Mystery Noir

Down Below Part 12

Nighttime would be my friend.

Or at least a shaky ally.

I couldn't feel my feet by the time I had let the silent and darkness stretch long enough that I shielded my watch and lit up the screen. It was far past sunset, out beyond the safety of my cubby hole, I couldn't hear a sound.

I waited another half an hour for my night vision to return before carefully making my way back to the entrance of my hiding spot. I waited there for several long moments again, straining my senses for any sign that there was anything waiting for me.

The next few moments were the hardest, as I squirmed out and lowered myself, back to the darkness, back down into the sludge. The smell had thankfully clogged my senses enough that It couldn't get any worse, though the slimy warmth caused a shudder to go through me. If I made it out of the caves, I would need hours of hot showers and probably the strongest anti-sepsis drug in the world.

I didn't dare turn on a light, instead moving to the wall I was familiar with and dragging my hand along it as I started to creep silently through the dark. I had been walking for a few minutes when something large and black bumped into me in the water, causing me to stumble and bite back a scream.

I found myself pinned against the wall, struggling vainly to grab my weapon. I had almost levelled the barrel and fired when I realized that the thing was just floating, not moving of its own accord. I was being accosted by the bloated, headless body of a Caddaja. Probably the one who had lost the fight in the muck while I hid nearby.

Despite the need to keep my attention on what I was doing, I wondered if it was one of the ones that had been sent to hunt me down. Had this been the punishment, much like the one that had not wanted to venture after me? I was pretty sure that I was wading through the Caddaja sewer system and couldn't blame the poor dead things for not wanting to chase me.

I didn't want to be me right now, trudging through what I could only fathom was monster feces and urine, perhaps decaying bodies.

But it had kept me alive, thankfully.

Battling the image in my mind of me sneaking up on a monster taking a shit at the edge of the pool, I barely noticed when I left the fetid liquid. It clung to my legs, weighing me down and keeping me warm as I gradually walked up the incline, until I was stepping out of it completely.

I wanted to pause to clean myself off, but the suspicion that it helped mask my scent prevented me. My skin crawled at the thought of remaining coated from head to toe, but I'd rather be disgusting than dead. So, I crept forward, being as quiet as I could as I made my way out to the cavern.

Once at the entrance I crouched low and paused, pressed against the wall as I once again strained my weak human senses to hear what was beyond. I could see up into the darkness a ways, though it didn't help me. I knew that even if I did have light, I would not be able to see if anything watched me. I pictured the ceiling crawling with the Caddaja, coming and going from fissures and tunnels up above like a colony of ants.

There was no way I could tell what was waiting for me, or if I stood a chance out there. Had the others made it? Would there be a trace of them if they had not? I had not heard any yells or screams, though I had been making enough noise, along with the Caddaja that had been chasing me. Perhaps I had not heard the three women dying.

I shook my head to dispel those thoughts and forced myself to stand, despite the fear that raced through me. Then I slipped out of the tunnel, keeping my hand on the stone as I turned in the direction of the exit.

There was no way I could tell how far I was going. I knew that there was a method of counting how many strides a person took, but I was pretty sure that I needed to know how long my stride was to start off. I wanted to run, but running was noisy, so I moved forward as smoothly as possible.