The Evermore Dissociate(Creek)

0063

The sound of metal being dragged against the ground rung throughout the dark tunnel. Kenny was tired of walking, he was tired of running from those chasing him down this maze like hell. He followed a distant dripping noise to get away from whatever was currently following him, but the scraping object was getting louder and louder.

As he walked deeper through the tunnel, his feet were drenched by the pools of water running along the grounds. Stones fell from above from the vibrations the creatures caused by running around, and Kenny had to shield his face behind his arm. He could hear their shrieking cries of hunger, he could hear the desperation to find him in their voices.

Over time, he'd learned to hide from them. He learned that stealth was his best option, because fighting them certainly wasn't achievable. He was outnumbered a thousand to one, and those demons out there were natural hunters. They could smell the fear, the anxiety and pain Kenny was experiencing. They could smell him.

His shoes squelched from the overboard of water, giving away his positioning, so after briefly resting behind an old, almost completely destroyed barrel, he untied his shoes and disregarded them to the side. He stood up, looking down at his soaked socks, but knew taking them off would surely be a bad idea since parts of the ground burned to touch.

The scraping sound was closer than ever now, with his short break giving his follower the gain on him. He could see it's tall shadow in the distance, it's eyes reflecting off the lit torch in its hands, like a cat hunting in the night.

For a moment, Kenny was frozen in place. He couldn't tear his eyes away as the figure slowly walked closer, bit by bit revealing more of it's terrifying features. It was when the humanoid beast began to tauntingly whistle that Kenny snapped out of his stupor, with his hands fumbling against the wet walls to guide his way throughout the darkness.

He didn't know where he was going, he just hoped and prayed that whatever the dripping sound was, lead to an opening. More importantly, he hoped it lead to his escape. His pace picked up when he heard it getting closer, and the nearer he was, the deeper the water would rise.

He was waist deep when he came across a three way junction, and as he nervously chewed on his bottom lip, standing still as he decided which path to take, the whistling behind him morphed into a low hum.

He was just about to take the middle path, but something caught his eye on the right side. Preparing for another creature to charge out and attack him, he took a cautious step in that direction. He could sense the figure behind him getting closer, but the moment he saw the faint shadow of a little girl in front of him, smiling as she waved him over, he decided to trust that this wasn't a cruel trick.

Following the little girls echoing giggles, the water slushed around his body. Many times he'd wobbly lose his balance because of how eager he was to get away from the creature behind him, and many times he was submerged in the mucky waters.

The little girl crawled out of the water before leaning down to offer Kenny a hand, but just as he reached out, he was pulled under. On the way down, he knocked his head off the stone wall, and beneath the water clouded with his blood, he stared up as the shadowed girl screamed in terror, uselessly sticking her tiny hand into the water.

He choked on the dirty water that clogged his lungs, and his eyes stung as he kicked his legs at whatever was dragging him down. He could barely see due to how dark it was, but one thing he was sure of, was the slimy tentacle gripping tightly around his leg.