The sudden rumble of the ground followed by the audible sound of something moving through the cave immediately sent Quin and Ko into panic mode. They both kept their eyes locked on the dark hallway in front of them, waiting as the thundering sound grew louder and louder.
Then it stopped.
Both of their eyes were still locked in front of them, almost like they were trying to look past the darkness. A few seconds passed before Quin took a few steps forwards, a gulp sliding down her throat.
"I uh... I think it's gone," she muttered, holding the torch in front of her as if it somehow had the ability to ward off whatever it was that was down there with them.
She began to walk forwards a bit more, her confidence ever so slowly beginning to refill. Ko however wasn't as stonewall as her friend. She clinged to Quin's arm, whimpering like a puppy. That familiar burning sensation had once again returned to her hands, this time much more prevalent than the last few times. The carcan looked down at her, silently cursing under her breath. She could hardly blame the zapher for being scared, but she really could help but wish she had a bit more spine right about now.
Suddenly the creature that had made the roar showed itself. Out of the darkness emerged a sickly white being, almost as tall and wide as the cavern they were in. It had a tough looking exoskeleton and resembled an enormous arthropod. It had no visible eyes but it didn't look like it needed them. On the bottom of its frontal plate sat its mouth, adorned with rows of razor sharp teeth and spider-like fangs. There were six jointed legs protruding from each side of the creature and it looked like it hadn't had a good snack in a long long time.
"Not gone, not gone!" Quin yelled, instinctively grasping Ko's hand and running in the opposite direction. The creature seemed to sense where they were and began to give chase. It stumbled clumsily through the cave, not looking like it was too familiar with the halls it was in.
It mattered little to Quin and Ko however who were currently bolting down back the way they had come.
"What is that thing!?" Ko cried as she ran.
"No idea but it sure knows we're here!" Quin yelped.
"What do we do? This leads to a dead end!"
A sudden vibration shook the ground and the two turned. The creature had slammed into one of the sculpted pillars that was holding up the cavern, a visible crack starting to form inside it. However that didn't slow it down, and soon enough it was back on the hunt, hungry for the two girls.
However, Quin had noticed something that might give them an edge.
"We gotta get around it somehow. I think I got an idea," she hissed as they ran.
"What?" Ko cried.
"Keep yer voice down! I don't think it's got the best eyes in the world. Or any. That means it's either smell or sound it uses. We just gotta pray it's the latter."
The two continued running, the creature beginning to fall behind as they moved. The torch gave them the advantage of being able to manoeuvre through the claustrophobic cave much easier than the monster they were being hunted by. Eventually they came to a much wider section of the cave, the part where the sculpted rock began to turn into natural rock. There were small crevices and cracks in the wall, perfect for a small zapher to hide in.
"Quickly, in here!" Quin whispered. The creature was now a fair few metres behind them, far enough away that they could no longer see it but they could definitely still hear it moving. The sound of its snarls sent shivers down both their spines.
Ko managed to just fit into one of the crevices, her tail poking through her legs slightly. But it was enough to hide her from view. Quin on the other hand was much taller. There were no crevices large enough for her to fit in.
"Stay here, quiet as you can alright? Don't make a sound," she whispered, holding a finger up to her mouth. Ko nodded fretfully.
Making sure to snuff out the torch, Quin took a breath and pressed herself up on the opposite side of the wall as best she could, holding the shield out in front of her. Her heart was beating so far she was scared it might give her away.
In no time at all the creature began clawing its way down the tunnel. Just as Quin had hoped, the cavern was now much wider than it was, almost twice the length. However the creature almost walked like it was drunk, moving slowly and bumping into the walls as it walked.
With no more footsteps or voices to follow, it was having a much harder time trying to figure out where exactly its prey had gone. It let out a low growl as it moved, trying to find where the two girls had gone. Little did it know however they were right beside it.
Ko held her mouth shut with her hand, her chest rising and lowered with every terrified breath she took. It took all the will she had left in her body to not jump out and start running the other direction. But she soldiered through it, standing as still and quiet as the rock he was hiding in. Quin was no different. Her biolights were a deep black at this point and her whole body was trembling. But she held her breath and clenched her teeth.
She felt the creature brush past the shield, its exoskeleton pushing up gently against her. Thankfully the monster didn't seem to notice and continued its path forwards, leaving the girls in the clear. They both waited until the creature was well and truly past them before they emerged from their hiding spot.
Slowly they both turned to make sure the creature was gone and when they knew it was safe, Quin pointed in the direction they had just come from.
Hastily, the both made their way down the hall when suddenly-
'Clang!'
Quin immediately felt a sharp pain run through her foot. The two of them froze as she realised she'd just made the same mistake Ko had earlier. Without the torch, visibility was back to zero and they could barely see anything in front of them. Quin looked down in horror only to realise she'd just walked into another metallic object. This time what looked to be a shattered sword.
And they weren't the only ones to realise.
'Roar!'
The creature let out an ear splitting howl as it realised it had just been tricked.
"Time to go," Quin squeaked. Immediately they both began bolting down the hallway as fast as they could.
Thankfully, being blind, the creature had a difficult time trying to figure out how to turn around in such a claustrophobic space. It repeatedly bumped into the walls whilst trying to navigate the cave which gave Quin and Ko valuable time to get away.
They both bolted down the hall, making their way through the tight passageway much slower than before due to the lack of any proper light source. They were almost as blind as the monster chasing them. They quickly made their way back to the carved out pillars when suddenly Quin had an idea.
She scanned the pillars, looking for one in particular. When she found it-
"Bingo," she stated.
"Quin? What are you doing?" Ko asked, fear staining her voice.
The carcan froze for a second, contemplating what she was about to do. It was a dumb idea. A really dumb idea. But it might be their only shot at getting out of there alive.
Or at least, Ko's only shot at getting out alive.
She knelt down and grasped her shoulder. Ko's brow lowered in confusion.
"Listen, you need to run as fast and as far away as you can alright? Don't stop until you reach the others." There was a tone of sincerity in her voice. Like she knew something she wasn't telling her.
"W-wait, why? What are you doing?" Ko asked.
"I'm gonna buy you some time." She rose from her knee, holding the shield tightly.
Ko shook her head in disbelief.
"What? Quin no! You have to come with me!"
"You'll be faster on yer own. Trust me. I'll be right behind you ok? Just gonna make sure this overgrown beetle stays put."
Ko winced in horror as she began to realise what her friend was talking about. Before she could protest anymore, the same horrifying roar echoed through the cave. This time much closer. The creature was back on the hunt.
"Go now Ko! Find the others!"
"No, I'm not leaving you!"
Quin's biolights began to turn a shade of red.
"That's not a suggestion, Blue. You gotta go find the boys. Go find Fischer."
"But what if there's more of those things?" Ko cried. She didn't know what the carcan was planning on doing. But she knew it wasn't good.
"You're a smart girl. You'll find a way around them. It doesn't matter anyway because I'll be right behind you. Now quickly, go!" She yelled, pointing down the hall.
Ko stood there, utterly confused and terrified. Her mouth hung open slightly and her eyes were glassy.
"I'm not leaving you here!"
Before they could argue anymore, the creature's footsteps thundered down the hall and a huge black shadow appeared in the darkness.
"Go!"
Quin shoved Ko in the back, giving her enough momentum to start running. In the confusion and panic, Ko obeyed her orders and began to run, making sure to keep an eye on her friend though.
Quin turned to face the creature. She fixed the brace of the shield to her arm. It was a little big for her, thankfully there were two old straps that she could use to tighten it.
With her shield in hand and her friend safely out of the way, it was just her and the monster.
"Alright ugly, bed time."
Pulling her fist back, she aimed at the pillar that the creature had slammed into earlier and with all the force she could muster, rammed the shield into it.
Although old, the metal was still strong and it easily smashed a piece of stone out from the structure.
'Bang!'
She tried it again. Pulling her fist back and slamming it into the wall.
'Bang!'
The creature grew closer and closer.
'Bang!'
With each strike she grew more and more ferocious.
'Bang!'
'Bang!'
'Bang!'
More and more rock was smash out from the pillar, the crack grew bigger and bigger. The edge of the shield was well and truly blunted, almost to the point of bending.
With one final strike, she raised her arm and with every ounce of strength she had left, drove it into the wall.
"Aaaaaagghhh!" She yelled.
'Bang!'
'Crack'
The sound of stone splitting began to echo through the cave. Quin watched the crack shoot up from its origin point as more and more stone began to crumble around it. The creature grew closer and closer, seemingly oblivious to her trap.
More and more stone began to break off until finally, an enormous chuck of the wall began to crumble.
Quin stood motionless, shield in hand as the cave started falling down around her. She closed her eyes, content with what was about to happen. The sound of rock falling all around her was almost deafening. Suddenly, she felt the wind being knocked out of her as the creature made one final attempt to grasp her. It slammed into her, pinning her to the ground. But she felt no fear. For it had played right into her hands.
"I'm comin' home Kori."