knights

Chapter Thirteen: The Beast of The Forbidden Grotto

Chapter Thirteen: The Beast of The Forbidden Grotto

The air seemed cooler as I stirred back to reality with a light gasp; my hand reaching to my forehead to wipe the dampness that had formed there; only to have it refuse to leave after several attempts. It wasn't till I sat up and really studied it that I realized it was blood..

"Ugh.. How far did I sink?"

Using the cavern wall to pull myself up, I peered above me to the tiny hole I had fell into; only to see nothing.. Not even a small glimpse of sunlight..

Damn it Seph.. I knew this was going to end up bad..

Collecting my thoughts, I waited briefly till my eyes adjusted to the darkness, even though there seemed to be some sort of light source in the tunnel, but where is it coming from?

Scuffling forward and placing a hand back on the slippery wall, I began my long hard walk back to what I hope would be the surface, but not knowing how far I fell, or if the direction I was walking was the correct way, I could do nothing but pray and hope for the best..

Mother is going to kill me.. and Alex is going to be returning home soon.. So much for a warm, heart felt greeting..

I wanted to be angry at Seph.. I mean, it's his fault that we came to The Grotto in the first place.. but, in a huge way.. it's my fault too.. Besides, Seph wasn't bringing me here in hopes something bad would happen.. He just wanted to do something special in his own way as a birthday present.. Then me in my anger goes and stomps off in search of a beast just to prove a point, and well, here I am..

Seph's probably right, there's no such thing as the beast of The Forbidden Grotto.. Just made up stories to scare us kids..

That thought quickly changed when I felt something run between my legs; forcing me to let out a girlish scream before lunging backwards.

W-What was that!?

My knees shaking.. I could only guess how girly I must of been acting, but I didn't care.. There was no one to see and make fun of me.. and if there was a beast, I didn't..

"AHHH LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

Kicking my feet frantically, I became like a child possessed; my breathing so heavy that it could be seen; blocking my sight like fog.

Squeak - Squeak

"Huh? A-A mouse..?"

Feeling completely stupid, I slapped the palm of my hand to my face as if ashamed and just utterly embarrassed..

Heh.. cave mice.. Pull yourself together Daren.. You're acting like a girl toward just harmless cave mice..

Standing there in order to collect myself, I couldn't help but be somewhat relieved that Seph wasn't here to see me.. He would never let this moment die, and I would be forever reminded of it for the rest of my life..

Wait.. Cave mice..

The thought randomly popping into my head; bringing with it, hope.

That's it! Just follow the cave mice! They should lead me to an exit out of here!

I couldn't help but smile, proud of myself that for once, I came up with something smart and worthy of Seph's approval.. Even though Seph wasn't here to see it..

Gazing down to the cavern floor, I could just make out the tiny bodies running to and fro. I was thankful for the light source, even though I still wasn't sure what it was.. However without it, I would be in complete darkness..