by Perrin Briar
The monster turned, its great long tail whipping out in a wide arc. Bryan pulled back just in time before it almost struck him.
Now here was a pretty pickle.
Bryan didn’t like to leave Cassie by herself, but he couldn’t let the monster take Aaron either. Who knew what it might do to him. He could carry Cassie on his back, but he might just end up feeding her to the monster by mistake. Plus, she would slow him down, making it difficult for him to escape with Aaron.
“Crap!” Bryan said out loud.
He didn’t like it, but Cassie had a much better chance of survival if she stayed here. So would he and Aaron. He picked up a stick and wrote in the dirt: STAY HERE.
He tossed the stick aside and jogged back into the wide open cavern. He crossed to the tunnel the creature had entered. Bryan slowed down and began to edge inside.
6.
THE CREATURE was loud, its grunts and biting snarls echoing down the tunnel. With each sound, Bryan paused, pressing himself against the wall. The sound came suddenly, from nowhere, as if they emanated from right before him. There was a light at the end of the corridor, and the walls were damp with slime.
Bryan edged closer to the light. Once he got to it, he peered inside. It looked like the perfectly lit scene of a horror play. The creature’s large muscular back was moving, blocking Bryan’s view.
There were a pair of rocks in front of the door on either side. If he got to one of those he’d be able to see what was going on. But that meant stepping into the light. He remembered the beast could only see movement, not anything in light.
Bryan watched the monster carefully and rushed to hide behind the boulder. Not a second too soon, as the monster turned in Bryan’s direction.
It picked up one of the burnt corpses and hefted it. It put the body down somewhere, taking care to place it just so. The beast appeared to be putting a great deal of effort into the activity, requiring it to focus.
In the light, it was easier to make out the details of the creature. It had a long snout with large pointy teeth and short front legs with vicious claws. One was badly chipped. It had a long tail and a crest on the top of its head that stretched all the way down his back to the tip of his long tail.
Bryan could only see what he could because of the streaks of light that came in through a hole in the roof, cast by what appeared to be a beautiful blue sky.
Bryan moved around the boulder, taking care to place his feet so as not to disturb the creature. There was a disgusting noise, nothing at all to do with the growls the monster made. Bryan couldn’t put his finger on what it was… Until he saw it with his own eyes.
It was a machine. A modern-looking contraption, but with elements of something that would not have looked out of place in a torture garden. It had sharp spikes and razor sharp edges, a vicious machine used to hack and slash.
Bryan crept closer, and watched as the creature very delicately and carefully slid the scorched body onto a spike, like a small cloth puppet onto a finger.
The monster moved to one side, coming to a large pedal. Its footsteps shook the cavern, making small rocks dive from the roof and dust rain down on Bryan’s head. The monster lifted its giant muscular leg and placed it on the large flat pedal. It exercised its huge muscles and pressed up and down, pumping. The machine came to life.
However advanced this machine was, it didn’t have access to electricity. The giant creature had to provide its own power. Bryan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A monster operating a machine? He pinched himself. He felt it. He wasn’t dreaming. What was going on?
Then he saw the horrific processes the machine was capable of. The body began to spin gently on its turntable and, as it did, a series of sharp knives descended from the ceiling, moving in concentric circles.
The knives were attached to an intricate mobile of shiny metal rods that bent and flexed around metal joints. It reminded Bryan of the innate intricacy of long spider legs. They moved in and out, back and forth, up and down, performing a dance to which Bryan had no idea was their purpose.
They came closer and closer to the lifeless body that spun on its squeaking turnstile. Then, finally, Bryan could see what they were going to do. They inched closer to the cadaver, until they pierced its skin and inserted themselves deep into its flesh. Still the body kept turning, the knives, sharp as anything Bryan had ever seen, slicing at the meat like it was paper.
They cleaved the flesh from the body cleaner and with greater efficiency than Bryan had ever witnessed, even from a professional butcher. Thick congealed blood dripped onto the platform and rolled into a large bowl. The flesh peeled and dropped from the bones like a seed from a grape.
Saliva dribbled from the dragon’s thick moist lips, splattering across the floor. The sight of the blood and smell of the flesh should have driven it berserk, but it remained calm, restrained. It continued to pump at the pedal and watched the body turn, the knives doing their work. Finally, with just a few chips to the bones, the skeleton was all that remained of the scorched man, his flesh stripped clean from his body.
Bryan was certain that in no world, in no culture, would anyone have imagined the afterlife to consist of such turmoil as this. It was beyond the realm of imagination. This was clearly not heaven. It wasn’t hell either, but simply another world, with its own rules and limitations. Bryan was certain he could never get used to such a place if such things were routine.
Still the creature did not stop pumping its pedal, up and down its leg went. The pedestal turned and the skeleton was lifted into the air, continuing to spin. Another piece of metal hooked into the frame, and it slid to the floor, hanging beside a twin skeleton.
There were a dozen of them, lined up like fancy dress costumes. It was merely the front line of dozens like it. They were all grinning. Some had missing ribs, cracked skulls and bent jaws, but they were largely in one piece.
Another arm began to lower down from the ceiling. It held a small box that blinked red. It approached the newest skeleton before savagely shoving itself into the chest cavity. Something squirted out of the arm, some kind of sticky material that fixed the box in place.
Finally, the creature stopped pressing the pedal. The platform continued to turn, gradually slowing, the remaining metal arms retracting up into the ceiling. The monster approached the bowl of blood and meat, what Bryan now recognized as a food trough, bent down, and began to feed.
Bryan was still recovering from what he’d just witnessed. He couldn’t have seen what had just happened in front of him. He couldn’t have. He must have been mistaken.
Next would be the second scorched man. And then it would be Aaron’s turn if Bryan couldn’t get him out of there in time. It wouldn’t take long for the monster to finish its meal. If he was going to act, he needed to do it soon.
Bryan peered around the boulder at Aaron. His breath hitched in his throat.
Aaron was beginning to stir.
7.
THE MONSTER’S back was to Bryan as it gorged itself on the meat. It was ravenous. It was surprising to Bryan it could have waited so long to feed. It was slurping, dropping chunks of food over the floor. Its long tongue wiped at the bowl to get every last morsel.
Bryan turned to Aaron. He needed to warn Aaron to stop moving. If he didn’t, the monster was going to see he wasn’t dead and, presumably, kill him. There was something very sinister, deliberate and routine about this whole setup. Bryan didn’t like it. The monster was simply going through the motions, doing what it had always done.
What it had been trained to do.
Bryan got down on his hands and knees and crawled toward Aaron, making slow, deliberate movements. He got to Aaron and then lay down beside him, their noses no more than an inch apart. The monster seemed content with its meal.
“Aaron,” Bryan whispered.
He didn’t move.
But the monster did. It turned to look in Bryan’s direction. He lay still, unmoving, and hoped the monster wouldn’t come investig
ating. He waited, not daring to check. Then he heard more munching and slurping. The monster was feeding again. Its tongue wiped around the bowl. It must have almost finished.
Aaron was still unconscious. Whatever movements he made earlier appeared to have been unconscious ones. Bryan would have to carry him away as he had Cassie.
Bryan looked up. The monster was still licking his food bowl. Perhaps his sense of smell was so strong that no matter how much he licked the bowl, he could never completely remove the scent of blood clean.
Bryan lifted himself up onto one shoulder, and then an elbow. He knelt at Aaron’s head and bent down to lift him up. He never even got to brace the boy’s weight. The monster had straightened up. Bryan’s body turned to jelly and he hit the deck.
The creature’s footsteps pounded the ground, thudding through Bryan’s body like a second heartbeat. The monster arched its neck, its huge back bones popping.
Aaron began to stir once again.
Bryan’s arm flashed out. He wrapped a hand over his mouth. Bryan felt Aaron stiffen beneath his grip. Aaron turned his head. Bryan felt the boy’s lungs fill with oxygen, presumably to scream. Bryan pressed harder, forcing his hand over Aaron’s mouth so he couldn’t even breathe, never mind scream.
Aaron’s eyes were wide, but they were alert and focused.
“Sh,” Bryan mouthed.
From the creature’s point of view, they would have looked like a pair of bodies, one piled on top of the other. At least, that was what Bryan was hoping.
He daren’t say another word. Bryan’s appearance had some effect on Aaron, and he calmed down, his eyes still wide as saucers. He knew that if Bryan was holding his hand over his face he was doing so for a very good reason.
And then he saw the reason, over Bryan’s shoulder. His body tensed again. Bryan strengthened his arm, holding Aaron tight. If the creature had to take one of them, he was going to make sure it was himself, though he would ensure to give the monster a run for his money too.
The creature pressed his snotty nostrils into Bryan’s back, the stench of blood and guts from its recent meal like a thick cloud. Some of the blood wiped off on Bryan’s clothes. The creature licked it. Bryan was both disgusted and terrified.
The monster reached down with its short arms—still almost the length of a fully grown man—and picked the second scorched man up. His limbs hung lifelessly as the creature carried the body over to the machine and began its meat harvesting process all over again.
Bryan slowly released his hand, giving Aaron back control of his mouth. Bryan slowly began to sit up, focusing on the creature. He must have had a million questions, but he knew right then wasn’t the time to ask.
Bryan nodded to the boulder behind him, to the one he’d hidden behind when watching the monster’s horrific display.
The knives were coming down from the ceiling in their effortless dance, entered the corpse, and began hacking at the flesh. The blades made swift scything movements.
Aaron and Bryan made it to the boulder, but still neither of them spoke. They crept down the tunnel, feet silent as the grave. Only once they entered the wide open space of the cavern did they slow.
“Where are we?” Aaron said in a low whisper.
“In a cave,” Bryan said.
“Oh really, you think?” Aaron said. “Where’s Mom?”
“I don’t know,” Bryan said. “I woke here and she wasn’t there.”
“She must be around here somewhere,” Aaron said. “What about Cassie?”
“I found her,” Bryan said. “I tried to get you both out of here, but I ran out of time and could only get her out.”
“Where is she?” Aaron said.
“In a tunnel,” Bryan said. “This way. Come on.”
8.
FINDING the tunnel was very easy. It was directly opposite the path they took to get to the monster’s torture cavern. It was even easier to find where he had deposited Cassie. The difficult part was knowing where she had gone.
“Well?” Aaron said. “Where is she?”
“She was right here,” Bryan said.
“Are you sure you left her here?” Aaron said.
“Positive,” Bryan said.
“A lot of these tunnels do look the same,” Aaron said.
“No, it’s this one,” Bryan said.
He pointed to the message he’d written in the dirt. STAY HERE.
“She just ignored me,” Bryan said.
“Imagine that,” Aaron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“As per freaking usual,” Bryan said.
A great roar went up. The monster had just learned his final course was missing. And by sound of it, he really loved his dessert.
9.
ZOE RECALLED a rush of sand up her nostrils, forcing a path into her brain. She could hardly breathe. She must have passed out because the next thing she knew, she was in a wet place, soaked to the bone. Then she was in a dry place, lying on a pair of reeking bodies, their stench washed out only by a rinse of water. Zoe assumed it must have been a nightmare.
It’s funny how you could do that sometimes, how you could know you were in a dream even while you were still inside it. But toward the end it had been too real, too vibrant, too difficult to wave off as a mere dream.
She’d been lying on her back on a harsh rock when she’d become conscious again. When she was young she’d had a cheap mattress that resembled the Himalayas, and it was that thought that had stirred her from her dream.
She forced herself to get up. She’d stumbled, falling to her knees, before getting back to her feet again. She leaned against a wall and heard someone coming. Who, she didn’t know. In all honestly, she didn’t care. She just wanted to get away from them. If there was one thing she’d learned about being in these underground worlds, it was that she knew she couldn’t trust the locals.
There were good people, of course, but there were also many bad ones. They had grown up in a world a far cry from the one Zoe was used to. There was no telling who they were and what they really wanted. She wanted to get away from whoever the figure coming toward her was.
Zoe stumbled toward a tunnel and braced herself against the craggy surface. Her head swam and she couldn’t see straight. She didn’t know where she was going or what she was doing. She thought the man was heading toward her. She turned and headed deeper into the cave.
No matter how deep or fast she went, the man behind her was always hot on her heels, his footsteps echoing off the hard craggy walls. He kept up with her no matter how fast she went.
Zoe tried to remember where she was going, how many corners she’d turned, and in which direction, keeping a running tally of left, right, left, left, right, straight forward, right, third on the left… But she soon ran into trouble. She got muddled and couldn’t recall the correct order.
She strengthened her resolve. She didn’t need to worry about that right then. She needed to escape the man who was still chasing her, whoever he was, and get somewhere safe.
He was still hot on her heels. Zoe kept going, kept forcing herself on. If she didn’t, and she stopped, she’d never find Bryan and the kids again.
There was a rushing, roaring sound that Zoe recognized immediately. Finally, some luck in this place. She came to a large open space. In the center was a cascading waterfall. But it wasn’t just one waterfall, but three combined into one. A mist escaped to one side, rising like a cloud.
Zoe approached the water’s edge, fell to her knees, cupped her hands, and splashed the ice cold water over her face and neck. Her headache flashed behind her eyes, but it was worth it.
She was wide awake now. It was hard not to be when doused with freezing cold water. She was alive, her brain cells firing on all cylinders. She had a series of revelations all at once.
First, the man hadn’t been following her. If he had, he would have been here by now, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck. Then what were the footfalls she’d heard? Surely someone had been following
her?
She chuckled, putting a hand to her face. She almost felt the blood rush to her cheeks. It was herself, her own footsteps bouncing off the walls, reflecting back at her. She had been running from herself. They had only stopped when she had entered this large cavern, where the sounds didn’t bounce or reflect back to her eardrums. There was no man, only herself.
The second revelation was in relation to her recent memories. Though still fuzzy and warped by light and sound, they snapped into focus. There were others lying on the sand beside the water, just as there had been other bodies lying on top of her in the boat. Those lined up on the beach could not have gotten there by themselves. The lines were too uniform. Someone had put them there. But why? For what purpose? It couldn’t have been for anything good.
The third revelation was the biggest, and the most shocking. She stood up and stepped out of the crevice she’d stumbled into at the water’s edge. It was a giant clawed footprint. One of its nails alone was as big as Zoe’s hand.
“What the…?” Zoe said out loud.
She’d seen tracks like this before. In the first world they’d come to.
“But it can’t be…” Zoe said.
There was a roar, loud and vibrant, echoing from the tunnels on her left. She got up and ran to the tunnel entrance, but didn’t enter it. Zoe could tell by the number of times it rebounded that it wasn’t close. It was some distance away. But not far enough for her liking. She entered the tunnel and followed the sound, taking three turns before pausing.
She listened for the next roar, before backing up and heading down another tunnel. The roar was desperate, one of anger and annoyance. There was only one person she knew who could drive someone to distraction like that.
“Bryan,” Zoe said.
And if Bryan was there, there was a good chance the kids would be with him. She picked up her pace, building to a jog. She slowed when the roars died. She waited to hear another before turning down a different tunnel. She felt along the rough tunnel walls as she went, keeping her eyes ahead.