Glowing Embers

I

"What the hell was that? Who the hell was that?" Willow, panicked, rambled. Whitney shook her head and gazed at the ground in thought. The three of them were standing in a deep hole big enough to hold ten people squished together. Willow glimpsed at Archer, who was pressing his hands against the dirt walls.

"No...escape..." he furiously mumbled, pounding his fists against the dirt. He laid his elbows against the wall and looked down at the ground. Willow rushed over to him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked cautiously, glancing back at Whitney who was curiously observing.

"I'm claustrophobic," the boy tersely responded. Whitney rolled her eyes.

"Aren't we all? I don't fancy being stuck in a hole with you," she spit back.

"Whitney!" Willow exclaimed, evidently shocked.

"Don't stare at me like I'm an alien. I just killed a human being because of him. Cannibal or not, they were just trying to survive. Like us. And it's all his fault." Whitney smoothed out her hair and thrust her hands on her hips. "I'm sick of this. We can't just make our way murdering everything in sight. Sometimes we have to cooperate. Coincide with other people. He doesn't understand that." Archer whirled around and faced her, his hands balled into threatening fists.

"Listen, sweetie. You would be dead if it weren't for me. People are the reason we're in this hole. People are the reason we'll most likely die. That little boy. He seems keen on murdering us. You have to have that kind of mentality or you'll die. You're lucky you have Willow and me. We know the price of living," he countered. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair and eyed the sky above. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just panicking and I'm not used to that." Whitney raised her eyebrows, and turned her back on the two, touching the dirt walls and calculating measurements in her head.

"You two, just stop. Okay? We're stuck in a hole together. We gotta figure something out. Escape before the boy comes back. If he comes back," Willow demanded with pluck.

"We can't climb out. Too steep. No grip. We're not tall enough to make a human ladder. We gotta wait for the boy. Maybe he'll let us go," Whitney informed the group. Archer glimpsed at Willow quickly and slid against the wall to the ground.

"I guess we wait?" he rhetorically questioned. "Just stay as far away from me as you can get. Claustrophobic." Whitney and Willow sat opposite him and impatiently waited. Willow moved her toes to restrain her boredom, but eventually it kicked in.

"What if we die down here?" she finally queried. She blinked innocently at Whitney, who folded her hands and gazed at her legs.

"Then we die," Archer reasoned. "But we won't die without a fight. Do you still have your weapon?" Willow pulled it out from behind her back. "I have two knives left." He diverted his eyes to Whitney. "Food?" She weakly nodded. "Not enough. I have two fish. I didn't get the bird because, well." she didn't need to finish her statement.

"It's okay," Willow replied, patting her friend on the back and smiling. "We have food. We'll last."

"Not without water," Archer groaned, picking at a scab on his arm. Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Oh, you poor, miserable souls. Get a hold on yourselves." Shocked, everybody's eyes darted to the opening of the hole above them. A little boy with brown hair smirked back at them. He was alone, but seemed oddly cocky.

"Who are you?" Willow blurted out, desperate for answers. "How old are you?" The boy beamed cheekily.

"There's no point in telling you if you won't be around to remember," came the response. Willow, mouth wide open, glanced at Archer out of the corner of her eye. He shrugged and, amused, smiled up at the boy.

"Why are you doing this?" Whitney questioned dubiously, planting an innocent puppy look on her face. Willow stifled laughter at this attempt. It was hard to take the murderous little boy serious.

"Again, what's with the questions? That's the downfall of the human race. Too many answers, too little answers. Curiosity killed the cat," the boy wisely answered. Archer pursed his lips and looked, obviously impressed, at Willow.

"But satisfaction brought it back," Whitney mumbled.

"Huh? What's that?" the boy asked, bringing a hand to his ear mockingly.

"But satisfaction brought it back. It's the last part of the phrase. Please, can you just give us answers so we can, I don't know, die satisfied?" she replied, politely asking the boy. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Enlighten us," Willow pressed on, pressuring the child.

"I guess I could spare a few answers. I don't have a name, so call me Dyno."

"Dino? Like Dinosaur?" Archer mused, laughing quietly to himself. Willow grinned at him and rolled her eyes playfully.

"No, idiot. Like Dynamite." Dyno eerily smiled when he saw Archer shudder. "I guess that brought back a few unpleasant memories."

"It was you, wasn't it?" Archer fumed angrily. Dyno placed a hand against his heart and raised his eyebrows.

"I did nothing of the sort, thank you very much. I don't appreciate these false accusations. Anyway, I'm ten years old and--"

"You're TEN years old?" Archer interrupted jokingly. Dyno glared down at him. "I thought you were like four or something man. Wow," he continued. Archer turned to the girls. "Must be Dwarf disease," he whispered loudly.

"Actually, it's Morquio syndrome. Pretty common case," Whitney responded, keen to display her intelligence.

"No, it's not, stupid girl. Anyway--"

"Maybe he is a dwarf. Angry dwarf," Archer offered teasingly. Dyno looked fuming.

"Everybody shut up and stop interrupting me if you want answers. I know one of you killed my tiger and my bird, and because of that person, all of you are gonna die. Drastically."

"Your animals? Your mutated, sick, about-to-die animals?" Willow inquired, tilting her head and squinting her eyebrows.

"Enough!" blared the boy. "Now, I'm gonna give you a five second head start before I unleash my animals on you. Of course, they'll get to you and of course, you'll die. I want to give you a glimmer of hope and make it disappear for karma after you killed them."

"Your bird almost killed my friend. Your tiger almost killed me," Willow countered strongly, crossing her arms and standing up.

"Who cares?" Dyno exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Archer menacingly glared at him and stood up rapidly.

"Don't you dare say that," he threatened cruelly.

"Ha ha. Now, I'm gonna drop a ladder down to you. You're gonna come up, and get a 5 second head start. Then, my animals will kill you," Dyno instructed. He pushed a wooden ladder to the edge of the hole and looked down at his captives. "Um...heads up." He released the ladder to the floor and it landed with a booming crunch. Archer shrugged at Willow and approached the ladder. The girls lined up behind him and waited as he took a couple steps.

"Do we have a plan?" Whitney whispered softly, the gears spinning quickly in her head. Archer looked over his shoulder at her and smiled coolly.

"Run for it," he responded, bringing his attention back to the upcoming steps on the ladder. He reached the surface and stepped on the forest path, examining his surroundings. "Uh, guys," he started, squinting at whatever lay before him. Willow eagerly darted up the ladder and stepped on the ground, following Archer's gaze.

"Oh my god," she stated flatly. Whitney, concerned, joined them and looked around in awe. In front of them was an immense pack of mutated animals. Lions, monkeys, hyenas, and other ravenous animals, including a creepy Dyno.