SANTA MARIA HIGH (COMPLETED)

Part Three: 7

"cool." Obi chuckled nervously. "It's working!" he retraced his steps, craning his neck as if to catch the view well.

One of the shadows, a tall barrel chested man who wore animal pelt, and had silver bracelets on his arms. He reached for Andy's face only to be stopped by an unseen wall at the ash line. Other's tried.

Andy reached into his bag again. he sprayed another arc beyond the ash line. The shadows were pushed back. "No matter what, don't let them touch you." He said between breath.

"t... touch?" Obi stuttered. "what will happen if they touch someone?"

"Legend has it that they can separate body and spirit." Andy calmly said. "stay close."

"what?" Obi asked, his eyes as wide as cue balls. "what does that mean?"

"they are going to kill us?" Ada asked, there was fear in her voice. Fear justified.

"No one is going to die." Hope shouted. To Andy who seems to know more than any of them, she asked. "what do we do?"

"you three need to leave." said Andy. "try and find another way out."

"and you?" Ada's voice was low, "can you stop them?"

"I'll be fine." Andy said, handling his flash light over to Ada as if they would need it. "get out, find help, those two kids must be in here somewhere."

"But I should be able to do something." Hope couldn't just stand around and watch, she took a step towards the barrier. Andy held her hand and pulled her back.

"getting your friends out of here will be enough. Get out of here there are too many of them." the emotions all seems to show in his voice, but not much to tell in his determined face and tense hazel eyes. "trust me."

Ada picked race, Obi grabbed Hope's hands and followed. While Andy kept advancing. Till he was finally out of sight into the mist that waxed and wane in rhythm to the breath of the cavern.

Something roared, in the darkness. Andy shouted, then there was silence. Only the patter of their feet and the laborious breathing echoed through the dark space until Ada screamed and stopped, "over there." They could see a shadow materializing from the dark wall just over ahead. It was an old woman; her bent shrivelled body began taking tentative machine like steps towards them. Another silhouette emerged from the wall. Ada's flash light flickered. She slapped it hard as she screamed, "Ash!"

Obi slammed his bag of ash on the ground, and the shadows receded. The small lights in the walls began to flutter in a silent wavelike chorus. Hope could feel air damp on her perspiring face like a wet mattress.

The old woman couldn't get past the ash, the other men behind couldn't too. "it worked." Ada ran behind and made another line of ash, then the sides of the wall. The small lights danced faster, shivering to a feverish rhythm. Every now and then, a crunch punctuated the silence; no one said it, but Hope knew they felt the same: something was approaching.

Then the wind began, as if the walls itself began exhaling air, the wind picked up, tugging at her hair and clothes, and the ash, The ash! Blowing it in every direction as the darkness thickened.

It happened so fast but she saw it all, some thin bony shrived hand reached from behind and touched Obi, He screamed, Hope saw him levitate from the body, and was pulled with speed into the darkness. Ada was on the floor too. The flashlight rolled off her hand, flickering as it went rolling.

Something grumbled behind she turned only to meet something furry slammed on her side, throwing her towards the wall. She saw stars, then as her vision blurred she saw two intensely glowing yellow orbs, the beast roared again. She knew then how the slash across Pa Jacob's face had occurred. She could feel the bit on her side where the claws hit. She floated away, watching the beast haul her across the damp stone floor by the leg towards the wider charnel.