Detective Rez Chamba in... The Case of the Restless Shovel

Chapter 11: The Dark Flight

"GRA... THE ..! EAT...THE...!"

Everyone shivered because of the eerie sound as they glanced at each other in horror!

"What was that?" Rez whispered. "It is like a human voice, but unnatural!"

Dacumog strained his hears to listen. But, nothing.

"The Shadow!" The twin exclaimed in unison, as Doc Caridad and Dacumog remained silent, their eyes and mouths, open wide.

"Let's get out of here, Rez," Fred nervously whispered back. "Now!"

Rex's heart pounded in his chest as he and Fred and the others began to edge forward through the suffocating darkness. Again.

But which of the ends of the tunnel we are going into? Rex thought, already confused and lost.

The narrow beam of their penlights cut feeble paths through the pitch black, revealing nothing but the slick, jagged walls of the underground tunnel. The air was thick, damp, and filled with an unsettling silence that gnawed at their nerves.

Then, out of the abyss, the eerie sound rasped through the darkness, once again.

"GRA...THE..! EAT...THE..!"

The sound was low and guttural, like a man struggling to form words without lips to shape them.

Rex froze, his blood running cold. He turned to Fred, whose eyes were wide with terror like the others, the Claridad family and Dacumog, their penlights trembling in their hands.

Before they could react, a chilling chorus of children's voices echoed the command, "Grab them! Eat them!"

The penlights flickered, casting erratic shadows that danced on the tunnel walls. Suddenly, multiple dark figures emerged just at the edge of the light, their eyes gleaming like those of night animals. The sight of the glowing eyes, unblinking and predatory, sent a shiver down Rex's spine.

"Who...who's there?" Rex's voice trembled as they swept their penlights across the figures, but the light barely pierced the oppressive darkness.

The figures moved closer, their shapes indistinct, yet their eyes never wavered.

The adult's voice came again, closer this time, "GRA...THE..! EAT...THE...!" It was as if the speaker had no lips, the words slurred and malformed.

Fred stumbled back, bumping into the tunnel wall, his penlight flickering wildly. "Rex, we have to get out of here!" he whispered urgently. Again.

Rex nodded, swallowing hard. "Stay close," he muttered, trying to keep his voice steady.

But where do we proceed? He asked himself once again, not wanting the others that they are, perhaps, already lost in the midst of these labyrinthine tunnels.

The children's chorus grew louder, "Grab them! Eat them!" The dark figures advanced, their movements synchronized, eyes reflecting the faint light in a way that seemed almost supernatural.

Rex and his companions took hesitant steps backward, the penlights barely enough to keep the terror at bay. The tunnel seemed to close in around them, the air thick with an unspoken threat.

As they retreated, the figures moved in tandem, their glowing eyes the only clear sign of their presence.

"Go, now!" Rex urged, his voice a strained whisper.They turned and ran, their footsteps echoing in the confined space. The eerie voices continued to reverberate through the tunnel, a haunting reminder that whatever lurked in the darkness was not far behind.