Behind the Glass

Chapter 2: Discovery

  ***well guys. I know I've taken forever to do this chapter but I'm really lazy. I apologize for any grammatical errors ahead of time. Please leave comments and suggestions. enjoy. :)***

Darkness.. Nothing but infinite darkness stretched out before me as I inched my way down the small tunnel. I decided that using my head lamp would be pointless, as there was nothing to see but rock. So, I left it switched off to save the charge. I tried to breathe slowly in an attempt to calm the claustrophobia clawing its way into my conscience. This tunnel was cramped. On my hands and knees, my head grazed the top and my elbows skinned against the sides. As I crawled, I tried to focus my mind on other things. Where was Jax? Was he alright? Had he made it out? Are they looking for me? My mind wandered like this for a good fifteen minutes, asking questions that I didn't know the answer to.

    I finally stopped to take a short break. my elbows began to bleed from the constant dragging and the fabric of my armor pants began to tear at the knees. Although they helped against the climate, these pants were very flimsy. They clung to my body almost like a second skin.  The stretchy material was light weight and airy. But they provided little in defense. I sat there motionless for a few moments, ripping more cloth from my shirt to wrap around my elbows. 'By the time this is all over I'll have no shirt left.'

I thought to myself, letting out a humorless chuckle. I also took this moment to check my P.A.R oxygen meter. I was at 86% of my reserves. The number was dropping slowly and I still had a few hours left.

     I resumed making my way through the tunnel once again, after about a half hour, I was beginning to lose hope. What if I didn't find my way out in time? I would suffocated and die. alone, scared, and in the dark. Suddenly, a faint clicking broke the endless silence of this little hole. Oh no.... More clicking, lots more clicking. Soon it was nothing but a constant buzz in my ears. It was the sound that only one creature made. Jinx...

But, how had they gotten in? Did I blindly crawl right past a den and disturb them? I must have, and if they found me, they wouldn't rest until every piece of flesh was stripped from my bones. The maddening buzz that rang in my ears abruptly came to a stop, and panic shot through me. With shaking hands, I reached up towards my headlamp and switched it on. I then whipped my head around, and was staring into at least two dozen pairs of gaping black eyes. The vile creatures let out a sickening, bone chilling shriek and their large mouths opened to expose row after row of jagged, white teeth. I closed my eyes, awaiting the inevitable death that lay in front of me. It never came. After a moment, I slowly cracked my eyes open. The Jinx had retreated back a few meters, shielding their faces with their long, bony, pale fingers. The light! They are afraid of the light! Using this to my advantage, I flipped onto my back, keeping the stream of light trained on the Jinx, and began to crawl backwards. They just stared at me, their mouths gaping.

     I decided to start crawling backwards, making sure to keep the light trained on the Jinx. They followed slowly, their eyes like infinite black holes, sucking the very life from your being. Their arched, bony backs trembled as they dragged themselves along after me with their long, bony, clawed hands. We stayed like this, slowly moving in sync. Trapped in a deadly game where if one piece faulted, it meant certain death.

   The Jinx in the front suddenly screeched, and crawled right up near my boot. My breath caught in my throat. As the creature tried to crawl onto my leg, I let out a strangled scream, and kicked the vermin away. Bad idea, the colony screamed in unison, and lunged at me. I was retreating as fast as I could, panic overcoming me as death snapped its vicious jaws. I fought as best as I could in the small space, already losing energy, when suddenly there was nothing underneath me. I fell through the large gap in the tunnel floor. The rock about 15 feet below rushing up to meet me. I could barely manage to let out a cry before my body hit the stone floor, My head connecting with it at an alarming speed and everything went black.