The cave incident

Nicole~

The morning of the cave incident

My head hurt. It felt like someone hit me with the head with something hard, it hurt a lot. My vision was blurry, I couldn't quite make out what I was seeing. Last thing I remembered, I was in the isolation center, and I saw my dad....

"Oh my goodness, dad." I yelled and tried standing but I fell, partly because I could not see where I was going but also because my brain did not click that I was on a bed and my leg lost it's footing.

"You're awake."

It was then that I noticed the looming presence, I squinted my eyes to focus on the figure that was looming over me. My vision finally got into focus and I realized that it was "the grumpy woman."

I realized that I had said that last part out when she wore a deep scowl on her face.

"It's Eva."

About time we put a name on it.

"Where's my dad?" My voice was somber, I dreaded the worst.

"He's fine. And he will continue to be fine as long as you remain a chosen."

"Am I going to be replaced?" I asked fearful, but not fearful of what would become of my dad if I'm not a chosen, instead, I was fearful of what would become of me and my dreams, fearful of what my purpose in life would be if I was not able to leave the island. And I hated myself for those thoughts, I hated myself for putting my happiness over my dad's wellbeing. I hated myself for not worrying more about his current state of health.

"No, that's not possible. The only way you can stop being a chosen is if you reject the title."

"But people who reject it die." I said and she smirked.

"Exactly. But if you keep being a chosen and continue with the procedure without making a fuss, your dad will be spared." She said.

"I can still continue?" My eyes beamed.

"You sure are excited." She said, "Can you see?" I nodded. "Then follow me, we will feed you the goddess blood and wash you, hopefully, it would completely cast out whatever impurities that man has put on you."

Ask to see your dad. Ask about his health. Ask if he would need to be hospitalized. Ask if he's broken any bones. Ask about him. Ask.

My conscience tugged on my mind, I wanted to ask after my dad, I really did but I also did not want to blow my chances at impressing the goddess and getting my ticket out of here. Going to see my dad right now would cast more impurities on me and I could not afford any more impurities. So I kept my mouth shut and followed Eva to the bath room, where I was washed and scrubbed thoroughly, then I was required to drink three cups of the goddess's blood.

Only after completing those tasks was I able to join the others to descent into the cave.

"Gentle, holy, pure ladies," she started and I found a place to stand with the chosens, "today marks the beginning of your new life, as you venture into the cave, I pray that the goddess be with you and grant you nothing but breathtaking surprises."

She paused to look at us. We were all dressed in white robes to represent our pure bodies and souls. Our hairs were tied into a neat bun to represent our tender hearts. Our skin was covered in honey to represent sweetness.

"Behind me are three men of the purest form, they will help you make your descent into the cave easy. Do not worry, they cannot taint your purity but if you can, avoid contact with them. The goddess's blessings be with you."

She smiled at us but on her face, it looked more like an evil smirk, or maybe she was actually giving an evil smirk, I wasn't sure.

One of the men led the way and the other two followed behind the twenty of us. We were arranged in an orderly fashion and we tried our bests not to disassemble the arrangement but life at freedis island was not exactly classy.

Once we reached the cave, the man at the front stepped aside and allowed us to enter the cave first. I guessed it was some sort of gesture or something but I couldn't really thank him since we were advised not to interact with them. The cave was covered in gems that brightened it up a bit. It wasn't completely bright but it was not dark either, it was dimly lit. We walked on a straight path, not like the cave had different paths but it was eerily straight and the cave oath was so narrow that it seemed like it would close in on us at any moment.

After a few minutes upon entering the cave, we finally reached an open space and bifurcations in the cave, the gen stones were also present in this area, not just on the ceiling of the cave but on the floor. It was spread out like how grass would. The gem made the cave light up, revealing the beauty of the cave.

And that was when someone saw it, the bones, they looked like they had been here for a long time. She screamed but one of the older women calmed her down, suggesting that it was just decoration for the goddess's shrine.

It looked too scattered to be decorations, but I wasn't a goddess so maybe she actually did have weird tastes. The men were silent, not moving from where they stood rooted. There were five paths to follow and we waited for them to guide us but they just stood there. We looked at one another, confused and when one of us walked up to them to ask them which way to go, it struck.

It bit her torso, leaving a huge hole at her side, she died instantly. Shock was the first thing that washed over me. What the hell had happened. What even was that? It was black and looked like a tiger, except it was black with spikes all over it's back. As it was finishing up it's first meal of the day, everything went crazy. Screams erupted from different sides of the room as everyone tried running out of the cave. The men were stationed at the oath we came from, the narrow path. They blocked us from passing. The whole cave was in an uproar. Women were running helter skelter, out of fear for their lives but the men stood still, deeply rooted to one spot, preventing anyone from leaving.

"WGAT ARE YOU DOING? CAN YOU BOY SEE THAT MONSTER? LET US OUT." a woman yelled at the men but they were unrelenting, the did not act as if they heard the woman.

The constant screaming generated echos in the cave and everywhere was rowdy, the monster had finished up it's first meal, except for one pinky finger and it lunged to the exit, where it's meals have gathered. It pounced on its next victims and began taking huge bites of her face. The commotion got worse as the women tried even harder to push down the men who were blocking the exit but their tries were unrelenting.

I looked around for another safe spot to hide when I spotted a girl going into a hole. Without thinking, I ran in her direction and before I could reach the hole, something tugged on my right arm, the monster had left it's second victim and decided to make me it's third. I yelped in pain as I tried to make it release it teeth from seeping deeper into my arm but it was futile. I needed to get to the hole, I needed to survive. There was no way I was going to die there.

I tried running towards the direction of the hole, but in my attempt to drag the monster with me, it moved in the opposite direction, dragging me with it instead. It jumped around and I kept hitting the floor as it jumped. I screamed in pain, then its bite dug deeper into my skin as it shook it's head, spinning me in the air.

It successfully detached my arm from the rest of my body, throwing me in the direction of the hole. I hit my back against the wall and fell to the ground but that pain was nothing compared to the pain I felt from my missing limb. I cried out in pain, and that monster had the audacity to spit out my arm the moment I fell, then it went on to get it's other victims.

I mustered all the strength in me to drag myself into the hole, thankful that I did not encounter any interruptions this time. I was successful in reaching the other side after much difficulty and much pushing from the others who were also trying to enter the hole. The next girl to enter the hole got her feet bitten off by the monster as she was crawling in. Thankfully though, it didn't swing her around like it did me, it just chomped, spit and went around to find other victims.

After she entered, only one more girl was able to enter, marking the five of us who hid in the cave. We all shivered, our breaths uneven as we wondered if we would survive the massacre or if we would be spared.