Run & Hide by Beatrix Hollow

25

Loren could be heard near the entrance, growling and mumbling half-delirious. The red glow of Mothman’s eyes were faint as we went in deeper. It was the only light I could see.

We twisted through blackness, walking blindly until Loren’s growls and threats were a distant noise. The silence that followed felt eerie. The drip-drop of liquid echoed around us along with the echoing shuffle of our shoes. I was chilled again, unable to warm up. I shivered and closed my eyes. I couldn’t see anything anyway.

I wanted to ask if we could stop. If we could go back out now but I was afraid that my voice would alert Loren which way to go.

We continued to walk in a line, each one of us touching and brushing against each other so we wouldn’t get lost. Brandon had a strong grip on my forearm and never let go. Caspian clutched my hand to his chest, walking in front of me.

At first I figured he had to be gripping Mothman but then I realized he could probably see in the dark. He had those oversized eyes with the big pupils. My mind wandered, probably trying to concentrate on something other than the dark cave. I wondered how Caspian hid what he was for so long. I wasn’t angry, I could understand why he did it. It just seemed such a strange life to live, continuously hiding what he was, having no deep connections. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed it back in the dark.

Red, glowing eyes swung around and looked at us. The sound of something scratching hissed in the dark and then a tiny flame ignited. Mothman held a match aloft, guiding it into an oil lantern. He lit it and adjusted a knob on the side.

The place brightened softly around us—still dim but I could see now. We were in a little cave room. There were things inside here—old wooden crates, a metal mining cart, a pick axe. Outside the opening to the room was a long tunnel. Left was towards the way we came and right went deeper in. Under the dirt floor in the tunnel, I could see the glint of buried metal. It appeared to be tracks for a mining cart.

Mothman set the lantern down near the wall and began moving stuff around. He seemed familiar with the place even though it was all coated with a thick layer of dust and dirt. He grabbed a green canvas sleeping bag, shaking it out and then laying it down near the back wall. He then went over to some wooden crates and collected some cans out of them. He grabbed a canteen hanging from a nail in the rock wall and shook it. Water splashed inside. He set it all next to the sleeping bag while I watched him. It was as if he was building himself a nest.

Brandon shuffled around, his eyes taking everything in. Caspian leaned back out of the cave room and peered down the tunnel both ways for a while, his eyes large and black.

A hand slid around my wrist and I startled. I looked up to see Mothman gently encouraging me towards the sleeping bag. I followed him and he set me down on it. He rushed over to another spot and grabbed a worn blanket. He shook it out and dirt snapped off it. Once he’d cleaned it enough, he draped it over my shoulders.

Then, to my shock, he settled himself behind me. His long legs spread out on either side of my crossed legs. His body bumped against my back. Mothman tentatively brought his arms in closer, setting his hands on my knees. His fingers rolled in slow circles over my skin, playing with the crease where my leg was bent.

His warmth drew me in. My shivering body needed it and he was big and all around me, warming me up.

Caspian came stomping back in with a furious look on his face. Just then Brandon slunk to the floor, pressed his face into the rock wall, and started to cry. Caspian halted, looking like a deer in the headlights as he watched Brandon cry. His wide eyes swiveled around in panic. It was the only part of him that looked inhuman at the moment.

Mothman began to pet my head and made a little chirp noise in his throat, like he was pleased with me settling into him. Caspian shot Mothman a glare but then tentatively shuffled towards Brandon. A look of discomfort was barely contained on Caspian’s face. He swallowed and bent down next to Brandon.

“Hey, um… “ he started. Brandon suddenly reached out and grasped Caspian, holding him. Caspian crouched in wide-eyed shock, his arms held aloft like he had no idea what to do. Brandon cried against his chest.

“They’re dead,” he croaked before resuming his sobs.

“Yeah,” Caspian commented forlornly. He relaxed and began rubbing the other man’s back. My own eyes began to water too but then Mothman reached up and removed his hat, setting it on the floor next to me. I looked at it in shock, unsure if I should turn around and look at him. I gulped.

Soft fur began rubbing against the side of my cheek, Mothman rubbing his face against mine. His hands began rubbing up and down my thighs. I turned my head slowly to see the creature beside me.

Black fur was everywhere. I couldn’t see a nose or mouth, just lots of fur and two red glowing eyes. At the top of his head two feather-like antennae stuck up. They moved, slowly swirling about. Then they pressed down to the back of his head as I looked at them with wide eyes.

Mothman brought his hand up then his long, thin fingers slid across my face, cupping my jaw as he looked me over. After a moment he made sure the blanket covered my shoulders then opened the canteen for me to take a sip. Caspian watched without expression, saying nothing as he observed Mothman take care of me. Brandon still clung to him but seemed to lack the energy to sob anymore. He slumped down and eventually fell asleep gripping Caspian’s arm as if afraid to be left alone.

My head began to fall forward. Now that we could rest a moment, I felt exhausted. We all did.

“When will we leave? What happens next?” I asked with a sluggish voice, trying to stay awake as long as possible.

“Loren is still in the caves, shuffling about near the entrance. There’s no way he can find us though. This place is a maze,” Caspian said, confirming to me that he could see.

“So we’re stuck?” I asked as Mothman gently traced his fingers up my arms. His warmth bled into my back and legs, making me even more tired.

“He’s hurt badly. He can’t stay out there for long,” Caspian said, watching Mothman touch me. His face twitched and his jaw flexed. “Are you okay, Ava?” Caspian asked.

“I’m fine for now,” I answered, then wondered what exactly he meant. Was he asking if Mothman was bothering me? Mothman leaned back against the wall and pulled me to rest on him. I wondered what it would feel like to rest my cheek on his fur. It sounded better than the leather. That didn’t really matter when I was this tired though. It didn’t take long to fall asleep, my eyes slowly closing as I watched Caspian watching me.

I woke up,having no idea how long I’d been asleep. The lantern was still going. Caspian was asleep, slumped against the wall. Brandon laid on the floor next to him, his face relaxed as he slept. I started to close my eyes again when I heard it. It must have been what woke me.

At first I thought it was Loren and felt dread. The distant voice came again. It didn’t sound like Loren at all. I moved off Mothman and he didn’t stir. His eyes were closed and he didn’t wake up when I shuffled off him and towards the tunnel. I grabbed the lantern and moved out onto the buried track, looking towards where we came. I saw nothing.

“Please, is someone there?” A faint voice came from behind me. Chills lifted on the back of my neck as I turned to look down the tunnel that went deeper into the darkness. “Please, I need help.” I looked at the men sleeping and decided not to wake them until I knew something more.

I stepped further down the tunnel, not wanting my voice to accidentally wake them. Little rocks moved as I walked. I didn’t go far as I lifted the lantern higher and tried to see anything in the darkness in front of me.

“Hello,” I called. My voice whispered down the empty, black tunnel. I waited for a response.

“Hello?” Finally came back, almost an echo of my own voice. I swallowed and took a few more steps. The darkness in front of me was so thick the lantern didn’t light up more than a few feet in front of me. It was just more of the same tunnel, nothing to see.

“Is someone there?” I asked.

“I’m stuck,” the man’s voice came. He sounded drained, beyond tired. “I was climbing… please,” he begged. “Are you real?” He finally asked. His voice sounded faint, still far off. It echoed through the tunnel, bouncing off rock.

“I’m real.”

“Please, I need help. I’m stuck.” He repeated his earlier words almost in eerily perfection of the earlier tone. “Please, can you help me?”

“Yes, “ I responded, imagining a man wedged between rocks, the space too tight for him to get out. He must be in the dark, all alone. He could have been here for days. “We’ll help you. It’s okay now,” I said, hoping to bring him some comfort.

“We?” He asked, his voice almost too curious as if he were less tired than he originally sounded.

“Yes, I’m here with others. We can help you. Just hold on.” I started to shuffle back towards the cave.

“What’s your name?” He asked. I stopped and looked back into the blackness.

“Ava.”

“Ava,” he sighed in relief. I started to shuffle back towards the cave again.

“Please,” I heard called out. I stopped and looked towards the voice. I swallowed, chills on my arms. The dark tunnel stretched blindly in front of me. “Please, I’m stuck. I was climbing…” he repeated his earlier words perfectly. I shuffled backwards slowly, not taking my eyes off the darkness in front of me.

“Please.”

The sound of someone running made my heart lurk in my chest. Stomp, stomp, stomp. I was so concerned about the voice in front of me that I didn’t realize the noise was coming from behind.

Stomping was right behind me and then a body crashed into mine. I went down to the ground roughly, all the air knocked from my chest. The lantern fell from my fingers. My cheek bit into rough gravel and my escaping breath unsettled the dirt. Immediately, I dug my fingers into the ground and pulled, trying to drag myself away from the body half on top of mine.

A threatening groan, more animalistic than human, rasped out behind me. I kicked and pulled, stretching and turning. Hands wrapped around my calves and I was flipped on my back, my shoulder blades sharply nestled into the mine cart tracks.

Loren looked up at me, so much blood dripping down into his face it was slipping into his mouth. His teeth were bared and bloody. His ball cap had fallen off when he crashed into me. I tried to scream but only a rasp came out. No one was coming, at least not fast enough.

The lantern’s flame flickered dramatically as he began to crawl up my body. His eyes were wild and bulging. His gun was nowhere to be seen. He tried to fiddle with the knife holder but his fingers kept slipping off the pouch, unable to unbutton it. He grunted roughly in frustration.

I kicked at the ground, pushing my body upwards. He didn’t let me get far, sitting down on my legs and weighing me down. He huffed, his eyes closing. His body swayed and he had to prop himself with one arm as he tried to gain more strength.

His eyes tipped up to me and he snarled, wet blood staining his gums and between his teeth. Unless he fell over dead, I was going to die. Tears streamed down my face, my arms scratched at the dirt floor. My fingers bumped into something, the barest edge of something hard.

I sucked in a breath and tried to strain to grab it. My fingers wrapped around a wooden handle. Loren finally managed to pop the button on his knife holder. He smiled, dragging his tongue over his teeth, then spat blood. He had to swipe at his forehead and eyes to try and clear his vision of the smear of sweat and blood that ran in rivulets down his face.

He settled his fingers around the knife and everything inside me screamed. He lifted off my legs slightly as he pulled the knife above his head, ready to surge downwards towards me. I stretched to grab the wooden handle with both hands and then gave a raspy cry as I swung it like a club with all the strength I had.

My eyes widened as I saw I was holding a pickaxe and that it just sunk into the side of his head. He didn’t make any noise at all, just froze up. I slipped backwards, quickly dragging myself from under him.

Finally, he began to make some noise, a hiccuping stilted cough. He staggered to his feet and swayed to the side. The lantern light shone on the pickaxe sticking from the side of his head, where the open wound had been. His back smacked the wall of the tunnel. I looked at him with my mouth agape in horror.

I started to shift back towards the cave on the opposite side of the tunnel. Loren didn’t seem to notice. His vacant eyes were aimed forward and his mouth was strained open as he continued to make that horrible hiccuping croak. His hands finally moved upwards and he touched the handle of the pickaxe.

The breath rushed out of me as I saw him grab it two handed and begin tugging.

“Don’t,” I begged, my voice a wharbled mess. He either couldn’t hear me or didn’t care. He pulled the pickaxe from his head in a sickening slurp. It came out almost too easy, confirming it had slipped right into the open wound and buried in as deep as it could go. The pickaxe dropped to the ground and his eyes flipped up to me. His face furrowed in confusion and he stepped towards me, reaching out.

I writhed against the wall, grabbing at the rocky surface as I quickly stepped away. One step, two step--he walked like Frankenstein, barely in control of himself. The croaking noise wouldn’t stop either. He’d taken a moment to inhale but then the noise had come right back. I hated the sound. It grated at my nerves. I pressed my hands to my ears but it still wormed in my head.

He took one more step and collapsed. The sound finally stopped. The only noise now was my breath.

“I…” killed him. I swallowed thickly.

“Ava?” The stuck climber called. I swallowed again.

“We’re coming,” I croaked.

“Hurry,” he responded. I grabbed the lantern and ran back to the cave. The guys suddenly jolted awake. Mothman looked at his empty arms in a panic. Caspian jerked away from the wall inhaling sharply. Brandon shot up, sitting upright on the ground. They all turned to me stumbling into the room before I dropped to my hands and knees on the floor.

“Loren,” I whispered. Mothman moved from the room in a blurred rush. Caspian came to me, wrapping me in his arms and squeezing. His hand smoothed down my back.

“What happened?” He murmured in my ear.

“He’s dead,” I said in a blank voice. My entire body was trembling. Mothman rushed back into the room and crouched down next to me. He must have seen what happened to Loren. Caspian jerked me away from Mothman. Mothman huffed and touched me anyway, petting my hair while Caspian rubbed my back. I allowed myself to briefly revel in the simple bliss of the moment before I sat up straight.

“There’s someone trapped in the mine. We have to help him,” I blurted. I said it as a settled fact, which in my mind, it was. I tugged myself from Caspian and Mothman’s attention, looking around the cave for any helpful supplies.

“Now?” Caspian asked in disbelief. Mothman was still sitting on the ground next to him, looking as if he didn’t plan to get up either.

“Yes. He’s been stuck for a while. We don’t know how bad it is.” Caspian gave me an apprehensive look. Brandon got up quickly and started to help me look for anything useful.

“Stop being a selfish asshole. We aren’t leaving someone here alone,” Brandon commented.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get the rangers?” Caspian countered, his large eyes flicking back and forth between Brandon and me. I shook my head. There wasn’t time for that. It could take all day to get a ranger here and that was only if they had anyone to spare while dealing with the carnage and fire. We were here now and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if the man died because I wouldn’t walk a little deeper into the cave to help.

Brandon and I found a few more canteens. He nodded at me and I took a deep breath, then we headed out into the cave.

“Wait! We’re coming,” Caspian called.

To be continued…