Becoming Darkness

Freeing the Monster

Ned let out a whoop without noticing—or caring—how the confines of the cellar stifled the sound. He was through!

He'd been shoveling dirt onto the stolen tarp, dragging it to the cellar to dump it, and then repeating the process for hours. Unfortunately, progress meant every trip back and forth was a little bit longer. Finally though, his hard work had paid off.

Jerking the shovel out of the hole he'd just punched through the back wall of the tunnel, Ned slid the tool behind him and grabbed the flashlight he'd picked up from the same campsite where he'd found the tarp. Even his enhanced vision couldn't penetrate the utter blackness this deep in the tunnel. With his free hand, he cleared out the opening and rested the light against his cheek as he peered through the hole.

The small beam was unable to illuminate the entirety of the cavernous chamber, so he circuited the area with the light. From this distance it was difficult to discern if the dark walls were dirt or stone, or both, but there appeared to be an opening in the opposite wall. His first impression was that the center of the floor was lined in some smooth, shiny rock until he realized the black surface was water.

There were no signs of life.

As he shifted to get a better look at the subterranean pool, something moved. Jerking his head back, Ned twitched the flashlight around the area. Just as he thought his imagination was getting the better of him, the surface of the water rippled. The sight of the churning, swirling inky liquid sent a cold worm of dread burrowing into his gut. He drew back from the hole.

His instructions were to enter the chamber and clear the way. But thoughts of what may lurk in the water made Ned reluctant to continue.

Revenge. He needed to keep his eye on the prize. To steel his resolve, he closed his eyes and let the scene he'd locked away play out in slow motion.

Swinging open the side door of their house, Ned stepped into the kitchen. Although everything looked normal, he could somehow feel the abandonment that had taken root in her absence. His shoes turned to lead and he hauled one foot in front of the other, making his way to their bedroom. Dead eyes gazed at the evidence of what his heart already knew. The closet door stood wide open, revealing minimal contents. Drawers hung askew from the dresser, hastily shoved closed. On the vanity, dust surrounded clear areas where items had been removed.

He clutched at his heart and realized the truth of his feelings. Even though he knew about the lies and the cheating, he had still harbored a small kernel of hope that somehow things would turn around.

No longer.

Staring at the remnants of his marriage, his hope died. Although their relationship had never truly existed, for Ned it ended in that moment. Gathering the pain and humiliation, he transformed it into anger, emptied the bank account, and left without looking back.

Ned opened his eyes and summoned the fury from that day. Snatching the shovel from the ground, he jabbed at the hole until it was large enough to fit his body through. If death awaited him here, then so be it. Because if he didn't get his revenge, there'd be no pieces of himself to pick up and put back together. Getting even was the only way Ned could fathom to fix his shattered psyche.

After pocketing his flashlight, his arms dove through the opening, followed by his head. Scrabbling his feet in the loose tunnel dirt and wriggling his torso, eventually allowed him to squirm through the hole and drop to the floor of the cavern. Momentum sent him sprawling toward the water, but he spread his arms wide and managed to stop. When he thumbed the light on, he saw he was inches from the water's edge.

The pool suddenly swelled, causing tiny waves to lap gently at the shore. Ned slid backward until his back met the wall and watched, wide-eyed, as a warm glow rose out of the black depths. Metallic horns broke the surface first, followed by eyes the size of plates with elliptically shaped pupils, and last, a scaled snout. The thought that filled Ned's head as he slowly retracted his feet and rose unsteadily was dragon.