Heartless creatures

Nora breathed out, closed her eyes and stretched out her hands. After maintaining the posture for roughly ten seconds, a circle of light appeared in the air, containing five symbols that Kyren could not recognize, arranged in positions that formed a star. With the circle, three more were drawn, rotating, enclosing three symbols each.

"It's a spell that creates a magic wavelength that those creatures hate. It will make sure the ghoul stays away from you two. Sadly, no monster apart from these guys has this kind of witness, else it would be a walk in the park," the voice explained to the awestruck Kyren.

The footsteps were right outside their cell. Kyren felt his heart trying to burst out of his chest. Memory of the night he was kidnapped flashed back. How hopelessly weak and pathetic he was. How overwhelmingly horrifying the creature was, dominating everything that perceived its presence. When the boy was snapped out of his recalling, the ghoul had already walked past and opened the door of a nearby room.

"Wait, wait! Stop!" yelled a man.

"Help! Help!" desperate screams reverberated, remaining unanswered.

Kyren and Nora covered their eyes and ears, but the despair and horror was already registered in their minds, they could still hear and see everything, the fate of being chosen by the ghoul.

The crisp noise of bones breaking, the scratchy sound of skin scraping against the rocky ground. Flesh was torn mercilessly. Nails, teeth biting into dirt were ripped apart effortlessly. Screams, cries slowly became hoarse, weak, hopeless, despaired.

Stop screaming.

Hurry and leave.

Please be quiet.

Please stop struggling.

Don't share your pain with us.

Don't blame us for wanting to live.

Forgive us.

Be cold. Be heartless. To survive. To escape.

The footsteps, along with the noises, slowly drifted away, leaving behind a deafening silence.

They were sick of this place that existed at the edge of sanity.

They had to leave, no matter what, even if they had to sacrifice the lives of others, as long as the two of them could escape.

"Let's go, Nora," Kyren said.

The girl nodded, rigid like a doll with rusty gears. Her hand raised again, manifesting a different magic circle. Once the spell was completed, the door rumbled. A gust of cold air blew from outside. The large plate of metal opened by itself, revealing a row of burning torches hung on the wall.

Kyron took a peek at the outside, assuring that the ghoul had long gone. He walked with slow, light steps, followed by Nora sneaking, to the cell next door, where she worked her magic on another metal door.

Inside the room was pitch black. Kyron walked in front, feeling the ground with his feet. Nora called out in a hushed voice, "Hello, Mr. Neighbor?"

The familiar hoarse voice replied, "Yes, I'm in here. Excuse the darkness, I am currently not in a presentable shape."

The door was left open. The dancing light from the flames outside the hallway illuminated bits and parts of the person who they had been conversing with. It was impossible to see features, but their body frame was easy to make out.

Throughout their conversations, Kyron had always asked himself why the neighbor struck a deal with them. That person had knowledge of magic, wisdom about the creatures, information about the entire structure, and above all, time. Teaching Nora magic, giving him the map, explaining the obstacles they might face on the way, was all unnecessary. They were both baggage, no matter how much they could learn in a short span of a few hours. What reason would make that person give away their advantages?

At some point, Kyren had guessed the answer. However, Nora had not, as intense emotions were running wild in her mind. Her fists clenched, eyes opened wide with fire burning within the hue of green. She froze on the spot, trembling, breaths became short.

The body inside the cell was bony, so bony that it could be confused with a decomposing corpse. There was not even a shred of muscle between the bones and skin, as if a skeleton was wearing a tight leather bodysuit. Joints were visible to naked eyes, so were the shapes of every bone in the body. The rib cage stood out above a belly so hollow it was barely thicker than a sheet of paper.

In contrast, the size of the head was abnormally large. Perhaps at that size, it was no longer a head, but an entire new organ, or a separate organism even. Kyron could see almost half the room was occupied by the head alone, which was constantly squirming and spasming, covered in blue blood vessels as large as pythons, throbbing. Patches of hair mixed with protruding pieces of calcium, resembling teeth. Kyren could even see eyes growing at strange locations, darting around. Due to the size, the head could no longer be contained within the skull and had lost all shapes, spilling out like a blob of flesh.

A short laugh came from the dark corner of the room, "I'm sorry, it seems it would be impossible for me to accompany you two. But don't worry, I did not make you come over just to show the hideous sight of me."

The fingers could not stop shivering, pointed at a pile of parchments and a small black orb laying on top.

"Those are spells I have written. It can be used as long as magic is supplied into the catalyst. Little girl, don't be hesitant to use them, since they will definitely be your lifesavers. Boy, take the orb with you. It will prove to be useful to you in the future," the voice was mellow, choking.

None of them moved. The only sound was the breaths of a dying person. Long, slow and raspy. Then, Nora spoke, her voice choking, each word forceful, "Did they do this to you?" It was a whirlpool of anger, grief, hatred, regret and disgust.

An answer did not come.

As Nora took a step forward, Kyron grabbed her hand at the same time a reply was voiced from within the darkness, "I'm a failed experiment. It was an attempt to inject magic into an incompatible body. What you're seeing is the result of magic corruption. Don't worry, little girl, your body is perfect to harbor magic. Unlike me, the more magic you use, the more beautiful you will become"

A hearty laughter followed, but interrupted the dry coughs.

Her nails dug into her palms, Nora bit hard on her lips until blood flowed. She was afraid that if she said another word, she would not be able to control her voice.

The hand, with exhaustingly slow movements, waved at Kyren to come closer, "Boy, I remember we had a deal, didn't we?"

He nodded, but then was concerned whether the person inside the room still retained their sense of sight and spoke up, "Yes, a favor."

As the boy kneeled down beside the scrawny figure, the hand, covered with flat veins as if all blood had dried, gave him a worn out picture. There was a woman standing behind a little girl, both of whom were smiling brightly.

"If you manage to escape, please find these people. I'm sorry for the trouble, but this is the only clue I have left," the voice whispered.

Kyron respectfully took a photo, "I understand. Is there anything you would like to say to them?"

The person exhaled a long, scratchy sign, "I can't recall who they are anymore. I have forgotten their names, their voices, and who they are to me. But inside this hellish place, that picture is my only light,"

The voice turned soft, light, contented,

"I always feel at peace whenever I look at their smiles. They are people important to me, and perhaps I am also important to them. But what can I say when I can't even remember them? As long as you can check up on them, I would be grateful."

Kyron carefully put it in his pocket. The voice then urged, "Now go, hurry up, before that bastard comes back. Take the parchments and the orb with you. Don't worry about closing the door, I can still do that much."

He solemnly walked out without looking back, while Nora had to be pulled away, with her eyes red, shoulder trembling, but no tears came out.

Soon after they went outside, the metal door slowly closed on its own. None of them looked back. Only then did Nora allow her tears to fall. Looking at the crying girl, Kyren took out the picture. The smiles of the people inside were full of happiness and satisfaction, unaffected by what was just lost. He handed the picture to Nora.

As she held the photo, her fingers smoothened the folds and the corners gently.

"I don't want to do this," Nora said through tears, "Why do I have to do this? Why me? I don't deserve this. It's not right."

The boy wondered, if they managed to survive and leave this place, what would become of them then?

"Nothing is right about this place," said Kyren under his breath.