Eyes run, his eyes scanning the uneven wall, the scratch on it, the wooden beams.
He has heard the chilling scream of someone in his back while he was leaving the dead-end with the creature in it.
Sometimes, he look behind him while panting.
His eyes are wide open, and every breath he take lift his rib cage abnormaly.
For a while he can only feel his heart thumping in him and hear his pants.
He stop himself in another tunnel, without knowing where he really is. He ran without thinking and tried to follow the other boy who escaped but along the way he lost him.
Eyes is alone now and doesn't know where he should go, what tunnel to take or where are the other. His body bends, painful all over from the sudden effort.
I am stupid. What do i do now?
He give another glance behind his back, and only see darkness. Then he look at the obscurity before him and only feel fear.
When he catches his breath, when his heart calm down he can only notices the silence.
Everything is so quiet.
If the others were to talk in the mine,
could he hear it? He is too far?
Are they still there?
Are they… dead?
He takes a few steps but stop again. His footsteps producing too much noise for his peace of mind.
He should have stayed with Dust.
He just thought everybody will run. He just thought that the faster to escape will survive.
But what can he do now?
He doesn't know the way, nobody is here to protect his sides without light, he doesn't even have the key.
He panicked. he didn't think about all that.
Behind him, he hear a noise.
Like a few pebbles falling to the ground.
His muscles tighten on their own accord, and adrenaline hit him for the second time like thunder.
Under fear, his neck turn so hard that he is lucky to not suffer from stiff neck on the spot, and he look behind him a third time.
There is nothing, no black cloud and nobody else.
Wary, he goes against the wall to protect his back while walking backward.
His lamp torch swinging between his left and his right ceasely.
It is so dark.
He wait a few minutes, all alone. Seeing no movement he slide over the wall while taking one to three steps before stopping moving and checking the darkness for any suspicious movement.
Eyes think about yelling to see if anybody answer.
Then discard the idea.
What if he attract the creature?
Slowly, he advances in the darkness. The ray of light of his lamp torch is only a drop of clarity amongst it.
Dam.
Was this a footstep?
Goosebumps appear on his arm, and cold sweats make him shiver.
It was his footstep? Or not?
Eyes try to see beyond the obscurity.
Nothing to his left, nothing to his right, nothing in front of him.
It must be him. No?
He swallow his saliva, and walk again.
But his footstep seem more light than the one previously heard.
The boy tries to push the thought away, speeding his movements. He has the feeling that someone is watching him.
He will take the path to his left.
Yes, he will find his way if he tries enough.
He will wait for the rest of the group at the door.
Dust may be among them.
The key will be there.
Yes, he must walk even if it'is a dead end, he can always come back and choose another tunnel.
Little stones and a great deal of dust fall on his nose. Eyes pay it no mind and just sniff. It's a mine after all.
But after sniffing, an odd smell invade his nose.
Again pebbles hit his cheeck forcing his eyes to close themself to protect them from the dirt.
When he closes his eyes, the smell become more pungent.
A small wind caress his forehead.
He blinks, and raise his head.
Everything is still dark and motionless.
Halting his breath, like pretending to be one with the wall who bear his whole weight, his hand lead the flash light to the ceiling.
The white ray light up familiair beams, and speck of dust who float in whirl slowly descending.
Out of the corner of his eyes something move in a whisper.
No, it shouldn't be?
NO.
He stay stuck, not daring to blink not daring to breath, not daring to move.
Even if he feel all giddy with tremor who bring spark of energy from his toes to his head.
Under his eyes, black smoke can be faintly seen, curling around the beam of light to avoid it. Taking shape like a monster made of black steel its outline ever changing. The black clouds has his claws planted in the wood and the rock just on top of his head.
Like clouds chased by the wind letting people discover the radiance of the moon in the night, two red eyes appear in the black smoke.
As glowing as two dying embers in soot, the orbs stares at him.
He doesn't have enough time to move his arm with his flashlight.
In fact, He barely has the time to open his mouth before the dark smoke fall on him, crushing him to the ground with a loud bang.
He tries to push the form on top him, and to roll to the side but the thing only growl.
He feel the pain without a second to prepare himself.
It is a scorching pain which lacerate his skin. His face is twisted in a painful expression while he scream. His arm is cut, and his flashlight become unreachable.
He can only see with despair the light shining on the wall.
His lost member spasming, a wretched moan escape his mouth.
The more the creature cut into him the more his body trasch under the cloud.
The dark smoke feel so solid, so hard so cold.
The claws are like knife of frost who shredd his guts to bits, leaving only molten fire like pain when they leave his cut open belly.
The red orbs doesn't blink only come closer.
Then the claws cut his chest and dug deeper in him. He feel like his organs will go up in his throat for him to spit it.
His tongue hangs out of his mouth, already bitten by his teeth several time.
His eyes roll under his eyelids, his innards decorating the hole at his navel like a pink and red bouquet.
The dark fog come in him,and liquefies his meat, blood, and bone until only his clothes can be seen with a black and foul liquid under it.