Footsteps Approaching

By evolution-500

Genre: Horror/Tragedy

Disclaimer: "3D Monster Maze" is a property belonging to Malcom Evans. I own neither the characters nor this respective title.

WARNING: This story contains violence and course language. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter One: Danger

"He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."

- Confucius

When Jeremy awoke, he let out a groan, massaging his forehead.

"God...damn it, my head!" He groaned as he sat up.

Looking around, the university student momentarily hesitated as he took in his surroundings. Greeting him was an endlessly long hallway with an intensely bright white floor and ceiling, while lining the corridor were strange walls of unusual smoothness, some of them black, some of them grey, and others checkered. At times, some of the latter almost appeared brick-like, but taken together with the strangely bright whiteness, the color scheme became a jarring assault on the senses.

"Where...the...hell...?" Jeremy trailed off as he slowly got to his knees, studying the floor texture.

From what he could tell, it wasn't marble. Nor was it either metal, glass, crystal, or wood of any kind.

Jeremy frowned, squinting at the floor. Definitely not stone, nor was it concrete.

In truth, it did not appear to be of any known material that he had ever seen before; the only way for Jeremy to describe it was as...light, for lack of a better descriptor, that was somehow manifested into some sort of tangible structure or surface.

Curious, he ran his right hand along the ground, the surface surprisingly warm to the touch, yet luminescent enough to shine straight through his skin, illuminating all of the metacarpal bones in his hand.

'What is this?' he wondered, mystified by the strange material and by the strange setting.

Pushing himself up to one foot, Jeremy approached the nearest wall, staring at the black, grey and checkered sections, testing the material as he ran his hand against its surface.

'Strange,' came the thought.

Words failed to describe the sensations in his hand. He had expected something harsh or jagged, perhaps something firm or cold, but instead, the wall felt...weird.

Like the floor, it too was also warm, but unlike the former, though, he felt it pulsating against his hand with dull, throbbing hum, despite the fact that no apparent ripple distorted its surface.

Artificial, yet somehow organic at the same time. Like as if it were somehow...alive.

Like it was a massive heartbeat, or like something breathing.

Pulling his hand away, Jeremy watched as an imprint of his hand formed, then slowly faded, leaving no trace of it ever having been there.

"Huh." Pulling his cellphone out from his pocket, Jeremy lifted it up, then started to take some pictures. "Goddamn, I gotta give it to these guys, this place is awesome! I wonder how they managed to create these effects."

Once he finished taking photos, he then started to check his messages, the university student frowning as he suddenly noticed that he wasn't getting any signal.

"Oh no." He then tapped the phone a few times, his breath coming out harshly. "Come on. Come on!" He impatiently growled as he checked the phone's settings, turning it on and off.

Several minutes of scrolling and error messages later, Jeremy cussed loudly. "Fuck!"

Putting his phone back into his pocket, he swept both hands through his hair.

'What do I do?' he wondered.

Taking in a deep breath, Jeremy exhaled, clearing his mind as best he could as he crossed his arms and held his chin.

Right now he was trapped in the carnival...somewhere...and he wasn't getting any reception on his cellphone. There had to be another phone or something around here, perhaps another exit around here. He should also see if there were anyone around that could get some help. Hell, for all Jeremy knew, he wasn't the only bastard to have been suckered into this.

Exhaling, Jeremy nodded thoughtfully to himself.

Priority one, find an exit, if not some way to get help.

Priority two, see if there was anybody else around.

"Works for me," he shrugged.

Granted, it wasn't much of a plan, but it was a start.

Proceeding all the way down to the other end of the corridor, Jeremy followed the long narrow strip, feeling uncomfortably akin to cattle being guided in a stockyard. Looking around at his strange white, black and grey surroundings, the university student found himself both mesmerized, yet completely on edge.

While part of him felt relaxed, another part of Jeremy, however, couldn't help feeling a little unnerved by the strange setting.

As he continued down the corridor, Jeremy found himself confronted by a series of openings in various directions.

Looking around at his options, Jeremy shrugged as he took a right.

Barely three steps in the university student let out a startled yell as he inexplicably slipped on something, kicking his foot up to the air as he crashed painfully down onto his left side, a flare of pain riding up his arm, thigh, and shoulder.

Groaning, he rolled onto his side.

"God...damn it!" Jeremy swore, massaging his arm and shoulder.

As he massaged the undersection of his limb, a frown started to form on his features as he felt something warm and wet.

"Ah, fuck. You gotta be shitting me." Pulling the undersection of his shirt toward him, Jeremy suddenly paused as he spotted a red mark on his sleeve. Scowling, he exhaled, "Aw for fuck's sakes, really?! Man, I just washed this! What did I land in, ketchup-?"

Jeremy then started to rub it off as best he could.

Spitting on it, he vigorously repeated his efforts, letting his eyes wander, the student suddenly freezing.

"The hell?" Furrowing his brows, Jeremy stared, his breath caught in his chest.

Staining the strangely luminescent white floor around him was a large, crimson pool...but it was the leftover remains that had drawn his immediate attention.

Freshly-gnawed bones, with bits of meat still attached, some of them so unrecognizable that they lost their shape.

"What...the...fuck?!" He whispered. Picking himself up from off the ground, he took a fearful step back, his heart hammering in his chest. "What the fuck?!"

'Keep it together, Jeremy,' he told himself. 'It's all fake! Nothing to be afraid of, it's all-'

"H-Hey! Over...over here..."

Jeremy froze. Turning to his left, he spotted a disheveled old man with long grey hair and a thick beard missing an arm lying bloodied on the floor, his few bits of clothing filthy, torn, and worn out. Parts of his chest looked like it had been carved up by a chainsaw, revealing exposed bone and organs, some of which looked like they were sporting teeth marks and strange burns.

"Oh my God!" Jeremy gasped, moving toward the man as he attempted to stop the bleeding, putting pressure on the wound, wincing at the foul stench of the old man. Dear God, when was the last time he had even bathed?! Turning his head away to avoid the smell, Jeremy looked over his shoulder, calling out, "HELP! HELP! IS THERE ANYONE HERE?! SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE - SOMEBODY'S HURT! PLEASE SEND HELP-"

He was cut off by the older man as he shushed him, looking wildly around in alarm. "Quiet, you idiot!" He hissed, letting out a cough as he pitifully attempted to keep himself from bleeding out. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"What do you mean?" He questioned. "What's going on here?"

Coughing up blood, the old man shook his head, preventing Jeremy from elaborating any further. "N-Never mind that right now. L-Listen to me carefully - I...I don't have much time left, but...but you need to listen to what I have to say. Do-Do you have a tracker on you?"

Nodding, Jeremy brought up the device for him to see.

"Check it quickly - we need to know where he is. Press the button below the screen to turn it on and check to see if it's near. Hurry!"

Alarmed by the urgency in the bleeding man's tone, Jeremy complied, watching the screen as it flickered on, revealing a highly crude 8-bit rendering of his surroundings.

"Do you have a reading?!" The old man spoke sharply, his voice making Jeremy jump. "Answer me - do you have a reading?!"

"Uh, yeah. There's nothing here." Jeremy watched as the tenseness in the man's features slowly vanished, replaced with a look of relief.

"Thank God," he sighed. "L-Listen c-close to what I have to tell you. That device will help you keep track of that creature's movements. Whatever you do, be always on your guard around here no matter what. Trust no one, and don't stop running, do you understand?! Trust nobody, and don't stop running!"

Jeremy nodded vigorously. "I understand! Let me get you out of here-"

"It's no use." The old man coughed again. "I can't run anymore. I'm just- I'm just too tired." Swallowing, he narrowed his eyes at Jeremy. "Use the device as little as you can, otherwise, you'll drain the battery and end up as that bastard's snack. Bet they didn't tell you about that, did they?" As Jeremy shook his head in answer, the man derisively snorted. "Of course they didn't. You'll need to give it time to recharge, but remember - there's only so much power that it has before it dies completely. You'll need to find replacements, if you're able to. Do you have a gun or weapon on you?"

When Jeremy shook his head, the old man's features fell. "I thought as much." Reaching into his pant pocket, he then shakily handed to Jeremy a small black blood-covered notebook. "T-Take m-my journal. Please."

Taking it from him, Jeremy wiped the cover and pages with his sleeve before stuffing it into his right pocket. Looking back at the old man, Jeremy watched as the former's movements started to grow still.

"Mister?" The old man said nothing more, his form pale, the light from his eyes fading as he sucked in his last breath, staring lifelessly to the ceiling.

Swallowing, Jeremy gently shook him. "Mister? Mister, are you okay? Please...please say something."

The man lay lifelessly on the floor, completely unresponsive.

'He's just pretending,' Jeremy asserted, trying to convince himself, even though he knew otherwise.

All of this had to be an elaborate con - he couldn't be dead! There was no way!

Shakily raising up his hand, Jeremy reached down to the man's neck as he felt for pulse. The old man's flesh felt cold and clammy, but even worse, there was no heartbeat at all.

None whatsoever.

Pulling his hand away, Jeremy felt himself pale as he began to realize the gravity of the situation, standing up on shaking legs as he ran a jittery hand over his mouth, his mind racing with a million thoughts.

Holy fuck.

This was actually happening, wasn't it?

A man had just died right in front of him!

"Christ, what am I gonna do?!" He whimpered quietly, running his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth, pivoting on his heels with each movement.

He needed to get help, if not get the hell out of here, but where-

Hearing a beeping, Jeremy distractedly looked down at the device in his hand, a message suddenly blinking at the bottom of the screen, drawing his attention.

'REX LIES IN WAIT.'

Blinking in surprise, Jeremy raised his head and glanced around.

The hell?

He whirled around in indecision, uncertain where to look, where to even go.

What the fuck was even going on right now?!

As Jeremy struggled to determine where to go, he suddenly noticed another blinking message appear at the bottom of the screen.

'FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.'

Looking around, Jeremy tilted his head to the side as he listened carefully, his brows wrinkling.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a dark shape approach from several meters away.

Turning toward it, Jeremy struggled to see who it was, raising his hand as he tried to block out some of the hallway's blinding light.

"H-Hello?" He called.

His greeting was left unanswered, the brightness up ahead dimming. A large black shadow started emerge, blotting out the harsh glare of the hallway.

At first, Jeremy thought that it was some sort of power fluctuation, that whatever lights used for the walls and floor were dimming.

But then the darkness drew closer.

For a few moments, shadows danced and flickered spectrally across Jeremy's vision, until finally coalescing into an immense and distinctively monstrous shape at the other end of the hall, the sight of which caused him to freeze up completely in terror.

Standing on a pair of powerful, tree trunk-like digitigrade legs was a creature of pure inky blackness, an entity that looked more nightmare than animal, its mass so large and dense that it practically filled the entire corridor itself. A long black tail lazily swished behind the entity, while a massive, lizard-like head almost as large as the rest of its body that practically scraped the ceiling comically sat atop of a barrel-like torso, its arms and two-fingered clawed hands disproportionately smaller than everything else.

Swallowing, Jeremy stared aghast at the creature, his widening as he struggled to breathe, the muscles in his neck tightly constricting. Every inch of his body quaked and trembled all over as he tried not to move, hoping that that creature would not move any closer.

And then Jeremy's eyes locked with the creature's own, causing him to instantly regret it.

While its general outlines resembled a dinosaur as whole, however, it didn't look like any dinosaur that he had ever seen or read about.

He didn't see any scales or feathers whatsoever - the creature was strangely smooth and luminescent, looking more like a twisted, monochromatic photo negative or demonic parody than as a flesh-and-blood animal.

The worst features were its eyes and mouth; while the rest of the creature's body was black, by contrast, its eyes and hingeless, gaping jaw were both a ghastly glowing white, the latter filled with glowing teeth that looked more like steak knives.

While the mouth was certainly awful to see, the eyes, however, were eerie in a way that made Jeremy's flesh crawl.

The eyes were flat and lifeless, glowing like a pair of white-hot lamps at a lighthouse scanning through the darkness of night, completely devoid of either mercy or pity, staring at Jeremy with such hunger and intensity that it was a wonder that it hadn't charged already.

Eyes that were so utterly soulless, it made the creature look like it had crawled out from Hell itself.

Opening his mouth, a weak whimper escaped from Jeremy's throat before dying out completely, his legs shaking as he started to break out into a sweat.

Looming silently before him, the creature made no gesture nor movement, its pale, flat glowing eyes completely focused entirely on the university student, its tail whipping from side to side in seeming deliberation.

Closing its eyes, the creature inhaled deeply through its nostrils, its expression curiously blissful, as if sensing and basking in Jeremy's terror with sadistic relish.

Hearing a beeping noise on the handheld device, Jeremy risked a glance at it, noticing the writing at the bottom of the screen.

'REX HAS SEEN YOU.'

No sooner had Jeremy seen those words when the beast suddenly sprung to life, forcing him to practically leap back with a jolt in order to avoid its gaping, sharp-toothed mouth.

"OH SHIT!" Jeremy shouted as he ducked low, narrowly avoiding certain death from the creature's blazing jaws, feeling the heat of its ionizing razor-sharp teeth against the back of his scalp, its breath unusually hot and foul, making his eyes sting with tears.

Jesus H. Christ, its breath was awful, like mounds of rotting meat that had been stacked together and cooked by a furnace.

Twisting on his heel, Jeremy fled screaming through the numerous corridors, calling for help as his pursuer hunted after him, following relentlessly through every twist and turn.

'RUN HE IS BESIDE YOU,' the handheld device warned in flashing text, before changing again to 'RUN HE IS BEHIND YOU.'

Jeremy's legs burned as he ran as fast and as hard as he could, the creature in hot pursuit.

None of the creature's steps were loud and thunderous like in the various dinosaur movies and video games that he had seen as a kid, nor did it make any form of noise at all.

Not a single snarl, growl, or roar was uttered; the creature was deathly and deceptively silent, and despite the lack of sound, it followed Jeremy with a hungry, single-minded purpose, unwavering in its ferocity and determination.

Never in his life had Jeremy known of any being or animal that was so utterly dedicated to his complete and utter annihilation, especially with such relish.

Every hope that he had of it all being some sort of horrible nightmare was dashed every time he felt its presence near him, every look over his shoulder as he spotted its immense form and dreadful lantern-like eyes causing him to panic and run faster than before.

Looking around in every direction as he ran, Jeremy struggled to find a way to get rid of it - a weapon, a hidey hole, something - but the creature was so utterly dedicated in its hunt that it frightened him.

Every attempt at trying to lose it was met with frustration and failure - the creature doggedly hunted him through every nook and cranny that Jeremy could find, like a shark drawn to blood.

Even more frustratingly, every turn lead to even more hallways, more dead-ends, more bloodied remains.

Finally, just when things seemed bleak, Jeremy spotted a strange though somewhat familiar glow around a corner.

Following the light, he took a left, then found himself standing before large a black wall of shimmering light, the air rippling like cascading or crashing ocean waves.

'What the fuck is this?!' Jeremy wondered.

Was it even safe?

Looking uncertainly at this new discovery, the university student stared at the portal with hesitation before looking back over his shoulder, watching as the T-Rex or whatever the hell it was move closer toward him.

'Looks like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place,' Came the morbid thought.

Either he would get eaten by some jacked-up dinosaur monster thing, or he would potentially get ripped apart and/or teleported by this...portal, for lack of a better word, which would then take him or his pieces to God only knew where. Decisions, decisions.

Frowning, Jeremy shook his head. "Fuck this!" He growled.

Whether it was ripped to pieces or taken to the next plane of existence, it was a better option than to be this goddamn thing's snack!

Turning to face the oncoming creature, Jeremy flipped it the bird as he leapt straight into the portal.

As Jeremy entered, he felt every part of his being stretched and burned down at the molecular level, the pain so unbearable that he let out a scream.

He felt all of the blood, bones, and atoms stripped away from his being, leaving only his consciousness intact as he felt himself mercilessly pulled and torn through a long tunnel of endless light, his essence struggling to retain itself, even as it were hacked to pieces like a bull in a slaughterhouse.

Nothing within the human language could describe the various sights, sounds and sensations that he felt as he travelled so far.

He saw colors that he had never seen before, shapes that neither he nor any of his kind knew any name for.

Past, present and future blended seamlessly as one, the end becoming the beginning, and the beginning becoming the end in endless cycles.

He saw every action ever made by Man, along with every choice yet to be made, the born and born, endless clouds of limitless possibilities.

The experience felt like it was a mere second, but for all Jeremy knew, it could have been a minute, a day, a week, month, a year. Maybe even hundreds or thousands of years.

Through the span of a single second, Jeremy experienced all the wonder and horror of eternity.

Finally, just as it seemed to much for him to handle, Jeremy saw the tunnel ahead glow brighter than before, practically blinding him.

Jeremy blinked as all sensation returned to normal...or as approximately close to it.

He was now in a dark, stalagmite and stalactite-filled cave, the walls, floors, and ceilings covered in stone and lined with various rocky columns.

Blinking in confusion, Jeremy stood completely still as he gathered his bearings.

His skin burned, yet he felt the cave's freezing cold touch, every pore and nerve feeling somehow scalded.

Lifting his shaking hands to his face, he caressed his flesh, testing his bones and limbs like a newborn babe.

Rolling his eyes back, a feeling of nausea swept over him as he shakily dropped to his knees, his vision becoming blurry as his head spun.

"Oh God!" He groaned, vomiting all over the stone floor.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Jeremy looked behind him, finding no sign of either the T-Rex or the portal.

Hearing an audible beep, Jeremy looked down at his hand, blinking in surprise at the sight of the handheld device. Thankfully, there were no indications at all the creature was in the area. Instead, he spotted a single message scrawled on the right side of the screen, next to a flashing set of lights.

"'You have eluded him for now,' Jeremy read from the screen. "'Rex is very angry. You'll need more luck this time?!' Are you fucking serious?!" Looking up from the screen, Jeremy glanced around, calling out, "OKAY, GUYS! THIS IS NOT FUCKING FUNNY ANYMORE! I WANT OUT!"

Jeremy's cries echoed throughout the cave, not a single voice answering.

"I'M NOT FUCKING AROUND HERE! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE, MAN!"

All that he heard was the constant drip of water.

"IS THERE ANYBODY THERE?!"

His calls echoed back in response.

"HELLO?!"

"HELLO?!" Jeremy's echo called back in answer.

Inhaling sharply through his nose, the university student clenched his mouth and jaw in frustration.

"Jesus Chris, what the fuck is going on here?!" He whispered before shouting again, "CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?! FOR GOD'S SAKES, HELP ME! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

He kept calling, and calling, and calling, his frustration turning to fear and anguish, then despair.

"HELP!" He cried. "SOMEONE! ANYONE! PLEASE! HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLP! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

As he felt the scream die in his throat, Jeremy stared out at the empty cave, waiting for an answer.

Finally, despair started to settle, causing him to hopelessly hang his head forward and collapse down onto his knees.

He was alone. Alone in a dark shitty tunnel, where that thing was probably waiting for him.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jeremy sighed wearily.

'Think! Think!' He told himself.

There had to be an explanation for what was happening - he refused to believe that he was trapped with a fucking dinosaur.

Just what in the absolute fuck was going on around here?!

He never should have stopped at this fucking circus. Once he got out of here, God help him, he was gonna punch out that "Mister White" or whatever the fuck his name was, lawsuit or criminal charge be damned.

Leaning against a wall, Jeremy vented quietly, letting out his frustrations.

"Calm down, Jeremy," he told himself. "Just calm down, buddy."

Inhaling through his nose, he slowly exhaled through his mouth, controlling his breathing and heartrate.

Once he was in a calmer state of mind, Jeremy considered his options.

The only way to get out of this alive was to find an exit, though how was easier said than done.

Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy pulled out the black notebook, eying it curiously.

From the state of his person, the old man must have been down here for a very long time. Either that, or he had been a hobo who had inadvertently got himself mixed up in this business somehow.

The notebook should have some clues as to what was going on.

Hearing a beep from the device, Jeremy leapt back with a start as he glanced down at it, seeing a message scrawl at the bottom of the screen.

'FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.'

Staring blankly at the message, Jeremy let out a frustrated growl. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

Again with this shit?!

Adjusting the straps of his backpack on his shoulder, Jeremy pushed himself up from the wall, letting out a weary sigh.

He would have to look at the notebook later, ideally when he was safe and clear from his pursuer.

Personal meltdowns would have to be put on hold for the time being - right now, Jeremy's main priority was survival, if not finding a way out of this godforsaken place.

Sharply drawing in breath, Jeremy moved further into the cave, praying that he would be able to find an exit, if not rescued.