💀Death's Apprentice💀

Chapter Eighteen: A Tunnel Of Bones

Rose Delaney

Two 'Cain Library and Museum' semi trucks barreled down a long back road. The truck was so loud that my thoughts could have been drowned out entirely. If they were my every day thoughts. But these thoughts were louder than anything on the planet. They screamed at me over the hums and vibrations of my surroundings. It was all a lie! They don't care about you! No matter what good you do, no matter how hard you try, you're going to die!

My emotions went back and forth between a mix of anger, sadness, and anxiety. The kindness they had shown me at the apartment and all around England had meant nothing. But why? What had they even bothered? To make sure you stuck around. But I had been the one that demanded to be included in this adventure. Only because you thought they would make good on your deal. I could feel the apprentice's eyes burning holes in my forehead as he watched me in trepidation.

My expression was as blank as humanly possible. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him open his mouth to say something. SCREEEEEECH! The semis came to a halt, putting a stopper in whatever the apprentice was going to say. Everyone slid roughly to the side before standing up and alert.

"We can't get any closer to the manor without being spotted. We'll go on foot from here." Cain's voice crackled over the earpieces we had been given. "On my signal...now!" We split into two teams and began to skirt the edge of the property, staying downwind to avoid being sniffed out by any dogs that might have been prowling the property. The apprentice stayed close as we crept forward through the dense foliage and thick trees encircling the estate.

Dozens of plants rubbed and scratched at my face. I wiggled my nose to get rid of an itch so that my hands could stay free. Something felt...wrong. It was too quiet. There were no guards or hounds in sight. Another cluster of leaves slapped me in the face. Why is the brush so high?! You'd think a millionaire could afford to keep his landscaper paid! I smacked a branch away, and for a moment I thought I saw a flash of movement under it. I stared for a moment, but nothing happened. Someone nudged me forward, and I cautiously tiptoed forward.

THUMP. Everyone froze, weapons at the ready. Nothing happened. We collectively began to take a few steps. THUMP-THUMP! Silence. I turned around and began to walk backwards. THUMP!!! Another flash of movement caught my eye-only this time it wasn't under the bushes. At first. One of the guards had been dragged down by something.

"THEY'RE UNDER THE BRUSH! GET OUT OF THE BRUSH!" I shouted. Panic set in. Suddenly the entire group began to sprint towards the edge of the tree line. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! Guards began to drop underneath like flies in a bug zapper. I ran as hard as I could. Fear ran through my body like cold sparks.

We practically dove out of the brush and continued to scramble away from the forest. I looked over my shoulder. One of the guards yelled at me to face forward, but it was too late. I had already seen them. Enormous black dogs swarmed from the trees, tackling the guards to the ground in droves and snapping at their necks and faces. Their eyes were milky white and their mouths were just as black as their fur. Green pus oozed past their obsidian fangs like drool, coating everything they bit and flying through the air with every shake of their head.

I let out a yelp and ran faster, pumping my legs faster than I had ever in my life. It felt like acid was burning through them. Death and the apprentice were just ahead of me. Every now and then they would jerk their heads around to make sure I was behind them. WHY DO THEY CARE?! My brain screamed in frustration and agony. WHAM! Something collided with me from behind, sending my sprawling on my stomach.

"ROSE!" The apprentice screamed. CRACK! The ground began to sink and crumble around me. An gigantic hole opened up in the earth, and I tried to grab onto roots, clumps of grass, anything to keep myself from falling. It was no use. The apprentice dove to catch one of my hands, but gravity was quicker. Our fingertips barely brushed before I slipped into nothingness. Down into the pit I went, grass, dog, and all. WHAM! I hit the ground way below, and everything instantly went dark.

When I came to I was laying in the center of a small, domed room. Moonlight streamed down from the hole in the earth above. Death and the apprentice were nowhere to be seen. In a panic I shot up and looked around. Ouch! My knee pad had been knocked right off of my leg, and my knee was scraped right through the thick pants I was wearing. Silver seeped out of the wound. My eyes felt as if they widened like Courage the Cowardly Dog's. My blood is silver. My blood is silver. My  BLOOD is SILVER! A giant smear of black goo had been melted into the dirt. The black dog that had fallen in with me was nowhere to be seen.

Arched doorways surrounded the dome. More moonlight illuminated the walls of the dome. I recoiled at the very sight of it. Hundreds of gleaming skulls and bones lined the walls and ceiling. The doorways opened up into dozens of tunnels.

They all went far enough back that I couldn't see through the darkness. I tested to see if I had any spark of power left in me. Some flicker of the eerie blue light. Nothing came to me. There was that nagging feeling again...something was wrong.

I definitely couldn't go back up. The only way out was in. I really didn't like the idea of going down catacombs that a family of murderous sociopaths had built their home on, but I didn't have much of a choice. Slowly but surely I stood myself up. Which tunnel? I closed my eyes, pointed my finger, and spun around until I got tired of it. There. I opened my eyes. My finger had landed between two tunnels. I groaned in annoyance, shaking my head before choosing the left one.

Down I went through a tunnel of bones.