DEAD

by meepsie

10 teenagers alone in a dark cave with a murderer lurking in the darkness. What could be worse then that? After a school trip goes terribly wrong and each teen mysteriously gets killed off Connie and the others must fight to survive.

DEAD

Dedicated to my friend Emma-Louise Donoghue.

Without her, this story never would have been written.

Enjoy it Emma!

Prologue

Tired of running, gasping for breath and tripped by his own two feet. He fell. Tumbling down a mud hill, autumn's recently deposited leaves rolling with him. The bare trees shook as lightning pierced though the darkening night sky. He landed in a ditch half filled with rainwater. He lay still for a few moments as his mind caught up with him before pulling his weak body out of the cold muddy water and spluttering for air. He tried to stand up but fell once more face down in the dankness of the ditch. The recent rain pour had made the ground treacherous and running didn't help. Once more he tried to stand up. Successfully this time. He caught his breath and began to run again. Rain began to pour heavily making large pools of water gather in front of him. He tried to dodge them but failed a couple of times, stumbling, falling, yet always picking himself up again.

He wouldn't be beaten. He had come so far; he had to carry on even if it meant death. He wouldn't be caught again. Not after he had just escaped! He would run until his legs fell off if that's what it took and even then he wouldn't give up. He was determined. Determined to escape. Determined to break free from the grasp of the law.

Dusk was falling upon the sky now. He knew he had to find somewhere to hide. An abandoned house, a shed, a stable or a barn. Anything! He just had to hide. He heard a bird high above in one of the fir trees that surrounded him. He looked up and realised it was beginning to get light much too quickly. If he didn't find somewhere right now then he was in trouble. But he was in the middle of nowhere, he would never find anything, not here, not on foot, he was too far from civilisation!

Abruptly his thoughts were thrown from his mind by the sudden fall he encountered. He felt weightless for a couple of seconds until he felt his back smack water with a mighty thwack! A painful shock weaved through his back and into his arms and legs then vibrated back to his head sending a wave of head rush to his brain. It had felt like someone had thrown a million pins directly at him at high speed. They had penetrated his skin with no difficulty. He gradually floated up to the surface. It took a while for his mind to set back to its usual pace. However when it did he was amazed by what he saw. He was swimming in a pool of water with only one ray of sunlight coming from where he had fallen through the thick woodland ground. The cavern he was within was minuet but extremely tall, it must have been only seven, eight or possibly nine feet high. It was completely covered by water except from a tiny gap to the right of him. It was raised out of the water by just a couple of centimetres. He studied it for some time before deciding it was a wide enough gap to fit through. It might of been a bit of a squeeze for him since he had very broad shoulders. But a human could defiantly fit through there.

He swam over towards it and hauled his weight out of the water. The sudden weight on his weak arms made his face scrunch up in agony. He placed one foot on the ledge and hauled himself up. He tried to look through the gap but it just lead into eternal darkness. An everlasting path of claustrophobia. He stood in the arch for a second or two. Just deciding whether to go in to the black unknown and be safe or go back outside to the light dangerous familiar grounds. What to do? How would he resolve this? However after a long think he decided to carry on. He knew that he would never climb that eight foot rock face. Especially not right now. He was exhausted from the run and the struggle of the battle to get away.

He had escaped a home he had grown to despise. He had lived so long in that certain home that he had forgotten what it was like to enjoy life. He had gotten use to a certain routine that being away from it now felt strange. But he would never go back and he would never be caught!

He grabbed the archway of rock with his fingers and pulled himself inside. He took another deep breathe before sliding through the hole and stepping into darkness. His eyes went blank and whenever he tried to focus on something all he could see was thick blackness. Still, he kept on moving. Shuffling one foot in front of the other. They could be here any minute searching for him. So he kept on moving.

He slid his hands across sharp rocks and cautiously stepped forward. He had to use his other senses since sight had abandoned him. He listened out for any sound of a search party. Men's voices shouting, dog's barking. He felt his way through endless tunnels that were becoming smaller and smaller by the minute until they became so small that he had to crawl to stop his head from hitting the roof of the tunnel! Eventually though he felt the walls curve outwards as if there was another opening ahead. He lay himself down and felt for the ground to the opening. He couldn't feel it. Maybe it's just out of reach, he thought. So he then turned himself around and lowered himself down ready to feel the floor any minute. But it never came. He was hanging by his fingertips from a ledge that he had no idea how high up it was. It could be just a small drop or it could be a massive drop, one that would send a shock through his body and make him laugh or one that would send a shock through his body and kill him. He couldn't really go back. He didn't know his way back for starters and he would never be able to pull himself up off this ledge. Not right now anyway and he couldn't exactly hang around waiting to regain his strength. He had only one option. That unknown hole. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. He thought about his parents and his ex-girlfriend. He remembered memories of happy times and childhood. And then he did it. He let go!

Firstly he felt like he was falling, of course, because he was. He felt the gravity pulling him down and he felt himself gaining speed. Until he reached his terminal velocity and that's when he felt like he was soaring. Flying. He closed his eyes and imagined himself floating above rooftops and chimney pots. He looked down at the people below as he flew above them, silent and unnoticed. He felt the wind in his silver hair and the cold specks of water vapour as he flew through dense clouds. It felt wonderful to be so free. It became soothing being so utterly out of control. He wished he could fly forever.

Abruptly though, his dream was shattered out of him by the giant shock of agonising pain that shot through his wrist and into his arm. The sudden pain sent waves of nausea to his head. He felt the world spin around his head before giving up and falling into a deep and painful unconsciousness!

He lay motionless but still breathing! He had cuts and bruises all over his body and a broken wrist. However those would heal... his wrist too! In a matter of time. It all came down to whether he would ever wake up. That was his true concern!

Chapter 1

Connie awoke from her slumber feeling moody and tired. Mrs Peters knocked viciously on the door, trying to awaken the half-dead students that lay inside. She opened the door and wandered over to the curtains. Connie was already awake and knew what was coming so she pulled the covers over her head ready for the morning light to enter the room. Mrs Peters drew the curtains back and sunlight flooded into the room. The rest of the girl in the room groaned and mumbled stuff under their breaths.

"Get up! You've got twenty minutes to get downstairs, half an hour for your breakfast and then we set off! Don't forget to wear something SUITABLE! That means you Kylie! NOW GET UP!" Mrs Peters bellowed, her voice echoing around the unpainted empty room and down the corridor.

Connie slowly slid her duvet back down to reveal the bright Sunday morning sunlight. She squinted her eyes shut. How was she going to get ready in twenty minutes? It would take her at least forty minutes to get up! Especially after the night she had had! Tossing and turning, trying to get use to sleeping in a different bed was always hard. Then again she would only be in this bed for two nights so she really didn't need to get use to it.

Connie tried to sit up but felt so drowsy that she fell back again. She closed her eyes and thought about home. She tried to imagine being able to have a lie in. Her house. The curtains blocking out the light. A peaceful and quiet house. But she couldn't concentrate. The girls in her room had already engaged in a pillow fight. If Mrs Peters came back now, they would get in serious trouble. They would have gotten the speech. She would have been saying all that stuff about how it is not their property and how they have to act like responsible young ladies. And Natalie would of replied cheekily of course like she always did! That obviously would have gotten her in even more trouble and all the other girls would have been giggling and Mrs Peters would get very angry. Connie knew it well. But thankfully she never came.

Connie eventually dragged herself out of bed! Her mousy-brown hair shaped around her head like an afro. She struggled with Kylie, her best friend, for the mirror and started brushing her hair through. Eventually it straightened out a bit although it stuck out at every angle so she got dressed. She was wearing some black pants and a plain blue t-shirt. It was practical for what they were doing today unlike Kylie's outfit. Which were purple tights, jean short pants, a big golden belt and a purple vest-like top. Very fitted and extremely stylish. Totally impractical though.

Connie laughed and said, "You know they're gonna make you change!"

Kylee simply looked at her and replied, "This is practical! At least I'll be able to move properly in it!"

"Yeah but you'll freeze to death!" Naomi piped up. She was brushing her dark brown hair into a bun. Her beautiful tanned skin glimmered in the sunlight. Her brown eyes gazing directly at Kylie. She was wearing some long navy-blue shorts and a baggy white top with a pink pattern of roses on the side of it. She was also wearing some white and pink trainers. Now that was prepared! Kylie gave her a look of utter disgust. Kylie hated Naomi where as Connie did not. Naomi was one of those people you either loved or hated. She was either extremely annoying or extremely funny. Connie loved her but Kylie hated her. Naomi didn't really care. She knew Kylie despised her but thought nothing of it. It was her own decision to like someone or not after all!

"Fine! I'll change!" She stomped over to her suitcase and started to look for something a little more suitable. She found nothing. Connie helped her out by lending her some pants and a polo-neck top. Kylie tied her hair back into a ponytail and put her jacket on. She glanced at her reflection and frowned.

"Gawd I look like a whale!" Connie slowly turned around, hands on hips and eyebrows raised.

"NO! I didn't mean that to sound like that!"

"So what was it suppose to sound like?" Natalie interrupted laughing.

"No! I-It didn't I wasn't!" Kylie couldn't seem to get her words out, "sorry." She eventually said. Connie just shook her head and laughed. All the other girls were laughing. Even Beth!

Beth was the shy quiet one who never spoke out of term and kept herself to herself. She was a total pushover because she always let her older sister Natalie boss her around. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders and big blue eyes. She was quiet small and not at all popular but had a few friends. It was just a small group however. Beth had always been an introvert.

Natalie was the total opposite to Beth. She was bold and out-going. She didn't care what other people thought or said about her and she always got all the boys! It wasn't because of her personality though. It was her appearance. Long blonde silky locks and glimmering blue eyes, flawless skin and a perfect natural tan. Some people were so lucky! She was the perfect height; she was skinny which helped as well. Girls envied her. Boys drooled for her.

Kylie also attracted a lot of boys but she wasn't blonde nor was she the perfect height. Yet she was skinny and beautiful. She had short dyed black hair that turned blue when light shone on it. Large grey eyes that lit up whenever she heard good news, filled most of her face making her cheeks protrude quite forcefully. She had the whole innocent look practiced and perfected. She also had the perfect figure! Though she was quite small, however that hardly ever seemed to bother anyone. She had her eyes set on one certain guy in particular; Milo, but he hadn't made a move on her yet. Kylie believed that boys should always make the first move.

Connie also believed that but she had to start asking people out herself. It had been so long since her last boyfriend and she wouldn't even call him a real boyfriend. She believed that she would never get another boyfriend because she had mousy brown hair that was uncontrollable. Her eyes were a brownie-green and her skin was very pale. Boys tended not to look at her twice. She wore a lot of dark colours that contrasted with her skin. For being best friends, Kylie and Connie wore totally different clothes. Connie wore gothic stuff while Kylee wore a lot of stylish pink playboy things. As they say though, opposites attract! Connie didn't like playboy but one boy she did like was Alex Griffins.

Alex had short blonde hair with natural brown streaks. His eyes were green and amazing! Connie often lost herself in his eyes. She'd just stare and whenever she spoke she would end up trailing off into her own world of fantasy. Alex liked her too but Connie didn't know that. He had an amazing personality. Cute and very funny. He was out-going but not cocky and he was compassionate but not over-sensitive. The perfect combination. He always acted maturely and what she liked the most about him was the fact that he didn't change who he was to fit in with his friends.

His best friend was Jake. Jake was very tall and very popular with the girls. Beth and Natalie and a couple more girls out of their class liked him. He played a lot of sports making his body very muscular and toned. But his favourite was Basketball because he was Captain. He was extremely bossy and liked being in charge. Most of the boys did what he told them to do.

Tony was one of them. No-one ever really listened to or noticed Tony because he never stood out of a crowd. If he wasn't copying someone else he'd be following them. You hardly ever saw him on his own. He had barely any real friends and he followed Jake around like a puppy-dog! If you asked anyone who knew him what he was most like, they would have answered with Peter Pettigrew out of Harry Potter! Although he was a kind, shy and sweet person, he often did what the naughty boys did which got him into a lot of trouble. Yet he could always manage to wiggle his way out. He could wiggle out of any situation because he was so small. He had shaved his head like another popular person in their school so that you could still see a few short hairs but it was mostly just his skin.

Milo was the last boy on the trip. He was very different to the rest. He had long black hair with a fringe that only covered one eye. His other eye was steal-blue, the hidden one was probably the same colour but no-one actually knew because whatever it was he always kept it hidden. That made Connie suspicious. Connie did like him but not as much as she liked Alex. Kylie fancied Milo and often flirted with him. He didn't really speak much but when you caught him on a good day he was just like everyone else. Normal. Most people would class him as an emo. Kylie loved that. Connie however got creeped out a little by it.

"Yeah, he's okay but he's got...issues!" Connie had said a long time ago when Kylie had started liking him.

"Yeah, so? No, it'd be like Hollywood movie! A boy with troubles at home and school meets a girl. They fall in love and she turns his life around. She makes his life fantastic. He realises that he doesn't need anyone else but her. Of course for the ending she'd have to die! But the last thing she ever said to him changed him for the better and he lived on with his great life!" Connie had looked at her and burst into sudden laughter. Kylie had playfully hit her and said, "What? I could so become a film-maker!"

Still she was correct. Milo, however cute he was, still had problems at home. No one knew what they were but they were obviously there. He also got teased at school for being the way he was! Other more popular boys would kick his skins and he would stumble as he got on to the school bus. They would steal his bag and throw it around a bit before emptying it out into a puddle. They would all laugh and run off. Kylie knew it well. She'd seen it too many times now. One time that she saw it she had run over to help him despite Connie's protests. She had bent down beside him and started to pick pens and pencils up for him. She had said that it was a cruel thing to do to him and he had replied with a grunt. Not even looking up. They had suddenly both reached for his English book which was drenched. His hand had lay on her hand for a moment before his head shot up looking into her eyes. He blushed slightly and slowly withdrew his hand. She smiled and passed the soggy book over to him. All the ink had run and he stopped blushing and immediately looked cross and sad again. He stood up and placed his wet sodden bag on his shoulder. She stood up too and looked at him in the...eye. He mumbled thanks and strode away. A lot of the girls had teased her after that but Kylie just ignored them and it had eventually died down.

Chapter 2

Connie looked around, bringing herself back into reality. Kylie was snapping her fingers rhythmically.

"Hello? Anybody in there? Come on Connie, we've got to get down to breakfast! There's gonna be nothing left by the time we get down there! All the others have gone." She proclaimed. Connie made her last few touches before running out of the dorm with Kylie. One of the rules at this place was not to run in the hallways. No one took any notice though. It was only when they were getting close to the canteen that they slowed down. They turned the corner and entered the giant hall. In front of them lay hundreds of long tables with benches attached. The floor was covered in pale yellow linoleum. The roof was tiled and held up by giant square pillars. The tables were organised neatly into rows of five and columns of ten. At the very far end of the hall was the serving area. Lunch ladies stood behind a bar dressed in matching aprons with nametags stuck on them. They wore blue caps and hair nets so that any stray hairs wouldn't fall into the processed food. They dished out the food with dull expressions on their faces. No enthusiasm in their work at all. Then again it wasn't a very fulfilling job. Connie's attention turned to the queue. It reached all the way round the left side of the hall. Impatient students from all over the country huffed and puffed with boredom. Most students were stood in the queue however there were a few who had escaped the rush by being early and had already taken their seats. Milo was amongst them; sat by himself whereas most of the other people sat down were in pairs or more. Connie felt sorry for him. She suddenly felt Kylie nudge her.

"I told you so!" She smirked. She loved being right! Connie looked over towards the queue, rolled her eyes, sighed and playfully hit her. They joined the queue.

They waited for just under ten minutes but for the size of it; it went down surprisingly quickly! Kylie was served first and despite what she had said before there was enough food left. At this rate, food would go to waste, unless you were allowed up for seconds. Kylie ordered a fry up. Bacon, sausage, baked beans, toast, eggs and some mushrooms. Once she had been served she slipped away and Connie lost her amongst the squabble. Connie ordered a bowl of cereal, some toast and a soft boiled egg. It wasn't much but it was enough carbohydrates to last her the day. She knew she would be having a lot of water and some snacks throughout the day to keep her energy levels up so it was best not to have a lot of sugars. Not right now anyway.

She turned and searched the crowd for her best friend. She searched until a boy behind her knocked her.

"Watch where you're going!" He said, Connie laughed.

"I wasn't going anywhere!" She replied cheekily.

"Yeah well you're clogging up the queue so move it!" Connie rolled her eyes and fought her way to a table with Beth and Natalie on it. She had no idea where Kylie had gone. No matter, they would meet up later and she would ask her then.

Meanwhile across the hall Kylie was strolling over to a virtually empty table. Nearly all the other tables were filled up to the very edge and the queue was still quite large. Kylie stopped by the side of the table and looked at the person sat alone on the table.

"Can I sit here, only there's no-where else to sit?" Milo looked up startled. Kylie was lying, there were a few seats left and Connie was bound to be saving her a seat but she preferred to sit with him. He looked around to see whether there were any seats left. He noticed a few and was about to say go away when he realised he didn't want to be alone. He looked back down at his food and mumbled his yes. Kylie smiled a little and sat down next to him.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Kylie asked what he had got.

"Not much" he replied, "eggs, bacon and stuff." Kylie smirked; he had never been good at conversations. There was another pause, but then he looked up at Kylie. He noticed her dazzling grey eyes that were sparkling at this particular time. He saw the way her bluey-black hair fell across her face as she gazed at her food. At this moment in time, he saw her from a different perspective. He had never really paid much attention to her but now that he thought about it. She had only ever been kind and considerate towards him.

She glanced up at him and he immediately stared down with embarrassment. He took a deep breath in and gained the courage to start another conversation.

"So…what's your favourite type of music?" He asked.

Kylie thought about it and answered, "I don't really have a favourite type of music 'cause I listen to all sorts of stuff but my favourite band is Maroon 5." She waited a second hoping he would laugh at her before enquiring, "What's yours?"

"Emo, rock, some metal but I don't like the way they scream. My favourite bands are My Chemical Romance and Funeral For A Friend. They rock." Kylie smiled. This was the most she had ever heard him talk.

"So, um, do you like musicals?" He requested.

"I love musicals! Which is your favourite?" She said excitedly.

"Well Sweeney Todd is one of 'em. Wicked, Joseph and Rocky Horror Picture Show."

"Oh my god! Rocky Horror Picture Show is scary! The only song I like from that is the Time Warp." She giggled as Milo did an impression of Janet. This turned a few heads. "Yeah anyway." She giggled again, "I love Wicked and Sweeney Todd. I also love Wizard Of Oz, Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Starlight Express, Joseph, Phantom Of The Opera and Rent."

"Wow, that's a lot of musicals!"

"Do you like Hairspray?"

"Oh god no! I hate it, way too cheesy for me!" he replied.

"I don't hate it, I just don't like it. So I'd say it is somewhere in the middle along with High School Musical."

There was a pause. "You are the first girl I've ever talked to that doesn't like High School Musical!"

"Well that's what makes me so unique"

They smiled at each other. Kylie thought she would crumble to the floor. Milo's smile was amazing. Why didn't he smile more often? Milo thought he would faint. Kylie's smile was beautiful. Her eyes were glimmering with delight.

They eventually started eating again and all though breakfast the enjoyed each others company.

Chapter 3

After breakfast the group of teenagers were asked to line up in the gravel yard outside the dining hall. This was achieved but it took a long time. Most were manic and ready to get started. Their bus was arriving soon but some students couldn't wait. They jumped around with excitement and enthusiasm.

Mrs Peters liked enthusiasm but not like this! She was stood by the road waiting for the mini-bus to come with a tall slim man that the children didn't recognise.

The man was at least two foot taller then Mrs Peters then again she was a very small woman! He had red hair that was cut short and style into a messy spiky hairstyle. He was wearing some tracksuit bottoms with white stripes down the side of them. He was also wearing a black hoodie. His shoes were white trainers but with spikes on the bottom, like a footballers shoe. If he had been smaller then someone might have mistaken him for one of the students.

The students stopped messing around as they heard a rumble of an engine drawing closer. The teachers leaned over the road a bit to try see around the corner. Then suddenly a brilliant white mini-bus with black windows chugged around the corner. Some of the kids whooped and cheered with joy. Others stood silently and just beamed.

The bus stopped by the kids and they nearly all rushed on it, but Mrs Peters threw herself in front of the doors that opened with a scream. Some kids sniggered at the way she did that. She gritted her teeth and explained rules that were to be followed and consequences that were to given if these rules were broken. Finally she moved out of the way and the kids scrambled onto the mini-bus. There was only just enough seats for everyone. There was barely any room for people to manoeuvre inside. Everyone had to hunch to get to their seats.

At the front sat Mrs Peters, the stranger and the driver. Then on the next row back sat Alex, Jake and Tony sat next to the window. Connie had wanted to sit on the row behind them just so she could've been near Alex but she was shoved to the back by Kylie. Instead the row behind them was filled by Beth and Natalie, there was surely going to be a few girly giggles from them during the trip. Sat in the left corner of the back row was a morose muted Milo. Naomi was first on the row but made a scene at the fact that she didn't want to sit next to a boy. The real truth was that she didn't want to sit next to him. He was an outcast and she didn't want to be seen near him. When she was complaining, he never looked at her once. Mrs Peters turned around and shouted at her that she should stop being a child and sit down. Naomi shut up but didn't sit down.

After a few seconds Kylie cried, "For God's sake Naomi! Move!" She pushed her out of the way and sat next to Milo. He glanced at her and Kylie thought she saw a slight blush. He turned away and stared back out of the window again. Connie sat down and Naomi sat quietly next to Connie. There were a few whispers before the mini-bus suddenly roared into life. The teenagers sat back in their seat and conversed, some loudly, some quietly. All were talking except from Milo and Kylie at the back who sat nervously and fidgety and both worried that the others might see a nervous glance, a slight shift in the seat or just their connection. So silent they sat all the way to their destination.

Chapter 4

Connie stepped off the bus a gazed at the beautiful scenery that surrounded her. Trees swayed gently in the cool breeze. The bright warming sun shone through the thick leaves. A small stream flowed down around a small rose bush, purposely planted there, to represent something that she didn't know yet. A framed wooden sign had the words, 'Welcome to Turbatio Caves" in fancy letters. The sign was painted yellow and slightly chipped around the edges. Next to the words was a small picture of a rock climber hanging off a mountain. It was in black and white. It looked old and scratched but sweet and homely.

A large rock face with uneven steps carved into it stood ahead of her. Up the steps would be a large opening where a wooden cabin had been built to welcome visitors. Everyone had to log in there, to say where about in the caves they were going and what time they would be logging out. Mrs Peters had planned to log in. Then the kids would go through to caves and to the other side and then they would climb over the top of the caves to see the views from above, climb back down and then they would log out and go back to the camp. After all, this was a geography trip. There would be no slacking and no lazing around. The bunch of teenagers knew what they were in for and they wouldn't escape until they had done it.

The rest of the group joined Connie and stood in a huddle at the base of the cliff with excited grins on their faces. Mrs Peters lay down some rules again. She gave them a 'do what your told, or else' glare. Then she started to ascend the steps. The kids trailed behind closely and the spiky haired man remained close to the back; making sure they all stayed together.

Once they were at the top the group gathered again next to another wooden sign which read, 'don't forget to sign in'. Alex and Jake leaned against the post casually and got some evil looks from a youthful couple with climbing gear strapped around their waists and helmets with lights on them sat on their heads.

"Right…everyone- BE QUIET NOW!" Mrs Peters bellowed. "As you all know. I am an old woman now and much too frail for this type of thing. I don't have the energy or the movement like you lot. So I'd like to introduce Mr Steffon. He is trained in caving and is qualified to take care of children. So I am leaving you in very good hands. I'm trusting you all. Please show him the same respect you would to me." Connie and Kylie raised their eyebrows and glanced at each other with cheeky smirks.

Mr Steffon stepped forward, waved and began to speak in a surprisingly low masculine voice which sounded slightly Scottish, "Hello, as Mrs Peters has already told you, my name is Mr Steffon. I will be your guide for today, and I need to lay down some rules of my own before we even step foot in the cabin. Rule number one, everyone must and I repeat! Must always stay together or at least in a pair. Never go anywhere alone. I always want you in my sight. I want to know where you are and what you are doing since you are now my responsibility. Rule number two, everyone must keep their caving gear on them at all times, unless you have my permission to take it off. That includes your head light. You think its dark at night time? Well down there its pitch black and if you don't have your light on then you will get easily lost. Got that?" They all nodded in a bored manner, "Rule number three, you must listen to me and follow my instructions first time. I trust you already do but we must revisit it. I don't want any accidents because I won't be paying for your medical funds if you don't listen." Some of them glanced at Mrs Peters who looked nervously away.

"Now listen, I think it's important that everyone knows exactly what we are going to do. Your teacher has booked a special tour of the caves - which I have done before so don't worry, I know what I'm doing - we will enter into the visitors area, then we will show our tickets and be allowed to go into the private parts of the caves. I will lead you round and you can explore but like I said before, you must remain in my sight at all times. If something is to go wrong then you must listen carefully to my instruction and follow them calmly just so no one gets hurt. Then there is a tight squeeze through a gap in the rocks and a few twists and turns and a few descends and ascends but then we reach water. At that point, depending on how high the water is then we will eat lunch. If it is too high we must leave that till later, you don't want to get trapped in the caves by water now do you? After we have exited through the back end of the caves, we will climb the 300 steps to the summit and we will pause to get our breath back. Then we will walk a mile or two to the other side and abseil down that side back to this spot where we will meet your teacher at around 6:00pm depending on how fast we walk. It is going to be a very exciting and I have to say tiring exercise but it is worth it." He paused to take a deep breath and then carried on with his hour long monologue.

"Now for the cautions: down there you can get dehydration, disorientation, panic attacks, claustrophobia, paranoia, hallucinations, visual and oral deteriorations, you can drown, you can fall and break something. Let's just say, the list could be endless. If…If you do get any of these, you must come to me at once and tell me so. And if your friend is experiencing it then you must look after them. That's another thing, no matter how much you hate someone you must always look after them! Everyone got that? Are we sure? Good, well I'm glad you've listened and been very patient. Does anyone have any questions?"

Beth put her hand up and began to speak, "Can we take photos?"

"Yes you will be able to have some time to take photographs but I doubt unless you have flash that they will turn out very good. Any more?"

"Sir? If we don't have lunch when we're by the water then when we gonna have it?" Jake asked

He smiled slightly, "In that case, we will have lunch once we're out of the caves."

"What if we need to pee? Do we still need to stay together?" Tony piped up. Everyone laughed.

"Yes, you must stay in a pair at all times."

"But there're nine of us!" Natalie stated.

"I see that Natalie, thank you, one of you will have to be paired with me." He answered. "Any more? No? Okay… Now I'm going to sign in and then we'll get our caving gear on and head off!" He turned around and entered the cabin. They started to chatter amongst themselves again.

"Can you believe how long he was talking for? Oh my god, he wouldn't shut up!" Kylie exclaimed.

"I know!" Agreed Connie.

"I stopped listening half way through I was that bored!" Natalie added. They all laughed but Connie only giggled since she saw Mrs Peters nearby. She looked as if she was listening in. She frowned. Connie moved away from them and stood near Alex. She didn't get involved in their conversation for fear of embarrassing herself. Yet when he saw her stood by herself, he called her over. She straightened herself up and wandered over casually. He smiled as she approached. She grinned back.

"What you doing stood by yourself?" he asked.

"Kylie abandoned you?" Jake added.

"She with Milo?" Tony commented snidely. Connie glared at him and he shrank away.

"That was cruel Tony!" Alex said defensively. He turned back to Connie, changing the subject. "So that dude is weird isn't he?"

"Yeah, you can tell just by his hair, and god he can blab for hours!" She replied. Alex smirked and looked pleased with her. She was giddy inside but tried to act casual.

They chatted about bits and bobs for a minute or two before Mr Steffon came back out of the cabin. He told everyone to go around the side of the cabin where some people were ready to fit the caving gear on them. So everyone did as they were told and one by one, gradually, they got their caving gear on.

Mrs Peters smiled. She was happy at how sophisticated the teens were behaving. She had worried so much. Would they behave? Would one get lost? What if one got hurt? Although seeing their behaviour now was a blessing, at least she could trust them, unlike some students she had taken on trips before; they were more mature. Still this was all she saw. What would happen when she let them loose? Would they run riot like a bunch of four year olds or would they act as proper young adults that they were and take care and responsibility? Only time would tell.

By the time the entire group was ready. Connie was bored. She just wanted to go back to the camp and laze around all day. She thought of her teddy-bear that she brought on the holiday to occupy her time. The bear wasn't actually a bear but a monkey. Connie adored monkeys. The teddy was brown with a pale brown muzzle, feet and ears. It was very soft and Connie had had it since she was a little girl. Whenever she was sad or cold or hungry or tired, it would make her feel better instantly. She would hold him close and feel happy, warm, full or alert. She used to think that he had magical powers that whisked away bad emotions and replaced them with good ones. His name was Joe Joe. Once, Kylie had come round when they were little and accidentally called him MoJo of the Power Puff Girls. Now it was a little inside joke between them.

"Right!" Mr Steffon interrupted her thoughts. "I hope we're all ready because we're leaving now. Say bye to your teacher." No one spoke; he was treating them like little children!

"Oh thanks!" Mrs Peters exclaimed. She smiled playfully some people guiltily muttered a muted goodbye. Everyone was impatient now. They just wanted to get into the caves. They set off.

Chapter 5

Amazed by what she saw, Connie's eyes twinkled with excitement. The mouth of the cave was like a wide jaw of a lion with two jagged rocks marking the entrance of the cave like two bottom canines. Stalactites and Stalagmites of all different sizes rose from the ground and hung from the roof perilously. They sparkled slightly in the light as if they held millions of tiny crystals. As they got closer, Connie realised they did!

The group entered the cave cautiously, huddling together for comfort. Connie and Kylee linked arms and walked slowly making sure that they didn't trip on the uneven ground.

All around them were tourists or backpackers or families on a day out. They stood around the edges of the caves touching the rough stone walls and gazing at the pictures of mammoths and stick men running with spears. They left space in the middle for everyone else to walk through. Beth was glancing around at everything and looked as if she wanted to say something but she was right at the back and Mr Steffon was striding ahead up at the front.

Eventually though she shouted up, "Can I just get a quick photo sir?" She asked. He turned in an apologetic way and asked her where and who. She gave him her camera warily warning him to be careful with it and stood with her classmates underneath a big portrait of more tribal stickmen spearing animals on the wall. All the students posed and he took the photo and the flash went off. It was extremely bright. Some of them moaned at its intensity; they said that they were blinded. This of course was not true!

Mr Steffon frowned, "You'll have to take photos without the flash! It'll really blind you down there!" He gave the camera back to Beth and she gently slipped it back into her coat pocket and zipped the pocket up.

The group moved on further and further towards the back of the open cave. They wandered under an overhang in the cave where water trickled quietly down the middle of the overhang. Connie looked up at it and all she saw was a gaping hole of black. What was lurking in there? Bats, spiders, rats or possibly creatures of nightmare worlds that she had seen in horror movies? There was probably nothing but miles and miles of dark caverns waiting to be found. The thought freaked Connie out though.

Mr Steffon slowed his pace. The group had gone so far back that all tourists were now out of sight and hearing range. All they could see was the rough cave walls and spotlights from the torches on their helmets. All they could hear was the echoing emptiness of their hollow footsteps and the sound of each others breath.

The ground was gradually getting more steep and uneven. Connie thought the front of the cave must have been the same thousands of years ago but since so many people had been here, erosion must have taken place and that bit would have been evened out. She realised that the cave was also getting thinner but higher. She looked up and saw stalactites hanging from the roof of the cave. She looked back down and saw red lights shinning on a desk. A small woman sat behind it. She had thin glasses perched on the tip of her nose and her hair was tided back into a neat bun. She had two straggly curls of dark hair hanging down each side of her thin angular face that had somehow escaped being scraped back into the bun. She looked as if she should have been in an office instead of behind a desk in a cold cave! She sat under the red lights - that turned out to be heaters - with a straight back and the perfect composure. She looked up over the rim of her smart slim glasses as they approached. A kind smile formed on her face. She greeted her visitors with a polite nod and asked for their tickets. Mr Steffon fumbled around in his pockets before pulling out a long strip of many pink tickets. He handed them to her and she asked him if he had signed in at the cabin and he answered with a simple yes. Then she tore the tickets in half and handed the half with the reflection strip on it back to him while saying,

"Thank you and I hope you enjoy your time at Turbatio Caves"

Mr Steffon put the bundle of tickets back in his pocket and zipped it up. He had started walking even further into the cave when Connie thought she heard something. A faint rumble of some sort; it was like a low moan from deep in the caves. She suddenly felt very uneasy. She grabbed Kylie's arm quickly out of pure instinct and whispered that she had heard something.

"What? You're being paranoid. I didn't hear anything; no one else seems to have! The dude said you could get paranoia, god this is going to be a long trip!"

"It's not paranoia! I heard something rumble!" Connie protested.

"Rumble in the Jungle! We play fun and games!" Kylie mocked, "Oh my goodness, what if it's the giant worm stirring in its deep dark lair?"

"What?" Connie was now confused.

"I read it in a book once. Come on scaredy-cat, we're losing the group."

Connie turned to the woman and asked, "When was the last time the cave collapsed? Does it usually make noises?"

"The cave is a limestone cave that carries a lot of water therefore; it makes some noises every now and then. I can't remember the last time it collapsed, it was that long ago! Never fear. But you seem to be losing your group, best not to fall behind; I'd hurry along and catch up before you lose them altogether!" She replied casually.

"Exactly! Come on!" Kylie urged, and shouted over her shoulder "sorry and thanks!"

They ran until they caught up with the group, Connie felt as if she was the only one in the whole world who was actually alive! Everyone else had lost their sense of hearing and gradually they would lose smell, touch, taste and finally sight, and then they would be like zombies! It was like a science-fictional horror movie all in her head! Being in a dark, damp, dismal place like this didn't help.

They eventually arrived at the back of the cave. Various holes lay in the walls around them. Most were out of reach and others were far too small. Only flies could fit through them! However there were two large tunnels that were in easy reach of the group. They were like two black eyes that were staring at Connie with dark intensions. What lay beyond them? Connie dreaded to think. Thousands of dark tunnels that led no-where, like nerves in the brain.

Mr Steffon turned around to address the group. He told them what to do and how to do it and the consequences if they didn't do it. Connie wasn't listening. To her it was simply slip in; drag yourself through one hole and then another and another and another until you find the exit. Plus she was too busy listening out for more grumbles. It sounded simple enough, and it was, until she actually got into the tunnel. She wriggled inside and suddenly felt very closed in. She didn't have claustrophobia so she didn't know why she felt like this. Her hands began to shake and she started sweating. Her raspy breath quickened and she had to calm herself down. She knew getting worried wouldn't help and was one of the worst things she could do but she was in such an enclosed space that it scared her. Mr Steffon who was the last person to get in to the tunnel was blocked by two soles of shoes. Connie's shoes.

"Whose shoes are these?" He asked playfully.

"Mine" Connie unsteadily answered.

"Who's that then?" He asked hearing the fault in her voice.

"Connie, sir."

"Okay, are you okay Connie? Please don't tell me you've got claustrophobia! They shouldn't have let you on the trip if you have!" He complained.

"I've not got claustrophobia sir; just…need a minute or two." Her voice was very wobbly now and she took deep breaths and closed her eyes to calm herself.

"That's right, just take deep breaths, keep calm, there's nothing to be afraid of." He said in a soothing tone. Connie felt calm. She didn't know what had just come over her; perhaps it was just her inexperience. She was over it now. She tried to move again and heard Mr Steffon's calming voice somewhere behind her but couldn't hear what he said. She propelled herself forward with great effort. She wiggled like a worm but didn't seem to go anywhere. Mr Steffon kept hot on her heels forcing her forwards. He obviously didn't like staying in small spaces for a long time! If so, why was he in this job?

Suddenly Connie heard a rumble. She froze. Mr Steffon stopped as well and even stopped breathing. They held their breath and kept perfectly still. Another rumble was heard and Connie began to panic. She began to thrash violently trying to get out of the tunnel. Mr Steffon shouted at her to stop and she instantly did what she was told and whimpered. The rocks around them began to shake and the sound grew louder. There were yells from the other side and Mr Steffon suddenly bellowed from behind her to get out.

"Go! Now! GO!" He screamed. Panic on his face. Connie screamed with fear and slid her way out of the cave, feeling a hand grab her arm and drag her out, just in time to hear a massive explosion. She turned to see the teacher's panic-stricken face still trapped in the rattling tunnel. The other kids screamed and dragged her away from the tunnel; they were shouting something to her but the roaring of the avalanche of rocks was drowning out their voices. Another explosion of rocks, this one was the closest and most deafening one! Dust flew out towards the group of terrified teenagers. It stung their eyes and throats. Then… then there was nothing but silence. Until…

Chapter 6

A scream pierced their eardrums. It was Beth, a horrified Beth! Connie followed her transfixed gaze and nearly threw up at the sight, she had to look away. Mr Steffon's limp cut and bleeding hand hung out of the barrier of rocks. Blood trickled down his arm and across hand until it reached the tip of his fingers and dripped onto the ground forming a small pool of dark blood. Some of the boys looked at it too and scurried away from it.

Natalie ran towards Beth and hugged her, turning her away from the crushed man's hand. She wrapped her arms around her and in a soothing voice told her to calm down. Eventually Beth stopped screaming and started to sob. She wept while cradled in Natalie's arms. Natalie's eyes flicked from one person to the other waiting for a solution. She scanned the room widely.

A while passed and still nobody said anything, they were all too shocked!

"What do we do?" Someone whispered. Everyone stared at who had broken the deadly silence. Tony sat on a rock, cradling his knees close to himself. He repeated his question.

"We wait here!" Jake ordered, "He told us that this is a tourist's cave. If we just wait here then someone will find a way through. We just have to be patient. They know we're down here." He sounded very cocky as if he knew it all and no one else did. The truth was though, that he wasn't cocky, he was petrified and being petrified brought out his worst side. Nevertheless, he was right. They knew that people knew they were inside. All they had to do was wait for someone to come for them.

All of a sudden they heard a low moan. It escaped through gaps in the roof of the cave. Connie suddenly noticed how loose the roof actually seemed. It was like each rock was held on by a spider's web. Another moan and the rocks began to rattle. Every teenager looked up at the moving land above them and turned into a child.

Connie felt someone pushing her and abruptly there was a great clash of thunder and darkness. She was still being pushed. She had to rely on her other senses. She could hear the loud explosions from behind her and someone screaming in front. She could feel the rocks on her skin, ripping and slicing the weaker parts. Her blood was rushing to the wounds and seeping out of her body. Another explosion sounded and then there was only silence.

The group of kids all lay in the tunnel; their heads frantically looking for a way out, making the lights on their helmets swoosh around the tunnel.

Tony, who was at the front, wiggled his way out of the tunnel and into another cavern.

He stood up and looked around the cave. It looked just like the last cave, just bigger, so big actually that when he shone his torch light into the cave, it didn't go all the way to the other side of the cave but was lost in the darkness.

Gradually the other students followed him out of the tunnel. They stood silently because they didn't want to cause another cave in. The rocks above them moved and wriggled from the ground above their heads but did not come crashing down. With time though they stopped shaking and the teenagers breathed a sigh of relief. Still though they did not speak. They just sat for what felt like hours.

But then Jake suggested, "We should get some sleep, surely its night time now." No one disagreed with him; they were all very tired from their ordeal.

They sat far from each other trying to think of happy thoughts; of their parents waiting at home, a cosy bed to snuggle up in and a nice hot shower. Each in turn gradually drifted off to sleep.

Beth's dreams were disturbed. They were filled with fear, watching eyes, white lights and a lot of blood. She saw lights flying around the walls of caves and heard screams echoing through tunnels.

Then silence. Her eyes snapped open and a flash of white was all she saw before she was screaming again. The pressure on her arm was released and she faintly heard something scurrying away. The screams from her dreams became her own screams.

Chapter 7

Beth scurried away from her sleeping place in a blind panic. She nearly squashed Tony while doing so. Everyone was awake after her deafening screams of terror. Again, Natalie was first to comfort her.

"What's wrong Beth?" She asked concernedly, "did you have a nightmare?"

"No"

"Then what is it?" Jake angrily asked. He was annoyed because it felt like he had just gotten to sleep.

"Something grabbed my arm."

Everyone was silent.

"Your arm?" Tony enquired nervously glancing around the cave.

"Who?" Kylie found the blame in the boys, "was it one of you? You weren't playing a trick or anything were you?"

"Not me!" Tony sounded hurt.

"No" Alex sounded scared.

"Well I was finally fast asleep until she started screaming!" Jake sounded angry. Her gaze fell on Milo and she didn't want to believe it was him! He simply shook his head which relieved her. They all fell silent again; each other thinking of whom…or what did that. Something in the air shifted and all of the teenagers felt uneasy. Paranoia was setting in. They each took turns at staring at the floor while one looked around the group with suspicious eyes.

Eventually Jake spoke, "Well we can't stay here forever! No way is anyone going to get through all that rubble! We should find that other exit Mr Steffon was on about!"

"No, they know we're down here, we signed in!" Kylie disagreed.

"Kylie's right, if we stay here then they'll find us eventually. Plus you were the one that said that we should stay in the same place!" Connie was with Kylie.

"Yeah but that was before the unbelievable amount of rocks that no one can ever get through and the arm grabbing! And eventually! How long is eventually going to take?" Jake was getting stressed now. He wanted out but didn't know how to get there. He was scared. They were all scared.

"No I think we should move. We could strike lucky and find the way out!" Tony said hopefully.

Alex stated, "But what if we don't? What if we just go deeper and deeper underground? What happens then, we'll be here for eternity!"

"Will everyone please shut up? You're not only freaking Beth out but you're scaring me! Whatever we do, we have to stick together! Be a team like he said." Natalie stood up still with Beth in her arms. "Anyone have a lighter?"

"I didn't know you smoked." Beth whispered.

"What? You want to smoke down here!" Tony half bellowed.

"No you ding-bat! I saw it on a movie once, if you have a choice of tunnels to follow then you hold a naked flame up to it and which ever one the flame flickers at then that's the one you take."

"That's great!" Kylie squealed.

"So does anyone have any?" Connie asked. She hoped, wished and pleaded God that for once one of the people she knew smoked.

"I do." A quiet but distinctive voice echoed into the vast cave. Tony's voice. Everyone stared at him, of all people they least expected it to be Tony who smoked. He was ashamed to admit it but he'd fallen into a rough crowd who bullied him at first and lived down his street. They used him, until he punched the leader of the pack. Then they respected him, well as much as they could. They were three years older then him but knew he had some fight in him. It was peer pressure but now he was hooked and he couldn't give up. He hated himself for it but for once he thanked the lord that he smoked. He pulled it out of his jacket and gave it to Natalie. She passed Beth to Kylie who placed an arm around her waist in comfort.

Natalie stepped up to the first hole in the wall and put the lighter next to it. No flicker. She moved onto the next. No flicker. Everyone held their breath. She continued to do this until there was only one hole left. There had been no success and Connie was on the verge of breaking down and crying until the flame moved. It danced by the last hole. A victory dance! The group cheered. They were all so relieved.

"We have a winner!" Natalie loudly said.

Everyone moved forward all wanting to just be out of this hell. But the tunnel led to yet another enormous cave. Connie was hit hard then, hit hard by realisation. She realised that if they stood still they would die because of the rising tide, but if they moved they could get lost and die or they could get trapped and die or there could be another cave in and they would all die. So anyway she tried to think about it, they always ended up dead. Was there any hope for them? Were they ever going to get out? Connie just didn't know.

Her thoughts were interrupted.

"Did anyone hear that?" Alex had a look of pure fear etched across his face.

"What?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"Me neither"

"What did you hear?" Connie enquired.

"Someone…"

"Well obviously! There're eight people in this cave!" Jake said sarcastically.

"No it was…someone laughing, someone giggling!" His voice trembled a little.

"You're just hearing things mate. Mr Steffon did say you could get… what was it? Visual and oral deteriorations, right? No one giggled; it was just your imagination!"

"Okay" Alex was still unsure but he knew, they all knew, that Jake was the boss. He was in charge and no one dared speak against him. They were all too afraid of the consequences. He was the master now.

Chapter 8

They had been walking in the dark for hours now. Connie's feet were aching and her stomach was growling. Everyone's stomachs were growling. Especially Tony's. His breakfast had only been a piece of toast. He wasn't one for breakfast. Now, though, he was regretting it.

"I need to eat."

"What?" Asked Jake.

"I'm hungry. I need to eat." He repeated

"Okay but save your food, you don't know when you'll next need it." Jake ordered.

"I'll eat what I like." Tony forcefully said.

"Hey, I'm only looking out for you!"

"Yeah, Tony, what's your problem? He's trying to help." Alex defended his friend.

"No one asked for your opinion Griffins!" He half shouted.

"Hey!" Connie automatically stepped in without thinking about it.

"I don't need anyone to tell me what I can and can't do! It's my life I'll do what I want! I'm fed up with you bossing us around!" He started to walk away from the group.

"Tony don't leave the group, it's not safe!" Beth tried to reason with him. She even strayed from the group herself clutching at his jacket sleeve but it was no use, he wouldn't come back.

They waited and watched him walk away.

"Fine then! We're carrying on whether you're with us or not!" Jake called after him with an empty threat. Everyone knew that he wouldn't leave without him. Everyone knew that he was too kind inside to leave a friend by himself deep down underground but also too proud to admit that he wouldn't leave. Alex knew it the most so instead of letting Jake get embarrassed he stated the obvious instead.

He said, "We shouldn't leave him, even if he is being a jerk and walking off. He'll come back eventually and if we're not here then he's never going to get out!"

"Who says we're going to get out?" A quiet Milo mumbled. Kylie looked over at him shocked. He shrugged when he saw her looking. He had been silent so far, doing what he was told to do and watching the shadows carefully. To be honest most of the group had forgotten he was there, until now.

"No need to be so negative. I know that we're only kids but there's still a chance we could get out, isn't there?" Jake was getting frustrated now.

"Whatever you say." Then Milo fell silent again. Shrinking into the shadows. He wasn't worrying about getting out, that was third on his list of priorities. First was finding what had grabbed Beth. What could that have been? Who? He hoped to god that it wasn't a who. If so where was he? Or she? Although for now there wasn't much he could do, but he was forming a plan.

* * *

Tony wandered past fallen rocks and through tiny tunnels until he couldn't hear their voices anymore. All he heard was a faint echo. That was far enough for him, he knew he was going to return to the group. He knew for a fact that Beth, Natalie and Naomi would never let them leave without him. They would defiantly wait for him. He understood that it was silly to leave the group in the first place but he was just proving his point! Jake had been so full of himself! Tony didn't understand why he was being like that! They had always been really good friends but Tony's rage had built up and burst out of him like an explosion. Tony couldn't explain his own behaviour never mind Jake's and even though he was terrified being alone in the dark minute caverns Tony tried to hold his anger in so he had some sort of adrenaline or energy to feed off. That reminded him…food!

He found a large flat rock on which he sat on. He pulled off his backpack and rustled through it. He immediately stopped when he thought he heard something move nearby. He glanced around the small cave. It was about the size of an ordinary bathroom and it had the one massive rock in the middle and a couple of smaller rock thrown around the edges. It was like it had been built for him. There was only one entrance and exit to the cave so he kept his eyes on it. Eventually though he stopped caring and went back to rustling through his backpack for his sandwiches.

Another noise. This time from the opposite side of the room. He span around with lightening speed. A tall unbelievably thin figure of a man stood in the shadows. The clothes he wore were ragged and falling of his slim body. His hands were held together in front of him and he held his head low. Tony stopped breathing. The mans head shot up looking at Tony directly in the eyes. Although Tony couldn't see his face he knew where the man was looking. His head twitched a little. Tony switched his torchlight on. He held it to the man's face. The man half squealed like a pig and shielded his eyes from the severe light. Tony jumped away.

"Give me your food." The man produced a low menacing voice from his dry throat. Tony didn't move so the man persisted. "Food, now!"

"What do you want with me?" Tony wasn't thinking clearly, if he just gave the food to the man, maybe he could make a deal with him and he could possibly find a way out of here. He was petrified and fear wiped his mind of all rational thoughts.

"Just give me your food…please."

"Are you who…?"

"All I want is food so just give it to me and I won't have to kill you!"

"Kill me?" Tony's voice was high and squeaky. He shakily held the food out to the man.

The man snatched it out of his hands and ate it. It had been so long, and now he wanted more. Tony jumped off the rock and tried to edge towards the exit without being noticed. The man didn't move. He looked down again and Tony took that as a chance to run. He turned and tried to climb out of the cave. In his panic he didn't feel the rocks tear his skin or the hand on his back. Suddenly he was yanked back into the cave and thrown onto the centre rock. The sudden hit jarred his back. He screamed in pain. A slow smirk crept onto the man's face. He stood in the doorway and watched the boy writhe in agony.

Tony felt like his backbone had broken. It had sent a shock all through his body. It had hit his head with a magnitude of an earthquake! His body had trembled violently after the first hit. The second came soon after.

"You didn't give me everything! I can smell it on you. Give me all the food you've got now!"

"Th-that was it!" He stuttered.

"You liar!" the man grabbed Tony's collar and Tony began to cry. The man's voice lowered to a whisper, "if you value you're life, you'll give me the food!"

Tony couldn't move anymore, he couldn't hear, he couldn't speak, because he was paralysed. The man pulled Tony towards him. His face was contorted and twisted into an angry grin. His eyes were filled with yearning and pain. Tony was blank.

"I'll give you one last chance…" The man whispered gently in Tony's ear, "one…two…give it to me or I will kill you"

Tony was bewildered and unable to speak; all that escaped his mouth was a few murmurs of nonsense.

"Fine!" The man's voice rose to an unbelievably loud level. He grabbed Tony's collar even more and forced his hands down. Tony's head hit to rock below with a great smack that echoed through the cave. No sound cave from Tony.

The man repeated this action over and over again.

Bang.

Smash.

Crack.

Tony's head split allowing an enormous amount of blood to spill out onto the cave floor. The man was splashed with the red liquid which continuously seeped from Tony's head. The man wouldn't let go. Something became alive in his eyes. Something he had pushed down was arising. A want… a yearn for murder. He was enjoying it, remembering the thrill it gave him. He didn't stop, didn't want to. He bashed Tony's skull on the rock until he heard something behind him. Voices! He grabbed the backpack and escaped into darkness once again.

Chapter 9

"Stupid idiot!" Jake angrily mumbled to himself.

"Who?" Alex asked.

"Who do you think? Tony of course!" Alex could see in Jake's face that he thought whatever happened to Tony, he couldn't care less.

"Sorry… do you not think that we should go looking for him?"

"NO!" Jake stared at Alex in disbelief.

"It's just that-"

Jake butted in, "no! He got himself into it, if he's so desperate to get away then the hell with him!"

Alex didn't answer after that, he chose to keep quiet and do as he was told. The rest of the group were either sleeping or eating small proportions of their sandwiches.

Soon enough nearly all of them were asleep except Milo and Kylie. Neither could escape from their fear. Kylie lay on her side near Connie. Milo sat in the darkest corner he could find watching everyone else. He was the lookout. It had only been a couple of minutes, ten at the most but everyone was so exhausted that when they closed their eyes, they were asleep. Tony still hadn't returned and Milo knew that it was very unlikely that he was going to.

Just at that moment Kylie lifted her head and looked directly at him. He was shocked by her eyes, they went from a dull grey to a brilliant blue when she saw him but Kylie's eyes weren't blue. This confused him. Maybe it was just the torchlight, he thought. She smiled gently at him and sat up. Her face was attractive and prominent. Her black hair had changed to blue because of the light and looked exceedingly messy; like she had just got out of bed; all the same he liked the look on her.

"You're still awake?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I couldn't get to sleep."

"Me too." She said. She looked around and then said, "So Tony's still not back then?"

"Apparently"

"Where do you think he is?"

"I'm not sure, knowing him he's probably sat somewhere stuffing his face!" He paused. He felt guilty for saying that. Kylie came over to his side and sat next to him. This made him nervous.

"Yeah I guess you're right but what if something's happened to him? What if he's…?" She stared into space and chose not to continue with her words. "Listen to me! God I sound so pessimistic!"

Somewhere in the deep caves came an echoing voice, "liar!" It faded into nothing.

"What the hell was that?" Milo jumped to attention immediately. It had come from where Tony had gone.

"I…?"

"You heard that didn't you?"

"Yes." Fear was all over Kylie's face. It seeped into her eyes turning them grey again. She stared into the black hole of the tunnel in which Tony had disappeared into.

"I think you were right" Milo stated, "Tony's in trouble, come on!" He moved towards the black hole however Kylie didn't follow.

"But what about the others?"

"Tony needs our help. Come on!"

She quickly went to the tunnel but before she escaped through she nudged Connie and said, "Me and Milo heard something, we think it's Tony. We're going to check it out but we'll be back so don't you dare leave without us!"

Connie mumbled in response, "What? As if, you just-"She was cut off.

"Fine!" The voice rumbled through the caves, much louder this time.

"Oh my god!" She stared at the tunnel, "Okay, I'll wake the others and we'll be right behind you!"

Then Kylie slipped into total darkness. All she saw was Milo's helmet flashlight in front swinging from side to side as he searched the tunnel. She had switched her own off before to save the battery. Now though she slid the toggle and switched it on with no time wasted. Milo had run ahead with such speed that she found it hard to keep up with him. She shouted out to him several times that he had to slow down because the others were behind them and trying to catch up but he never did. Until he stopped all together. His flashlight remained fixed on a certain spot. Kylie couldn't see yet because she was still way too far behind but it didn't take her long to find out what he was looking at.

Tony. His arms were scratched so much that there was barely any skin left to cover his skeleton. He was bleeding all over. His head had split open, a clear sticky liquid was leaking from his open skull. Blood was splattered all over the floor and walls of the cave. Tony's face was fixed. His mouth lay open. His eyes wide with horror. Kylie screamed when she saw him. Milo just stared. How could this have happened? Who could do this to someone?

Suddenly there were voices behind them. They twirled around and faced the voices. It was the rest of the group.

"What's wrong, why'd you scream?" Jake asked rather viciously. That's when he saw it. That's when they all saw it. Beth screamed as did Naomi, they both began to cry. Natalie couldn't move, she couldn't take her eyes off the horrific scene in front of her. Alex gasped and nearly threw up. Jake tried to speak but no words came out, he was too scared, they had just caught in his throat. Connie couldn't look at him, all she did was close her eyes and put her head in her hands. Kylie stood perfectly still, Milo slipped his hand into hers and she eventually moved into his arms. They held each other tightly. It was their first embrace and it was in such an awkward situation.

None of them spoke. Not for a long time. They just sat and wept and worried and stayed silent.

Chapter 10

"What do we do?" Natalie asked in a whisper.

"Huh?" Alex replied.

"What do we do?" She repeated a little louder.

No one answered this time.

"WHAT DO WE DO?!" She bellowed.

"How are we supposed to know?! Everyone is stuck in the same position as you so don't go mouthing off and getting all aggressive alright?" Jake yelled back. There was a pause.

"You're boss right?"

"What?" He was taken aback by this.

"You're boss. You should know what to do next. Like Tony said you're the one who's bossing everyone around, and you would take the credit through the good times so you have to do your job during the bad ones too!"

"My job?"

"You think you can just order everybody about and then not stick by us when we need you most!"

"You're starting to sound like Tony!" He was getting angry now. Why was it his job? Everyone had just presumed he was boss and he didn't want to be. No one had bothered to ask him and now he was getting the blame for everything!

"Shut up Natalie" This came from Milo which surprised everybody.

"What? No I won't shut up! He thinks that he can just order everyone around and hide from the consequences. He has no right to order us about!"

"Hey you're the one who chose to follow me; I never asked to be leader!" Jake was getting defensive.

"Yeah Nat, he's right" Alex butted in.

"Natalie it doesn't matter, please just stop arguing." Beth pleaded with her sister.

Everyone spoke over each other, each arguing their points at an increasing level.

Finally Milo who had remained quiet now stood and snarled "Natalie, it doesn't matter! Shut up now because you're starting to sound like Tony. Do you want to end up like him? Well do you?!" His outburst had shocked everyone to the core.

"Milo!" Connie muttered in shock.

"I'm sorry but it's true!"

"Well…" She paused slightly, "If that's what you think, I might as well go off by myself!"

"That's not what I-"

Beth interrupted him, "Natalie! Don't be so stupid! Don't you dare say that again!" She began to cry, "I could never bare to loose you. Especially, in that… way!" She burst into tears and Natalie ran over to her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I got…carried away with what I was saying. I'll never leave you I promise."

No one spoke, until Jake stupidly said, "I think you owe me an apology."

Everyone in the tunnel gave him an evil glare. He sat back down next to Alex. The teenage angst was gradually building in the tunnel until it felt like the air was suffocating them. The silence was muffled and thick. Connie felt like she was drowning in her fear. Struggling to the surface and silence was closing in on her. Her breathing quickened slightly. She couldn't control herself. She began to sweat.

"Connie?" Kylie looked up for a moment at her panicking friend.

"I…" She gasped, "I can't breathe!"

"Connie calm down!" Her voice was high and squeaky; she herself was panicking now. She had no idea what to do.

"What's with her?" Jake asked.

Connie thought she was going insane. Her stomach hurt so much that she felt like she was going to vomit. Her heart was racing and her head was pounding. She felt especially dizzy now. She could barely see anything because her eyes were shaking so heavily. She could see the outline of her friends but no detail. Their mouths were moving however she could not hear a word. Her eyes were becoming fuzzy and she felt as if she was going to die. Her mind was full of fear. Irrational thoughts of death lurking by her side seemed to rest on her shoulders dragging her down. She felt so hot that her arms were tingling. They were being burnt by the fire from hell, and down there she was literally five steps away from hell itself. She had to do something. So instead of doing what she should've done, she bent over and held her breath hoping it would subside. It did not. She was so scared now. She believed that something terrible was going to happen and there was nothing she could do to stop it. What could she do? There was a killer hiding in the caves and none of them knew the way out! What could she do? What could anyone do? They were all going to die in this cave, as far as she knew.

"She's having a panic attack!" Alex shouted.

"How do you know?"

"Who cares?! What do we do?" Kylie asked hurriedly.

"She needs to breathe deep breaths!" They all looked at him; he just stared at Connie, who now was shaking violently in a ball on the floor. Nothing happened. No one spoke and Connie didn't calm down. Alex knew she couldn't hear them. He knew that she didn't want to hear them. He had to make her calm down.

Suddenly he rushed to her side. Her arms felt cold in his hands but she was sweating. It was as if she had the flu. He brought her face to his and spoke very clearly and slowly to her.

"Connie? Can you hear me? You need to calm down; you need to breathe very slowly through your nose." She had her eyes tightly closed shut waiting for something, wishing for it to be over. He knew that look. His mother used to have panic attacks all the time whenever somewhere got too crowded. He had had to look after her during those dreadful times so he knew what he was doing. Although with it not being his mother, he felt awkward doing it. But he knew he had to.

So he took hold of her hands and squeezed them tightly. She opened her eyes in surprise. He looked directly at her and spoke again. She was crying but this time she understood and started breathing through her nose. He smiled at her and admired her bravery to stand up to the feeling of impending doom. He held her hands until the end. She blinked and sighed deeply. She was glad for the air. The surroundings around her were pushed back and her cold sweat left her. The shakes were going too and soon enough thoughts of sanity and normality started to seep back. She kept hold of Alex's hands. Not daring to let go because she thought that if she did then the panic attack would come storming back at her. He eventually pulled himself away from her and it did not come back. They sat awkwardly next to each other with the rest of the group stood around them, staring in amazement at how calm Alex had reacted.

"Thanks" Connie ultimately whispered.

"It's okay." He mumbled back.

Chapter 11

They were moving again now. It had taken a long time but they eventually left Tony's mangled head behind. They had realised that they were defiantly going to die if they didn't try. Who ever did that to Tony might come for them if they didn't find a way out and fast. They all knew it and each individual could not get the image of their own death out of their head. It scared them, it fuelled them. None of them wanted to die. Least of all Jake. He led the pack into the cave. He had no sense of direction but he knew that if he just kept going then surely he would reach something that could lead him out of this hell hole.

Was that a giggle?

He stopped so suddenly that Natalie walked into him. She was just about to swear at him when she saw his face. She looked around at the darkness which seemed to close in on them and began to worry more. Was that a figure in the darkness? Was it watching them with intent? Did it have a plan? Was it going to strike at any moment? Was it even there or was it just her over-imaginative mentality?

The figure didn't seem to move so after what must have been ten minutes Jake eventually moved towards the figure.

"No!" Natalie whispered after him, she tried to grab his arm but he shrugged her off. He moved slowly towards the shadow. Holding his right hand far in front of him, sweat running down his face and back, he stepped closer. He was an inch from it now and still it hadn't moved. Maybe it was waiting, waiting for him to blink and take his eyes off it. But still it stood as still as stone. He reached out and with one almighty gasp from the others touched it…

It wasn't warm but cold. It wasn't soft but hard. And it certainly didn't move when he touched it.

It was rock.

He looked down at his feet and laughed at himself, his right arm still outstretched and his palm flat on the sharp bumpy rock face. His arm flopped down to his side and he turned with a grin on his face which reached from one ear to the other. The others breathed I sigh of relief. Jake walked sheepishly back to the front of the group. When he got there Natalie gave him a swift slap over the back of his head.

"Hey!"

"You scared me half to death then you dimwit!"

"Sorry but you weren't the one that had to touch it" He argued back.

"No one told you to touch it! You…you know what I'm not even going to argue with you! You're not worth it" She said harshly still angry at him for scaring her.

"I'm-"He got cut off by her.

She ordered, "Go!"

So they marched on into the darkness and into the silence with heavy hearts even though that little shenanigan that had happened had lightened their mood for a few minutes it soon sunk as well. As the saying goes what goes up must come down.

* * *

Trudging along endless tunnels of the underworld; the group all felt tired and nervous. Natalie was still angry with Jake for acting as he did. She was constantly glancing around the caves for another sign of life. Her hands were covered in dirt, her hair stuck to her scalp and her legs were shaking. She studied the faces of others carefully. All had the same expression on their face. It was a look of shear terror as if constant negativity loomed in front of them. She saw it as well. She felt like death stood only five feet from her. It quite literally was.

Suddenly something caught her eye as they walked past a thin slit in the rock wall. She stopped walking and went back to inspect it. She heard words being spoken but they washed over her head. She gripped the edge of the slit and poked her head through, she scanned the area with her eyes waiting to be caught by something, for something to jump out at her and scare her to death. Connie nudged her back to ask her what was happening but Natalie didn't feel it. Then…it was there!

Light!

She screeched and slipped through the slit in the wall. The others jumped and tried to grab her. Connie thought that she had been snatched away by the thing in the darkness. She was petrified but her nerves were calmed when she saw her running away. No one was following her. That's when she saw what she was heading for. Sweat began to pour. At first her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to warn Natalie but she got shoved out of the way by Jake. His eyes strained to see her so far away in the darkness. A thin stream of light flew up the wall and underneath, he couldn't believe his eyes, a gaping hole left waiting. Jake screamed out her name but she ignored him and in a flash she was gone. Swallowed by the monsters mouth. All that was left was the terrified scream and then a sickening thud.

* * *

Beth sat staring at the floor rocking backwards and forwards. She didn't cry, she didn't scream, she just sat there rocking and shaking violently. No one spoke out of respect. Beth's sister had just died, what were they supposed to say? Everyone sat and didn't dare speak. Eventually Beth stopped rocking. She huddled close to her knees and her eyes began to water. She screamed and bellowed to the darkness.

"COME GET ME! COME FIND ME YOU BASTARD!" She sobbed into her hands uncontrollably and then smacked her fists brutally onto the sharp rock floor, cutting her hands so deep that blood began to pour out. "I was meant to be first! I was meant to die first." She began to weep into her bloodied hands. Blood smearing over her drowned face.

Her outburst had scared everyone. Naomi rushed to her side, taking a small First Aid kit from her pocket. She tried to hold Beth's wrists so that she could bandage her hand up but Beth pushed her away and smacked her face. A smear of blood spread over her left cheek Naomi shuffled away in pain. She held her hands to her cheek and shock swept over her eyes. She felt the cold moisture of Beth's blood on her face and tried to wipe it away.

Eventually Alex gained enough courage to speak up, "Beth? Beth we have to go"

She glared at him with flaming eyes, "I'm not leaving Natalie."

"But she's…not coming back Beth, we have to-"

"I'M NOT LEAVING NATALIE!" She yelled. Another silence fell upon the group.

Then to everyone's shock Jake said calmly, "Well I'm leaving. I'm not waiting around to get killed! I tried to stop her! It was her own fault!"

"Shut up Jake!" Naomi told him forcefully. She saw the hatred in Beth's eyes.

"Well it was! We all tried to stop her, shouted after her and she just kept on going! She was stupid!"

"Jake shut it now!"

"No, she was stupid! How could she not have seen that hole! I think she did it on purpose! If not then god knows why she did it! She was the only one who saw it! The idiot had the right idea to commit suicide! She wanted to get away from you!"

Beth howled and leapt on Jake punching his stomach and swearing at him. He shrank away from her. She was like a werewolf biting his hand and howling at him. Alex and Milo dragged her off him and she tried to release herself from their grip but failed. Eventually she stopped swearing and gave up; she slumped down in their arms, suddenly going limp. They let go of her, lying her down on the ground. She was still awake but had gone totally limp as if all her energy had gone from her. Everyone moved away from her.

"Go." She whispered, "All of you go, I don't care what you do but I'm staying here."

"Beth!" Kylie said in disbelief.

"I don't want you to stay! GO AWAY!"

So with that they left in silence.

Once through the next tunnel they heard her crying. Connie closed her eyes and held her hands together. Silently she prayed. Then her eyes snapped open as she heard what she had dreaded. Another awful thud as another human life escaped its body. Connie cried.

Chapter 12

She felt the breath on her neck. She felt eyes burning into her back. She was being watched. Her hands were shaking and her hair slimy with sweat. Her eyes darted around but nothing was to be seen, all that lay in front was a blank screen. She couldn't see what was happening but felt it instead. She heard a noise behind her, a squeaking sound. Then the ground began to shake, her heart thumped in her chest at an unbelievably fast rate. The shaking grew more and more violent with each terrified breath she took. Her head hurt and her eyes were watering. Suddenly she felt a hand grab her shoulders! She screamed.

The echo faded away into the walls of the cave. Kylie sat above her. Her eyes were vacant with distress.

"Connie, we're moving come on." She said simply.

"Okay" She replied back simply. Kylie's eyes flashed. Connie slightly recoiled, she had never seen her eyes do that before and it scared her now. The darkness seemed to be moving in on them. There were only six of them left out of ten now! How did this happen?

"Okay, we can't just wander around now." Jake said.

"I agree" Naomi answered.

"Time is passing and the caves will fill up soon so I suggest we go up. Obviously if we go up then we're away from the water and closer to the surface."

"Yeah but think about it, to get out you have to go down to the sea cave, that was the way we were going to go right?" Alex cut in cleverly.

"Right" Connie agreed.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase the closer to danger you are the safer you are!?"

"No" Jake said simply.

"Well-"Alex was just about to respond and explain when Kylie cut in.

"That's a ridiculous statement! Do you want to die?"

"Well if the other choice is staying in here forever then yes!" He shocked everyone into silence. "I just mean…if…I don't want to end up like them!" The truth was revealed. "Whatever did that to them! Who ever is in these caves won't wait around for the rest of us! They'll come for us; they're probably watching us right now!"

"Why would you say that?" Naomi half screeched.

"Because it's true!" He bellowed back.

Silence.

Until Jake spoke quietly, "So you suggest we go down, towards danger? We may drown, we might not even get that far but you're willing to go towards danger?"

"If it leads to the way out then yes…"He paused and then whispered, "…I'd go through hell itself to get out of here."

* * *

Connie took her ice pick from her belt. She gripped the handle and looked at the rock face in front of her. Sharp rocks jutted out under the overhang she had to climb, with no safety ropes.

"I can't do this" She whispered under her breath.

"Yes you can!" Kylie insisted. "What I don't get though is why we are going up a cliff when we are supposed to be going down!"

"Because there's no place else to go" Alex said harshly.

Kylie gave Connie an exasperated glance and struck her ice pick into the rock face with a slice that echoed into the caves behind and above them. Even now in the face of danger Kylie still found a way to make it funny. Connie found foot places and put her hands above her head. She lifted herself off the ground and took her first step upwards. The weight on her arms was heavy and she had to take every step unbelievably carefully. She felt that at any moment her legs were going to give way. Even if she was tied to everyone else she still felt unsafe, because if one person fell, they would take the rest of them with them. Above her heard someone scream and she immediately shut her eyes. Waiting for someone to come crashing down on top of her. No one came.

"Oh my god!" Nomi screamed

"What?" Jake shouted from even higher up.

"A giant spider!" She screeched so high that it was nearly unrecognisable. She was writhing high above.

"Stop moving! Where is it?"

"ON MY ARM!!!" She wailed.

"Stop moving I'm coming down!" Jake spoke calmly though in his head, he was screaming. He hated spiders. They scared him to death.

Connie still had her eyes closed, waiting. She was only three feet off the floor but still she felt as though if she let go then she would fall to her death.

Then the chaos stopped. The screaming stopped. The panic stopped. The caves fell silent.

Connie opened her eyes to see everyone looking down at her. They were waiting for her to move, so she did. She climbed with the others. With every step her heart sped up. She felt her arms aching like she had been holding them out to he side for hours! Her eyes were watering but she kept on going. Soon though, tear were rushing down her cheeks in pain and her legs were numb. However she saw the top, it was centimetres away. Every step she took though, it seemed to get further and further away. She screamed silently and forced herself up on to the ledge above. She had scooted past the overhang and now she was at the top. Holding out her right hand, she felt Alex grab it and haul her up. She sat on the top and looked over the edge. She had come so far up and all she saw was the shear drop below and Milo still climbing the mountain.

When he reached the top she helped him up and turned around to find Naomi stood eerily still. She was looking at the floor. Connie couldn't see it; her torch had run out of battery a while ago. She moved closer and felt water up her shin.

"Oh god" She whispered, and then asked, "Is the cave flooding already?"

"That's not what you have to be worried about!" Naomi spoke in a small frightened voice.

Connie moved forwards again. Her feet clanked against something solid. It made a clunking noise. Connie froze. What was that? She thought. She gathered the courage to look down and to her horror saw why Naomi was stood so still. Bones. Millions and millions of animals' bones! She recoiled in fear. Alex stood beside her and shone his torch around the floor. Thousands of animals lay before them.

"W-W-What?" Kylie stuttered.

"More like who?" Jake corrected her.

"What do we do?" Naomi fearfully asked.

"We go. We carry on. We…oh god!" The smell of rotting carcasses was revolting. Alex's head torch landed on a half rotten sheep. He had to turn away otherwise he would have thrown up. Connie put her head in her hands. Kylie closed her eyes and wept. Naomi was still stood in the centre of the cave facing the other way to the others. When she turned around her heart leapt. She screamed. She fell backward. Behind Jake! Her eyes snapped open with fright. Behind Jake…

Stood a man.

Chapter 13

The group fled. Split up. Milo and Kylie through one tunnel. Connie, Alex and Jake through another. Naomi…Naomi ran blindly. Tears blurring her already impaired vision because of the dark. She wept as she ran. Hands outstretched before her. Her head torch swirling around the cave looking for an exit, but not finding one. Where ever she looked, it just seemed to be rocks; looming high above her. She stopped running. Sure that she had lost who ever that was. Her breathing was in short quick pants. A few strands of dark brown hair hung loosely down the side of her face as she blinked the tears away and searched the cave. To her left she saw a tunnel. An escape! She never took her eyes off the caves centre. She backed into the tunnel without another word, holding her breath the whole way. Nothing moved… nothing made a sound; it was as if she was the only one now, in the whole entire world. She let out a whimper as her mind overloaded with ludicrous thoughts.

She bumped into something. The wall. Had she gone off in a different direction because of walking backwards? Where was the hole in the wall now? She turned. She screamed. She leapt back in fright. The man! His pale skin shone with the light from the torch on her helmet. His eyes were slits in this lighting. He glared at her menacingly.

"Turn your light off girl" He ordered quietly. She didn't move.

"I said, turn it off…please." He tried again becoming angry this time but she was too scared. Petrified even to move! Terrified of the things that could happen to her in the dark. Under the cover of darkness, murder was almost natural. What if he…? Rape. She couldn't bare the thought and whimpered lightly. His eyes closed even further and sighed looking at the floor. When he looked up again, his eyes were wide with fury and his teeth bore.

"Turn off your god damn light!" He bellowed punching her helmet and breaking the light. She was plunged into total darkness. She fell backwards because of the impact, and her helmet fell off. Alone. Lying on the ground with a murderer by her side. Naomi couldn't move. She just lay there like a dead corpse with wide eyes. She listened for him. She heard his breathing, to her left. He knelt beside her. She lay perfectly still hoping, praying that he would miss her and she could slip away. Dreaming it but knowing that it would never happen, life isn't that kind!

"Get up." He commanded. She didn't move. He spoke again but softly this time. "Okay, look child, either you can be a good little girl and stand up now or you can be difficult and stay lying down! In which case I will be forced to kill you, and I will make sure it is a horrible painful slow death. Comprehend?" He spoke slowly so that she would understand every syllable. After a minute she moved. Her mind wasn't in control of her, neither was her heart, she didn't actually know what it was but she felt strangely powerful. She felt as though someone was with her, to protect her. No one was. The man glanced away and turned back with such speed that Naomi had a knife to her throat before she'd even blinked!

He whispered in her ear, "Good girl!"

"What are you?"

"That's a bit hash don't you think? I may be a murderer but that doesn't stop me from being human. Repeat it but say it correctly this time." He spoke calmly to her but firmly.

"W-W-Wh" She paused to find her words and then repeated. "Who are you?"

"Well…My name is unimportant; I'm just a regular guy looking for some kicks! And this is how I get them. Different I know, but better then most things, you should've tried it. I guess now you'll never get the chance." He thrust the knife closer to her throat and she screamed and burst into tears.

"You said you wouldn't kill me if I got up!"

"When did I ever say that?" He asked innocently. Her eyes flew to where he was stood. She still couldn't see him but she could feel his presence, she could defiantly feel the sharp blade against her throat, edging closer and closer. Sweat mixed with tears poured down her face and back as she remembered that he never spoke a word of not killing her!

"But…"

"Sorry girl, too late." The blade slashed her and she felt a sharp singe across her throat. She heard the blood splatter on the ground. He stepped away from her as she fell to the floor in agony. She clutched her throat desperately. Whining pitifully as blood filled her mouth and seeped out the sides. She felt it fill up her lungs causing her to choke. She writhed on the floor as the man stood above and watched eagerly. Chocking on her own blood she took her last breath and died. The man wiped the blade on her coat and whispered in her ear.

"I found it on your friend; you know the one whose brains you found splattered across that rock. Such a shame, he was a good guy; I think he liked you too. Oh well, time to find your other friends." He stepped over her cold body and into the shadows once more.

Chapter 14

Kylie stopped running and collapsed. Her breath was close to extinction. Milo ran back and clutched her arm desperately. She looked into his eyes and he knew exactly what she was thinking. What's the point? He knew that they would never get out alive, but he was determined not to give up so he pulled Kylie back on her feet and held her close to him, soothing her heavy breathing and calming her constantly nervous mind. Milo was just as scared but he knew that to beat this person, he had to outwit him. To outwit someone, he had to be calm and think and not get caught up in irrational thoughts. He needed Kylie to be quiet too, which meant her being calm.

They stood together miles under the surface of the earth, in a musty cave with a blood thirsty murderer, just hugging each other. Kylie was as cold as death itself but somehow Milo helped her. He shared his body heat with her and they held each other tightly. When Milo finally broke away from her, she gazed into his eyes longingly.

"Never give up hope!" He spoke in a whisper, afraid to attract attention. They had heard a blood curdling scream just a few moments ago and that was what had caused Kylie to stop. She had recognised the voice…Naomi. No matter how much she hated her, Kylie could never bring herself to wish for her death! Kylie had only disliked her. She had never wanted Naomi to die, especially in this cold, dark and miserable place.

"What's that?" Milo's ear's pricked up and he looked around them, still holding Kylie's arms.

Kylie began to panic, was the man there behind her? Was it her turn to die? She started to cry silently. Milo saw her and looked into her eyes and held her chin up.

"Don't worry. I hear water. That's all!" His heart leapt with joy. Then Milo remembered what Mr Steffon had said. His voice echoed inside Milo's mind.

"Now for the cautions…you can drown…you don't want to get trapped in the caves by water now do you?"

Milo began to sweat. Kylie could see the panic in his eyes and squeaked in fear.

"Milo?" Her shaky voice asked. Her fear was taken over by adrenaline. "What's wrong? Surely if you can hear water then we must be close to the exit!"

"No…" Her heart sank, "we haven't reached water yet." He paused, "I think…"

"Think what? Milo! Think what!?"

"I think we're out of time."

There was a silence between them.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" She shouted at him.

"It means you're going to die." A voice from the darkness spoke. Kylie screamed. Milo fell. Kylie was dragged down with him. They plunged down towards their deaths.

* * *

Connie's mind raced with thoughts of death and then of escape. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She took deep breaths in and out as she ran behind Jake and Alex. Jake suddenly stopped and placed his hands on the dead end in front of them. Connie burst into tears and Alex crouched on the floor and placed his head in his hands and screamed.

"It's like a horror movie!" He said exasperated, "but its real life and it won't stop!"

"We're never getting out of here are we?" Connie whispered.

"We can't just give up! That's what he wants!" Jake shouted at them.

"There're only three of us left!"

"Yeah and he wont be satisfied until he's finished the lot of us off"

"SHUT UP!" Connie screamed, "I can't stand it! Stop talking, just shut up!"

Alex stood up and embraced her. They held each other and cried on each others shoulders though Alex tried to be the man and stay calm. It didn't work. Jake watched them feeling completely alone and unwanted. So he turned back to the rock wall and started moving around feeling the wall for something.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked sniffing and wiping his tears away.

"Well I'm not going to just stand around and wait for death."

"What are you going to do?" Connie this time.

"Find a way out."

Connie and Alex looked at each other both knowing it was ridiculous but worth it. So they explored the cave as well trying to find a tiny gap that they might be able to fit through. They searched and searched for what felt like hours until they heard a noise. They froze instantly.

"What…was that?" Alex whispered in a terrified voice.

There was a low rumbling sound as if they were inside someone's stomach. Connie remembered what Kylie had said so long ago about the worm. What if there was a giant worm and they had walked into its liar and had disturbed it? She began to panic, her heart raced and dizziness fell upon her. Alex strode over to her and held her close to him stroking her hair affectionately and whispering soothing words in her ear until she settled a little. She would never ever be fully calm again. How could she?

"Guys!" Jake cried. He put his hand on the wall and pushed slightly, a couple of rocks moved and fell to floor causing a clattering sound to echo around the surrounding caves. As they watched, his hand and arm disappeared into a black hole in the wall. A way out?

"I can just see…light!"

Chapter 15

The roar of splashing water was so loud that Kylie couldn't hear her own gasping. There was only enough time for one quick breath before Kylie was pulled back under the water by a strong current. It whirled her around from side to side until she felt herself being sucked through a small hole in the underwater rock. She was thrown all over the place, hitting the rocks she felt her arms being slashed and blood oozing out of the gashes. The little amount of air in her lungs was beginning to burn her from the inside. She wanted to scream as something caught her hair and ripped it out. Her head pounded in agony and she heard blood pulse around her ears. Though water swirled around her, her eyes bleed with salty tears. Then she felt her body rise. Something grabbed her broken arm and lifted her from the river below.

It felt good to have air fill her lungs again; to have the sting of sweet oxygen inside of her. The hot rush of a shiver vibrating through her body; it tingled up her spine. Milo swam besides her clinging on to the wall with one slashed arm and her with the other. His face had a huge hole in the side of his cheek. She swore she could see his teeth. Blood spilt out of the corners of his mouth as he tried to talk to her. He winced in pain and she steadied herself on a rock nearby taking some of the stress off Milo's body. He gasped in pain as his body quaked in shock. Kylie placed her sliced hand on his face and kissed his forehead gently.

"I was pushed!" Milo shouted over the roaring water.

Kylie said nothing; she simply hushed him and held him close.

* * *

Rocks scattered to the ground causing the cave to echo eerily. The cave seemed to howl in pain as the three teenagers tried to make the gap big enough to fit through. Was that a breeze they could feel? Were they really seeing light or was it just a trick of the mind? Were they really that close to freedom?

"I think its big enough now!" Jake stood back and looked at his scratched and bleeding hands. Connie sighed looking at the hole. She would never fit through that. Alex carried on moving loose rocks. He eventually sat back too and looked at his hands. Deep red lines ran across his hands as he moved it around. Connie ripped both of his sleeves off; she wrapped one around his hands and the other around Jake's. She had not been scratching the wall violently like they had been but gently placing rocks that had fallen out of their way so that they didn't hurt themselves in their manic scuffle for freedom.

"Connie you go first." Alex said gently.

"Like hell! She didn't help! I'm going first!" Jake yelled furiously. Connie jumped in fright.

Alex was astonished, "Jake!"

Jake didn't listen; he placed his hands on the edges of the hole, plunging into darkness as he tried to wiggle his way through the tiny gap in the wall. Connie and Jake sat in silence as they watched him struggle. He kicked his legs but never got anywhere. He backed out and went back in hands first this time. He dragged himself through, ripping his clothes and skin even more as he went. Connie watched in horror as she saw him tear up and completely shred his skin! He was like a wild beast that had escaped and was now stuck and in a panic. It was horrible. His eyes were full of strained tears and his screams echoed down the caves like ghosts that were tormenting them and were never going away! It was like a terrible nightmare that she couldn't wake from. However then he disappeared! Connie held her breath. They sat together in terror for what felt like years before suddenly a dark hand shot out of the darkness. Was it him? The murderer? No. It was Jake; she could just see the glint of fear in his eyes behind the veil of shadows. His hand was completely covered in his blood. He had ripped off his fingernails which now lay beneath his minced hand. Connie shrieked and slid away from him.

"Come on!" He shouted.

"What the hell was that?" Alex shouted back at him, horrified.

"I got through didn't I?" His stare was cold.

Connie clarified, "I'm not going through there!"

"Fine!" With that his hand was swallowed up in the darkness once more. He had gone; he had left them alone in the darkness. They were now sitting ducks!

* * *

The water was up to their chins now, they had been forced to swim to survive and the roof of this cave was right above them. In Kylie's own mind, all hope was lost. They were going to die in the wet darkness of this terrible place. Tears rolled down Kylie's face but were disguised by the dirty water which washed upon her face. Constant water flowed into the cave which meant to water was always rising, and it was rising quicker then Kylie had thought it would! She was trapped in an hourglass that was filled with water not sand still it would come to the same conclusion! Suddenly Milo came back up spluttering in pain as he breathed in deeply.

"Milo!" Kylie shrieked. "Are you okay? You were gone ages! Any luck?"

"With our…" He paused to catch his breath, "luck? Did you really expect me to find a way out?"

Kylie stared at him with a sinking heart. "No. I suppose not." She giggled nervously. That was it then. They were definitely going to die. Her mother had once told her that the best medicine for death was to be prepared. Kylie had never understood what she meant but now it seemed to make more sense. The waters were still rising; it was becoming difficult to breath. Kylie was getting weak and couldn't hold herself above the surface of the water. She was prepared to die. Now was the time.

"Kylie!" Milo put his arms around her. He grabbed the cave above them to hold them up. His legs had given up. They flowed with the current of the water. He held her close to him, holding her up, falling himself.

"Let go Milo." She whispered in his ear. She repeated.

"No! I'll never let go!" He cried, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Milo, please…" Her eyes were shut tight with the pain of living. Milo wept but still held on tight to the roof. He wouldn't let go off her, he had only just truly met her and now she was asking him to let go of the only thing he loved? He wouldn't, he couldn't.

"You know before I met you, I never knew real love. I…" Water fell into his mouth but he coughed it back out. "I will never let go Kylie! I will never let go!" He felt her go limp in his arms but she was still breathing. The only part of her face that was out of the water was her nose and mouth; everything else was submerged now. He hauled her higher hoping that she wouldn't give up. There had to be one tiny shred of hope, like Pandora's Box, beyond all helplessness and fear there was always hope! However nothing happened. The water rose, the air stopped, they fell under.

Milo held his breath for as long as he could, he held Kylie's lifeless body in his arms before his mind exploded. Fireworks went off before his very eyes. Glitter sprinkled around him until there was nothing but the dim murky water. He had fallen so far that he now lay on the floor of the cave, Kylie still within his arms. He heard his heart in his head; he felt his pulse throb painfully, in his throat the air that remained in his lungs forced its way up until it blasted out of his body. He took in a sharp breath, glad for it but soon recognising what filled his lungs was not air, but water. The taste of sea water on his tongue was vile; his body went into shock as the water swirled inside him. He felt it cold inside of him - freezing him - freezing his lungs as he tried so desperately to take another breath of air but never being granted it. His body shook until the end. Milo lay beside Kylie white with death. Cold. Breathless. Dead.

Chapter 16

Connie slid into the darkness slowly hearing quiet encouraging words from Alex behind her. She remembered her little panic attack before and had to stop to get her mind to calm down. She took two more deep breaths and carried on. Her raw hands grabbing onto anything that was near to haul herself through. Her legs weakly pushed against the sides on the tiny tunnel. She felt the stiflingly hot air between her and the cave walls, tiny gaps where it ran around her. She sweated in the heat. However eventually she could see the end of the cave. There was light, only the smallest amount but still light! Connie almost screamed, he had been right, Jake had been right, there was light at the end of the tunnel and this filled Connie's heart with joy and hope!

She wiggled towards it and soon found herself in a long wide tall tunnel with a circle of light shining through the end. She laughed and shrieked back to Alex happily that they had found the way out. She could faintly hear his voice call back she wasn't sure what he had said. It was hard for her to stand and wait for him to crawl through since all she wanted to do was run outside and scream with delight. She was so close to freedom, she could feel it on her face and could smell it but as long as she was in this cave she wasn't free! Tears stung her eyes as she impatiently waited for him. She glanced around the cave and saw long stalactites hanging from the roof causing the mouth of the cave to actually look like a mouth with sharp vampire teeth! She was in the belly of the monster yearning to get out before, like all the others, she was digested too! Suddenly a hand grabbed her wrist from the darkness and she screamed. Alex pulled himself from the hole and smiled up at her. She playfully hit him over the back of his head and helped him out. They both stared at the opening of the cave, the only remaining escape they would be able to exit! This was it.

They began walking towards it, almost running with excitement, holding hands and laughing. Carefully dodging the pot holes in the floor which lead to lower caves. This was the happiest Connie had felt in a long time. All the horrors of the last few hours which had felt like days seemed unnoticeable now. As if the 7 dead bodies that now lay motionless in the caves behind them weren't actually there at all. As if all the horror she had been a witness to hadn't actually occurred but was just some scary nightmare that had felt unbelievably real. It felt like she wasn't going to ever have any terror dreams and wake in the middle of the night from them sweating and screaming, nonetheless she knew she would for many years to come.

A howl filled the cave and both children skidded to a sudden stop. Connie gasped and cried out in shock. All hope was shattered at that very moment in time. All dreams of another happier life. A whimper escaped Alex's mouth and both watched in horror as a massacre occurred before their very eyes. Jake lay in a pool of his own blood. The murderer sat above him picking flesh off his body with a rusty red pocket knife. The sea ran into the cave, quickly turning on its heels and escaping, washing away some of Jake's blood with it. The man didn't look up at Connie and Alex but it was obvious he had noticed them because he began to play with the knife. It jumped through the air gracefully from one hand to the other. Every now and then it would point towards them and then elegantly twist in his hand to point towards Jake. At that point it would plunge towards him and rip away another shred of flesh. The man would never touch the minced flesh but enjoyed seeing blood spill out of his wounds. Connie felt like she was going to be sick and placed her hand over her mouth to stop herself. She knew that if she started, she would never stop and then she would die for certain. But surely she was going to die anyway so she didn't see the point. She turned and vomited into the sea. It came back swirling around her ankles but she didn't care. Alex was still frozen, his eyes wide with repulsion. The man finally looked up at them and smirked. He slowly stood up and Connie knew she should run but her legs wouldn't move. Tears streamed down her face blurring her vision.

Jake croaked from the corner spitting up blood. How was he still alive? He whispered mumbled words that made no sense because they were covered with blood. Everyone glanced at him nervously before resuming what they were doing before. Connie slipped her hand into Alex's releasing him from the murderer's hypnotic stare. Alex was suddenly running, Connie being dragged behind but the murderer was quick. He was stood in front of them silhouetted by the bright sunlight streaming through the caves mouth behind him. Alex and Connie stopped, the sea water up to their knees gently rising and falling every so often. Connie knew she would never feel the spray of the sea again, or the cold breeze through her hair so she savoured the moment. The murderer took one step towards them and they took two back; Alex pushed Connie behind him whilst doing so. The murderer grinned and shot his arms out, the blood stained knife still in his right hand. He howled again and the two teenagers ran back towards the dry part of the cave. They hid behind a big boulder. There was a large oval shaped hole in the wall which looked like it had been chiselled into the rock. That must have been the bit that they should have exited from. Now it was another escape, but Connie feared what would happen if she went back into the shadows. Could it get any worse then what it was now?

"Connie!" Alex took Connie's face in his hands and stared at her warmly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything to stop this. I wish we'd never come!"

"It's not your fault Alex!" Connie cried placing her hands on his. He pulled her close to his body and kissed her lips tenderly. She never wanted to let go, she felt so warm and fuzzy inside which was a total contrast to how she felt when he eventually pulled away. His face was tragic. They embraced for one last time before hearing the man get closer. Alex stood up and stepped away from the boulder. Connie tried to follow not wanting to be separated from him but he gave her a quick stern glance which told her to stay where she was. She did as his eyes told her.

Alex moved away, toward the murderer and Connie's heart skipped three beats in terror. What was he doing? She whimpered and sobbed internally. This was it, the end!

Chapter 17

Alex moved towards the killer courageously but inside his head was screaming at him. His mind wanted to live on, to have a family, to live his dream, but he knew if Connie was to survive he must sacrifice himself. He loved Connie, always had but had been too shy to ask her out and now he was doing the most heroic thing, giving his own life so that hers could live on. The man grinned amused by his act of bravery. He gripped the knife keenly in his left hand and moved forward. The knife sliced through the air making a swishing sound and missed by centimetres as Alex dodged it. It was all so sudden but Alex kicked his leg hitting the man's elbow causing the knife to fly away into the water. Alex was so caught up in being happy that the knife was gone that he didn't realise that the man had pounced on him and now had his big hands around Alex's neck. Alex could feel his windpipe slowly being crushed but still pushed against the weight above him. His legs suddenly shuddered out of control kicking the killer between the legs. The killer hunched over groaning. Alex swallowed a deep breath of air as his hands moved up to his neck to protect it. He could still feel the fingerprints of the murderer. He gasped until he was able to speak.

"Connie, run!" He croaked. She crawled to his side, tears pouring down her face. She placed her hands on his head and chest. She wasn't sure where to look; she settled on his eyes and cried more. "Connie go!" He ordered. She tried to refuse but he saw the killer gaining his posture again so he pushed her. "Forget about me Connie! GO!" She began to run

The murderer watched as she ran past him. He tried to grab her legs but he was in too much pain. He eventually stood up and laughed mockingly. He walked over to Alex and stood tall above him. He enjoyed asserting power over his prey, it was obvious to Alex. Alex tried to scurry backwards but the lack of oxygen had made him weak. He struggled to lift an arm. The murderer placed his foot on his chest and pressed down hard. Alex wined painfully. He turned his head to look at the opening, Connie was still running. He was grateful; at least he could go now with a peaceful mind. Connie was going to survive, that's all that mattered. The man saw him staring and saw Connie still running. He grinned with menace, took his foot off Alex's chest and bent down next to him so he could hear.

"She wont make it out the cave alive…I'll make sure of that!"

Alex found a sudden rush of adrenaline and brought his hand up to meet with the murderer's grubby unshaven face, a rock in his hands. The sharp rock hit his left temple causing the man to scream in pain and fall away. Alex sat up and shouted Connie's name. She stopped and instantly turned around.

* * *

"RUN!!!" He screamed. She couldn't, the water lapped up around her waist constantly slowing her down. She turned again to see the tall man loom over Alex, blood gushing down his face. His foot met Alex's face and she shrieked his name. She didn't want to watch but she couldn't take her eyes off what he was doing to Alex. Alex's head was punched several times, blood eventually splattering against the walls. Connie shrieked again. The killer kicked him in the stomach, bent down beside him and said something to him. Alex's bloody face met Connie's eyes which made her heart stop. Whatever he had said was about her! She turned again and tried to escape. She could hear muffled shouts of pain and grunts of anguish but couldn't look back. She wouldn't look back on the boy she loved being slaughtered.

That's when she heard it. The splashing from behind, he was after her and closing the gap between them quickly. She waded through the water as fast as she could but it was no use. He was on her tail. Abruptly the floor beneath her feet disappeared making her lose her balance and fall under the water for a couple of minutes. She had to swim back to the surface which was a mighty effort for her now. The only thing that was keeping her going was the thought of her family and how it would break them to find out that she was dead. She was an only child and her mother had had 4 miscarriages before having Connie, losing Connie would destroy her life! Connie knew she had to be strong, to carry on. She pushed her arms and kicked her legs finally managing to reach the surface. She spluttered for air. Her mind was in a frantic rush so she tried to calm it down so that she could send instructions to it to swim. Her arms began to move over her head, down under the water pushing her forward, flipping and then back over her head. Alternating between each arm as she had been taught when she was a child.

Suddenly she felt the warmth of the sun on her face which she welcomed. The water rose to a temperature she felt comfortable in and her heart began to beat at a normal pace. In such mayhem how could she suddenly feel so calm? It was so refreshing to feel the sun on her face but it was blinding! Like a sour smell from a sweet rose. Then she heard spluttering from behind and realised that the sunlight had stopped her from swimming, in this short amount of time the killer had managed to catch up with her, he was now only metre's away, in touching range. But he, like her, had fallen off the ledge and now was struggling to keep his head above the water. His arms waved frantically in the air wanting something to grab on to but there was nothing but water. Connie took this chance to escape. She swam quickly away to a safe distance, turned and waved her arms and kicked her legs gently to stay afloat. She watched as the man struggled to get to the surface. Watched as he spluttered and sucked in air to his lungs. She felt a sharp sting of happiness but regretted it instantly. This must be how he felt watching people die! Connie hated herself for feeling joyful as he was dying but she couldn't help it. His legs jerked weakly and slowly he began to fade under the murky water. A few bubbles rose to the top and popped. There was a long silence before Connie finally realised she was outside, safe at last! She had to find someone! To tell them what happened. She moved towards some - carved out of the cliff side - steps and hauled herself out of the water. She began to run up the steps but swiftly remembered what situation she was in. Mr Steffon had said right at the beginning of this ordeal that when they went back to the main entrance of the caves they would have to go over the caves to get back. Connie realised that she was the last, the only one of the group left and she didn't think that she had the strength to get over the hill. Connie wasn't fully sure how she felt anymore. She had a thick headache that stung the back of her head. Subsequently she burst into tears. All the tribulations she had been through, watching her friends die, not knowing if some were still wandering the caves alone and frightened in the darkness, being trapped and scared for so long, watching as her love was beaten to death all hit her in one single second. The tears flooded from her eyes and down her cheeks. She screamed out loud until her voice went raw. Her voice faded away into a fragile sobbing as she gently pushed her body against the rock in pain and torment of the memories. Her arms spread across the wall as she slid down to sit hunched closing her knees to her chest. Her arms went limp and fell to her side. A hand grabbed her arm and before she had a chance to look at who it was she fell in to the water.

Chapter 18

Water rushed passed her making a strange whooshing noise as the bubbles exploded. She felt it swish passed her ears and into her eyes. Her mind went numb as total confusion took over. Though she held her breath, she didn't recognise why. The salt water stung her eyes as she blinked frantically searching for something to explain what was happening. Suddenly it clicked. Connie began to panic. Her legs kicked wildly; every now and then they would reach the surface but would fall under again. Connie craved the air now. Bubbles of oxygen were escaping her lungs and she forced her way upwards not actually sure if it was up or down. Her sense of direction was totally dislodged and she had no idea what was happening. Eventually she heard splashing and felt warm air on her face. She took a deep sharp breath in before being pushed back under the water by a large hand. She nearly screamed but held her breath. She felt a hard tug on her head as the man pulled her by her hair. Though mixed in with the water she cried rivers of tears. She had her eyes closed, protecting them from the stinging salt, however she saw a change in light and she suddenly sped up. The pain zooming around her head was intense. This was it, she hadn't escaped when she had the chance and now she was going to pay the worst price of all. She had survived till the very end all for nothing. Everything she had fought and dealt with within what felt like weeks but was only a couple of hours had been a wasted effort and now she was going to die. She was sure of that.

A yelp exited her mouth as she was dragged above the surface of the water. She breathed in deeply at the sudden urge for oxygen. The murderer pulled her hair so tightly she was forced to scream in pain and stand up. She didn't know a human body could go trough so much hurt and still function properly! He put his face right into hers and spat the words at her.

"I told him you wouldn't make it out alive!" He rolled his eyes and sneered at her, "well it seems, I couldn't keep to that promise but now I've got you back here I will make sure you die. But not before I have a little fun of my own!" He smiled a menacing grin.

Connie whimpered, "oh god!" and dreaded what was to come. Her imagination went into overdrive and she bawled as he dragged her by her hair further into the cave. She recognised the boulder which she had hidden behind only a few moments ago. The tension was realised off her hair and she was thrown onto the boulder. She hit her head on to rock which stung badly. It took a moment for her to regain her awareness of what was happening. The man had move close to her and now pinned her to the rock with his muscular arms. Connie tried to free herself but it was no use. Her eyes now felt raw with tears and she wasn't sure if she was even crying anymore!

The man's hands slipped under her blue T-shirt which caused her to attack. A power she never knew she had pushed against the man's strong arms and she slapped him across the face. She left a pale pink mark on his white skin and left him in a state of shock. She kicked her legs which caught his shin violently sending him reeling away in agony clutching at his shin. He swore loudly and grabbed at her ankles as she began to run away. He caught her left ankle and she fell to the floor. She head-butted the floor clumsily sending a shock around her body; temporarily paralyzing her. Giving the killer a chance to pin her down to the ground where he now angrily smashed a rock down onto her cheek. Little whimpers and moans of pain escaped her lips as the rock blinded her right eye.

The man loved the taste of her blood as it splattered against his skin. He licked his lips and tasted the warm, sticky, red liquid which ran down his face. He pulled the rock away from her mashed face and smiled brashly. She breathed heavily and he loved to see how much torture she was in. Tears leaked through her broken eye and he could tell she didn't care anymore. Her lips quivered. He waited for her to feel the pain, to feel the torment and suffering that he had felt. He wanted her to know the reality of life before he gave her mercy and killed her. She began to weep; that was when he wrapped his large hands around her tiny, weak, easily breakable neck. He began to strangle her.

She felt her legs shaking but couldn't concentrate on them. She couldn't concentrate on anything at the moment; all that she was thinking about was the lack of air which stung her chest. Her lungs felt like they were going to burn in her chest. She could hear herself gasping for breath but it never came. Her head pounded in time with her pulse. She felt a cold shiver run through her veins and rush to her brain. The presence of the man above her was like a ghost. Her good eye began to shrink behind a curtain of darkness as the light in her eye faded. Lots of small dots began to emerge in the corner of her eyes and soon enough her vision was clouded with small black, white and slightly tinted pink dots. She felt light-headed and dizzy. Though she couldn't see it she could feel the world spin around her as the man's hands clamped tighter around her neck. Her legs stopped kicking. Her mind stopped running. Her body stopped working. Then she went cold as the heart stopped beating. Slowing down so much that it just halted. Then that was it. The body went limp and wilted.

The man removed his hands from her neck and shuffled away feeling intense but satisfied. That was it, the end, they were all…dead.