Ghost Flowers

Damnation's Way

Screams and shouts thundered in my ears. I looked around, trying to remember where I was. I was in a circular room with stone walls and two hallways leading out of the room. One was dark, pitch black, while the other was lit by a dancing orange glow. I was debating which I should follow when a bone-chilling scream bounced through the darker of the two tunnels. I immediately sprinted down the opposite tunnel, away from the screams.
 
I ran and ran, pushing myself harder than ever before. I turned right at a corner and suddenly, it was dark. No light permeated the stagnant air. I stopped but my momentum threw me forward. I drew in a sharp breath as my hands scraped against the dirt- a and blood-covered floor. I listened for any hint of life, but the only sound in the darkness was my own panting breath. I decided the only thing I could do was continue on, so I walked carefully forward, keeping my right hand on the damp wall. I walked for what seemed like hours, my legs shaking with each step. I began to wonder if there would ever be an end to this tunnel. I was ripped from my thoughts by a soft growl behind me. I froze, hoping it was just my imagination. I heard the soft thump of a paw step, then another, and a louder growl, and I knew I was being hunted.
 
Keeping my hand on the wall, I broke into a sprint, foolishly thinking I could outrun whatever creature was behind me. It let out a shrill, ear-shattering wail that echoed in the cavern, then sprinted towards me. I ran my hardest, but within seconds, I felt its long, dagger-like claws sink into my back. I screamed as I felt its hot breath on my neck, its saliva dripping onto my face. Its weight was crushing me as it pinned me to the ground. It wailed once more, and this time received many more wails in reply. I heard a stampede of these creatures thundering towards me before teeth sunk into my neck and everything faded away.
~
 
“Looks like a bear got her,” the forest ranger told the police officer. “I gotta wonder what she was doing out here all alone, at night, no less.”
 
The police officer shook his head and sighed.
 
“If only we knew. This young woman has a history of visual and auditory hallucinations. It’s quite possible that she was having a delusional episode that led her to journey out here, but we’ll never know.”