Chapter 13: Into the Dark

1

'There it is! I see it!' Sammy yelled with excitement. The mountain loomed before them, its huge mass reaching up into clouds, until becoming a tip—its peak. Ancient vines hung on the bottom, winding up the mile-long slopes. The source of the river was a gigantic waterfall that fell twenty metres in height. The forests reached an end as they got closer and closer to the monstrous giant. June could hear her heart pounding. She had envisioned this back on the Tower of Oblivion, inhaling deeply again at the stunningly great height of its summit. The mountain looked even taller from the bottom. Rows and rows of smaller peaks grew from its sides. The entire structure was made of bold rocks that were as black as charcoal. 

'What kind of abomination of a mountain is this?' asked Ben, petrified. He looked at June in disbelief. 'This was what you saw?' She nodded undoubtedly, looking just as scared as he was.

'June? Does the Talisman's pull feel stronger?' asked Ozin inquisitively. She swallowed deeply and shut her eyelids tightly, reanimating in her mind the familiar red, burning cube with the same weird symbol engraved on all six sides. It was easier than she thought. The cube sat still on a stone pedestal. She looked at it profusely, not letting it go from her mind. She studied it—it was beautiful, almost divine. The cube was the only light source coming from that dark, maze-like cave. The talisman seemed to have noticed her, glowing welcomingly, but June thought she must have imagined it because stone cubes don't have emotions…

A shadow was cast over the dimly lit cube. It stayed stationary for a few seconds before extending a claw and reaching for the cube. Then she actually saw the extended claw, clutching the small black cube tightly. The claw had sharp nails growing on its fingers, and the wrist was covered by a layer of red scales. The scales vibrated on the inhuman skin, opening and closing. The shadow opened its mouth and whispered some unknown language into the talisman, caressing it carefully with its hands. Something was screaming behind it, the sound of a girl. The shadow revealed its true form as two sets of crimson eyes peered into her point of view. A smile crept onto the creature's ugly features. 'I'll be waiting,' he whispered in a deep, sandy voice, definitely not humans. And now…

She opened her eyes, her face frowning. 'He knows we are coming,' she whispered frightenedly.

'As I feared, Demonlord has gotten his eyes on us,' Ozin gulped. 'He must have gained magic from the Talisman of Wisdom by now.' He said as they walked their first steps onto the hardened stones of the mountain. 'This had turned very hazardous for us very fast.'

'Do we even stand a chance?' asked June in fear. 

'We must steal the Talisman from him,' suggested Ben. 'That's the only way.'

'Stand a chance or not, we should get climbing those vines,' said Ozin resiliently.

Above their heads was a dark mist shrouded around the mountain. Thunder rolled loudly inside them. A brief moment, before the collapse. Lightning shot out from the troposphere constantly, and the world grew more unstable by the minute. The Talismans overlooked the corrupted world demandingly, invisible, yet all the more dangerous. As they climbed further and further up the twisted and wound vines, more and more images flashed before June's eyes. The talisman was getting to her, and she knew that getting away from it wouldn't solve anything. Once, June had lost her footing on the vine and stumbled down a few feet. Out of reflex, she flailed and caught onto an unsteady vine, grazing her knee in the process. Dismayed, she yelled frantically as the vine threatened to snap. Why did the vines grow down here in the first place? This could have been so much easier with climbing gear. She wondered intrusively. Strong hands grabbed her arms and hauled her up onto safety. Ozin and Ben. 

'Hook your feet into the vines,' instructed Ozin. 'to prevent yourself from slipping.' She nodded apologetically, yet her eyes were unfocused. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead as gruesome images of strange creatures flashed mockingly before her eyes. Every step seemed to be harder as a blinding headache consumed her mind. She winced in pain but gritted her teeth determinedly. When I see those demons, I'm going to send them into eternal hell. She swore under her breath. 'You're doing it, come on! You can make this.' encouraged Ozin. She gripped one of the vines gingerly, dragging her grazed knee along. Fortunately, the further up they went, the easier it seemed for the vines to hold their weight. Gradually, June contained her headache and went up, faster than she expected. On top of where the roots of the vines were located, was a clearing, like a checkpoint. Ben reached there first, then June, and finally, Ozin and Sam, who were holding each other's hands supportively.

'Is there any water?' Sammy's squeaky voice cracked. His lips were dry and bleeding from dehydrated cracks. 'I feel so thirsty.' He collapsed on the cliffside, breathing heavily. His sweaty face and clothes were covered by grime and soot.

'Water coming right up!' cried Ozin. He rummaged through the pocket dimension and grabbed four bottles of water. 'We've only got twelve of these left,' he shook his head disappointedly. 'The Vessel River used to be safe to drink… until the corruption contaminated even the cleanest streams.'

June put her sweaty and blistered hand on Ozin's shoulder. 'We'll put an end to this, and return both of our worlds back to normal.' She said determinedly, her throat dry. A gust of cold wind blew mercilessly against her skinny and battered body, which seemed frail against the dark, green thunderheads flashing and rumbling in the background. 'We have no reason to lose hope yet.' He nodded in agreement and gave the three of them the water. Reimbursed and feeling better again, they agreed to set up camp on the cliffside of the Sorrow Mountain.

'I feel like singing,' later in the tent, Ozin mumbled in his sleeping bag dreamily. 'This is an old Alpino song that my mother used to hum to get through hard times.' He said softly, ignoring the howling outside. 'I still remember the lyrics, I can uncover the meaning behind the lyrics now. Also most of the meanings of life.' He closed his eyes. For a long time, they thought he had gone to sleep. 'The lyrics were in German, which was then translated into Alpino. Either way, you'll understand.' He said those words slowly, his eyes still closed.

'Sing it to us, please,' Sam pleaded cutely.

'That was my original intention,' he took a deep breath and brought out a guitar, sitting up:

'Listen to the steady rain

The falling rain

Listen to the silent sky

Where the rainbows will form again

Listen to the winds

The breeze and the cold air bends

Listen to the oceans

So many drops of notions

When I saw the night's light

I sought with might

I can soar through highs and lows

Soaring through the broken gate

I could not be seen

And who knew where I had been

I was never opened

To the world I'd been hoping

While the surf goes on

You and I'll be gone

Between the searing sounds

Too 'fraid to turn around

While the surf goes on

waiting to be found

In the depth we seek

Under sombre creeks

I have always been mistaken in their hearts, 

Ever since I was told to be with people far apart

When the surf goes on

You and I'll be gone

In the morning sounds

Cannot turn around

When the surf goes on

Waiting to be found

In the depth we seek

Under sombre creeks' 

He finished by bowing majestically. After he rose, he noticed the children were tearing up, emotionally touched. Music was a powerful influence, as their ears hadn't heard such angelic pitches in months. June and Sammy were crying because it reminded them of surfing on the Denmosgäkfjord with their parents; Ben was crying because he missed playing instruments in his room that made him get through difficult times when his father was still alive. All of their worries seemed to have faded. They felt like they could take on anyone right now. Feeling prepared for tomorrow, they bathed and then fell fast asleep, readying themselves to take on whatever monsters were in the caves tomorrow.

However, nothing could have prepared them to engage in a fight with the demons, and when they did, they realised just how slim their chances of survival were.

2

The entrance to the caves sat in front of them, almost nothing could be seen except for the dim glowing fungi that grew where no sunlight could be cast. Constant gusts of cold wind blew at their faces as they realised the temperature difference: outside the scorching sun torched their sweaty backs, but inside was a frozen wasteland with temperatures that could be as low as six degrees.

'Headlights,' Ozin shuddered, putting on a large, thick fur coat. The children did the same. 'Check.'

'Flashlights, check.'

'Warm clothes, check.'

'Everything else in the pocket dimension? Check.'

The cave walls embraced them as the natural lighting that was the sun shrunk behind their backs, the light shrunk to the size of a door, then a ball, then a pea, then disappeared completely, covering them in total darkness. With the headlights, they could make out a cross-section. One way led downwards, more to the bottom of the mountain, the other was a path three metres above them which led upwards, where the cold gusts came from. 'First puzzle of the equation,' exclaimed Ozin eerily. 'One would lead us to nothing, and the other will lead us to the talisman. Eventually.' he added sarcastically. 'Jokes aside, which way should we go?'

'This may sound stupid, but what if both ways lead to a dead end?' asked Ben.

'That's the catch. It won't. None of Sorrow Mountain's cave systems are isolated. When there are multiple paths, there's guaranteed to be at least one that connects with the rest,' replied Ozin. He turned to June. 'Let's follow your decision.'

'Me?' Dismayed, she asked. 'Why me?'

'When in doubt, follow the Talisman,' Ozin prompted. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before whispering, a single word, confidently.

'Up.'

'Up it is then.' Ozin said while feeling for a way up the rock wall to the path, stepping on the jagged edges testily, and hauling himself up the obstacle. 'This isn't that hard to climb. Just take your time and don't slip.' He extended his arm. 'June, you go first, I'll grab you.' She nodded emotionlessly. Slowly, she planted one foot on the edge, then surprised everyone by jumping, reaching and latching onto the top surface, and then swinging onto the ledge in one swift motion.

'Who's next?' she smiled, panting for breath. 'I've still got strength left in me.' Though smiling, they could still see that even doing just that had strained her a lot. Ozin looked at her concernedly.

'Are you sure you're alright?' asked Ozin grimly. 'It's the curse, isn't it? It's getting more active the closer it gets to the talisman, stealing your energy.'

She reached her hand to grab Sammy, who was climbing up, sweat popping out of her pores. 'This is nothing,' she said. 'I won't ever let it get the better of me. Neither shall the talisman. I will tame both of these things.' After Sammy and Ben got up, they linked their hands together, staring up at the path before them. 'Demons must be living on higher altitudes.' she said thoughtfully. 'We haven't walked nearly enough into the centre of the mountain yet.'

'The mountain is ten kilometres in diameter,' said Ozin. 'Don't expect to get that far in on the first day. We also have to go up.' Eerie sounds came from the tunnels, like high-pitched howls that had been nullified, echoing through the caves.

How far have we wandered? June wondered. Is there no end to this maze of caves? They stopped. In front of them was an open ravine, with dripstones and fungi growing through the wide gap, deep enough to kill anyone who fell down. The bottom was too deep to be visible, and fog blocked their line of sight below. June drew back an anxious breath. She closed her eyes again, and the talisman's power radiated from the other side of the ravine. Come and get me! What mountain do you think you are climbing? The signal seemed to mock her. Cross that ravine… whether you like it or not! She disconnected the signal, her eyes blazing angrily, but even through the mocking nature, she could feel the hint of nostalgia that the talisman didn't want to express. The world is collapsing, and the talisman can feel it. It's probably just as aware as I am, desperately wanting to control the unstoppable overflow of corrupt magic, but I can't. 'We'll have to get across the ravine,' she whispered, even though she knew they were expecting to cross anyway.

There were two options for them: either climb down the ravine and then climb back up on the other side, or zipline across, which is riskier but faster. 'Don't be surprised when you see mysterious, deadly entities that dwell in these walls,' warned Ozin. 'Demons are only what we are certain, there might be others that are still unknown.' Ozin volunteered to scout the bottom of the ravine. By using his magic, he was able to slow his fall and slowly descend into the mist. They held their breath nervously, waiting for him to reply. 

Minutes passed, but there was no sound coming from the bottom at all.

'Osen!' shouted Ben. No sound came back except for his own echo. They grew more anxious by the minute, peeking into the dark ravine, which the only light source came from their headlights. Sammy shuddered and hugged himself tightly, shivering from the cold.

'I'm okay!' Ozin's voice came from the bottom. They sighed with relief. 'I've found the bottom!'

'How deep is it?' cried June.

'I'd say forty to fifty metres,' Ozin called back. 'One person come down at a time! Be careful, there's sharp dripstones down here!' June stepped carefully off the edge, her feet felt weirdly buoyant. She released her other foot from the edge as well, expecting to fall to her death. Instead, she went into slow-motion, as if the falling was slowed by two times the playback speed. Not knowing what to expect, she held her breath as she dipped into the fog. A warm, humid feeling crept up her legs as she was completely submerged in the thick fog, still falling. Gradually, tall rows of dripstone appeared below her, sharp enough to impale through her feet if Ozin didn't slow her fall. The width of the dripstones increased slowly as she sank to the bottom of the mist. Amongst the gigantic stalagmites, she felt puny. 

After what seemed like forever, she reached the bottom. Alone. Ozin wasn't anywhere around her. At the bottom, the stalagmites looked so much larger and densely packed. Only narrow gaps between the bases were allowed to freely travel between them. It's so easy to get yourself stuck between these crevices. She noted. It was so much warmer down here in the damp fog than the top. Her blood vessels felt like they defrosted after walking through the freezing cold tunnel. 

I need to find Ozin. She thought. She heard humming in the distance. She couldn't make out two metres in the foggy bottom. How large could the ravine be? She wondered. A hand grabbed her shoulder. She froze, not daring to look back.

'How long does it take for you to get used to my pranks?' said Ozin light-heartedly. She cried in relief and laughed.

'Never.'

'We should go find Sammy now, I sensed him reaching the bottom.' He declared. June relaxed after finding some company and walked with the hermit. 'Watch your footing,' Ozin grabbed her in the arm and yanked her back. She breathed sharply as she saw the sharp, jagged stalagmite that she was going to step on.

'T-thanks,' she blushed. Ozin gave her a flashlight, 'It's quite inconvenient that I must carry everything on me. Everything would be lost if I were to, say, trip and fall off a cliff,' said Ozin strangely. 'Or get ripped apart by a menacing demon.'

'Please don't think that,' she pleaded.

'I'm going to shut up and get Ben down here.'

As they walked together, they noticed strange blue fluids on the ground, trickling like a small stream. The fluid was thick and translucent and gave off an unsettling odour. 'What is that?' June whispered in dismay. 

'Demon blood,' replied Ozin darkly. 'It seems like it had been killed by something or someone.'

Not able to locate Sammy or Ben, they had decided to send off one of their signal flares. 'How well would this work in the fog?' asked June. 'Oh, incredibly well.' replied Ozin. 'If the light doesn't get to them, the sound will. Cover your ears.' They ignited the firework-like package and retreated at least ten metres from its distance, watching as the fuse burnt out, sending small sparks into the mist. For a second or two, nothing happened.

They were blinded, not capable of seeing anything anymore. Nothing but orange light was piercing through their eyelids. What followed was a thunderous bang that impaled through the thick fog. The heat emerging from it vaporised every single lingering water droplet in a ten-metre radius. Our most explosive fireworks were signal flares to their civilisation. Thought June, her hands clapped over her ears. Their eardrum-blowing science and technology are decades ahead of us. Eventually, the gunpowder completely reacted, and the signal flare fizzled out. What was left was a thick pile of ash from the paper packaging. 'That wasn't the signal flare,' Ozin whimpered, his eyes wider than a golf ball. 'I misread the label.' June laughed wholesomely, holding her stomach. 'Well, it worked as we intended.' Although the signal flare was fired, Ben and Sammy still hadn't appeared. 

'Are you sure they landed safely?' June asked, frowning.

'I assure you they reached the bottom,' Ozin replied ominously. 'But something execrable must have happened.' 

'This doesn't make sense,' June muttered lamentably. 'No way something had happened to them.' The sticky blue fluid that was trickling past their shoes was unsettling. Demon blood. She thought gravely. Why would there be demon blood in this ravine? Then it hit her—a demon, somehow, had gotten down here with them, and was currently in a state of harrow. She followed the trail of blood, followed closely by Ozin, preparing for the worst.

3

Sammy felt like he was in a state of peril. He descended slowly into the ravine, gasping for his breath as the humid air entered his lungs. Despite landing on the bottom safely, he had bruised himself several times on the sharp dripstones. He hugged himself tightly and stood on his knees, unable to move from fear. Something was lurking in the darkness around him. An eerie humming like electricity rang in his sensible ears. There seemed to be no end to the darkness, no light that could reach here. The ringing in his ears was preventing him from hearing anything else, like the footsteps of June and Ozin or their voices. He'd lost all sense of direction. Strangely enough, he was familiar with the sound. It sounded like a deafening screech from the forest spirits, yet none of it felt like them. He waited and waited, nothing seemed to be able to reach him. He was isolated, cut off from his sister, cut off from everything else. He couldn't have landed somewhere else – right? He'd watched Ozin and June jump off and fall in the exact place they did. Unless the fog had the properties to disorient and change the direction of Ozin's slow fall magic. Sam held his breath. So what about Ben? 

As if on cue, Ben reappeared from the dense mist and came beside him. He felt relieved. 'Ben, thank god you're here,' he exclaimed in a scratchy voice. 'I can't seem to find Ozin and Junie –' Sammy froze. He looked up when Ben didn't reply, standing there silently in his wake, emotionless. 

All colour drained from Sammy's face when he noticed Ben's features. His eyes! Sam exclaimed in terror. There are no pupils! 

He didn't know how long he stood there, staring at Ben, whose eyes were completely white, gladly staring not at him but in the distance. Sam took a step back and stumbled upon a shoot of stalagmite. I'm not going to look at him. He scrambled up frantically. I'm just not going to look. It's just a hallucination. I'll just leave and find –

The Ben with white pupils snapped his head sharply towards Sammy, and that's when he lost it. He screamed at the top of his lungs, drowning out even the constant humming in his ears. He screamed and screamed until his throat went dry, until he ran out of breath and shut his eyes tightly. He shook, hyperventilating uncontrollably. Unsure of what's happening, he opened his eyes again. 

The thing that resembled Ben was still there.

Unable to scream anymore, his vision blurred as his knees buckled beneath him. 'Please help me,' Sam whispered, wretched and defeated. Something maleficent was taking over his young mind, destroying all the sense that he once had believed. A gate opened up to him…

… and he found himself back in Donton Valley, standing in front of the house of Ellie and Noah. They shouted at him, having no clue why he was so still outside in the pouring rain so late at night, just as clueless as he was himself. They gestured for him to come in, so he did—all soaked and shivering. 'Don't be shy, Sammy,' said Ellie softly—soft but unnatural. 'You've returned from Sorrow Mountain, and no one else came back. That's okay, sit down.' He did as he was told and sat down. Ellie poured a cup of smotherly passed him the drink, and wrapped a towel around his wet body. He scanned his surroundings and spotted her father staring at him uncannily from a corner of the room. 'Don't mind daddy, he's had a long day.' She informed in a light tone. Stumped, he took a deep breath and held the hot porcelain cup with his freezing hands. Hesitantly, he took a sip from the cup that looked like coal water. The smoke got to him instantly, hacking and coughing intensely, the itch and burn in his throat seemed to stack on top of each other. Ellie smiled amusedly. 'It's always tasted bad the first time. It gets better… see? Have you noticed everything's turned sweet?' He nodded, looking at her quaintly.

'Where's my sister? Where's Ben?' he inquired anxiously. 'Where's Ozin?'

Ellie frowned, looking at him strangely. 'I never saw them,' she intoned, quieter than ever. 'Only you came back, remember? They're still trapped in the Sorrow Mountain, unable to find a way out. That's the only valid explanation.'

Sammy scowled. 'What are you saying? How did you know what happened to them? What happened to me?' Her frown deepened, pressing her finger into her lip, biting it with her teeth. 

'You don't remember? That's kind of messed up. Did your memory get erased?'

'I don't know,' Sammy shouted angrily, raising his voice. 'Take me back there, now.'

'What do you mean?' She looked at him innocently. 'Take you back to Sorrow Mountain? I've never been anywhere.'

'I know you took me here,' Sammy gritted his baby teeth. 'You've brought me specifically to this place for a reason.'

'What reason?' Ellied asked, her frown fading, going back to her calm expression. 'What do you want?'

'The truth!' Sammy shouted, resisting his anger. 'Why are you the one that brought me back from the nightmare? What is that thing back there? The thing that looked exactly like Ben but creepy? Why have I always been quiet in the background while I let my sister, Ozin, and Ben interact with people? Because I've been listening, and I know some things they think that I don't. Now that I'm on my own, when I experience something, it's not just an eerie ringing in my ears, or a creepy Ben staring at me. There's got to be something behind this.' He drew a deep breath, rethinking what he'd just said. Surprisingly, Ellie didn't question his gibberish. A smile crept up to her face, like she was satisfied with what he said, like he'd figured out a part of the puzzle that she wanted him to solve. Eventually, she spoke slowly and increased the tension.

'You want to understand?' she asked. 'Follow me.' She turned to her father, standing majestically in the corner. 'Into father's room,' she prompted, and Sammy obeyed. They didn't decide to turn the lights on before Ellie's dad groaned after smacking his shin into a chair. 'Watch your step.' she said, closing the door behind her. A bright, yellow hologram of the globe was projected in the centre of the office, illuminating the walls and their shadows. 'So,' she began after they'd sat down. 'Where should we begin?'

'I don't know,' said Sammy numbly. 'I'm not even sure if any of this is real.' He pinched his forearm—there wasn't any pain. 'How should I trust you? How do I know that whatever you're going to tell me is even… factual? You could just be one of those weird hallucinations like Pupiless-Ben.'

Ellie stuck out her legs and gave him an earnest look. 'Whatever I will say is up to you to choose and believe.' Her father flexed his fingers on the hologram, interacting with the globe with them. 'This is Legendaria,' She pointed to the largest continent on the map. 'Where we are now. The Alpine Realm. The Nomadrian Kingdoms—god's creations,' She paused. 

'What does that have to do with anything?'

'However, if we look at where Sorrow Mountain is –' she touched blank land with a trembling hand. 'It's not there.'

'What does this mean?' Sammy whispered gravely. 

'This means that god never intended for Sorrow Mountain to exist.' she whispered in fear. 'It is an outsider, something that exceeds beyond the rules that god made for the universe.'

'But it does exist!' Sammy screamed. 'We're there, right now! There's no way it's an illusion.'

'Things that dwell in its dark caves were never, ever discovered,' Ellie continued. 'Its peak reached beyond the troposphere, which was thought to be physically impossible; glowing blue mushrooms that are never found anywhere else; toxic fumes that demons could miraculously take in and not die; eerie sounds that echo through each and every single cave, have never had their source identified.'

'That must have been the demons,' Sammy insisted, unable to accept what he'd heard. 'That MUST be –'

'...my ancestors recorded cries of misery and sorrow from that specific mountain travelling through the Rocky Plains, reaching all the way past Vessel River, across the King's Palace, thus claiming its name.' she finished.

'But it does exist,' Sammy repeated quietly, sobbing. 'I've lost my mind in there.'

'The toxic fumes, as I said, will slowly saturate your mind,' said Ellie. 'You will get lost, disoriented, hallucinate, and eventually lose all hope and die in there. Your ability to hear and see, for instance, will be mistaken and readjusted by your own brain.' She looked at Sammy pitifully, who had lost it and cried on her knees.

'Please, help me,' cried Sammy. 'I'm so scared.'

'Don't worry, Sammy,' she whispered softly, caressing his hair. 'I've saved you. The magic 

should already have reached Sorrow Mountain and counteracted the toxins. After you wake up, you can find your friends and save them too.'

'You're real, aren't you?' asked Sammy in relief. 'Just somehow in my head, guiding me through what I need to learn.'

'Like I said before, you can choose what to believe,' Ellie smiled earnestly. 'Only my dad knows what I'm capable of. I recommend not telling them about my abilities. Keep it a secret—between us.' She held his hand gently. 'Oh, and when you find them, tell everyone to take seaweed occasionally, which completely counteracts it.'

'Thank you so much, Ellie,' Sam replied calmly. 'I will forever be in your debt.'

'Don't be,' said Ellie. 'Returning safely is the best way of saying thank you.'

'Tell me, is this actually happening? Or did I make it all up?'

She smiled and mouthed something. Sammy nodded, satisfied. They gave each other one final goodbye wave as he was engulfed in white, silver mist.

4

'Sammy! Sam!' Ben cried, spotting Sammy's lifeless body between some rocks. He ran too quickly and snagged his leg sleeve onto a pointed dripstone. Ignoring the fabric that was ripped open, he knelt by Sammy's side and checked his vitals. He was breathing smoothly. Ben gave a long sigh of relief. 

Sam opened his huge, teddy bear eyes and saw Ben—the real Ben perching over him. He got up to a sitting position. 'Oh, Ben,' he whispered, tears forming. 'You're here. It's the real you.'

'Are you hurt?' asked Ben urgently. Sammy shook his head. 'Oh, that's great.' He scanned around them. 'Where's June and Ozin?' 

'I don't know yet,' Sammy mumbled, then realised something. 'Ben! This place is filled with toxins in the air. We can't afford to waste any more time.' 

'I know,' he whispered. 'But we need to find a way to locate your sister and Ozin—they might also be separated from each other.'

'This mountain is cursed,' Sammy sobbed. 'Nothing here is meant to be.'

'I have no clue what that means,' confessed Ben. 'There must be something that we can do.'

Suddenly, something smacked itself against the stalagmites in the damp mist. They turned around, alert. Shuffling footsteps became louder and louder, as a low grunting was gradually getting closer and closer. 'Stay close together,' Ben managed. 'Something's noticed us!'

The humid air around them seemed to tighten. They held their hands together tightly, too scared to move or speak. An ominous tension coiled like a serpent in the mist. Every sound was swallowed by the shrouding fog that lay over the jagged stalagmites that lined the narrow path. Sweat clung desperately to their cheeks and necks. 

'Where is it?' hissed Sammy panickingly. A low growling was close and bound to them, yet they could not tell where the unseen adversary lingered. Just beyond sight. Thump. Thump. It sees them very clearly with its malicious eyes, close and clear.

'We must leave this spot at once.' Ben hissed urgently. 'Come on, let's run.' Even as he took a few steps, he saw Sammy looking up, frozen in terror. He looked up and saw it too.

It wasn't around them.

It was looming over them.