Jane Doe's Short Story Collection

Chant, Scream, Echo

Cover I made for this^^

***

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Tori glanced back at the sound of Quin's voice. She sighed at the dubious frown on his face, the looming cave mouth overhead shadowing it.

"We need to find out what happened to them." She affirmed, turning her plastic flashlight on. It's weak yellow beam barely sliced through the darkness.

A week ago her town went into an uproar after a large sinkhole suddenly opened. When weird things started to happen around it a team went down to investigate it. They never came back.

Tori's father never came back.

After finding out, Tori was convinced she had to go search for them. It was an itch she couldn't scratch, a pull she couldn't escape.

Somehow it led her here, to this cave, and Tori was convinced she'd be able to find her father if she went inside.

"Tori..."

Ignoring his sad whisper, she turned back toward the darkness and scanned the cave with her flashlight, her teeth grinding aggressively.

Quin sighed in frustration and she could almost see him running a hand through his hair.

Ignoring the lump in her throat, Tori hushed him and held up a hand as she moved forward. Her finger tips grazed lightly against the stone wall and her feet scraped against the ground as she walked.

"This place is so creepy." Quin murmured uneasily, pressing up against her back as if she was a shield.

Tori nodded in agreement, dread settling over her like a blanket as they moved forward. The distance between the walls widened the farther they went. Finally, once she noticed that she couldn't even see the walls when pointing the flashlight towards them, Tori stopped.

Coldness washed over her and as if feeling the same chill Quin slipped a trembling hand into hers.

Suddenly, as the temperature dropped, Tori started to hear faint whispers.

Fear crawled down her spine as she froze, tightening her grip on Quin's hand. The whispers started to get louder, echoing and echoing as they repeated in many overlapping voices.

It all joined together in an unintelligible chant, becoming louder and louder, and painfully resonating in Tori's body.

She gasped and the flashlight clattered to the ground as she doubled, pressing her hands to her ears the voices hit a crescendo, becoming so loud blood started to trickle from her ears. Her eyes fluttered as she dimly felt the limp form of Quin start to drag her down to the ground.

Her vision swam and she staggered, straining to stay upright. Quin's unconscious form was too much for her body to handle and her knees finally buckled, slamming them both down. Hard. Tori's knees busted against the hard stone as she cried out.

Piercing pain began to build up behind her eyes, the screaming chants pulverizing her consciousness. They began to drag her mind under; the wailing cries weaving black spots into her vision. Tori struggled in vain, her mind unwillingly succumbing to the darkness...

***
I made this for the Aim To Engage 2021 Contest

Jane Doe~out