Subterra Heart

Chapter 10: Tess Ritty

Tess had stopped running a long time ago. She limped along the narrow tunnel, hugging the wall. It felt smooth and damp and cold under her fingers. Tiny, bioluminescent mushrooms dotted the walls, almost too faint to see.

Silly little thoughts rattled through her brain as she tried to distract herself from reality. She'd probably be late for work tomorrow. Uncle Fred wouldn't like that. Oh, and she was also going to miss the deadline to submit a bunch of assignments too. Tess grimaced. She was already failing her accounting classes. This really wasn't going to help at all. She tried imagining how she'd explain this whole mess to her professors. Maybe if she was lucky, they'd take her seriously for once.

Marina's night was probably ruined too. She'd be beside herself if Bug didn't turn up.

Tesskept trying over and over again to keep focusing on her silly, normal problems. She'd panicked earlier, after she saw the body. Just picked a direction and ran. Stumbled, scampered, staggered. And then tripped. She'd twisted her ankle, and it still throbbed in rhythm with her heartbeat as she hobbled along. Tess held her wrist out in front of her, letting the tiny light from her shae band guide her path. Thewalls here were smooth – almost unnaturally so – and they were pockmarked withoccasional small offshoots with perfectly square angles. She dragged her handalong the wall to her left for balance. A colorful film of red and blue clungto it, and it flaked off beneath her fingertips. Smashed bits of rock litteredthe floor, slowing Tess down even further as she stepped around the junk.

Her fist still clutched her blouse, and Tess blinked, as if seeing it for the first time. She leaned against the tunnel wall and shook it out. It still glowed a bit, but it was dry now – and so was the rest of her too, she realized. Tess cracked a smile and gave a quiet, nervous laugh, pulling her blouse back on. Itcrinkled over her head as a dusting of dried kuar cracked off. This whole mess was just too unreal. At least dry clothes were a comfort. Heck, she'd call this step one to getting home.

Her laugh echoed down the tunnel, slowly fading. It'd been louder than expected. Too loud, almost. Seconds passed. Tess's breath was the only other sound hanging in the air. The back of her throat still itched from all of the dust earlier. She coughed lightly, but the itch didn't clear. Her cough was accompanied by a long, low, rattling breath. Tess froze, and then took a step back. That hadn't belonged to her. Maybe this wasn't the best route to take. 

Behind her, something skittered away – a rat or a cave spider. The breath sounded again, this time accompanied by a low groan. Tess backed up even faster, shining her light wildly across bare tunnel walls, looking for an exit. Her bad ankle caught on a rock, and she tripped once more, knocking her head on the rocky tunnel floor. She let out a muffled yelp. The groan in the distance grew louder, accompanied by shuffling footsteps and a stink like an overflowing latrine. Tess rolled over. To her left was a small opening, so low to the ground that she almost missed it. The noises down the tunnel were getting louder, closer. Tess got to her hands and knees and squirmed through the opening. She hoped it was safe.

There was plenty of space beyond the opening, so Tess sat on her haunches and waited, ready to run. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of two rats darting away. Tess flicked off her light and held her breath as the noise came closer and closer. The uneven footsteps were so loud that they pounded against her skull. Or was that her heartbeat? The thing stopped in front of the opening, shifting and wheezing, as if unsure of where to go. Tess's throat felt tight. Her head hurt. She toyed with the button for her light, suddenly tempted to see what this breather was. But she held off, stuffing both her hands under her armpits. Then, abruptly, it moved on, shuffling away.