|There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart
|Song: Monsters, Skillet
|||
Lisa's P.O.V.
The Underneath was a filthy and miserable place. Brenda's flashlight showed the dull gray walls. They were nothing more than painted concrete with water dripping down here and there. Sometimes we passed a door but most of them were locked when we tried them. Dust was flying everywhere creating a fog that hurt my eyes.
All in all the place gave me the feeling of a haunted tomb. I wondered why these tunnels even existed. Who would freely go down here?
We didn't talk much. We just followed Brenda through tunnel after tunnel. Sometimes we turned left and sometimes we turned right. I didn't even try to remember the way, it was pointless.
After we walked for what felt like several hours, Thomas convinced Brenda to stop and have a meal. I gladly ate some beans, although I was already getting sick of them it was better than nothing.
When we were walking again Thomas decided to break the silence. 'I'm assuming you know where we're going,' h said to Brenda.
I sighed deeply. 'A little late to ask that question.'
Suddenly Brenda stopped walking and with a sharp movement she turned around, shining the light of her flashlight on her face from below. 'Boo,' she whispered.
Thomas jumped and pushed her away, I couldn't help it but to yelp and walk a few steps back.
'Cut that crap!' Thomas yelled.
'Yeah, it makes you look like a-' I stopped when I realized what I wanted to say. B
renda let her flashlight fall to her side but her eyes remained locked with mine. 'Look like a what?'
'Nothing, nevermind.'
'A Crank?'
The word frightened me more than I liked to admit. 'Well...yeah,' I mumbled, not having much energy to lie about it.
Brenda turned away from us and started walking again. Thomas and I gave each other a worried glare before walking after her. 'I am a Crank, Lisa. Got the Flare. I am a Crank. You're too.'
'Yeah but you're not full gone yet. And neither are we,' Thomas tried to reassure her. 'We'll get the cure before we go nuts.'
'Can't wait. And yeah, by the way. I do know where we're going. Thanks for checking.'
I had no strength to get mad at her.
We walked on in silence. Turn after turn, tunnel after tunnel. The slow but steady pace kept my mind busy and for once I didn't mind silence.
We entered a large room with quite a few exits branching off to the left and right, more than I had seen already.
'Is this the center of the city or something?' Thomas asked.
Brenda stopped and looked around. 'More or less,' she answered. 'See? Already made it halfway to the other side of the city.'
That was a relief but the thought of Dawn, Newt, Minho and the others being up there and maybe in danger or lost, made all the relief go away. I sighed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I never wanted to care about any of them. Only Dawn. But it turned out impossible not to worry about them.
And maybe, for once, I was fine with it. Maybe it was alright to worry about someone. It showed me I wasn't fully a crank yet. My emotions were what kept me human. I never thought of it that way.
A loud sound of something breaking shook me out of my thoughts. Startled I turned to look over my shoulder and Brenda shone her flashlight towards the hallway. It was completely dark and disappeared in shadows. It was completely empty but I couldn't help it but to feel a shiver of fear crawling down my back.
'What was that?' Thomas whispered.
'An old light busting, I guess,' Brenda said, her voice held no concern.
'Why would an old light just spontaneously break?' I said with a sharp edge in my voice. I was getting so tired of Brenda's careless behaviour.
'I don't know. A rat?' She said, ignoring my anger.
'I haven't seen any rats. Plus how would a rat walk on the ceiling?' Thomas interrupted. Brenda gazed at him, a look of mock on her face, irretating me even more. 'You're right. It must be a flying rat. We should get the hell out of here.'
A small, nervous laugh escaped Thomas mouth and he threw me a nervous glare.
'Hilarious,' I mumbled with a roll of my eyes.
Another pop sounded, this time followed by the tinkle of glass falling on the ground.
The three of us shared a worried glare. Someone was following us and trying to scare us. There was no doubt about it. We had to get the hell out of here.
Brenda shone the light once again back the way we came from, but nothing was there.
'Should we check it out?' Brenda asked. She was whispering but in the silence of the tunnel it sounded way too loud. 'Check it out?' I mumbled angry. 'Are you nuts?'
Brenda gave me a glare.
'No, we should just get out of here,' Thomas said, again trying to keep the peace.
'What, you wanna just let whoever it is keep following us? Maybe gather some of his or her buddies to ambush us? Better take care of it now.'
Thomas walked closer to her and started whispering in her ear about how it could be a trap.
Suddenly I felt a cold shiver running down my spine. A rotting smell reached my nose. Someone was here with us. Slowly I turned around and felt how my inside turned upside down.
'Guys,' I whispered, making them turn around. A man stood there, just on the edge of Brenda's flashlight's range.
He was like a ghost, there was something unreal about him. He was leaning to the right, his left foot and leg jiggling slightly, like he had a nervous tic. His left arm also twitched, the hand clenching and uncleching like he was trying to stop himself from doing something. He wore a dark suit that had probably once been nice, though now it was filthy and tattered. But most of my attention was drawn to the man's head. I couldn't help it but to feel terrified and fascinated at the same time. It looked like his hair had been ripped from his scalp, leaving bloody scabs in its place.
His face was pale and wet, with scars and sores everywhere. One eye was gone, a gummy red mass where it should have been. He also had no nose, and I could actually see traces of his skull undernearth the terribly mangled skin.
And then his mouth. I think that was what scared me most. His lips were drawn back in a snarl, gleaming white teeth exposed, clenched tightly together, like a wild animal. His good eye glared and it darted between the three of us.
Then he spoke in a wet and gurgly voice that made me shiver. He spoke only a few words, but they were so absurd and out of place that it made his whole appearence even more horrifying.
'Rose took my nose, I suppose.'