NOW. This story includes Supernatural Themes, Murder, Suicide, Gore, Vore, Molestation, Violence, Strong and Suggestive Language, and LOTS of blood. THIS STORY IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Read at your own risk. I own nothing but the plot and story line. Please Read and Review.
Naruto's eyes were too heavy to keep open. So he shut them, and let them stay closed, his body slumping slightly against the floor below him, heedless of the way his shirt soaked through a little with the pool of blood that had come from his arm. He felt dizzy, stressed, and helpless, long after the arrow had been removed from his flesh. Was it so much to ask to just want to go home, now…? Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto knew he had to dress his wound, staunch the blood and move on, but he was just too tired…
It seemed like his entire body sank into the floor as he straightened out. Even though the floor was hard, it was as though it was becoming softer the longer he laid there. With his eyes closed, he could just imagine himself sinking into the plushness of a mattress, the warm, thick covers gently sliding up his back and tucking themselves around his body, pulling him further into the comfortableness that was the bed beneath him. But through the soft, warm bliss that surrounded Naruto, through the thoughts of what comfort sleep would bring him, Naruto's thoughts returned to his teammates, lost somewhere in this strange mansion that seemed to have swallowed them whole, filled with its odd traps and tricks. He couldn't just leave them being to their own devices, could he? After all, Naruto was the one best suited to be the hero, he thought to himself, a small smile curving his lips upward even through the weariness and pain bogging him down.
With a renewed conviction, Naruto tried to lift himself off the floor, even before he tried to open his eyes, but only met resistance on both fronts. His eyes seemed to be weighted down with lead, and what had felt like covers tucking him in kept him from moving too much; what movement he did achieve created a rocking motion, as though he had suddenly found himself on a water bed. 'Strange', he thought, struggling with more conviction. It took several minutes and force before Naruto was finally able to crack open his eyes, and when he did, he had to stifle a scream.
There wasn't a bed moving underneath him, the floor was moving underneath him. In fact, it had somehow contorted, twisting up in long, thick tendrils that snaked around his body in a soft but confining way, pinning his arms and legs to the ground as it swayed and rocked. With a new panic and conviction, Naruto struggled harder, trying to keep his breathing as even as it could be, though he felt very close to hyperventilating at this point in time. But the more he struggled, the harder the grip around him became, causing a numbness to start spreading in his limbs. Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to force his limbs apart, but no matter how much power he put behind his struggles, he couldn't get the floor to budge from around him.
Tighter and tighter the grip became until not only was blood circulation a worry, but he found that it was starting to restrict his breathing, choking the air from his lungs that had begun to burn. Naruto cast his eyes wildly around him, trying to figure out a way out of whatever had hold of him, when his cerulean hues fell upon the arrow head, lying just inches away from his fingers, still covered in his blood. Almost as though the tendrils holding him down realized what Naruto was doing as he ceased his struggles, rather trying with all his might to reach the arrow head, the floor continued its rocking and waving pattern, tightening on Naruto's pained body. A distraught grunt slipped past Naruto's lips as he squeezed his eyes shut under the pressure being placed on him, but continued to grope along the floor, trying to reach the arrowhead.
Finally, Naruto felt his fingertips brush metal, and his eyes snapped open; his breaths were sharp and shallow, and it felt as though an elephant itself was sitting on his back, crushing him into the ground, but he didn't stop. Further Naruto reached, willing the arrow closer so that he could grasp it, but his arm just wouldn't go any further at all. Cursing inwardly, Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground in a final show of frustration, certain it would be one of his last movements before he died. Tears were pricking at his eyes from the thought, but the moment his hand connected to the ground, his fingertips brushed the metal of the arrow head again, and seemed to have caught the tip of it, flipping it; directly into his range.
With a gasp of triumph and suffocation, Naruto's hand gripped the arrow tightly, uncaring of the way the metal bit harshly into his flesh, drawing even more blood from his already drained body, and began slashing wildly at the floor that had wrapped around him, pulling him downward. The second the blade was raked over one of the tendrils, a sharp, screeching sound echoed around the room, ringing in Naruto's ears and making him grit his teeth and squint, but he didn't stop slashing. Seconds later, the enormous pressure was relieved from his body as Naruto watched the floor sink back into itself, returning to its polished, now foreboding, state. Naruto gulped quietly as he slowly stood up on shaking knees, wincing to himself as he felt the first few pangs of pain renewed in his arm, and now on his palm, too.
Naruto moved toward a wall, just wanting to be away from that particular spot. With a heavy sense of self, he leaned against it to help keep his balance, and began to use the arrow head against the bottom of his shirt, ripping the fabric off in long strips that he used to tie up his wounds. Moments afterward, with a hand steadying himself against the wall, he pushed forward, down the hall, too worried and frightened to do anything but move. The arrow slipped from his grasp, and made a sharp clattering noise against the smooth, polished stone beneath him. He didn't look back.
*~*~~* Meanwhile *~*~*~*
Sasuke slammed the door closed behind him, barring it with his body to hold it closed, even as he flinched wildly, hearing the frighteningly loud thump on the other side that had to have been the creature throwing its body against the wood, trying to break it down. But the door held, and Sasuke didn't move an inch from his heaving position, his shoulders and legs shaking with the strain he was placing on himself, pushing as hard as he could into the door to keep it closed. There was silence from the other side for a moment, before the soft but deadly sound of nails scraping against the stone floor sounded out once, then twice, before a long, piercing howl broke out from the other side of the door. It lasted for a few moments before that too, was gone, leaving Sasuke in a stressful silence, where the only sound was his rapid, haggard breathing.
Seconds passed; then minutes – nothing happened.
Slowly, Sasuke stood up, away from the door, only to turn around and check the handle for a lock. He found none, however, which only made him take slow, silent steps away from the door, hoping that the creature wouldn't hear his retreat and try to break it down again. Once he was satisfied that he had gained a good amount of distance from the door, Sasuke finally permitted himself to turn back around and take a look at the room he had found himself in, only for his foot to come down on something small, hard, and… movable.
Sasuke let out a yelp as his foot slid out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor on his ass, sending a sharp stab of pain through his spine. A wooden toy truck sped across the floor, only to slam into the leg of a rocking chair, stopped in its tracks. Sasuke's eyes widened a little in astonishment; it appeared he had found a child's playroom. But more astonishing than even that?
Sasuke had found a child.
She was staring at him with the same, wide-eyed look he was giving her, clutching a small, gold edged mirror that showed Sasuke's reflection back at him. The young child, who didn't look older than eight, was pale in every sense of the word; pale skin tone, pale violet eyes, pale blue hair, pale pink night dress. She was barefoot, and her legs hung off the rocking chair quite a way away from the ground. As Sasuke watched the little girl and her mirror, for some odd reason, Sasuke could have sworn he saw a shadow pass behind him in the mirror, but when he glanced over his shoulder, there was nothing there; definitely not the flaming creature he'd narrowly escaped before.
Sasuke's breathing had returned to normal by this point, and he slowly began to stand up, parting his lips to speak to the girl; to ask her what she was doing here, in such a dangerous place. But the moment Sasuke was on his feet, the girl jumped off of the rocking chair, the mirror still tightly gripped by tiny hands, and the next second she had taken off running toward the only other door in the room; to Sasuke's left.
"Hey, wait!" Sasuke cried after her, more out of confusion than anything, but she had already made it to the door, reaching up to quickly turn the handle, and just like that, she had fled out of sight.
Sasuke stood there for a moment more before he remembered the odd layout of the mansion, and the strange creature that had attacked him, once more feeling the burning pain of his leg where the nails of the beast had gouged him. With a grimace, Sasuke hurriedly tore off a piece of his sleeve, wrapping it around his leg to staunch the blood, before he started off after the child, worried about such a frail little girl in this odd, dangerous house.
Just as he reached the door she had disappeared to, the door flung open behind her like Naruto had left in his path before, a chill seemed to sweep around Sasuke, stopping him dead in his tracks for a moment; as though he were outside, a sudden gust of wind found him from the back, picking a few strands of his hair and kicking them into his face, catching hold of the door and starting to blow it shut. Before the door closed completely, however, a whisper came from just over Sasuke's shoulder, sending a bone chilling shudder wracking through his entire body.
"You'll die before you find her again…"
Sasuke whipped around, his eyes wide and searching the play room behind him, but there wasn't a single person besides himself in the room any longer. His heart pounding, Sasuke jumped as a loud Slam was heard behind him, causing him to spin around again, only to see the door in front of him had been shut completely.
Alright, next chapter will be longer, and will show a little insight to the girl we've just met. ~ Review!