Creepy-crawly

The moment Kyren and Nora were inside the cave, the difference was evident, as if they had stepped into another world. Nora hugged Kyren tight, burying her head in his chest, shaking. Kyren raised his torched up high as he directed his gaze above.

The buzzing noise was loud. Too loud. Enough to puncture holes on eardrums and vibrate his organs. Kyren had tied her jacket around her head as protection from the soundwave. His hands covered his ears, yet warm liquid soon was felt on his palm, then his hearing became useless. The sides of his exposed head hurt, then became numb as warm liquid dripped down his neck. His stomach felt sick, there was an invisible hand squeezing his heart, restricting it from beating.

His throat was itchy, resulting in a series of dry coughs. The smell of acid was the most potent inside the cavern. His eyes could barely keep open, teary from the chemical. The smell dominated the air, molecules densely packed in every gulp of air that entered his nose, going through his air pipe, filling his lungs. He could faintly taste it in his mouth and at the back of his throat. Spicy. Acrid.

He had already expected such a sight, yet seeing with his own eyes was a different experience. His spine chilled. Goosebumps raised on every inch of his skin. Every strain of hair stood on its end. Tears welled up in his eyes.

What hell gave birth to this abomination?

What hell had they been dragged into?

A massive cloud of dark red colour loomed over. It was not a cloud. It was an unimaginable number of insects. Each of them was the size of a fist, equipped with a pair of trap jaws that were bigger than its own head, protected by crimson shells, flying with paper-thin transparent wings, six insectoid legs growing from the black belly.

What would it feel like to have one of those freaks of nature crawl on his body?

Or have the trap jaw the size of his fingers bite into his flesh, digging through to the bones?

The ceiling was completely blocked from sight. Not even a glance of what was behind that cloud could get through. Kyren could not guess how thick that swarm was. The insects formed layers, above one of the red shells was another, then another, then another, then another. They flew in a circle, creating a revolving disk. How many were needed to form such a mass? Millions? Billions? Or more?

The swarm swirled down in the shape of an arrow head, starting from the center of the disk, like a tornado reaching for its victims. The torch was glimmering, the flame faltered by the winds from the sudden change of air pressure. Kyren unconsciously tightened his arm around Nora as the insects magnified in his vision. The dreadful sense of death manifested into a weight that pushed down on him. His muscles tensed, his instinct was screaming, all the hair on his body stood on its end.

"Now, Nora!" he screamed into her ears.

Despite being dominated by fear, the girl still poured magic into the parchment at his cue, her eyes were still shut. The magic circle shone, separated from the parchment and glued to her palm. The parchment was burnt to ash. A transparent sphere with a golden hue manifested, encapsulating the two of them.

The arrowhead of the swarm crashed into the barrier. The sphere shook. Kyren could feel the girl jerk at the same time. The insects surrounded the two of them, slowly blocking off all light from outside. The sphere was sealed off within seconds, leaving the torch as their own source of light. The insects were close enough for him to discern their overproportional, lidless compound eyes. Bright red like condensed blood, without an iris, yet there was a feeling that they were watching him.

Nora's senses were extended to the barrier as an effect of the spell. She could feel its entire surface being bitten by the sharp jaws, scratched by the prickly, furry legs as if it was her own skin. Thousands and thousands of them. Everywhere on her body. Every nook and cranny. Even with her eyes closed, she could clearly see the creatures trying to gnaw through her barrier. Pain was not transmitted, but disgust was. She vomited again. Her throat was burning, her stomach constricted. A headache took over her mind. The magic circle flickered like an old exhausted light bulb.

Cracks formed on the barrier like spider webs. Kyren felt his heart jump to his throat. Like a rabbit fell into a trap, alarmed, panicked, afraid, yet had no way out, could only jump around inside the cage. His eyes darted around every time a new crack formed, yet incapable of anything. His body turned to mush, his lips mumbled, "Nora, please, Nora!", but the girl could not hear, half-conscious.

It was then that a ray of light pierced through the encirclement of the swarm. Then another, and another. The layers of hard shells were thinning, slowly being peeled off. They were retreating until it was clean of insects. But Kyren could not be relieved. All the insects clumped into a giant sphere near the ceiling, taking up the entire space of the upper half of the cavern. He realized their intention. The barrier could not withstand a concentrated blow to one point with momentum from such height.

A point protruded from the sphere from below, growing larger and larger, until the entire swarm turned into an arrow crashing down on the cracked barrier.

"Was this it?" he thought.

This was the end?

His mind was no longer in the moment, wandering to the beginning of this nightmare.

They had just encountered their first hurdle, yet their journey had already reached its epilogue.

How pathetic.

He even promised Nora to escape in one piece. A chuckle left his throat. What a brag.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Kyren did not have family or a goal in life. His life was disposable. But Nora was different. She had friends, a family, a place that she wanted to go to, a dream yet to be realized. She should not waste her life in this place.

His determination was withering.

It did not matter anymore.

This was the end. Nothing would ever matter anymore. Nothing could be done.

The torch in his hand was still burning brightly. The eternal flame, one that would never cease to exist. Even after their deaths, the torch would still continue to burn. What would happen to it then? Would it run out of magic and be put off? Would someone come through this place and pick it up?

Kyren smiled, finding himself entertaining the most irrelevant thoughts during the last moments.

But then his eyes shot open, the smile ceased.

An eternal flame. One that never ceased to exist. Did it mean it could burn anything?

The impact came amidst his hurried thoughts. The barrier collapsed like shattered glass, silent, under the attack from the swarm. Kyren raised his torch, clenched his jaws, the fire licking at the first insects to come close as if enjoying a delicacy.

His eyes watched as the point of the arrowhead came into contact with the torch, then burst into flame. A wall of fire suddenly materialized as thousands and thousands of insects turned into ephemeral flames, leaving behind mere particles of ash. The fire spread from one bug to another, creating a chain reaction that drowned the entire swarm of billions in the hungry flame. The sudden change in temperature created an explosion that shook the cavern.

His vision was filled with a raging orange color. The chilliness turned into a scorching heat that burnt his skin. His arm hurt, having to withstand the pressure from the momentum of the attack. Ache spread to his shoulder, back and feet. Blood leaked from his mouth of exposed teeth. His jaws hurt.

The fire raged on. Was it merely seconds? Or minutes? His arm was numb, the hand holding the torch was shaking, the skin was charred and rough like coal. The cavern was brightened like high noon, then the bursting light died out. When the wall of fire vanished, Kyren finally had a good look at the swarm. There was nothing left.

Nothing, no matter which direction he looked. The space was devoid of any creatures apart from Kyren and Nora. Nothing was left.

The cavern was spacious, Kyren exhaled a light breath, his eyes admired the glowing rocks before landing on the now visible ceiling. It was the full moon. One luminescent rock that was larger, rounder than any other.

"Hey, Nora," he called, only to realize he could not hear his own voice. The girl still refused to wake up.

He said close to her ears, "Rise and shine, Aurora."

Even when nearly passing out, her arms were still holding tight to the boy.

Kyren gently patted her shoulder. "We won," he said.

The girl shook slightly, then her face raised slowly. Her moist eyes stared at him, then looked at the moon hanging up high.

Her mouth was agape. Nora could not peel her eyes off the sight, enchanted. It was just moments ago that they thought they could never have a chance to see the night sky again.

Suddenly, as if something popped up in her mind, she darted her sight around in alarm, then confusion surfaced, before she turned back to Kyren, "Where are they?"

Kyren chuckled, knowing her question without listening, "Gone."

She blinked, "Gone?"

He read her lips and nodded with a smile, "Gone."

Nora loosened the arms around him. As if all strength left her body along with tension, she fell flat on her butt. The line of sight was raised towards the ceiling again. A whisper,

"How beautiful."