The Human Hunter

Chapter 8

The tunnel had very few glow worms hanging around making Emma have to focus and run her hands along the damp walls to keep from bumping into any. Cold rock mixed with actual chunks of dirt made up every surface around her as she pressed on, following the curve of the tunnel in several directions before it began ascending into a small, uneven hill upward. After a couple minutes she was forced to lean over and actually climb because the ceiling of the tunnel had lowered too far to stand any longer.

This tunnel definitely wasn't meant to be used often.

Dirt began to take over most of the rocks as she continued to climb, her tired body refusing to slow down as she moved farther and farther into the tunnel. She knew that Widow would be right behind her, running as soon as he got to the ledge and realized that she was trying to escape. She stopped to catch her breath only when she was finally able to stand again after entering a small little cave that couldn't have measured more than six foot across. It had just enough worms in it to allow her to see the entrance to the other tunnel, about ten feet off the ground.

If I didn't just learn how to climb like one of them, this would have been as far as I would have gotten if I'd somehow managed to get up that other rock wall another way.

As she approached the wall, she felt a faint tap against her shoulder and froze, looking down with narrowed eyes, trying to see in the dim light.

"Fuzz?" she asked, feeling a tap in response not a second later.

How in the world did you get to my shoulder?

She didn't need to think long before she realized when it had likely happened.

"You're a sneaky brat, just like your friend. I bet you found your way onto my shoulder when Widow caught me earlier," she said in a chastising tone as she looked up toward the new tunnel.

"You need to stay here. Widow will, no doubt, be coming through here soon," she said as she reached up, only to feel Fuzz scurry around to the back of her neck, slipping beneath her hair.

Scowling, she tried to catch him, but he remained just out of reach each time she tried to get him from a different angle.

"Fine, you stubborn spider. I'll get you later," she grumbled as she reached up toward the new tunnel and pressed her hands into the wall after wiping away a decent amount of dirt. The ascent was much harder than the simple rock wall she'd worked to scale earlier since it had layers of dirt that made her fingers slip every other try she made to get them to catch on something.

When she finally managed to pull herself up into the dark space, her heart jumped into her throat as the near-silent sound of footsteps echoed to her ears.

He's coming.

Pushing herself up faster, Emma got to her feet and started running as fast as she could manage in the darkness. She kept her right hand against the wall as she moved, following it as quickly as she could.

"Emma!"

Emma tripped at the sound of her name on Widow's shout, her knees hitting the ground hard and skidding against the rocks and dirt until she shoved herself back up and continued on.

Don't stop. This is your chance.

A strong gust of air brought a determined grin to her face as she pushed herself harder, turning another corner in the tunnel before her smile widened at the sight she was running toward.

Light. Actual, real light!

After being underground for so long she had to squint as she got closer, but she refused to slow down until she was standing in what appeared to be a normal fenced-in backyard, a light drizzle of rain dampening her skin. The sudden change of scenery made her pause at the entrance to the tunnel and look around warily. It was almost too normal besides the large spider webs strung up along the fence and outside the home.