It's Somewhere Beneath Us

Blindly Through the Dark

Bea and I moved through the halls quickly, the first aid kit rattling at my side. Bea held the flashlight out in front of us, illuminating the way with little regard for being seen. We didn't have time to worry about that. We came to a crossroads and skidded to a stop.

"Which way?" Bea asked.

"Shoot, I... I'm not sure, um." I looked off to the right and left hallways. Both were dark and unfamiliar. "We might have made a wrong turn at some point."

"Dang it. Should we go back?"

"I don't know. That may take longer. One of these might loop around."

"Okay, then which way?"

"Um, left."

We turned off down the old concrete corridor. The walls were composed of old cracked cinder blocks and rusted lead pipes. Every step we took felt like an explosion erupting down the hallways, and my heart jumped with each one. We twisted and weaved through the rooms and doors until finally, we emerged into a familiar area, an old vacant-looking office space. Desks sat empty and abandoned behind moldy cubicles, and a couple of fluorescent lights clung to life on the ceiling. They flickered and hummed erratically. Across the way, we could see the door back to the safe room where Ethan and Daniel were waiting.

"Good call." Bea told me as she went to continue forward."

Tink TONK tink Plink! Came an echo from the hallway behind us.

"Are you kidding me?" Bea muttered desperately. "That thing is still alive?"

"But, we locked the door. How did it get down here?"

We could hear its noise getting closer, closer than it already was, and heading our way. The room was too large and wide; there was no way we would make it across quietly and fast enough. That left only one option.

"We have to hide."

Bea nodded. We exchanged a nervous glance, and then both split away from each other. She stepped into a cubical close to us, and as I passed by, I could see her sticking herself under one of the desks and out of sight. It would have to enter the cubical to see her. I stepped up a bit further and entered another workstation, doing the same. As the creature from downstairs approached, I could hear it humming to itself. A horrible, inhuman song that had no correlation to the notes it tapped on the xylophone. Blood rushed through my ears, adding ambiance to the noise, and the familiar feeling of adrenaline pumped through my body. I heard its heavy hands dragging across the carpet, and suddenly, it stopped just at the entrance to the room.

The only sound was that of the buzzing lights and excited breathing from the creature. It continued its shuffle, moving through the area. Although, it wasn't heading for any of the other doors. It was making circles. I could hear it entering the cubicles and pulling open drawers on the desks, rummaging inside, then gently shutting it. My heart began to pound. It was going to check all of them. I slid the first aid kit against the wall, then slowly crawled out from under the desk and crossed to the edge of the workspace. As cautiously as I could, I peered around the corner. I could see its bald, skin-patched head just barely peeking above the top of a cubicle. One right next to Bea. I could tell it was currently hunched over, inspecting a drawer. When it shut it, the thing braced itself onto the walls of the office space and lifted its entire body, vaulting itself into the cubical on the opposing side. It was going to loop its way to Bea's hiding place. That meant there were two desks before it reached her.

The instant I saw it hunched over, I stepped out of my spot and began crawling down the aisle toward her. The sound of the creatures rummaging masked what little noise my footsteps made, yet it still felt like every one of them was a hammer against stone. I froze as I heard it suddenly make a noise. A slight, "Hmm?". My body trembled, and my legs tensed, prepared to bolt if the need be. However, instead of a squeal, I heard the creature begin humming, accompanied by an awful, wet, squelching sound. After that, it went back to check the rest of the drawer. I didn't even want to know what had just happened.