Whispers in the Dark

Dog Days

When Nikita taught Luke how to get rid of his shoes, the two quietly sneaked into the hallway. There were no footsteps near them, nor anything else that might indicate an undead mummy roaming around.

"How do we know if we messed up?" asked Nikita.

"We'll be dead," Luke replied.

"Totally true."

"Hey, is that-" Luke started, then went over to the thing he was pointing at. Nikita followed in silence. They walked up to one of the walls, which had something either nailed or glued to it. "It's the evacuation plan."

"Bitchin'!"

"Not so loud!" Luke said loudly. He turned read right after, then went back to the blueprints. "This red dotted line is the path we should take in case of emergency. Then the green line should be..."

Nikita gasped. "The mummy's path!"

"Not so loud!"

"Yeah, yeah. Like, look at that line. It's nowhere near us."

Luke hated to agree, but it was true. "We don't know for sure if that's the mummy or not. Also, it's route might change."

"Nah, that's not what the riddle said."

"That's not what the first riddle said," he pointed out. "The route might change with each one."

Nikita was surprised. "Ok, how did you manage to figure that out so fast?"

Luke scratched the back of his neck. "It's sort'a like a video game. In one, the route would definitely change. It keeps the players on their toes."

"So, where's the gardening club?"

The two went about inspecting the evacuation plan some more, but couldn't find any room labeled as such. They did, however, find a garden.

"Next best thing, I guess," Luke muttered. "We can't get to it from this way - the green line would intercept us - so we've gotta go around."

And around they went. Silent as possible, the two walked at a fast pace, Los' timer at the backs of their minds, always ticking, always reminding them of what they stand to lose. As they walked, they passed a storage room.

"There might totally be a shovel in there," Nikita pointed out, and Luke agreed. He opened the door and, sure enough, one of the many tools in there was a shovel. He took it with him, and they continued on their way. It took a few minutes, given how large the school's interior seemed to be - far larger than the exterior had suggested - and they finally reached the garden. It wasn't big; Just a simple patch of grass surrounded by the school on all sides, sort of like an inner-yard. There was a single tree in the middle of it, and it was pretty big. Nikita opened the door and went in, Luke right behind her.

"So, like, do we dig?"

Luke sighed. "Nothing else it could be, I guess."

They then heard growling. Growling was bad.

From behind the tree, a single wolf appeared. It wasn't particularly big, but its teeth definitely were.

"Oh, hell no," Nikita whispered, taking a step back. The first one was successful. The second one was not. She tripped and fell on her ass, and the wolf attacked. Screaming, Nikita threw her hands out to protect herself, but never had the need to. Before the wolf could touch her, Luke slammed it with the shovel, knocking it to the side. The animal turned on him, bearing its teeth.

"Get out," Luke ordered. "Now."

The wolf jumped on him, and Luck struck at it. The beast was smart, and managed to avoid the hit, then knocked the big guy to the ground. The only thing stopping the wolf from sinking its fangs into Luke's face was the shovel, which he used to push the seemingly rabid animal upward and away from himself. It was a losing battle. There was no way he'd manage to push it off.

Nikita could, however. She kicked the wolf in the ribs from the side and, together with Luke's pushing, they got the beast off. As it rolled unto its back, Nikita saw something on its belly.

"Oh, fuck me," she cursed. "You're so not gonna believe this."

Luke was out of breath and scared out of his mind. "What is it? More good news?"

"We don't gotta dig - at least not through the ground. X marks the spot."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's belly. There's a red X on it."

Luke's stomach turned at the very thought of what they would have to do. "Fuck me."

The wolf attacked again, this time heading for Nikita. Just like before, Luke knocked it aside. This time, however, he kept hitting. He slammed the shovel into the back of its head, putting it in a daze. Luke kept hitting, relentless in his assault, until the animal fell down, blood gushing out of its skull. Knowing he wouldn't have the balls to do it if he thought about it too much, Luke used his foot to turn the animal on its back, then slammed the shovel into its belly. The first hit only damaged the skin. He pulled the shovel up, then slammed it down again, using its tip and cursing it for not being sharper. He kept at it until there was a sizable cut in the beast, at which point NIkita turned around and puked all over the grass. It took all Luke had in him not to do the same. He knelt down, then shoved his hand into the wolf's stomach through the hole. Even more blood started to flow, and he finally caved in and emptied his own stomach. Feeling around the inside of the animal's body, he grabbed a hold of something hard, then pulled it out. It was a very small device, with a single button on it. Getting away from the garden, the two tried to collect their thoughts, then pressed the button.

"You've not yet wasted your chance.

The keeper dances another dance.

The second and third come as fun.

Twice the effort; Twice the fun.

For the second you must dive.

The third one's guarded by a hive."