Part 9
The silence that engulfed the atmosphere around the two was so thick they could feel it weighing down on them with each moment that passed by. Marissa shivered at the cool wind that blew her long, thin locks past her shoulders. Slender noticed her shiver and lowered his head, shaking it in a worried fashion.
"Do you want to go back and get a jacket?" He asked as she rubbed her arms through her long sleeved shirt.
Shaking her head, she stared ahead and frowned sternly. "No. There's no time to. Lucy is the most important right now. We need to find and help her. She needs us…" Marissa added, frowning now as she looked at the ground guiltily.
Slender stared at her silently. He watched her ashamed expression and nervous antics as she looked around desperately. Nodding, he looked ahead and continued to walk beside her. Marissa glanced around anxiously before feeling something touch the top of her shoulders. She jumped slightly at the feeling before looking over and seeing Slender place his nice jacket on her shoulders. They looked at each other for a brief moment before she smiled and nodded at him, putting on the clothing. Slender nodded back and continued to search the area, trying to sense Lucy or anything that would lead to her location.
Marissa shivered and covered herself with the jacket the best she could, trying to block out the wind as they searched. She frowned and stared off in the distance, locking her gaze at the woods.
'Lucy… Where did you go?' She thought before lowering her gaze in sadness. 'I can understand why you would want to leave though… No one has treated you right. It hasn't been fair, but I want to change that! Just please let us find you before it's too late.'
Marissa looked up surprised when Slender touched her arm and pointed off to a large sycamore tree to their left. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw when Slender was pointing at.
"A note." He said simply as he teleported over to the tree, quickly catching the page from the branch before it could fly off in the wind.
Slender stared down at it silently while Marissa sped over to him. When she got to his side, she looked up at him worriedly.
"S-Slender? Does it say anything about Lucy?" She asked, her curiosity killing her as she stared at his "face". 'Ugh! This is one of those times where I wish he had a face to read!'
Slender was silent and looked down at her before holding out the note in her direction. Marissa blinked at him for a moment before taking the page and staring at it, her eyes immediately widening at the paper. Her face fell into a sad stare as her hands tightly clutched the thin page in her hands. On that page, drawn in pencil, was a drawing of a little girl holding hands with another woman. Both were smiling as the little girl and woman looked down at each other and walked along.
The features on Slender's face tightened as he watched Marissa stare at the picture silently. He watched her before flinching slightly when he heard her grasp the paper tighter and start to shake. He was about to ask what was wrong before he saw her begin to change like before. Her hair darkened to match the darkness of the night while her eyes glowed the color of blood. Her build thickened slightly and grew as her physical appearance changed to a more athletic form.
'It's Body.' Slender noted, watching her silently before seeing her look up at him, then ahead to the woods.
"Faceless… Take me to the cave." She muttered seriously as she stared ahead at the woods, clutching both Lucy's drawing of the cave and of the two of them.
Nodding, the two quickly ran to the forest, not bothering to talk as the silent aura shifted to complete seriousness.
…
Lucy stood there like a petrified statue as she stared at the man who watched her silently. The only noise to be heard was the cool breeze that blew past them, forcing droplets of the man's blood to fall to the ground. She swallowed heavily before calming her breathing and frowning at him upset and clutching her sketchbook as her frustration increased.
"Why…? Why me? Why do you want my help you mean man!?" She stared at him intently, trying to appear serious and strong to him.
The man chuckled at this and held up a finger, waving it at her in a scolding yet playful manner. "Now, now. No need to be nasty. If I wanted to hurt you I would have by now."
Silence permeated the small cavern as Lucy raised a brow before nodding at him.
"Yeah… I guess you're right…" She mumbled, looking away as she rubbed her head. "Sorry."
He shook his head then slowly moved his line of sight to the room below them. The creatures were growling and pacing around the fire as they watched the body being burned.
"Let's change location…" He muttered before disappearing off.
Lucy gasped before stumbling after him. "Hey! Wait up!" She whined, holding her things close as she followed the trail of blood.
Finally, they had met up again beside the area with the hidey hole. Lucy leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath back. She peeked up at him as he stared off silently.
"So… I'm Lucy. Do you have a name mister?"
"Phil."
She nodded and stood up straight, huffing as she rested her hands to her hips. "Well Phil, now that we are here, you're gonna tell me what's going on mister!" She said matter-of-factly.
Chuckling, Phil nodded and let out a long sigh as he looked down at his bloody hands. "As you know, my name is Phil. When I was alive I worked in the repair and construction field. I could fix any repair and knew the ins and outs to the profession, making my business set off quickly as I became more popular. Eventually, I was called to work on and fix the water system in this cave… my last assignment."
"Because you died here." Lucy finished, blatantly obvious.
"Yes… I was the man in those visions I projected on you who fell off and cracked open his head." He said before reaching up and feeling the crack in his cranium that had stopped bleeding profusely.
"If you were that man, then who was the other guy? Someone you knew?" she asked curiously.
Phil nodded, remaining silent as he stood there, almost frozen in place. Lucy watched him before pursing her lips and puffing out her cheeks upset.
"Well I can't read minds mister Phil!"
He simply chuckled and shook his head before speaking up again. "Tobias. He was my younger brother."
Lucy's face fell into a guilty frown. "Oh no… You… He… I-"
"Don't worry about it. We both decided to come work down here and identify the problem. He was better at plumbing and waterworks than me, so I asked him to come along for extra help.
"I remember that day vividly… How we slid down the sandy slope and trudged our way through the tall, thick water to get into the cave. Right when I entered the cave and started walking down those steps, I felt a strange presence. I couldn't explain it, but something felt off about this place. Even so, everything went fine as we started checking out the pipes until Tobias left to go follow them to the source. I stayed at our position and waited for him to return… when he didn't. He was gone for too long when… IT appeared… That creature. I ran for dear life as it chased after me until I was cornered at a dead end. I remember at that moment I started praying and froze in fear, seeing my life flash before my eyes as the running footsteps approached. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the moment that I'd die when nothing happened. The next thing I knew, I saw the monster looking around confused and leaving. I had caught a lucky break, but all of my luck must have gone to waste when the creatures found me again chased me until I came to that room… the room I saw my brother get burned alive in by that demon… I wasn't paying attention to anything bedsides that room which caused my death as I fell down and busted my head open. The last thing I remember is hearing cackling and flickering flames around me."
Phil clutched his hands to fists tightly, his arms beginning to shake in rage as he remembered. Lucy watched him and shivered a little as she stared at his hands before lightly touching her neck. Phil noticed everything had gotten quiet before he sighed deeply.
"The next thing I knew… I was this. Floating around these caverns aimlessly. I easily figured out I had died when I met up with the monsters and they didn't see or notice me. At that point I vowed revenge on this cave. I swore I would destroy this place to prevent this from happening to anyone else. I spent years wandering through the forest, yet staying close to my grave in case I would lose my way. I was beginning to lose hope when you came along. You were the only one that had seen and heard me that day. I couldn't pass up this opportunity and I had to follow you when I saw you wouldn't be returning any time soon. It was true. I was the apparition that appeared in your room last night. I-I'm sorry for what I did, but I was so angry and frustrated that you left without using your gift to help me. I become very weak the further I get away from this cave so I had to get you to come here. I didn't want to hurt you, that's why I pushed you into this small tunnel; to protect you from getting hurt by the creatures that roam these caverns. I showed you those memoires and visions to show you what I had went through and how you could help yourself if you would endure a situation like I had, and to prove…"
Lucy stared at him eagerly, leaning forward. "Prove what?"
"Prove to you that I wasn't insane and that I needed your help, otherwise this madness would continue and many more people would fall victim."
"Wait…" She mumbled before her eyes widened in worry. "You mean?"
Phil nodded. "These creatures that attacked me and you were people, innocent civilians. After staying down here and watching as long as I did, I figured out that people are lured down here and are burned alive to become one of those monsters."
"What?!" Lucy jumped up and looked around worriedly. "How does that happen?"
"They aren't the only… unearthly beings down here." He muttered and glanced back to the direction they were before. "There's some kind of demon down here, luring humans, burning them, and transforming them into these monsters. I remember seeing a darkened figure behind the flames and chanting as they scorched my brother. That thing needs to be stopped and the innocent souls freed. It doesn't belong here."
Phil glanced down at Lucy before kneeling down to her level so they locked eyes. She gasped when she saw his face was completely free of blood, but his injuries were still present.
"Lucy… I hate to drag you into this mess and danger at such a young age but-"
"I'm not a baby!" She shouted upset, stomping her foot down as she tensed up.
Phil stared at her surprised before she calmed down and looked away, fiddling with her hands nervously.
"W-Well I mean… I'm not a weak little baby. I can do things and help people even if I'm different." She stared back at Phil with a sad face.
He nodded and sighed. "I see… Well excuse me for before. I didn't mean to assume things. I shouldn't have upset you. I need you and your gift to help me. You're the only one that can."
Lucy perked up and looked at Phil surprised. She couldn't help but feel excited by his words. "What do I need to do?"
Phil stood up and pointed off into the other direction they came from. "In a room a little ways off, there's a supply and backup closet. When I was alive, I noticed it held a couple survival items: matches, flares, extra flashlights and dynamite. If we can make it to that room, acquire some dynamite and matches then we can blow up that horrible room. I doubt it will affect the demon, but the monsters will be destroyed and the room will crumble so the devil can't continue its actions. Hopefully that will free everyone's trapped spirits and we can move on."
Lucy nodded, giving Phil a small smile as she started walking off in that direction. "Alright Phil. I'll help you since you saved me before from those scary monster people. Lead on!" She declared, marching off.
Chuckling, Phil nodded and floating ahead yet still beside her as they headed towards their last hope. He glanced down at his hands and saw his cut up, rough, pale skin. He smiled and kept open a careful ear for any monsters, demons or other sources of life to protect Lucy.