Demise Game

9. the straw doll

"Found ya!"

        Something had grazed your shoe as you had finally mustered the strength to pull the rest of your body into the narrow vent.  Black mist seemed to seep a bit into the opening before dissipating, the creature below you cursing in a garbled voice.

        "Sneaky human!"

        It sounded both pleased and annoyed, stalking off with heavy steps.  For a moment, you just laid there, huffing and trying to catch your breath as you stared up at the dull gray of the vent.  It may have sounded like it left, but like hell were you going to drop back down into the maze.  For all you know, it could be a trap, not to mention you might find Natsume faster if you're not stuck in the library.

        You allowed yourself a few more moments, waiting until your breathing and the beating of your heart slowed to a normal pace.

        "Goodness..."

        You felt exhausted.  Now that the adrenaline was leaving your body, you wanted nothing more to close your eyes and take a quick nap.  You were tempted to do just that, too, but you had to remind yourself it wasn't safe here.  Who knew what other creatures lurked around here?  On top of that, you had a little less than an hour to get to the elevator unless you wanted to be trapped her forever.  Napping was not an option right now, although you were definitely going to skip school tomorrow.

        After a little bit of shuffling, you managed to roll over so you could start crawling down the vent.  There was only one way to go, and so you followed the path, scooting down the twists and turns.  At some points, you felt claustrophobic — going back wasn't an option, though, so you could do nothing but continue forward in hopes that you'd make it to the end of the tunnel.

        Sure enough, you did. 

        It was hard to tell just how much time had passed in the dark of the vents, your watch not lighting up, but you felt as though you had been traversing them forever by the time you made it to an exit, light streaming in through metal blinds.  Cautiously, you stopped, waiting to hear anything out of the ordinary.

        Silence.

        Confirming there was nothing out there (that you were aware of), you carefully placed the journal you poached down and pressed forward onto the grating.

        It didn't budge, screwed into place.

        Well, shoot.

        Glancing back, you carefully rolled over onto your back, bringing your knees up as close to you as you could before kicking them at the grate.

        CLANG!

        The loud noise had you wincing, but you repeated the action, pleased that the grate seemed to give in just a little bit.

        CLANG!  CLANG!  CLANG!

        Around the sixth or seventh time, the grate popped off, hitting the ground with a muffled THWUNK, and you gave yourself another moment to get your breath before scooting out of the event.  Journal in hand, you dropped to the ground clumsily, wobbling for a moment as you tried to regain your balance.

        Reassuring yourself that the journal was in your possession, you glanced around.  Like a majority of this space you had been in so far, you found yourself in a hallway, unsurprisingly adorned with various doors.  The door next to the vent was a bit broader, and slightly open.  Peering inside, you grimaced.

        Books.  You must have come out on the other side of the library maze, and you couldn't help but shudder.  Was the creature in there?  Did he go back the way he came, or did he continue onward?