Home Sweet Home

Chapter ten

    A gush of adrenaline pulsated through her veins at the dismal sight of the cave. Fear tugged at her heart and her breathing suddenly became hitched. The body pains that she seemed to have forgotten a while ago returned. She clutched the knife on her right hand tightly, while using her other hand to hold unto her clothe.

  Here goes nothing.

  She took a step forward, but instantly brought her leg back at the sight of the fearful cave. She didn't have a source of light to even guide her. At the same time, she was thankful she didn't have a flashlight, probably because the sight of the cave would have prevented her from entering(which indirectly meant not leaving the forest).

  But is the cave actually the only way? What if there is a much better way to leave the forest?

  What if Mary was only lying to me so I can face the creature again?

  What if the creature transformed into Mary?

  Several 'what ifs' swarmed Evelyn's head, which only scared her from going into the cave. At some point, she wanted to turn back to meet Mary and just live with her in the forest.

  What if living in the forest with Mary would be better than going through the cave?

  "Evelyn Hayes, get your fucking self together!" Evelyn chastised herself, going close to the cave. A bat whirled past Evelyn's face, diving into the cave. The next second, she heard a tiny screech and then an irritating squelch —as though someone trampled on berries. "No, I should just turn back."

  She contemplated on whether or not to go into the cave and finally, she made her decision to just go through the cave since it was the only way. Afterall, what's the worst that could happen?

  After mustering up some courage, Eve bravely sashayed into the dark cave; the sharp scent of stale air mixed with the briny smell of old lichen filled her nostrils. Wave of chills swept over her, which prompted the hair on her entire skin to stand.

  Occasionally, the water that dribbled from the stalactites that hung on the cave's ceiling pricked her skin and she stumbled across  stalagmites that grew from the floor of the cave. Bats and several unknown insects whizzed past by her. She shifted to her right, in an attempt to meet the wall of the cave. She ran her cold fingers along the wet bumpy stones of the cave, scraping in some dirt in her finger nails.

  Thick clouds of cobwebs tingled her skin which she battled with. Her feet sloshed the stagnant water of the cave which splashed on her face. She grimaced, spreading her arms out to avoid any form of accident in the cave.

  She noticed her racing heart was calm for the meantime at least. Nothing extraordinary had happened since she stepped into the cave.

  Dreaded images of the creature taunted her, as she marched deeper into the cave. She rapidly waved them off, to avoid building up anxiety.

   Expeditiously, her ears picked up wet slurping sounds which was close by. The sound reminded her more of her mum's dog when it hurriedly drank water after a long stroll.

  Saliva formed rapidly in her mouth as her anxiety started to build up. She hated being afraid. It didn't make her think well. The main objectives of fear is to disorganize their victim and render them completely useless.

  "You'll be alright Eve, it's nothing," she crooned quietly.

   An obstreperous scream similar to that of a banshee cut through the air, knocking Evelyn out of her senses. The scream was something Evelyn couldn't describe. It was shrill, hoarse and definitely inhuman. Evelyn didn't want to jump into conclusions. She wanted to remain calm, she wished to remain calm, but her body decided otherwise.