I plodded ahead, the smell pervading my senses, the visions becoming more conventional than I had expected. David had it right all along, for here I was among things not part of our world, yet I became less bothered with each step.
Where was David?
I stopped and opened the book. I heard a strange screeching emanating from farther down, and I swear I heard the screaming of a human. The sound echoed along this passage, this throat, for it seemed exactly what this was – a throat.
Ahead I saw another passage on the left. This was not the passage he spoke of, I was sure of that. Nonetheless, I slowed down as I passed it. There were strange noises coming from within, noises that sounded familiar. I stopped and looked around; the cave/throat was shifting, undulating, and I saw the bodies of people on the sides, stuck as if some slimy glue was holding them in place. Their mouths moved, but I could hear only a slight plea: Help me! Please help me!
There men and women trapped on the sides of the cavern, naked with their arms spread out. Helpless, they were, but I could not resist but to help these poor strangers, especially since I knew not the extent of their suffering. I pulled the knife from my belt and approached a man hanging in the goo. I tried to cut through, and he pulled one arm loose. I recall how he smiled at me just before the pinkish flesh swallowed him up; it had sensed my interference and had slid over the man with a sickening wet noise until the man was gone. I was shocked, taken aback, but tried to hold onto my sanity. There were others begging for help, and I told them, “Please, just wait a little while longer, and I’ll get you out!” They protested with moans and weak appeals. I could do nothing. I shoved the knife back into my belt, and turned my attention to the second cavern. I knew now what the sound was, however, I did not know how I was going to deal with it.
The spiders!
They suddenly appeared, scuttling along all sides of the cavern – they were even moving along the very top. I could not count how many there were, but apparently this was a nest of some kind, for they must have heard me, and those trapped against the wicked walls of this throat.
I held up the book, and a bright spray of light spread out among the spiders, and they started to flame up like fires. Regardless, they kept coming, and I grew frustrated. I thrust the book forward and in my mind I thought, die, you bastards. Die!
There were small flames everywhere, and yet, I spied a few slipping past me to the far wall. They crawled up and bit the people trapped there – I was helpless; I could not use the book for fear of harming the people hanging in the pink goo. I rushed up and grabbed a spider, hurled him to the ground. I pointed the book at him and he burst into flames. One by one, I snatched the spiders off the people and fried them. I felt beaten as I stared at the tiny clusters of flame that soon burned out. I thought I was done with the mayhem, but from the cavern came the snarls of something entirely different.
They appeared in the dim light of the tunnel, far back in the dim glow. They were dogs, and yet not dogs in the normal sense of the word. As they grew closer I became frightened, and yet intrigued that such things could exist.
Their bodies were that of large dogs, yet their heads were bundles of tentacles, waving and twisting around, almost hiding the mouths. One opened its maw wide, and my heart leaped – it was large, seemingly its entire head, with two rows of pointed teeth. It then closed the mouth, tentacles swinging around as if in anger.
I ran down the cavern, aware of the threats behind me. I lifted the book and pointed it at the dogs – the yellow light shot out in thin beams, striking each of them. They whimpered and fell (I believe there were five, but I was a little busy to count), yet each one struggled back to its feet.
I rushed farther down and saw the third cavern on the left. David told me not to enter, lest I get lost, but the dogs were again gaining distance. I glanced around and saw more bodies stuck to the pink, fleshy walls, more of the spider crawling among them and chewing off pieces of skin. It saddened me; I held up the book and thought, destroy those bastards! Fry their legs right off!
And just as I thought would happen, the spiders caught flame, but so did the people. I lowered my head. They were too far gone for it to matter anymore. Large parts of their bodies were gone and yet they still begged. I believed they were begging for death. I used the book and destroyed everything on the wall, scorching even the flesh. It bulged in and out as if in pain, and I heard an ungodly screech from farther down the cavern. Whatever I have done had apparently affected something down there, and I knew what it was.
The dogs came barreling around a corner, tentacles whipping around their moist, black bodies. At the moment, I saw no choice; I ran into the third cave, looking over my shoulder to see if the dog-like things had followed me. They stood at the entrance, eyeing me (though I could see no eyes), and tentacles reaching for something that was not there. They circled around for a while before turning and walking back in the direction from which they had come. I was taken aback by the writhing extremities that made up their heads. I gathered my thoughts, my sanity, and gritted my teeth together to strengthen my mind, my thoughts. I would not let these things weaken me.
So, I decided to explore the cave. I am sure David would have been angry, but my curiosity got the best of me. I traveled onward, seeing not out of the ordinary except that of the walls – pulsing, undulating, yet free of any creatures or people for that matter. I was quite pleased at this latter; I did not want to see any more suffering.
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