[POST_BATTLE_STRING_BL]
Darkness mulled over the barren halls of the RUINS. You stumbled along blindly, holding your hands in front of you, feeling for empty air. The smell of rust and copper invaded your lungs, making you cough wretchedly. Slimy shambles of clumped, silent monsters stared at you from the walls, light gleaming off their begging, hopeless eyes. You thumped against grimy walls, flinched backwards when your hands scraped against the ancient, moldy brick.
You rounded a corner , and the musty air lightened some, giving way to a cool breath of openness. Light gleamed from a single lantern in the darkness, barely illuminating the cavern, which stretched up, light dancing off crystallized rock, into a dark oblivion. The light shone off a gnarled, dead tree in the center of the cavern, with chunks of bark torn clean off and termite holes borne into the moldy, rotted wood. The tree cast a thick shadow over the cavern, looking like extended hands clawing at the sky.
The lantern swung by a rusty, crooked nail hanging from the dug-in top of a doorway off an old house, carved out of the rock, coated by dead swathes of leaves. The lantern shone like a beacon towards safety, and when you squinted, you noticed unintelligible marks smeared on the house, the creamy liquid a dark shade of scarlet. Your best guess was that they were motioning to go inside. The house reeked of thick mold and mildew, clogging your non-existent nose with muggy heat and stinging stench.
But the most jarring part was the fluid, slathered everywhere. On the branches of the dead tree, the walls of the house, in puddles all over the stony floor, on the dead leaves surrounding the house.
You tugged self-consciously at the neck of your shirt, feeling the sweat sticking to your neck. You drew in a shaky breath, eyeing the lantern. You didn't want to go in, the whole place gave off an anxious vibe that made you squirm. You felt trapped in that cavern, wrapped in darkness. The house was the only place left to go.
You pressed a hand against your thumping heart, and started into the house.
Upon entering, the light melted behind you as you descended furthur and furthur into a mildewy hall of darkness. You felt the area under your feet change, dusty wooden planks littered across the dirt floor, cracked cement walls, creamy, dull paint peeling off in clumps off the walls, revealing the wooden palleted interior, with plushy fiberglass… in some areas, monstrous holes and blunt teeth marks lodged in the fiberglass.
The hall opened into a dark room, in worse condition than the hall. Ripped, scratched walls with flaking paint , and a thin, worn rug barely covering the lumpy, dirt wood plank floor.
A wet roar erupted somewhere in the house, and you froze, rooted to your place. Your knees began to shake as creaking echoed through the halls.
The squeaks of the house grew louder , until they were right behind you, hot, spittle-coated, breathing running down your neck. You turned to face the looming figure of mildew and smile. Its great lips parted in a disgusting mock of a grin, it's neck snapping to the side in affection. A low rumble of affection mumbled from it's throat, as its arms jerked to bring its hands together.
It continued on a series of rumbles, struggling to emit recognizable sounds, but you recognized a few words. "Home." "Child." "Humble." "Love." "You."
You froze as it suddenly bowed down, its massive head bearing towards you, so close you could see yourself reflected in its bulging, black eyes. Chunky slime ran down its body and neck. It suddenly pressed it's curled mouth against your forehead. Its mouth parted a bit, and a long tongue pushed against your stringy hair, tousling your mop of now sticky hair. You whimpered in fear as gunge drizzled down your face, sticking to your skin as it's clammy lips mulled over your head.
It dislodged it's lips from you with a wet splop, rumbling something else, before it turned on a gooey, mashed heel and stomped away. You stood there, trembling, not wanting to move in fear of something dare happen.
You looked around wildly when a ruffle of noise screeched from a nearby wall. You leapt up on your feet and dashed down the hall, your bare feet scraping against the splintered, dusty wood planks as cold air rushed by you. You skidded to a stop as a cracked, dirty wall lay ahead of you. A dead end. You glanced back, but the room behind you had been swallowed by darkness. There was a door off to the side, chipped and frail, just barely hanging on a rusty hinge. You took slow, moaning steps inside, the darkness of the room consuming you whole. You felt around for a light switch, but your hand touched the thin fabric of a lampshade You trailed your hand down until it touched the rim, and then stuck it inside, and you fingered a hanging lamp switch. You tugged on it, and with a squeak, the light popped on. The dusty light shone dimly over a grey, monotone room, with cracked, chipping walls. There was furniture crammed in every corner- chairs, bins, dressers, framed pictures on the walls. A lone bed sat in the ruckus, peeling wood, a child-shaped husk in the middle of the squishy mattress. You could even make out a head and thin legs. A chill ran down your body to the marrow of your bones, thinking that there was another poor child who came down here.
You trudged your way through the mess, wincing as things scraped and squeaked horribly as they moved. You came to one of the bins, which was overflowing with children's shoes- all of them covered in slime- and dust. You picked one up- a flat, feeling the hard, rippled bottom under your hands, the peach-fuzz texture of the shoes.
Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, you tossed it back in, and it clunked back with the others.
You stood there blankly, in the heap of trash and oddities, staring into shadowed space.
You fell backwards, the bed cushioned your fall. You stared at the ceiling warily, watching shadows float across it.
Tomorrow was a new day.
AN: I'm so sorry I haven't been updating! I've been busy with schoolwork and my novel-to-be, When The Light Leaves Thee. I'll make sure to update more often, promise!