The dry smell of the bones didn't throw her off, nor did the hideoulsy grinning skull that she set down where she'd gotten it. Standing, she limped around the chamber, her eyes having adjusted to the dark were able to take in basic shapes and details, though everything appeared in shades of black and blacker. From the looks of it, this had been a pretty big operation. The tracks for the mining carts were covered with dust, but she could feel the cold metal if she ran her fingers along the floor. There was, in fact, a couple of old mining carts overturned here and there, as if the had been tossed from the track by some giant hand. Indeed, when she dug beneath the feeling of desperation, there was an expectant feeling, as if at any moment the mine would spring to life again. Relita looked up and around, and then she made her discovery. The tunnels had all been blocked by rock falls, just like the one that had trapped her in here, though she wondered wether this one had also been on purpose. Relita wandered around, careful to avoid stepping on the bones more than she had to, checking every blocked tunnel. At the far end of the chamber, and also the blackest end, she came to a tunnel that was not blocked by a rock fall. Relita hesitated a moment, then took a step into the tunnel. Immediately she was hit with a blast of freezing air, even colder than that in the rest of the mine. With the air came echoes of screams and a feeling of terror and despair more intense than anything Relita had ever felt before. It made her knees weak and a sweat broke out on her forehead. She tried to take another step forwards, but fear overwhelmed her, the taint of something more evil than she had ever known washing over her like oil.coating her with filth. She turned and crawled out of the tunnel, back into the main chamber and scrambled to the far side of the room. Her fear abated with every step she took away from that tunnel. As Relita began to stop shivering, she leaned back against a wall and let her head sink to her chest. She was surrounded by the skeletons of children long dead, and soon she would join them. She made the decision that she would much rather die here, among these dead innocents, than try escape through that dark hole. Soon, she fell asleep.

"Reliiiiita...." A soft whisper woke her up, and she blinked, wondering if she had really heard someone call her name. "Reliiita..." again, that whisper. The chamber seemed not quite as dark as it had been, and when her gaze fell upon the open tunnel that she had started to venture into earlier, she realized why. A faint white light flickered from the opening of the tunnel where a black shrouded figure stood. It was lanky and tall, and decidedly male from the sound of the whispers. "Relita. Come here, child. Come here and I will show you the way out." Relita blinked, and got slowly to her feet, thought she wasn't sure why. The figure smiled. At least, it seemed to Relita like he was smiling, she couldn't see his face. "thats good." He spoke in a soft, hypnotic voice, and Relita felt herself responding to it unwillingly, her feet bringing her slowly towards him. "Come with me, Relita. Come with me and I will show the way out."

"How can I get out?" She asked, though she didn't remember asking her lips to move. Her voice sounded strangely high and child-like.

"The way out lies within this tunnel, Relita. Come here to me and I will show you. I will show you everything." Relita felt her feet close the distance, so that she stood before the man and the entrance to the black tunnel. This time she could see his smile, and found herself surprised at his youth, though she said nothing. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and was really rather attractive.

"You think so?" he asked, sounding pleased. Relita didn't recall voicing her thoughts out loud, but assumed she had simply because he had responded. He held out a hand, and she took it as if she were a child being escorted across the street. As he led her down the dark tunnel, she felt the terrible fear well up inside of her again, the urge to run away grew stronger. But he held her hand in a vice-like grip, and she could't seem to get her feet to obey her or her lips to voice her apprehensions. Instead she felt herself walk down into the darkness as the faint screams assaulted her ears. They seemed familiar. It was with strange detachement that she realized the echoes of screams she heard were her own.

On to Part VI

Back to Writings