Dim white luminescent crystals provided an eerie cold glow to the otherwise rocky cavern. The sounds echo off the rocky walls, amplifying every noise, including the sound of footsteps walking. These footsteps belong to Alexander, who was navigating the gravel floor of the cavern avoiding stepping on the occasional crystal growth.
He stopped where he was, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. His nose was bombarded with smells, the dirt around him, the water in the air, and the distinct, delicious scent that drowned out everything else. The smell that brought thoughts of delicious steak and sweet desserts to Alex's mind. He gulped and focused as he felt his two lateral incisors grow in his mouth and a pang of hunger go through him. Fighting back his desires, he opened his eyes and focused on his sight.
Through his eyes, the glittering crystalline cave faded in its vibrancy, but the drops of blood on the gravel by his feet gave off a vibrant, eerie red glow. He grinned, 'I'm really getting the hang of this. Gotta be careful I don't lose focus with the smell; I can't black out again.' He kept walking, following the trail of occasional blood drops, hopefully leading to a way out of this confusing cavern system.
After only ten minutes of walking and pausing to check the trail at the occasional fork in the tunnels, Alex found a dead end. However, on the ground was the body of a young man. His body was lying on the ground, soaking a pool of blood into the dirt.
Upon seeing this, Alex tightened his grip on the bloody pickaxe in his hand, and he took careful steps forward. Upon getting closer, he could see the man was indeed dead. The body had a bloody head with a large hole stabbed through the skull as if something sharp had impaled the skull. 'Must take a lot of force to pierce a skull…. but with the right tool maybe.' Alex brought the pickaxe forward, and sure enough, the tip fit perfectly into the hole, which made a horrible noise when he inserted it, making Alex wince and turn away as he wretched it free again.
'Ugh, that's gruesome. That guy from before must have gone through the cave killing people; was he some kind of serial killer, and I'm in his murder den? Sucks to be him; I don't seem to die easy anymore.'
Examining the body a bit more, Alex could see he had a broken leg as well and a puncture wound through his stomach, much too large for any tool Alex could think of. 'Maybe some mining accident? Would explain the pickaxe the murderer had, But why are we so spread out?' After checking pockets really quick, he found a few silver coins on the body, the same kind as before.
"Sorry man, waste to leave anything behind, you know? I'm sure you would get it if you were around."
With his apology said and his new coins pocketed, he looked around and focused again. The world faded slightly, and all the blood in the cave gave off a dim red glow, which only reveals that the blood trail didn't branch off or go anywhere else; it stops here. 'Fuck, what now! I can't follow the trail anymore!' Alex grumbled to himself slightly as he looked around, trying to find any drop of blood out of place, but what he could find was strange. The pools of blood seemed to collect around the body and move around the space a bit like a struggle occurred, but right next to the wall there was a large puddle, however it seemed to be covered by the wall.
Stepping back, Alex could see this wall isn't natural; it was rocks, all rocks, and the pool of blood stoops abruptly at it. 'A wall of rocks? No crystals on this portion of the wall and blood under it? Has to be some kind of cave-in the ceiling collapsed, injuring and trapping us here.' Alex reached out and started pulling at rocks, but rocks was quite the understatement; these were boulders and much too heavy for him to try and move.
'Damn no way through. If all else fails, I can try the pickaxe, but I don't know if I'll starve before I get through.' Alex looked around for any solution.
"HELP! I'M TRAPPED HERE!"
Alex's shout reverberated off the walls and crystals ringing into his ears again and again as it bounced around the cave system. Alex paused and waited as nothing happened. He heaved a sigh, leaning against the wall to think. 'Certainly worth a shot, but of course I'm not gonna be that lucky.'
While Alex was deep in thought debating how to maybe leverage the boulder, he heard a noise reverberate through the cavern; a raspy, crackly groan rang in the echoy cave.
Quickly becoming alert, Alex gripped the pickaxe tight and held it close as his eyes inspected the only path left the one he came from. "Who's there?!?" His voice had a bit of a waver in it as he looked back at the path, worried he listened carefully and could hear footsteps on the gravel. They sounded slow and at an uneven pace but were speeding up.
From around the bend in the path, the middle-aged man from before turned the corner; his skin was pale and lifeless, his steps unorganized as he took stumbling steps forward, the wound on his neck still soaked with blood but now slowly drying out as he started to speed up. The man gave off a strangled, raspy groan as he sped up and started to run towards Alex. His eyes were giving off a dim red glow, and his run was more of a desperate stumble.
Alex's eyes widened with fear and he steeled himself as he held the pickaxe, pulling it back to ready a swing. "Man, I thought we finished this already!" In response, the man gave a raspy groan and lunged forward, his arms outstretched and his mouth agape.
Alex swung the pickaxe forward and sent the pointed end into the side of the skull. The man's hands that were clawing towards Alex slowed and then came to a stop. The momentum from the strike sent the man toppling sideways, the pickaxe still lodged in his head.
Alex wretched the pickaxe free and readied another swing, keeping a careful eye on the man. Alex waited and slowly started to relax as the minutes ticked by. "You done now?" Alex heaved a sigh of relief as the body lay compliantly still. Collapsing back against the wall behind him, Alex gave a tired huff of relief. "Damn, this is stressful. Can't you just stay dead? That's the second time you tried to kill me!" Alex got no response as his words bounced off the walls of the cave.
Alex was trying to calm himself slightly, his mind racing when he heard a massive bang that shook the cavern, causing pebbles to fall from the ceiling. Alex groaned and looked to the crystalline ceiling. "What now?" His voice was exasperated as he heard another explosive bang, and he straightened up, gripping his tried and true pickaxe, his eyes searching for a source. A third bang was heard, and the entire cavern shook, the walls vibrating with the force of it, and large rocks started tumbling down. Alex closed his eyes and listened carefully as he tried to hear the direction of the next one.
When the fourth bang hit, Alex heard it loud and clear, his eyes snapping open and locking on the collapsed section of wall blocking the exit. Quickly Alex backed away from the wall just before another deafening bang was heard, and the wall exploded in a shower of rubble. In its place was a young, well-built man with short jet black hair and tanned skin. His posture was in a wide stance, and his fist was extended. Around him was a white shimmering mist that rose off him like steam.
As the dust settled slightly, the man straightened back up into a relaxed posture with a huff of exhaustion. The white mist stopped rising off him, and he stumbled slightly. Despite his evident exhaustion, he peered into the cavern, his eyes spotting the two dead bodies, and he tensed up again, but his concern was interrupted.
"Stay back! What do you want?!?" Alex held the pickaxe closely to him as he prepared himself; he had already had his life attempted on twice now. He doesn't know if a pickaxe could even help against a man who could shatter boulders.
"DECKLAN!" The man's eyes widened in shock, and his face lit up with excitement. Crouching through the opening he created, he ran forward until he was close enough to see the look on Alex's face. "Decklan? Are you okay… It's me man, relax, you're alright now." He stopped a few paces from Alex, and with a worried expression, he carefully inspected Alex's posture and face. "Relax, okay, put the pick down. You're safe now. I came to get you," he held out his hand, carefully gesturing to the blood-covered pickaxe.
Alex tightened his grip on the pickaxe and took a step back, his face showing distrust as he looked over the man's face. "No, I'll keep it, and who's Decklan? And who are you?" Alex looked at the man with distrust as he kept his guard up, ready to bolt or fight if he had to.
The man's face dropped as a deep sadness washed over him. "I-it's me, y-you don't remember? Decklan is your name, and I'm Caleb. Decklan I'm your brother. Please just come here, and we can get you to my place. You need to lay down." He held out a hand to Alex, his face sad and concerned as he tried to coax Alex into lowering his guard.
"I-I'm… I just… I mean, I don't…" Alex was at a loss for words as his mind raced, 'Decklan?!? I was hoping maybe if I came back as some vampire I would be myself, but apparently I stole some poor man's life in the process?' As the thought that the memories of his waking up come back and the jagged crystal in his neck a reminder that this Decklan guy was probably dead when Alex arrived. Alex's mind raced, and he tried to find a good explanation for Caleb. "I, uh, I don't remember. I got hit on the head in the cave-in, and then I was attacked; it's all a blur." He tried his best to look confused, which isn't hard because he was very disoriented by all the new info.
"Damn, yeah, we have to get you to lay down right now. Come here, please. Let's just get you to my place, and we can figure this all out alright." Caleb holds out his hand, his face showing heavy concern as he waits for Alex. Alex reaches out and grabs a hold of Caleb's hand, his free hand still grasping the bloody pickaxe. Alex showed nervousness while Caleb tried his best to show a brave face as he held onto Alex.
Caleb's free hand went into a satchel on his side, and he pulled out two ragged bags with eye holes cut out. "Alright, Decklan, you gotta trust me now. Put this on while we run past the clergy."