trying to hold it in place. Alexo pulled harder until the bone loudly snapped in two, the broken end incredibly sharp. Alexo ran his hand over the wet bone, feeling the sharpened tip before raising it above his head.

He suddenly slashed down across the skin, causing everything to loudly shake and rumble. He then stabbed the bone deep into the flesh.
A loud shout filled the air, the entire inside shuttering. Alexo began to feel the ground beneath him shake, losing his footing before the skin seemed to press in, like a hand rubbing against the pain. Alexo went to stab again, but the weight of gravity suddenly turned on its axis. Alexo felt himself falling backwards, the sounds of everything flying with him filling the dark air.

Alexo felt his body splash into a mound of wet flesh. Acid churned and fell onto his skin, burning and making him shout. He tried to pull himself out of the mess, only to feel more corpses and bodies fall onto his own.

Alexo was surrounded, being crushed and swallowed by the contents of the creature's stomach.

Being crushed more and more, unable to move his body as more and more pieces piled up more and more.

Alexo reached out, but his arm became surrounded and wrapped in melted flesh and muscle.

Glaphyra slowly felt her senses coming back. She curled her fingers and toes, groaning and humming as she lifted her head off of the cold, dry ground. She reached a hand up, rubbing her head softly. A ringing that slowly faded as she looked out in front of her.

She was on a coast line, staring out into a vast ocean of water. A wide piece of water that was in constant motion, yet made no sound.

Glaphyra looked to one side, seeing nothing but more cool rock and the water.

Everything around her had a subtle glow, as if the water itself was glowing with subtle blue and green light.

Glaphyra then looked to the other side, jumping as a figure standing in a boat seemed to appear out of nowhere only a few feet away.

She fell back to the ground, rubbing her head more while her breath became very quick and frantic.

"Where...where am I?" She asked.

The figure shifted, revealing an old man adorned in foul garb. In their grasp was a large wooden ferryman pole. He pulled fabric off of his head, revealing a calm and caring human face. He smiled with his unkept beard becoming unveiled with the glowing water. His eyes were faded, almost a silver color all throughout.