The Cavern

A story by Sojourner

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Ten.

Only ten of us remain of the forty who had come on this disastrous tour of the cavern. Some have been taken by the shadows. Some were killed by the pale, hairless beasts. Others were swallowed by the earth itself.

We're lost. Our tour guide is dead, dragged off by one of the creatures. We are too deep to call for help. It won't be long before the cavern takes the last of us.

My name is Ben. I am fifteen. I came here with a few buddies of mine; some of them are already gone. I would grieve for them, and I did feel sorrow, but now I can feel nothing but fear. My mind is teetering on the edge of panic. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

__________

"We should move," I whisper, though it is extremely loud compared to the perfect silence that surrounds us, "That shadow just moved."

"Let's go," says Bethany. Her long, curly blonde hair is full of dust. We've known each other for a few years. She's sweet, and she has followed me all day. Well, I'm pretty sure it's only been a day. Who knows? She has been especially quiet since her brother, Alex, was eaten by the shadow.

We all stand up from our brief rest. Mr. Smith, a big, muscular man, leads us carefully away from the shadows. He and one other lady are the only adults left.

Thank goodness for fresh batteries. Our lanterns have held up quite well.

I whirl around at the sound of a piercing scream. All I catch is a pair of feet being dragged into the darkness. The screams continue, then come to a gurgling stop.

Nine.

Mr. Smith curses under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Come on." he says solemnly.

"They're going after the stragglers," Says Ms. Annika, the only other adult. Her voice is shaking and her face is red. If I'm not mistaken, the last person taken was her daughter. "Stay close, everyone."

It's getting hotter. The air is thick and stagnant. They're pushing us deeper in.

__________

We've been walking for a while now. No one else has been taken. Or, at least, not yet. We had an encounter with one of the creatures, but Mr. Smith beat it off.

The things are pretty remarkable, in a terrifying way. They don't have eyes; yet have followed us closely this whole time. They have huge mouths that spread across their entire face and are full of long needle-like teeth. They have webbed back feet and long claws on their front hand-feet things.

Terrifying.

The ground is starting to rumble. Everyone stops. The growling sound echoes throughout the cavern, bouncing off the rock walls, as if we are in the belly of a hungry beast. Come to think of it, the idea doesn't sound too absurd.

The floor is cracking. We all jump away. Another scream echoes throughout the cavern as the ground opens.

Eight.

The floor continues to fall away and two more plummet to their doom, screaming. Ms. Annika is one of them.

Seven, six.

Bethany is clinging to me. I feel kind of responsible for her now. Her, James, and I are the only ones left of our group.

We are running now. I can't think straight. The only clear thought in my mind is "Run!"