Lilith's Nightmare

•America, New York City, Queens•

•2/07/2025, 6:05 PM•

"No way, this has to be the worst idea in human history." Lilith shook her head as she gazed down a staircase leading to an underground subway. Her hands gripped her hair, lightly tugging on her roots, but she wasn't paying attention to the pain. In fact, she barely felt it. Lilith turned to Rian, who shared her reluctance.

"This is the quickest way to get to the runway I mentioned. We could continue to travel above ground, but it's just a straight shot down here." Rian stated, despite his expression indicating otherwise.

"Then let's go above ground; it'll be better than going into a tunnel with a literal tsunami on the way." Lilith argued, her hands falling from her hair as she tightly gripped her arm.

Samantha approached her daughter and caressed the girl's arm. Lilith despised tunnels. She tried everything she could to avoid them, even going so far as to take a cab and risk being kidnapped rather than enter the long, dark, foreboding corridor.

Samantha had told Rian this, so he understood why she was having a bit of a fit right now. He didn't want to, but they'd already squandered too much time getting there as it is.

"I know this is difficult for you, Lilith, but we need to get out of here." Samantha stated as she held Lilith's checks in her palm.

The white-haired girl pushed her mind to the limit, trying to see if it was faster or not, and she was disappointed to find out that it was. She had a general idea of where they were going but not exact so it wasn't too spot on. However, it have her a good idea. Lilith closed her eyes as she felt a headache coming on. The warm sensation in her stomach spread through her body and to her head, easing the pain.

Lilith silently expressed gratitude to whatever it was. Lilith opened her eyes and looked around her; strange vines were growing everywhere, and quickly. She couldn't see where they were coming from, but she was aware of it in the tunnel.

Maybe she could make up a lie and manipulate the situation; she considered doing so, but the girl couldn't manipulate her mother like that just to avoid facing her fear. Lilith had no idea why she disliked tunnels in the first place; it had started when she was younger and she couldn't remember why.

As she cursed, she let out a sigh.

"Can't we just drive?" Lilith pointed to the numerous cars in the area.

"Well! We've run out of options! Run!" Miya yelled and shoved everyone down the stairs.

"What are you doing?!" Lilith yelled back but froze when she saw the numerous small meteors raining down. They were no bigger than a car, but they were more than enough to case unbelievable damage to the city.

"Fuck!" Lilith yelled as she stomped down the stairs, unconcerned about the consequences of her outburst at the time. The girl just wanted to slap the God of Luck for being so cruel to them.

Samantha and Rian didn't care about her language at this point; they were more terrified of what they had just witnessed. If one of the meteors collides with a specific section of the subway, they may be crushed or trapped and felt to stave. Their situation was coming increasing complicated by the hour.

Miya expressed the same thoughts. The girl wasn't thinking at the time; she just asked on impulse at the moment. Nobody could really blame her. She was a fifteen-year-old girl who had never experienced adversity; all she had to worry about before was school and making friends.

She had to worry about natural disasters coming at her with no regard for whether she lived or died.

The group sprinted down the stairwell until they came to the train tracks. They only noticed the unusually large number of vines growing on the walls and inside the tunnel at that point. The fact that the vines were glowing drew their attention.

Yup! Glowing vines! They had to pinch themselves to ensure it wasn't a fever dream, but everything was true. To say the least, the sight was hypnotic. The lime green glow of the vines, the way they twisted and turned into spirals and dripped from the ceiling.

It appeared to be something straight out of a fantasy. Lilith was the first to snap back to reality.

"Which path?" She inquired, pointing to the two options.

"This way." Rian indicated a left turn. They hopped onto the train tracks and followed the man's lead.

The group wasn't concerned about any trains because they were all clearly out of commission. They were probably still in good condition, but there was no one to manage or work them.

While they were walking, they heard several explosions from above ground. Definitely caused by meteors. It would not be surprising if a few structures were destroyed in the process.

Samantha and Rian were leading the way, with Lilith and Miya trailing a bit behind.

"Why does Lilith hate tunnels so much, Samantha?" Rian inquired. "You told me she does, but you never told me why or when it started."

"Oh, well, it happened when she was three. I don't recall the specifics, but I'll never forget how terrified she was." Samantha explained. It was always difficult for her to explain the subject because people didn't believe her or assumed something was wrong with her daughter.

•Story Time!•

Lilith began to have nightmares when she was three years old. She would wake up screaming and crying every night until Samantha had to take her to a psychologist. According to what Lilith told them, she was always in a tunnel in her nightmares.

It could be a subway tunnel or just a tunnel found in a mine. There would be flickering lights above in every one of them. Then she'd see a man's silhouette. She'd try to run, but the further she went, the closer he got, and if she stayed still, he'd get even closer.

She didn't see his face until a few months later. Lilith tried to flee again, but the man didn't move, and she couldn't either. He took a step forward after what she said felt like hours, and she finally saw him. It was absolutely nothing.

A face with no features and only pitch black. He wore a red and black suit and had red hair. She tried to run again but couldn't; all she could do was stare at him. Then, out of nowhere, a smile appeared, revealing their razor-sharp monster-like teeth. Then she awoke, abd never to have the dream again after that night.

•End of Story•

"I don't think I will ever forget those months." Samantha said. Her voice was low as tears almost fell. "But the strangest thing is, she doesn't remember any of it. It's like all memory of the nightmares were erased. Our phycologist told me it might of been some kind of coping method created by her mind."

"You never told her about it?" Rian asked. Samantha shook her head looking back at Lilith being led by Miya through the tunnel. Miya had her arm around the girls shoulder making sure to distract her. Miya was the best person for the job since she was the same age as Lilith, the two shared very similar likes.

Samantha knew her better, but she knew she couldn't district a teenager like another teenager could.

"The doctor advised against it. It may reopen old wounds and possibly cause trauma." Samantha explained.

"Is it really that bad?" When Samantha nodded in agreement, Rian sighed.

The four made their way through the tunnel, grateful for the glowing vines. Despite the periodic explosions, the walk was quite enjoyable. Lilith shook the entire time, only relaxing when Miya or her mother comforted her.

They were all on edge the entire time, thinking about various things, most notably the future. The tunnel, on the other hand, had an unsettling atmosphere. It felt like they were being watched but couldn't see anything in the tunnel besides them. Lilith was the only person who could truly confirm it, but she was just a husk at the time, trying not to have panic attack.

After a few minutes, they came to a fork in the road. Here, they had to choose between two options. Samantha was the only one who noticed Rian's frown.

"Which path?" Samantha muttered.

"I'm not certain. But I'm more confident in going left." Rian murmured. "Let's keep moving..."

*Grrr*

When they heard a low growl from above, they all froze. When they looked up, they were met with a terrifying sight: a massive spider-like monster above them, staring down with glowing purple eyes.

Lilith clung to Miya as Rian covered Samantha's mouth. They were all beyond terrified, but Lilith was in a worse position than the others. They were in a tunnel, and a massive monster was clinging to the ceiling. There were many similarities to her childhood nightmare, which she may not remember, but it still terrified her. It would take a miracle for her to get out of this one.