Wander

//Descent Into Darkness//

Wander got up, tucking his journal away once more until he had more to write. He left his friend to her devices as he searched the room more thoroughly then he had when they had entered. The work went quick considering that most of the room had been upturned previous to the duo's arrival.

Having found nothing noteworthy the second time around, he knew it was time to keep moving. Little Wander had a book on her head, trying to balance it without much luck. Every time she would take her small hands from the sides of the book, it would immediately tip to one side and fall to the ground. He went over to her, kneeling down and patting her head. "It's time to go, little one." The girl responded with a yawn, getting up and rubbing her eyes blearily. 

Wander picked up the lantern from it's resting place in the center of the room, starting back down the hallway at a pace slow enough that his companion could keep up with. He could feel a lump in his throat forming, desperately trying not to let his imagination consume his thoughts. After a short while they passed by the door that would lead back to the small portion of hell that he never wished to visit again, and it took all of his will to not freak out at the blood stains that covered the ground where he had been sitting awaiting death's cold embrace.

The two of them made quick progress, finally coming upon a spiraling staircase enshrouded in darkness so thick that Wander figured he could cut it with a knife. The stone had been slightly worn from use, though by who, he couldn't imagine. Was it possible that people actually lived here? He held the lantern up cautiously, first looking up the empty staircase and then down it, still not at ease despite no evidence of anything amiss. 

Remembering the library he had been to only a short while ago, he started down the staircase into the empty abyss of shadow, hoping that the further that he descended in the castle, the easier it would be to find a suitable exit. What worried Wander the most was the fact that he couldn't be sure how many floors the castle had - he fully expected a place like this to have dungeons of some sort underneath the ground floor. He could easily go to far down, or not down far enough, neither of which sounded pleasant to him.

Shaking his head, he tried his best to put the thought to the back of his mind. Their pace had slowed down considerably, the small girl struggling to make it down each new step due to her size. Wander didn't mind - as long as they where safe, he could afford to let her take her time. As they went, he tried to keep track of how many floors they had descended - a much harder task then he had expected. He had counted on each level having a door, an exit, something - but they continued deeper and deeper, no apparent way of leaving the staircase that they found themselves in.

Finally after what seemed like forever, they came across a spot where they could exit the staircase - a nearly destroyed wooden door. It had almost been smashed beyond recognition, splinters of wood littering the steps, ranging in size from small slivers to pieces that Wander was sure could cause some serious damage if used as a means of defense. He picked one up with an especially splintered end, holding onto the cold wood tightly. It was far better then having nothing if the monster attacked again.

The area beyond the mutilated door was pitch black, even after Wander held the lantern out into the room. Seeing no other viable option - they had been descending into the always present darkness for far longer then he had either expected or liked - he cautiously stepped through the door, making sure to not get stabbed by any stray pieces of the wreckage. He set the lantern down at his feet, turning around and helping Little Wander make her way carefully from the staircase to his side.

He cursed to himself lowly as his hand slipped, sliding down an especially jagged fragment. He watched blood well up from the cut, from the middle of his palm to a good ways up his forearm. It stung profoundly, the crimson liquid coating his hand in seconds. He had managed to miss a main artery by the grace of god, if you could even call it that. He quickly tore off the sleeve of his jacket, the area towards the end of it already soaked with blood, carefully wrapping it around his left hand. He hissed through closed teeth, giving one final tug, inspecting his handiwork. 

He would need to find something more suitable, but for now, that would have to suffice.

Returning his attention to his surroundings, he froze. The silhouette thrown onto the wall before from the flickering light of the lantern was not human in the least. He quickly whipped around, his hand instinctively grabbing the large piece of wood he had picked up a few minutes prior,  getting ready to swing it in the face of the monster that he had come to loathe.

The little girl let out a small sound of fear, staring back at Wander with wide eyes. Panting, he looked around frantically, breaking out in a cold sweat. Where was it, he had just seen it, it couldn't have gotten to far away in the mere moments it had taken him to react...

His gaze finally fell upon the wall once more, and he cocked his head slightly. "W-What the hell......?" He lowered his makeshift weapon slowly, confused by what he saw - the silhouette of the monster once more for a mere moment. Before his eyes, the shadow of the monster changed subtly, in such a way that it was hard for Wander to follow. He blinked, and where the figure of the monster had been only a split second earlier was his own shadow, flickering on the wall in time with the lantern's light.

He shook his head, turning from the girl back to the wall, trying to figure out what had happened, what had made him think that simple shadows where his stalker, why he had almost hurt a little girl in his panic...

Rubbing his eyes vigourously, Wander sighed deeply.

"What's wrong with me...?"