The sound of metal being dragged against the ground rung throughout the dark tunnel. Kenny was tired of walking, he was tired of running from those chasing him down this maze like hell. He followed a distant dripping noise to get away from whatever was currently following him, but the scraping object was getting louder and louder.
As he walked deeper through the tunnel, his feet were drenched by the pools of water running along the grounds. Stones fell from above from the vibrations the creatures caused by running around, and Kenny had to shield his face behind his arm. He could hear their shrieking cries of hunger, he could hear the desperation to find him in their voices.
Over time, he'd learned to hide from them. He learned that stealth was his best option, because fighting them certainly wasn't achievable. He was outnumbered a thousand to one, and those demons out there were natural hunters. They could smell the fear, the anxiety and pain Kenny was experiencing. They could smell him.
His shoes squelched from the overboard of water, giving away his positioning, so after briefly resting behind an old, almost completely destroyed barrel, he untied his shoes and disregarded them to the side. He stood up, looking down at his soaked socks, but knew taking them off would surely be a bad idea since parts of the ground burned to touch.
The scraping sound was closer than ever now, with his short break giving his follower the gain on him. He could see it's tall shadow in the distance, it's eyes reflecting off the lit torch in its hands, like a cat hunting in the night.
For a moment, Kenny was frozen in place. He couldn't tear his eyes away as the figure slowly walked closer, bit by bit revealing more of it's terrifying features. It was when the humanoid beast began to tauntingly whistle that Kenny snapped out of his stupor, with his hands fumbling against the wet walls to guide his way throughout the darkness.
He didn't know where he was going, he just hoped and prayed that whatever the dripping sound was, lead to an opening. More importantly, he hoped it lead to his escape. His pace picked up when he heard it getting closer, and the nearer he was, the deeper the water would rise.
He was waist deep when he came across a three way junction, and as he nervously chewed on his bottom lip, standing still as he decided which path to take, the whistling behind him morphed into a low hum.
He was just about to take the middle path, but something caught his eye on the right side. Preparing for another creature to charge out and attack him, he took a cautious step in that direction. He could sense the figure behind him getting closer, but the moment he saw the faint shadow of a little girl in front of him, smiling as she waved him over, he decided to trust that this wasn't a cruel trick.
Following the little girls echoing giggles, the water slushed around his body. Many times he'd wobbly lose his balance because of how eager he was to get away from the creature behind him, and many times he was submerged in the mucky waters.
The little girl crawled out of the water before leaning down to offer Kenny a hand, but just as he reached out, he was pulled under. On the way down, he knocked his head off the stone wall, and beneath the water clouded with his blood, he stared up as the shadowed girl screamed in terror, uselessly sticking her tiny hand into the water.
He choked on the dirty water that clogged his lungs, and his eyes stung as he kicked his legs at whatever was dragging him down. He could barely see due to how dark it was, but one thing he was sure of, was the slimy tentacle gripping tightly around his leg.
Panic and fear filled his body as he slowly drowned, but he felt no pain, non at all. He was sure this was his ending, and the torturous hours he'd spent running through his terrifying purgatory was going to end with his death. That was until whatever was pulling him down shrieked in pain, releasing it's hold on Kenny's leg as a thick ooze filled the water.
Kenny took his chance, using what little strength he had left to swim to the surface and the moment his head was above water, he drew in the deepest breath of his life. Coughing up water, he clung to the edging where the little girl once was, and mistakingly, he glanced back to the water, seeing the tall figures face beneath the water as it swam towards him.
It must've wanted to kill Kenny itself, rather than letting the squid creature have all of the fun. Kenny practically leaped out of the water, trying his best to crawl away, but he was too exhausted. He peered through his wet hair that clung to his face, and watched as a dark hand emerged from the water with a sliver blade clutched tightly.
Next was the hauntingly masked face to appear, and all Kenny could do was painfully swallow as long horns stuck out from its head. A deep and low growl parted from the hole in its face, and the water it crawled from shook with waves. Kenny stumbled backwards on the ground, not daring to tear his eyes away from the masked creature as it's claw like feet stomped only inches from him.
Behind him, he could hear a gentle hum, and came to the realisation it was likely his end song. He knew it was the shadowed girl, but he couldn't see her, only the terrifying beast stomping towards him.
"My sunshine." Words to the song broke through the hum, quieter than the raging growl of the enemy. He was distracted by the soft voice to not have noticed a talon reaching for his neck to drag his weak body from the ground.
"Mhmmhmm happy, when skies are grey." The little girl whispered in Kenny's ear as he was thrown across the room. He collided with the wall, where he felt his nose crack. He could taste the blood in his mouth as he tried to get up, but once again he was grabbed by the masked creature. "Mhmhmm, how much I love you."
He was being choked, and all the air escaped his lungs as the creature squeezed his throat with all its strength. His eyes watered as he wriggled to free himself, but he was so close to giving up. He thought about his friends and family, he remembered their smiling faces as he closed his eyes, and moments flashed through his mind.
He was laughing with Kyle and Stan a few days before Christmas, and though he couldn't see himself, he could see how young his friends looked. They were in the middle of climbing a tree at Starks pond. It was tall and thick, with Stan playfully tossing broken sticks down at him and Kyle.
He felt the grip around his neck tighten, and the memory faded into a fuzzy blackness. He wanted to see them again. Beside him the little girl appeared, but this time she was more clear. She smiled as she wiped the tear that had spilled over his eye, and as Kenny tried to focus on nothing else but her, he heard his sisters voice.
"Come back, Kenny." She sobbed, but the words didn't come from the little girl touching him, instead, they were inside his head.
He felt a new sense of strength as he thought about Karen, her face, her smile, and with a growl of frustration he kneed the figure as hard as he could, pushing himself away and landing to the ground painfully while it recoiled in distress. The creature was recovering quickly though, angrier than before, but Kenny was determined to go home.
The figure outstretched it's arms, and a flock of hungry birds flew out from nowhere, attacking Kenny like he was their only source of food left in the world. They pecked at his skin, and with the more blood they drew, the more violent they became. He fell to his knees, shielding his face behind his hands, thinking of nothing but the pain.
"Kenny..." the figure darkly spoke from beside him. "Kenny."
It chuckled lowly, but then Kenny was confused as it's laugh morphed into a child's one, and suddenly, he was no longer intimated. It took him a moment to realise the birds had gone, and all of the bites to his skin along with them. He glanced up, seeing nothing but the little girl smiling as she held out her hand. For a moment, Kenny cautiously looked around from the monster, but it didn't return, and neither did any of the other horrors he'd experienced.
He felt relief, and after taking a deep breath, he reached his hand out for the girl to take. The walls vibrated when they touched, and the space between them filled with hungry screams. In the shadows eyes emerged, but the little girl continued to smile, and as the creatures came closer and closer, Kenny's mind faded into blackness.
"So please don't take, my sunshine, away."
And then, there was nothing but a steady, reoccurring beep.