A Darker Reality

No Escape

He stumbled occasionally on some old mining equipment and cursed himself and his clumsiness each time. He didn't see why Simon thought they didn't have enough time to get him a flashlight. Why was he so obsessed with this monster?

"Jesus!" Simon's voice echoed off of the walls.

Matthew followed the voice until he caught sight of Simon's silhouette, shining the beam of light on a person curled up in the floor, asleep. As Matthew got closer, he noticed that it was a boy--probably about ten or eleven years old--dressed in dark clothes. His skin was pale and there were dark rings around his sunken eyes. His brown hair clung to his skull, like it was wet.

"My god," Matthew whispered. "Simon, do you think that this kid was kidnapped by the monster?"

"If he were I don't think he'd be asleep right now." Simon gently prodded the boy with the toe of his shoe. "Kid? You okay?"

The boy suddenly leapt on top of Simon. The flashlight tumbled out of his hand and across the floor, the pale beam of light bouncing off of the floor and walls. Matthew could hear the rough sounds of a struggle, and could see a flash of silver. He dropped to his knees and scrambled for the flashlight, finally grasping it in his hands and shining the light on the two boys. The boy had pinned Simon to the ground, raising a hand in which he grasped a glistening kitchen knife. Matthew began to panic and quickly kicked the boy off of Simon. The boy scrambled to his feet, glared at Matthew, and lunged towards him, knife raised. Simon got back to his feet and knocked the boy back down, kicking the knife out of his hand. The boy watched in fear as Simon pointed his gun at the boy's head, pulling back the hammer with a slight movement of his thumb.

"You okay?" Matthew asked his friend as he stepped up next to him.

"Fine," Simon said, not taking his eyes off of the boy.

The boy stared up at Simon, the fear wiped completely from his face. He opened his mouth and croaked, "Are you gonna kill me?" The boy's voice made Matthew shudder. It made him think of gravel and shattered glass--like that was the first thing the boy had said in a long time.

Simon, however, seemed unmoved by it. "Yes, we are," he said.

Matthew looked at Simon, shocked. "We are?"

"Yes, Matt," Simon said in an exasperated tone.

"Simon, you can't be serious. He's just a kid."

"Shut up, Matthew," Simon spat, "and stay out of this."

The boy pulled back his lips in a maniacal grin and started to giggle. "No you're not," he said.

"What?" Simon said, taking a step towards him.

"You're not gonna kill me," the boy said, still giggling.

"Yes we are," Simon said.

At this, the boy's giggle evolved into a mad laughter.

"What's so funny?" Simon demanded.

The boy rocked back and forth, hugging his stomach as he continued to laugh. "You...actually think....you're gonna kill me?" he said between gasps.

"What makes you so sure we won't?" Simon asked.

The boy finally calmed himself, then smiled and raised his arm, pointing over Simon's shoulder.

Simon didn't move, but Matthew couldn't resist the urge to look behind him. He felt an odd feeling--one he couldn't describe--that made his muscles tense and the back of his neck prickle as he peered over his shoulder.

The color drained from his face as he stared into the white, featureless face off the monster. He involuntarily swallowed enough air to fill his lungs, and a loud scream escaped his gaping mouth.

Simon's eyes widened at his friends scream, and he spun around on his heel meeting the monster face to face. "You," he whispered, right as tentacles sprouted from the monster's back.

The monster drove one of his appendages into Simon's chest. Simon made a last coughing, gurgling noise in his throat before he fell limp to the floor. The monster pulled it's tentacle out of Simon's body with ease. A dark puddle grew underneath him as his body spasmed and he stared at the ceiling.

Matthew's heart was beating in his throat, and he stood frozen and watched in horror as the monster impaled his friend. Without thinking, he quickly held up his gun and shot the monster in the shoulder. The boy started to laugh again as the monster turned and faced Matthew. He watched in disbelief as the wound in the monster's shoulder healed itself. Realization sunk in and the gun fell from Matthew's trembling fingers, landing with a clang on the floor. He turned and ran for the exit in a blind panic. He charged around the corner and stumbled over equipment and his own feet, the image of Simon's body burned into his mind. Shooting the monster didn't work. It didn't seem to pain it at all. In the back of his mind, Matthew knew it wouldn't, but Simon was positive that it would. Simon's overconfidence had killed him.

Tears sprang into Matthew's eyes as he ran, blurring his vision. He knew he was doomed.

The last thing Matthew remembered was the brief second of hope as he saw the exit up ahead, the shock when the monster suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path out, and the pain as a tentacle drove into his midsection, twisting his intestines painfully, then finally yanking the tentacle back out of his body as he fell forward, the floor rushing to meet him.