Author Note: I hope you're happy...this chapter took me forever to do with all the schoolwork I had to do...Yet this chapter was kind of fun, even if I am writing it while I have a cold. A warning though, this chapter has sexual situations in it. Although it doesn't go very far, it's still there. This chapter is focused on Steve. ^_^ Now, enjoy! (Or else!)
Steve was stuck at his first dead end. Giant stone walls loomed above him, adding to the hopelessness of his situation. The darkness seemed to close around him like a dark, suffocating coffin. Steve knew that the monster was still trying to find him. He suddenly felt like a mouse, trapped in a giant maze.
Steve turned around with the feeling that something was behind him. Thankfully, the monster wasn't there, but he was sure she was getting closer. He quickly weaved to the left and ran forward. He heard a shriek echo through the stone labyrinth. He didn't know where she was, but he could tell she was nearby.
Steve ran onward blindly while panic told his body where to move. Just ahead of him there was a T-junction. He randomly picked right, hoping that he had made the right choice. As he neared the T-junction, the monster woman stumbled out from the left. He gave a surprised yelp as he nearly collided with the her. She quickly lifted her head in alertness as he staggered around her and ran to the right. She reached out for him, only feeling air slip through her fingers.
Steve knew that going to the right was a bad idea the moment he saw three stone walls blocking his path. He skidded to a stop and lost his footing, smashing into a wall. He cried out in shock as he hit the dirt. Steve was dazed, but he quickly shook it off. He looked up to see the woman standing only a couple feet away from him. She removed her hands from her chest, revealing a large bloody hole. Steve could make out the throbbing heart still beating abnormally. She held out her hands to him, as if she were trying to give him something. The monster wasn't running anymore, instead she took slow steps toward him. There was no need to hurry, she had him cornered.
Steve backed against the wall, clutching the shotgun. He fired a few shells at her exposed heart, but she quickly blocked it with her arms. Frustrated, he fired again. He didn't stop firing until the shotgun was empty. She seemed to patiently wait until he was finished, and then held out her hands once again and walked forward. There wasn't a scratch on her.
'You've got to me kidding me...'
The monster stopped a few feet in front of him. Strands of her flowing auburn hair blew in the cold, night wind. Steve's mind screamed at him to run while there was still time, yet he felt frozen. There was something strange about this monster. It looked like a disfigured angel. The red stain on the bandages around its face had become larger.
Llik em esaelp. Llik em esaelp. Llik em esaelp. Llik em esaelp.
Then it happened. Before Steve could run, she lunged forward and grabbed his arms. A chill ran down his spine as its cold, clammy fingers dug into his skin. She pinned him against the wall as he fought and kicked to get away. A thin, red line appeared across her stomach. It opened up and blood gushed down in rivers down her delicate stomach.
Fat, slimy, black, worm-like things began to emerge from the monster's stomach. It reminded Steve of those maggots he had seen blocking the door. To his surprise, the black worm-like things began stretching themselves into thin, long tentacle-like limbs. The monster didn't seem at all bothered that these disgusting things were coming out of her stomach. Steve, on the other hand, felt like he was going to throw up.
The tentacles thrashed about in a disorganized manner, feeling everything around them. Then they stopped suddenly, all of them lying still. One of the tentacles began to twitch, and lifted itself off the ground, as if the monster were trying to control it. The tentacle slide up Steve's arm, creating a thin trail of blood on his skin. He struggled again, but the monster still held him in place. The tentacle wrapped itself around his wrist. He could feel warm, wet blood smear against his skin. Disgusting.
The other tentacles soon followed the first one's example. One wrapped itself around his other wrist, and the other two wrapped themselves around his ankles. The monster finally let go, and her arms fell to her sides. Steve stood there, unable to move.
'What the...what is she going to do to me?' he thought. She could kill him, right now. It would have been so easy for her to slip her hands around his neck and swiftly snap it in two. Yet she didn't budge.
Then she raised her hand and gently touched his cheek. He jerked his head away from her, the touch of her hand making him uncomfortable. Annoyed by this, the monster grabbed his chin and forced him to look straight at her. With one hand she reached back and began to remove the bandages from her face. She did it slowly with a single trembling hand. A sticky, thin fluid clung to the bandages. Red, meaty chunks of flesh dropped to the floor. Once the bandages completely came off, all that was left was her disgusting, fleshless face.
'Oh my God,' Steve thought. Her face was nothing but decaying, lumpy muscle and blood. She had no eyes-just a couple of black, empty holes. She had no lips either. The muscle tissue just folded over the ridges of her mouth.
He tried to jerk his head away again, afraid to look at her, but her grip was strong. She then touched his neck with her other hand, digging her fingernails into his soft flesh. She brought her face closer to his.
'This is it,' he thought miserably, 'she's going to kill me.' He thought of Claire, and how he'd never be able to see her again.
He closed his eyes and waited for her to devour him. He waited for that horrible pain that came just before death.
It never came.
He felt her warm breath on his neck. He slowly opened his eyes to see that she was still near it. Her thumb began to gently rub his jugular. As she did that, she began to press her body against his. Her open, throbbing heart beat against his chest in a rhythmic pattern. It stained his shirt with the blood from her open wound. Steve didn't dare move, afraid of what might happen to him if he did.
Her hand glided down his torso, stroking it in an almost loving manner.
'Is she...is she going to do what I think she's going to do?!' he thought panicked. Her hands stopped at his pants. He looked down in bewilderment as she loosened his belt. She didn't even bother looking at him as she did it.
"G-get the hell away from me!" he screamed at her. She slipped her hand into his pants, feeling around as she did. He felt her clammy fingers brush against his waist. Knowing what would come next, he fought as hard as he could to escape. He yanked so violently on his restraints that one of the tentacles was ripped out of the monster's stomach in a spray of blood. The monster screamed as her some of her innards were tore in half from the force of the pull. The tentacle loosen itself from Steve's wrists and fell to the ground.
With one hand free, he grabbed the other tentacle and tried to pry it off. Before he could, the monster let out a furious screeched and slammed him against the stone wall. Steve was dazed and hurting from the blow. The monster tightened her grip around his neck, cutting off his air supply. His vision began to blur and he couldn't think straight anymore.
There was a sudden flash of light and a scream. Steve found himself able to breathe again, and that he was now laying on the ground. As his sight cleared, he saw the monster shrieking in pain. She was shielding herself with her arms while backing away. He noticed that the string of light bulbs were lit.
'She doesn't like light...'
Steve stumbled to his feet and quickly fasten his belt. He took off away from the monster, staying as close to the light as he could. The monster didn't follow him, but he could still hear her painfully shrieking as she was driven back by the illuminated labyrinth.