Tender

Kyren remembered during another outing in the first year of highschool, he had the chance to visit a famous historical site, an underground tactical base. It was over ten meters under the surface, consisting of hundreds of rooms and chambers but only two exits. The only way to move around was through tunnels only big enough for a person to crawl through. The use of electricity or fire was too dangerous in such a condition, therefore a lighting system was nonexistent.

At one time, he was stranded from the group. While trying to navigate through the complicated tunnels, he was stuck in a narrow, crooked part. There was not enough room to bend his knee and generate a force enough to push him through or drag him back. His elbows was glued to his own chest, bound by the earth itself, unable to make even the slightest movement. Every breath pushed his body against the wall, suffocating. He did not have enough air in his lungs to shout, no light to show what was in front. The phone was in his pocket, where he could not reach. Even after the outing, sometimes Kyren still wondered if reality was just a fever dream, and he was actually still inside that tunnel, decaying.

Now, Kyren had a sense of deja vu as he was crawling through a similar tunnel. After getting out of the prison cell, Kyren and Nora followed the map but soon ran into a dead-end, the only way forward was through a small hole.

How long had they been crawling? How long more did they have to crawl? He regretted not checking the distance on the map before diving into the hole. The deeper into the path, the smaller it became. There used to be enough room for them to be on all four, but now, they had to lie flat on their stomachs, pushing with their toes, fingers digging into and pulling on the cracks between rocks.

Sharp edges scratched both their backs and bellies. Cold drops of water dripping on their skin, flowing down the spines. Steadiness was more important than speed. The moment one of them was stuck, it would be the end. There was no equipment, no help, no time for a rescue.

Kyren's breathing was becoming irregular. There was not enough oxygen in the tunnel. Everytime his lungs expanded, taking in air, he could feel sturdy, unshakable rocks tightening from all sides. There were a few tight knots that his ribcage could barely squeeze through, leaving long red marks like claws. There was no light inside the tunnel. Even though Nora was just a few feet ahead, his eyes only registered an empty darkness. Even at this state, the path was becoming more and more narrow, forcing Kyren to put more and more strength into his fingers and toes. Numbness was settling in, spreading.

"This is the right way," he convinced himself, "this must be the right way, the map clearly shows it."

The map could be trusted.

But could it be trusted?

Could the neighbor, the person with the giant head, be trusted?

Why did he assume that person was trustworthy?

What if he could not?

What if at the end of the tunnel was a deadend?

How could he go back?

Would he be stuck here for the rest of his life? Unable to move, waiting for a slow, excruciating death. His corpse would decompose at the same place, forever unnoticed, buried by the earth for eternity.

"This is the right way," he whispered to himself, "It has to be the right way. There's no deadend in front. We will not die here. We will escape."

Compared to him, Nora was having an easier time. Her body was slim and flexible. Her muscles were refined and nimble. While Kyren had to be careful with every move, Nora recklessly made her way forward. At any point that she found herself becoming stuck, the girl simply exhaled all air in her lung, relaxed her body, put strength in calves and shoulders to get through the small part. In the darkness, her eyes shone, every nook and cranny was visible as if in broad daylight.

In the end, they crawled for 20 minutes. Nora was almost five minutes early. The moment Kyren saw light at the end, he almost burst into tears. When the boy was finally out of the tunnel, he inhaled a lungful of air, enjoying the smell of open space.

"I'd rather die than to do that again," he complained, casually brushing dust from his shoulders, though Nora had already noticed his trembling hands.

She snickered, "If you decide to die at some point, at least become a bait for me to escape. Don't die a coward."

Kyren laughed along with her, secretly taking a glance at her complexion. Traces of tears on her cheeks were still present, along with a few hiccups. She did not try to hide them. Knowing her, he was assured that everything was fine now.

The path continued in a straight line. Torches were lit on the wall on one side. The ceiling was not high, Kyren could easily touch it without reaching, but it was still better than a tunnel. Spikes of speleothems hung down, of murky yellowish white color, dripping with mineral-filled water, reflecting the energetic flames on their surfaces. As the two of them walked, they had to dodge the spikes. Kyren chose two of them, longer and thinner than the rest, broke near the root and gave one to Nora.

"Weapon," he said.

Nora nodded and took the piece of speleothems. It was smooth, hard to grip, and not durable, but it was better than bare hands. The two of them walked slowly, eyes darting at every corner, backs lowered, hands and feet prepared to react at any moment.

The passage was humid, combined with the low temperature, rendering the sweater and jacket useless. Every time the wind blew, the two of them shivered, teeth chattering. The coldness touched their bones, spreading through their flesh. The path was wide for a person to pass through, but a tight fit for two. Nora walked in front, nearing the torches to enjoy the heat. There was an odd odor in the air, a mix of moldy smell and something pungent, acidic. The ground and the walls were sloshy, covered in a kind of gel that made it hard to lift their feet. The torches were too far away from each other to brighten every inch of the path.

Visualizing the map in his memory, Kyren guided the way from behind, passing through two junctions without any incidents so far. After the second turn, he started to notice a change in the musty air.

"Do you smell that?" He asked, raising his nose, taking in a gust of air.

Nora did the same, then shook her head, "Not really, what is it?"

Kyren frowned, "It's still faint, but I smell something that stinks like bad fish."

Nora giggled, "It is indeed a bit fishy then."

"...Seriously?" Kyren stared at the girl with bemused eyes, then chuckled.

Walking a few meters more down the path, their playfulness ceased. The smell became more intense and foul, assaulting their nostrils. Kyren had to pinch his nose, else it would give him a migraine.

"I know this smell," Nora lowered her voice, her steps became lighter, the hand tightened around the spike that was raised at her chest level, pointing towards the dark passageway ahead.

"Me too," Kyren gave up on covering his nose to free his hand, trying to breathe with his mouth. He paid more attention to his ears, ready to pinpoint the source of any strange sounds.

After a dozen steps, nothing had yet to happen, but the two of them could not calm their thumping hearts. Kyren felt his legs shake, his back cold. Every second passed, he imagined a ghoul, with wriggling tentacles, towering figure and a head full of tormented faces, shot out from the darkness, coiling its tentacles around their bodies.

Could they react fast enough?

Could they run away?

Could they resist its strength?

The screams of the man dragged away by the ghoul in the prison was vivid in his mind. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Nora's hands unstable. He shook his head hard, forcing dark thoughts away. He had to be focused.

The torch burnt humbly. Its flickering light shone on a pool of thick, black substance on the floor. Kyren and Nora halted their steps. The liquid covered the entire width of the ground. The torch illuminated an area of a few meters square, but the source of the liquid could not be seen.

Splosh.

Kyren wore a pair of shoes with thin soles. The ground was always wet, but only after stepping onto the puddle did he feel liquid seeping through the layer of fabric.

At every step he took, the boy thought he should be seeing something by now, yet ended up taking another step.

How far was it? It could not be too far away, but why could they not see anything yet? Just how large was this pool of liquid?

A distance of ten steps felt like an unending expanse. The mere amount of the black substance left the two of them dumbstruck. At the end of that distance, something resembling a human was lying on the ground. Even at that moment, more black blood was still pouring out from the mouth, ears, noses, eyes and about a hundred more holes on the body. The eyeballs had already rolled out of the sockets, ending up a few inches away.

"About 5 liters," Kyren whispered, "that's the amount of blood in a human body. This looks close enough."

Nora swallowed hard. Her eyes were drawn to the corpse on the ground, but her mind could not stand the sight, and her gaze shifted away, only to be drawn in again.

Kyren kneeled down, careful not to let his knee touch the ground, using the tip of the spike to poke the corpse. The hard stick sunk into the layer of skin easily. He felt sick in the stomach, his throat opened on its own with a nauseous urge. However, whatever that killed this man, they could be its victim next. To raise their chance of survival, Kyren braced himself to collect as much information as possible, forcing the vomit down.

The flesh and muscle offered some elastibility, but there was nothing more under. Too soft. A human body should not be this soft, as if it was a slug. He put a bit more strength in his hand, and the spike was stopped. Kyren realized he had reached the ground. It was also flat, too flat for a corpse.

His heartbeat was accelerating. He ran the tip across the dead body, from head to toe. Brain, lung, liver, heart, stomach. Everything was present though riddled with holes, except for one thing.

What kind of creature was capable of this?

But there was still one more thing to check before he could be sure of his observation.

Bracing himself, Kyren pried apart his lips, exposing empty gum lines. No teeth.

Where did all the bones go?