Crescent Moon

13

"No no no no no no. . ." The word repeated over and over as shock and numbness swept over me as I gazed at my deceased grandmother. I was barely aware of Rikki sobbing beside me.

Mary sat down on the floor, propped against the wall so she stared ahead with milky, unseeing eyes, a deep gash on her throat. Her skin was turning blue from decomposition, blood stained on her skin and clothes, her expression was stuck in frozen agony. 

Dead dead dead dead dead

My grandmother was dead. Sarah's only living relative she could depend on. My only source of answers.

Dead.

I sunk to the ground and rested my head on my knees, my whole body trembling, my chest tight. I struggled to breathe. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do this.

I was vaguely aware that Rikki had stopped crying. A moment later, I felt her hand on my back.

"Ava?" I heard her say tentatively. Her voice was hoarse and laced with concern.

I didn't respond. I couldn't talk.

"Are you okay?"

All I could do was shake my head.

I didn't know how long we sat like that before I could finally lift my head. Mary gazed back at me. Somehow, her white eyes seemed accusing, as though blaming me for not being here on time.

I shuddered and faced Rikki. Her face was splotchy and tear-stained though full of concern.

"That's Mary," I managed to say, my voice cracking.

She gasped. "Your grandmother?"

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry, Ava."

I nodded and got to my feet on shaky legs. Now that I'd calmed down, I noticed something that made my blood run cold.

"Rikki, look at her neck."

"Uh, Ava, I'm trying not to get sick right now."

"Just look," I snapped.

She huffed and finally looked over at Mary. Her face turned green and she quickly looked away. "Her neck's cut open."

"Like someone attacked her." Saying the words out loud invoked such a strong horror to sweep over me I had to sit down again. "She said no one knew about this place but her. Apparently, someone did. . ." I couldn't even finish my sentence.

". . .and they could be down here right now," she finished, her face growing even paler.

I jumped to my feet. "We have to get the hell out of here."

"Should we get back to our rooms?"

"No, out of the question. We need to find somewhere else to get out. Hell, since we've been down here so long, someone's probably checked our rooms and saw we're gone. If we go back and they see us come through the trap door, then we'll be locked away somewhere else and lose our chance of escaping. We have to find somewhere else. We have to keep going."

She swallowed and looked down the long, dark hallway that now awaited us. Fear was plainly visible on her face and I could tell it was taking everything inside of her not to bolt as far away from here as possible.

I reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'll be right by your side, okay?"

She nodded and we headed down the hallway together. I forced myself not to look at Mary again. If I did, I'd probably collapse.