• Kami's Mouth •
Professor Clover huffed and puffed under hid breath as he stared into Kami's Mouth which was located in Jaya rainforest. He felt like the Big Bad Wolf ready to interrupt the three innocent little pigs as they hurriedly fortified their makeshift homes. He grinned at this thought and then turned his head to look for Nico Olvia. She was a couple of feet down the hill from the entrance of the cave, holding a walking stick close to her petite breasts. "Hurry up!" Professor Clover called down to her. He turned back to the cave, still grinning. An old, rotted sign outside read 'Kami's Mouth Cave: Keep Out!' What a tired cliché Clover thought.
Olvia finally made it to the entrance and stood beside Professor Clover, almost doubled over and out of breath. He looked down and smiled. "Check it out!" He laughed. "Kami's mouth. Wonder where she is?" Clover chuckled to himself. Olvia was less amused.
Professor Clover light up his lantern, and pointed to the cave. Kami's Mouth. He turned again to Olvia. "You ready?" he asked. Olvia finally stand up, and nodded. He clapped a friendly hand to her back and they walked into Kami's Mouth.
The inside was not unlike the preview Professor Clover had glimpsed outside with his lantern. Dark, dismal, and endlessly black. It seemed to stretch endlessly, no matter how Professor Clover positioned his lantern. The rocky terrain was damp and imposing. The last natural light slowly disappeared behind Professor Clover and Olvia as they made their way deeper and deeper. Clover found it strange how soft and compelling the world around him now appeared, despite the stalactites, stalagmites, and other various rocky formations being so jagged. It seemed that even amongst the pointed teeth of Kami he could lay down and rest there forever. It was comfortable.
Apparently Olvia didn't agree. She shivered uncomfortably held onto Professor Clover's arm. Professor Clover raised his eyebrows. "You scared?" he asked. He bit his lip and waited, but she didn't respond. They realized that they were lost inky blackness of the Mouth. For a couple minutes they walked in silence. Olvia stopped and stood motionless. Professor Clover stopped, too.
"Why are they even in here?" Olvia said. She sounded irritated. Professor Clover shrugged – more to appease himself than her – and shoved his lantern under his face. Bladed shadows obscured half his face, the other half illuminated in a wretched mask. "Spooky!" Professor Clover cried, chuckling. Olvia didn't move.
Professor Clover sighed. "I thought you wanted to go," he said. His noticed how his voice echoed against the cave walls at any volume. "I mean," Professor Clover began again, scratching at his chin, "You did say you wanted to go see some nature for our expedition. And you did sound impressed when I told you about exploring the Kami's Mouth Caves a couple days ago. So…" Professor Clover voice trailed off. He could still sense her irritation.
"No," Olvia said. Professor Clover frowned. "No, you wanted to go here. I wanted to go to an Ancient Temple or something. But not a cave, Professor Clover!" She sounded more like the Big Bad Wolf now. "I know that you have this weird excitement for exploring caves or something, but I don't really want to be dragged in to it. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go on a expedition trip and learn ancient ruins and temples, but not this," Professor Clover could hear Olvia's arms flail and gesture about in the thick air. "This is just cave, a regular cave. There's nothing historical here. Can we please leave Professor Clover?"
They both stood there. The only sound that could be heard was the electricity in the air being stifled and smothered by the damp atmosphere. Finally, they began to walk. Professor Clover didn't hear Olvia follow him, but he kept moving forward. Then, " Professor Clover," said Olvia, "Stop. Please stop." Professor Clover stopped walking.
"I'm sorry," she said. Professor Clover could hear Olvia moving closer to him. "I'm tired and I'm not used to walking around caves like this. I'm tired."
"It's okay," said Professor Clover. Olvia gripped onto Professor Clover's arm. "Really. It's fine." I shook my head. "Which way is out? I don't remember." He could feel Olvia physically pause. Neither of them could remember. Somehow, in the confusion of their argument, Professor Clover forgotten which way they had been moving. Idiot, Professor Clover thought to himself, he should have brought his rope or something to trail from the entrance of the cave. He had to take action, so without much thought, Professor Clover turned 180 degrees and said to Olvia, "This way."
They walked for what seemed to be hours. Their feet were tired and sore, and he could hear Olvia's groans from behind him. Olvia held his hand tightly. Professor Clover felt terrible. This was his fault he thought.
Then, Professor Clover froze. "Hey. Hey," he said, "Put your hand out. Feel this rock." I could hear Olvia's bare palm press against the stone. "Isn't this, like…abnormally warm?" he said. Olvia didn't say anything. He began to work his way along the wall, feeling it as he went, shining the lantern in front of him. Suddenly, Professor Clover felt a sharp pain on his head as the ceiling of Kami's Mouth met with his scalp.
"Ow! Shit!" Professor Clover shouted.
"Oh, Professor Clover, are you okay?" Olvia asked. Olvia seemed on the verge of panic now.
"I'm fine," said Professor Clover. "Please, calm down dear. We'll get out of here soon, I promise."
Professor Clover started again, pointing his lantern upwards to see the ceiling above him. "It seemed to be getting narrower. That was strange," said Professor Clover. "Listen Olvia, dear," he said through the chattering of his teeth, "I think we gotta turn around." Olvia sighed next to him.
They walked for a decent length. Professor Clover kept his lantern pointed upwards. Sure enough, the space in the cave seemed to become smaller and smaller. If there was any resonating light left in Kami's Mouth aside from Professor Clover's lantern, Professor Clover and Olvia thought they were able to see the whites of their eyes, and then spread into panic. They were completely lost.
Professor Clover let go of Olvia's hand and began to feverishly feel his way along the walls. "No, Professor Clover!" Professor Clover heard Olvia shout. He kept going. They had to get out. If they were lost, nobody would be able to find them.
Professor Clover kept feeling along the wall until he abruptly hit a corner. "OUCH!" he said aloud. "Olvia, this seems to be a dead end." He spun around on his heel. "Olvia?" No answer.
Professor Clover began to repeat his process again, almost running as he felt the wall run past his fingertips. Cool, damp rocks and jagged spears. Suddenly, he found myself at a corner again. "Please be there, please be there," Professor Clover thought. "Olvia!", shouted Professor Clover. In the corner of the cave's maw where he had been thwarted so many times already, he heard a noise. It sounded like muffled static from a television. Professor Clover pressed his ear against the rock. It seemed to be getting even warmer now. He heard the faint sounds of Olvia on the other side of the rock. She was screaming.
"No no no," screamed Professor Clover. "No no no no no." he began running haphazardly into the walls around him. With dawning realization came a wave of sheer horror. There was no entrance. There was no exit. Only four corners and Professor Clover.
He could feel blood begin to trickle from the cut he managed to get by bashing his body into the cave's walls. They were closing in on him. They were coming in for the kill, and soon they would be pressing in on his skull and crushing his rib cage.
Professor Clover sat there for hours, waiting for death. His lantern was becoming dim and blinking. Finally, he felt the soft touch of these rocky walls press against his back. He began to cry as he lay down on the ground. He let his lantern get crushed by the enclosing stone. As he quietly stayed prone, tears dripping down his face, Professor Clover turned and looked at the lantern. Its last, fading flames pointed at something not far away from his face. He squinted in the darkness. Clover's eyes widened and he felt tears fall even harder from his face. The rocks were piercing his skin now and blood dripped from all his sides.
There, in the last light of Professor Clover's lantern, was the appetizer. The spotlight shone on a hand whose nails were painted red, and he screamed in agony as he watched Kami's Mouth chew its latest meal.