//CLOSED Bittersweet Darkness, With A Side Of Fire.

Falling, tumbling along the cement and rock surface of the staircase. Groans of pain escaped her lips as her tossed body finally landed on the bitter cold floor. Lifting her head slightly shaking it before her eyes would open. Wait…They were all ready open. Why was it so dark? Hands moved and touched the ground, the cold feeling of the floor sent shock waves through the body. Finding little memories trapped within these steps, screams of men and laughter of others. This made it very confusing to figure out from touch where she had gotten herself into.

Moments went by as she just sat in the depth of darkness, searching around her for a stable grip to pull herself up from. Finding a stair railing, oh great, just the thing she could have used to save herself from bruises and perhaps a sprained wrist within the ordeal. For a moment her head spun, the voices returning and swamping her thoughts. Hands reached down across the body, searching for her matches. In Romania, the darkness came all too quickly and she found herself always using matches to find her way through. Finding the box of matches, pulling them from her jacket pocket and lighting one up. She would scream slightly before her hand fell over her mouth, hiding the scream forever. ‘’Where am I….’’ The darkness was not only confusing and for brooding but the layout of the room she had fallen into seemed to be a prison. Something to keep people from escaping. This confused her, finding herself moving forward without any motivation to actually go further into this darkness.

‘’Merisa-Anne Labelle, what did you fall into this time…’’ She spoke of course to herself, but the empty hallow of the room would echo and frighten her just slightly more. Soft voices spoke in the back of her head ‘Help’ was something she caught very often in this room. The match burned down to her fingers, making her wince in pain before she would light another before taking another step. Her head would turn and she found bars that went from ceiling to floor and her heart would drop. This is where her voices followed her from, she was expecting something easier to handle. Not a dungeon filled with death and… What was that awful stench?

Shaking it off she pressed her hands into the bars, reaching the match into the dungeon before groaning from the sight of decaying rats and not kept rooms. The stench of stale water filled her senses as she could taste the bitterness within these walls. She would move further into the darkness, finding herself now more intrigued by the hidden secrets.

Why the freaking hell did he decide to take a damn stroll into the dungeons of this place? Oh, maybe he just likes to bathe himself in the rotting stench of corpses and the like. Or maybe he would just prefer to bathe himself in a pit full of the castle's feces. Probably just an idiot. A small memory would pop into his mind as he remembered telling some guy named Thomas to go clean up the dungeons. Once arriving down through another staircase, he realized that he had taken his joke too far for his own good. With only taking a few steps into the dungeon, he slipped along some broken cobblestone and slid down a side chute that ended up in a small pit of.... well, he rather not get into it.

Tapping his light jacket, he located the thing he was looking for. "Thank god...." A small LED sunfire tactical light. It was supposed to be mounted on his firearm, but considering the circumstances it was now his makeshift flashlight. Flicking it on, he began to examine himself and his surroundings.

All he knew was that he had brown stains on his ass and arms, felt sticky, and realized that he would need to jump into a sanitation bath before even considering taking a step in his room. He broke his cellphone on the way down plus a couple of bruises, but other than that he was fine. It was just his pride that took a major blow... why the hell did he come down here to save that Thomas bastard? Sighing deeply, he examined the room to figure out where he needed to go next. He estimated by the echoing, the screams, and the distance of his fall that he went down about 2 stories. Not a terrible turn of events, if it wasn't for the god awful smell that penetrated the place. Good thing he went spelunking at least once in his life. He was lucky that he didn't get any cuts on certain parts of his right arm. He would hate to have to amputate his arm due to an infection. The area probably has some special bacteria only found in places such as this...

Looking at his drop, the mushy pit did save him. The pit opened at the top of the ceiling, which still oozed with the black substance that covered parts of his body. Oh well, the terrible stench of the dungeons covered up the worst part of it. He would consider it a small sacrifice if he got out of here...alive that is.

Waving the tiny LED flashlight, he was able to make out the rest of his surroundings. He was in a small 10X10 room that was probably used as a waste chute for the waters that drained into the pit. "Damn drainage ditch saved my life..." His eyes caught a hallway that lead to a T-fork.

Keeping his flashlight low to the ground, he would step out into the T-Bone fork and shift his light left to right. Peering his cone down both hallways, he noticed that the LED's cone would be sucked into the darkness. "No end in sight...fuck." Stepping back into the small room, he would lean against the wall and consider the options. "Think...think...." He began to feel the darkness swell around him. No matter how cool headed you can be, this was a pretty fucked up situation. Why the hell didn't he ----- fuck, just relax. Gotta think. Gotta think.... deep breaths.

Taking several deep breaths of the shitty air, he brought a sense of overloaded euphoria that helped calmed him down. No time to examine the what if's. Time to examine the facts. Letting the light play around the small room, he began to evaluate the situation.

A.) He was boned. He had no cellphone, no map, and no idea how deep the "rabbit hole goes".
B.) Both paths lead to an endless abyss. Since it was a castle, it probably had many twists and turns that could lead him into worse situations.
C.) Nevertheless, there was running water down here. Shitty, but water. This means that the dungeons are also a sewage system... which means one of two things:
1.) There is a reservoir that collects all the shit, like a septic tank, at the base of the dungeons.
2.) There is an exit where the excess water and shit is taken outside. Similar to the mouth of the river.

Considering this was a castle, there had to be an "escape route" for the royalty to use in case of an emergency. Therefore, there had to be an exit that lead outside of this place. The only problem was... the dungeons were also designed to be a labyrinth. He could be down here for days before he found an exit. Furthermore, he could become dehydrated before he got anywhere. No wait, he would prob run out of batteries before he got anywhere. The biggest issue was possible gas pockets, that could suffocate him if he went too deep into the castle. Methane, sulfide gases.... one wrong turn and he was going to be up shit creek... wait, scratch that. Bad pun, he was already there. Literally.

Monitoring his breathing, he noticed it was normal. Elevated, but fine. Good, the air here was at least... breathable. Minus the rotting stench. God he wanted to vomit.

Knocking against the wall, he put his analogy to the test. If the labyrinth was a river, then the mouth is an exit. So the water must flow in a given direction...

Examining the floor with his flashlight, he followed a small trail of liquid from the pit he landed in towards the T bone fork. Although it was not puddles of water, it was a start. Following the flow of the liquid, he would notice that the water would flow down to the right at the T-Bone fork. Deeper into the labyrinth.

"Perfect...."

With a plan in mind, he would trail the light down the hall.

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OOC note: Fell nearby to Merisa's position, about two or three turns away. Same level.
Since there is no description of the dungeons, feel free to make your own interpretations of the dungeons. The castle is large, so the dungeons have many levels, run offs, and traps. The renovators probably scuffed most of the dungeons due to the risks involved of sealing most of it off. Rodents and other small creatures will randomly poke their heads out to see what is going on, but the light will keep them at bay.

Everything else is up for open-ended interpretation.

Go nuts.

The stench only made the woman groan with discontent. ‘Where the hell am I?’ Was her only thought, as hands pressed against cold stone and she ventured down the tunnel with her lit match in front of her. Eyes squinted to see further into the darkness of the labyrinth of the dungeons. The darkness of which spelled her mind tortured and teased at thoughts of death and embarrassment of disloyalty. Confusion struck the woman as soft foot steps echoed along the corridor, sounds of voices echoed through her mind not sure if it was reality of her own thoughts once again. The terror of voices that struck through the mind, causing fading memories to push their way, back in through the abyss that was called her mind.

The stench finally made the woman succumb to putting her sleeve over the mouth and nose, trying not to gag from the smell of...’’Ahhh!’’ The hand over her mouth did not shield the scream very well as her eyes fell down into the wet sticky stink she had just stepped into. ‘’That’s disgusting…’’ Having to lift her eyes quickly as her mind tried to push out the thought of her stepping through…Oh god…That really was shit. Gagging and holding herself composing as her hand let go of the wall. ‘’Where the hell did I fall into?!’’ Her heart was beating a million miles an hour as she turned around to look at the corridor whilst she came, seeing nothing but darkness and tainted shadows of darkness.

‘’Ouch!’’ A high pitched voice echoed through her corridors. The match finally burnt her fingers and she dropped it into the stream of…Ugh…Below her. Remembering things of this morning in the registration room, thinking of the people in that room; the shy boy, the furious man behind the desk and the shadow man of previous encounter. Then her thoughts reminded her of the man that was told to come down here and clean. Her head would shake as she tried to remember what he introduced himself as to the register. ‘’Thomas!’’ She said out loud, thinking that these noises could have been him just cleaning.

Quickly turning the corner, running directly into the corner of the corridor. A groan escaped her lips as hands gripped and shook with the box of matches. Scared now to light another for view of the crap, literally, in front of her. These thoughts tortured her mind. ‘’To blow up, or not to blow up. That is the question.’’ She knew if there was shit down here, then there was methane gas pockets, and more so. Explosives. A shudder would creep down the woman’s spine before finding herself pressing hands against either side of the corridor.

The feel of the stream at her ankles notified her she was at least going in the right direction. Flowing water had to escape somewhere. Or fall into a deep bottomless pit, but she didn’t want to think about that. The hand replaced it’s self over her face, like a mask from the smell that was so noxious and unforgiving. Yes Romania was bad, but it was not gorged in feces. That’s what this reminded her of, walking through the dark tunnels of Romania, running like always through streams of water. The mind was placed else where as the body moved forward following the flow of the stream, the free hand shoving into her pocket.

Her eyes grew wide as she felt a cold chain in her pocket, a smile crept over her face remembering that she had found a trinket of evil out in the woods in the gorgeous sunlight. She missed the warm touch already, fearing that she would not find her way out of here now. Having taken too many corners she could not think of where she was, and only had a basic map of the castle on her person. And like that map helped in the first place, that’s what got her ending up outside in the first place.

Groaning a moment she could only think of the facts, and wrapped the chain around her neck, letting it hang from her over the exposed skin from her shirts style. There was seen a small light in the end of the hall, this would scare her and make her stop in her footsteps, crashing the watered down crap. The smell was only getting worse and she would find herself standing there, looking for that light again, that had swept by so quickly. Eyes strained within the darkness to see if there was perhaps a crack in the building or perhaps her exit was finally coming to an arrival. ‘’Hello? Thomas? Perhaps dead souls? Anything or anyone there?’’ Her voice was a soft whisper that would echo through the corridor before starting to move once again. A hand pressed against the wall as she moved along it, trying not to have her footsteps be too loud.

Behind her, she could hear the echo of crashing rock and tearing steel. Something had broken back there, something had fallen, and there was no way she was going back. This place was a death trap she realized, and had to get out of it, hopefully alive. The touch of fur against her ankles made the woman scream and jump, not wanting to know what was crawling around on her feet. Running down the corridor as quickly as she could, in the last place she had seen the light against the walls. As she came closer to the end of her corridor within the darkness she could not see and ran into the wall that turned into a corner. Her body bounced from the wall, her hands reached out to grip anything that was there to help catch her. But alas it was too late, she had fallen back into the stream of unforgiving disgust. Now herself, her white shirt covered in this mess, as well as her pants completely covered and soaked with this..This crap…

Standing herself up quickly shaking her arms and hands to get the crap off. ‘’This only gets worse and worse….I want out!’’ Her hands fell to her sides, not knowing what to do now. She was lost and confused, very frightened of what could be coming around the next corner. Quickly she would turn and touch the walls around her, finding some cracks, then finally and broken piece in the wall. Feeling around in it, she found it didn’t go very deep and she quickly climbed up into it sitting on its edge. Hands wiped off on the front of her shirt, the last clean place she had. Then laid against her face her head shaking. ‘’What the hell…’’

The first thing about survival is keeping your wits about you. It all goes to shit when you start to lose your confidence, your instincts, and your pride. All of your mental strengths will be tested when you are alone in the wild. The one thing you have to remember is that surviving is not impossible. Its been done for millions of years. You have it easy here in the states, but when you are in certain parts of the world... being able to find food, water, or shelter could mean the difference of life or death. Remember that you are not alone and you will survive these encounters. Without your ability for self control, you will become lost in the sea of doubt. When that happens, you are better off taking your own gun and shooting yourself. Otherwise, you are just wastin air...

"Just wasting air, huh?"

A nervous chill ran up Riley's spine.

To be perfectly honest, being lost in the dungeons was not a common occurrence for Riley. Being put in the woods and asked to find his way out or being able to handle a bear with just a knife and his wits was. With a labyrinth, there was no 'visible' end in sight. He could be miles below ground level and wouldn't even know it. All the paths he took lead deeper and deeper into the maze. The only thing that kept him company was the tiny bead of light he kept on... and the sea of rats that scurried away at the sight of him. Luckily, his light was LED and used a pretty high performance battery. He had about 6 hours of full operation before the thing went dead, probably a full 5 and 1/2 hours of bright shiny light. The darkness that surrounded him brought a sense of fear in his eyes, slowly realizing his surroundings. It took all of his mental control to keep calm in the situation. The smell he could get used to. The rats, not such a big problem since they left him alone. It was the fear of being lost in these caverns that brought the instilled fear in his eyes. Dying alone in this large tomb. Being eaten alive by these hungry, rabid rats. Maybe it wasn't the fact that he feared death after all. It was definitely something more simpler than that...

He feared the thought of dying alone in this god forsaken place.

But he didn't have long to ponder upon his own thoughts. Rounding the forth corner, he heard a faint bloodcurdling scream down the long dark hallway he was walking on.

"The fuck?!"

Standing there, in a pile of dirty shit, he listened again. Was the thought of dying alone bringing delusions? He shook his head, that can't be. It sounded female. That sure as hell wasn't Thomas. Maybe he was just being fucking stupid.

Another call, faint but closer.

Unless it was the gasses from below, there sure as hell was someone down there. "Hello! Anyone there?!" Calling back loudly, he would squint his eyes down the never ending corridor. It was like a bad dream. A dream that wouldn't never end, no matter how far he walked. He prob sucked in too many gases, there should be anyone down there. Nevertheless, his legs carried him forward. Although in his mind he thought he was hallucinating, his body knew otherwise. He was puffing lightly in the putrid stink, which seemed to fade away as he rushed forward through the never ending mist. He could hear his footsteps echoing loudly
along the cooridor. Regardless of how he felt, he had to figure out where the hell that sound was coming from.

Sliding across a corner, he heard very close by ....I want out!’’ THE FUCK? Was that a ghost. IT sounded soooo fucking close. He could almost taste the damn scent emitting from her body. He wanted to run. He wanted to flee. Why the fuck was he being such a lil bitch about it! Nevertheless, his legs carried him forward. Automatic locomotion. His entire body was on auto pilot as his mind screamed for him to stop. The light bouncing along the cooridors as he took the last turn.

But as luck would have it, not everything would go in his favor. Hitting the last turn hard, he skid across a lose bit of cobble stone and slid along a few loose 'turds' on the ground. This brought his momentum foward along the new hallway, but not in a safe path. Instead of regaining his balance, his toes dipped and crunched into a pothole that was nearby. This caused one of two things to happen. First, the shock of his toes succumbing to the rock caused his grip on the flashlight to be released... sending it skyrocketing down the hallway before him. Secondly, the 3rd law of motion applied as his body pivoted forward and smacked right against the stone. He went face first, unable to recoperate from the shock of pain in his foot. He landed hard against the stone, knocking the wind out of him and jarring up the legoes that filled his brain. *FWAP!!!*

The flashlight would skid to a halt, the globe of light facing Riley's direction. The tool would stop next to a crevice in the wall, hidden from view by the glow of the light.

The world began to swim....

He saw something moving in the shadows....

"....sh-"

He collapsed to the floor after a meaningless struggle. The pain and surprise too much for Riley to surpass.
------------------------------------------------
OOC note:
Can be nearby Merisa, dun have to be. Your call.
The movement can be Merisa crying or a rat. Please dun let it be a rat... *doesn't want to get his face eaten off by a rat* :D

Sounds of pitter pattering feet echoed through the hallways empty corridors. The confusion of sound within this deep dark maze, froze Merisa’s breath, forcing her eyes to shut to concentrate upon the thought of it. Death was playing games with the sounds in her mind, she could only think that this was her gift turning against her. That in a place like this, death has the advantage among helpless human souls. The thought of being controlled and played with like a feeble puppet drove her mind almost to insanity and back. Realization that these things can not let her be bothered, that her strength must cultivate and that the life within these walls must make it out to continue her actions at the Castle of a school.

Echoes of voices came through the twisted corridors, her heart beat quickly raising hopes up as she listened again. Straining to hear that voice once again, that perhaps it wasn’t her mind going completely bonkers. Shaking hands would reach and grip either side of the crevice and lean out gently before she could not see anything, but only hear the sounds of the dirty stream beneath her. Gathering herself once again, forcing herself back into the darkness of the crevice, trying to remember the way back to the broken stairs.

‘’I swear…If I get out of here… I will never touch another piece of cheese cake.’’ This made her smile, she was trying to keep herself happy and cheerful, even in such a dreadful area such as this. A smirk would stay upon those lips, covered in shit she couldn’t find herself to stay happy long. ‘’Utterly disgusting…You’d think they would’ve closed all this off…Health board would have a hay day with this…’’ She would whisper to herself, thinking of all these little things. Keeping her mind off the voices in her head, the sounds of footsteps emitting from the darkness of her mind.

One hand would reach up, and play with the ring on the chain that she had picked up earlier that day. When she was outside, enjoying the suns warm touch and the beauty of the castle’s garden. Forcing herself to think of that man, the man that made her laugh on the inside. For she could never laugh in his face, would be rude and disrespectful and he seemed to be the kind of man she did not want to upset in the least bit. Her fingers touched and played with the ring, and squeezed it in her hand, the warmth of the chain and ring warmed her cold hands as she would again hear the pitter patter of feet through sewage.

As she was about to jump out from the crevice, a light was seen coming down the corridor she had taken cover in. Her heart beat quickly, worried if this was real or in her mind once again. Or even perhaps something worse that had been lurking in the darkness for all these years. Her heart would skip beats, causing pain through her chest and making her need to groan out in this pain but biting down on her already torn lip. ‘’Mother be blessed within the darkness we find strength to move into the light’’ She would whisper as a loud crash could be heard into the sewage water.

The clink of metal against the ground forced her eyes to fall on the ground, opening and realizing the light was coming from a small stick, could very well be a flashlight. Moving out of her crevice into the corridor once again, holding her breath as she moved in through the sewage water. The body would move quietly along the edge of stone, above the sewage water. Her footsteps almost silent, moving with soft taps against the stone, the form would come to the flashlight that was rolled and facing away from her.

Leaning over and picking up the flashlight in hand, shaking it free of the water and crap that had covered its handle. Moving the light from side to side she could only see shadows still. ‘’H-H-Hello? Anyone there?’’ Her voice shaky and frail as she moved further into the corridor the flash light would land on the boy. Her eyes would widen as she recognized the man that laid on the ground before her and quickly she rushed over to his side. ‘’Please don’t be afraid, it is me Merisa-Anne.’’ Her hand would reach out and lay in front of him to help him to his feet. ‘’Are you okay?’’ Her mind ran with questions of why he was down here in the first place.

Landing in a pile of dog shit, now the probability of that is about 1 in 10000 per year. Landing in a pile of dog shit in a cave/dungeon, prob 1 in 4 million in a lifetime. Landing in dog shit in a dungeon while crunching his foot on a pothole, probably a first. Managing to lay on his side before the minor pass out he was able to stay above the sewage water so that he wouldn't drown. Nevertheless, with the up close encounter once more of the shitty kind, it acted like salts and caused him to stir about almost immediately. After being knocked unconscious for about 2 minutes, he awoke to a shaking stir.

"......fuck...me... sideways..." A painful groan would call from the collapsed idiot on the ground.

His eyes swimming from the crud, stink, and pain, he slowly looked up to see some figure girl shining a light in his face. What the fucking hell was she doing down here? Furthermore, where the fucking hell was Thomas. Seeing her kneeling posture, through the light's shadow, he would shake the grogginess away from his eyes. "Come on, I aint dead yet. I may look like shit, but it doesn't mean you need to shine a light in my eyes." Seeing the blade of light piercing his vision, he would shake his hand away from the light. Once it was at least shifted away from his eyes, he would slowly sit up against the cave wall nearby... ignoring the possible help she presented to him. "I would like to say 'I thought they smelled bad on the outside' but I havea feeling that you have already smelled the shit enough already in this place. " Chuckling, he would spit some of the crap that was caked around his mouth. Landing face first into the sewage pit was not one of his priorities.

As he relaxed against the wall, his vision stopped swimming enough that he could make out the girl that was before him. "Merisa right.." Considering offering a hand for a 'proper shake', he stopped halfway and kept his hand to himself. "My hand is prob covered in cow dung... we can save such pleasantries for later." The pain in his toe, throbbing from the movement from before, was eyed for a moment before he continued. "Thought I was the only idiot down here. The fuck gave you the idea to go spelunking. At least I had a real reason. Stupid one at that." Kicking some sludge away from his feet, he added "when I find that Thomas bastard, I am going to kick his fucking face in and then leave him here so that the rats can eat and shit all over his corpse." Of course, it was all Riley's fault for telling him to come down here, but he was too busy festering to realize such a statement.

"Anyways, how the hell did you get down here, Merisa?"

There was.... sludge caked to his face.

A Smirk would plant on the woman’s lips, even covered in shit and lost in darkness men wouldn’t accept help. Her head would shake as she moved the light from his eyes, to the wall behind him. Letting the light bounce from the wall and create more of an opening of light. His mumbles and curses only made her smile, her head shaking only slightly as her hand retracted and tucked into the filth covered pocket of her pants. ‘’Well I am sorry, it seemed as though you were dead sir. Considering you did just fall into….Sewage…’’ Her body shook with a disgusted shudder as her body would move from the man and sit across from him at the other wall. The mind would ravish over thoughts of where Thomas could be, how she was not only going to get herself out, but hopefully find a way out for both of them sitting there. Questions filled her mind as the man continued to groan and such of his pain.

The head would tilt and stare almost adolescently at the man before her. Never would she have laughed in his face before, but now she felt the timing was right. The smile would break across her dirty face, head tilting back only lightly as she gave off a soft giggle. ‘’Oh…The adventures of the lost you could say. I thought I was finding the right door for the main hall. But as last time, this map doesn’t help a damn thing and I keep getting lost.’’ Almost peeved off at the notion of giving out maps that wouldn’t help those anyways. ‘’Given that it is such a large castle… But still, it is quite ridiculous of how the turn of events have gone.’’

Listening to his stories, and the pain in his voice her thoughts eluded her as confusion arose once again in the mind of the young woman. Her hands would clasp, and lay over her lap before she would find herself standing and searching around for a few moments. ‘’I had opened the top stair well door and took two steps in before they cracked below the pressure and well… Here I am. Trying to find another way out since I couldn’t climb back out.’’ A shrug of the shoulders would suffice for the rest for now as her mind dangled else where in the darkness.

She would find herself searching through her pockets, and finding her last clean handkerchief and handing it over to him. ‘’I’m sure that doesn’t feel well against the skin, let alone right under your nose.’’ Her head would tilt and she’d let off a quiet giggle before turning into the darkness and searching fairly quickly. ‘’But alas, I’d love to get out of here finally. These rats I’m so frightened of catching something from… Even being down here has made me worried of what sickness I, sorry, We may have contracted.'' A shake of her head before she would pick up the flash light and pointed down the hall which she had not gone yet. ‘’Is that where you came from?’’ Her head would tilt around the corner, only seeing darkness beyond the reach of light.

Sitting there across from the girl, he had a weird sense of homeliness in that cavern covered in shit. It was warm and comfortable to exchange words that were a bit more than about his past or what his favorite movies were, those were lost on a man who only had memories of 3+ years past. It didn't remind him of how he had to remaster many of life's skills in the matter of months for what took many humans years. Nevertheless, his brain wasn't totally jarred of memories. He doesn't remember anything about how he went spelunking, but that he did. Facts would occur to him commonly, like how to add and subtract, but no memory of how to relate to them. It was as if he was reading from an invisible script, where the words would magically appear on the paper if he forgot his lines. It made adjusting difficult when applying certain knowledge, but it was something that he had to accept.

He had tuned her out a bit, but he caught most of the more important parts. Sitting up against the wall, he said. "So basically, you are as fucked as I am. Fell down into a strange pit with a one way ticket. Huzzah..." Seeing the handkerchief, he would reach forward and take hold of the said object... putting it close to his face. "Wait... I have shit in on my face?" Watching her giggle and her eyes stare at it, he merely sighed as he wiped it off. "Well thanks for sacrificing the only clean thing ya had. At least we can die together knowing that went they find our decaying corpses, I was the prettier one of the two." Winking to the girl, his sadistic humor never fading, he would slowly rise to his feet. Keeping no pressure on his right foot, he used the balls of his heels and the side of the wall to rise. "Back there was just a shit chute. I slipped on some loose rock and fell down a large drainage ditch. As you can tell by the dark stains all over me, I was saved by a collection of... well.." Emphasisng the brown and black sludge, he just continued. "Anywho, seems like we are two peas in a pod for this situation. Covered in crap and in need of a bath." Noting the rhyme scheme, he kicked himself internally as he placed a hand on the wall nearby. "Dun worry about the rats and infections. As long as you keep your hands out of your mouth or eyes, you should be fine. Rats dun bite unless they are hungry. I am pretty sure they'll eat the shit here before they come trying to fight something bigger than them. Just keep your light on em, and everything will be fine. " Tilting his head around the darkness, he mumbled "I bet a person would do many of things to get a hold of a single alcoholic wipe down here..." Course he was thinking of something related to male-prostitution, but that was just man humor.

"Well from what I can tell, we need to follow the water down the path. I am surprised you could even see down here without a light." Pointing to his flashlight she was carrying, he continued. "Trail the light down the corner and tell me where the water is leading. I fucked up my foot, so you'll have to take point." Hiding the pain behind his voice, he hobbled up to his full height as he motioned her to do so. "And make sure to come up with some interesting stories to tell as you lead us further into the abyss. I am not a fan of quiet car rides." Always he who demands. Nevertheless, seek and you shall receive.

Moments would pass as empty blank stares down the darkened corridors consumed the young woman. Taking into stride the amount of fumes she had been breathing in, taking into account how long she had been down here and how long this man was making useless conversation. A shake of her head as he spoke with eerie words, would send shivers down her spine only taking a moment before turning her head to watch him. He had this comfortable look about him, which set her even more-so off stance and caused her to think of what could be going through this mans head. Could she get inside of it and stir it around like batter of cake mix. Food… She couldn’t think of food right now, the thought of it made her stomach turn and tighten, an arm would move to hug her middle tightly as she took a few steps away from the man.

‘’I really don’t think it’s what you look like that makes one pretty….’’ Harsh would escaped the broken lips before turning and staring off down the third corridor where the water was moving down in the current. This man continued to surprise her, from the rude and unsettling way he acted previously, and now to this. She was wondering when he was going to pull out the axe and start murdering people, or even worse calling them down like the shit that covered his face. He would continue speak, which would only set her off guard. His voice seemed almost irritating in this moment, all she could think about was how rude and crazed he acted when she was just becoming a student and trying to register. Hands would move out to attempt to help the man with his wounded foot, but she would quickly retract that hand and only stare at the man almost coldly. ‘’What I wouldn’t do for some company that was….’’ Her voice trailed off as she moved down the corridor, coming back after she had checked out made sure the water had been going all the way down.

‘’Hey, weirdo. Are you coming or are you just gonna stand in shit all day and complain?’’ Most of what he said was brushed off her shoulders, she didn’t like talking to people who were rude and self-absorbed. The fact that he spoke again and told her of quiet car rides made her want to turn around and leave him in the darkness by himself. ‘’What I wouldn’t give…’’He’d still continue to spout obscenities from what he called a mouth, readying herself she just about knocked his block off for some of the stupidity coming from him. Her voice once again trailed off as she handed him back the torch and would shake her head. ‘’You know what. I made it here fine by myself so far. I think I’ll continue to do it like that. I think I’ll take the rats. Sorry for the inconvenience.’’ Tilt of the head and a smile on the lips before she would turn and move down the hall way which she had checked previously. Leaving the injured man there to suffer on his own. Perhaps this would straighten out the egotistical being , or perhaps it would kill him. Either way, it made her feel terrible for doing so. But she was not going to be the one of ridicule, the one having to listen to this angry man from earlier.

A shudder down her spine, as she knew Karma was going to get her back for leaving the man back there. But thinking things over, would she rather be a tool to help some evil man escape from his prison? Or would she rather let fate take over what he is to be consumed by. His own stupidity that he was down here, or at least he had told her. The sound of flowing water was all she had to go on now, and the sound to her surprise as she walked down the corridor was getting louder. This only have her hope that she knew would surely fail but she continued hand pressed against the stone wall as she moved along the corridor. ‘’What I wouldn’t give for someone useful.’’ But her heart sank as these words escaped broken lips. Taking strides slowly and carefully over broken rubble and holes within the ground. Her other hand clung tightly around that chain and ring that hung around her neck. Holding it tightly as she carried on through a soft hum would emit from the woman as she moved through the darkness of the dungeons.

Standing there, his right arm braced against the side wall, he got the instant vibe this chick did not like him a single bit. Given the situation, he thought he was playing nice with her. He hadn't yelled at her, called her a slut, or even touched her. Hell, she even offered a few times to help him, even though he didn't need it. For a couple who were stuck in a hole together, she wasn't making it easy. Being blunt and being an ass were two separate things, even though Riley played upon both lines fairly well. Nevertheless as he watched her walk away, he knew there was one thing he didn't like being called in a situation such as this. Something he learned at black water and what hes always lived by. Something that would easily cause Riley to shift to something fairly nasty, where he would wake up seconds later to see a boy's face with his teeth knocked in. Instantly, he would shift to his full height, limping ontop of the foot that was screaming in pain. Fuck this shit... as he rushed right past her. "I dun care what ever you say to me, do to me, or think of me. But don't you ever say I am useless." Hiding his hidden glare that he wanted to smash the wall in nearby, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pen light... tossing her the tact light that she was using earlier.

The pen light was not as effective as the sunfire tactical light, but it worked nevertheless. "Follow me." A low grunt would call from ahead. "I may not look it, but this isn't the first shit storm I have been in. If there is something to be learned here, is that wandering off on your own is the fastest way to get killed or eaten. There might be big rats, which aren't a concern, but if there is something else here...." He would kick what seemed to be a large rat skeleton with his foot, before he continued. "Then I would prefer to have something better than a rock to defend myself with." He knew he came off as an ass, but that didn't mean he wasn't human either. Taking a turn nearby, he followed the area forward.

Knowing that she prob thought of him as something more than a simple boy trying to act tough, he merely lifted his shirt to expose a semi-automatic in a holster. "Now if I wanted to something rather disastrous to you, I would have done so already. Nevertheless, there are more important things on my mind than getting my dick wet or plastering your skull along these walls. Like a hot shower. " Pausing, he added "Plus I am not a fan of sex involving feces. Especially someone else's." Grinning to her, he kept going. It was obvious, by the way she acted, how she felt about him. Crazy axe murderer, or some sexed up rapist. Nevertheless, the fumes were still collecting as he continued, even if he already said too much. Worked up so easily by a girl that scoffed him off. Maybe it was the putrid smell or the lack of oxygen in the air that got him tense. Mostly the situation that they were going to die + her lack of disrespect in his ability to live on. "Unlike you, I would drag your ass to the end of this fucking maze whether you wanted to get out or not. Kicking and screaming if need may be." The anger pulsated throughout his entire being, but there were a few things that set a person off.

Before she could prob say another word, he would hear something off to the side. A low howl. A growl. Something nearby. "Shhhh." A finger raised. What the hell was going on.

Judging from the way he shouted, he knew that his voice could travel to the deepest parts of the corridor. His hand would fidget on the semi-automatic that was exposed to her, the fingers dancing along the cold metal steel it presented. The sound came from behind them, back from where he came. A drop of fear would dance across his features. Running the light on the ground, he pointed to her and said. "Get in front of me and lead the way. I will listen to whatever you have to say... along with a free smack to my face. I deserve it, I am sorry for losing my cool." Eying her, he moved to the side to allow her past. "Please..." The pain in his foot was unbearable, but he would have to grit and bear it.

Nevertheless, the growling in the background would continue as he eyed the darkness behind him. He would only start moving when she took point.

Only a gasp escaped the woman’s lips before turning back to face him. Feeling rude over what she had said, she did not mean the words she spoke so rudely but felt that it was necessary to get out of the position they were in. The darkness emitted around the fading light, taking toll on the mental stability of the two creatures almost wasting air as they spoke back and for, sucking up what oxygen was left in the river of crap. ‘’I’ll say what I need –‘’ Her sentence cut in half as the mans gun raised and the breath was taken from the lungs of the woman. Staring him down for a moment before only closing her eyes, ‘’Weapons…Hmph…’’ She did not like this man, he was not only vicious and ill-contempt but also a bearer of dangerous weapons, and showing them off like it was nothing.

Before she could speak another word her eyes fell to the weapon, almost ignoring everything he was saying. She knew it to be something trying to be hurtful or demeaning to the stature of the situation. Only a glance at what he was doing before she would follow him through the darkness, words expelling from his mouth almost like verbal diarrhea , which confused her. What with his evil and crude demeanor she thought the man would be silent or at least one of few words. Her mind was lost in thoughts of what he had said ‘Getting lost or eaten’ Thinking on it for the moment, she thought perhaps she would have preferred to fend off the beast herself rather than have some egotistical male do it for her.

A shake of her head before she moved when he told her to, following him along watching his footing and his limp. A smile would creep across her face thinking that, well that’s what men do. They act tough and forget that things actually affected them in reality. The smile pasted on those broken lips stayed upon them as she followed him through, only taking a moment to keep a few steps behind him watching to make sure he didn’t fall on his ass once again. His off set of balance noted her that he was injured, no matter how he tried to pretend he wasn’t. As she moved up behind him, careful letting him know that her presence was coming behind him. Taking his arm, whether he liked it or not and laid it over her shoulders. For a small girl, she could carry her own. With the weight supported off his foot and onto her shoulders, she would help him push through the piles of rubble and stream of crap.

Before she could say that he actually needed her help, there was a growl from the beyond behind them. Stopping in mid-stride, turning her head to look into the darkness. From where they had came, thinking perhaps one of them, or herself with all her screaming from earlier had perhaps awoken something from it’s slumber in this horrid place. The echoing sound filled the body with trembles and a stiffness of fear and disgust at the same time. The thought of something hiding, waiting down here made her skin crawl and try to rip from the bone. A quick shake of the body before facing forwards once again, the sight of the light on the ground before she would take another step.

The gun in his hand not only feared her, but set her with some odd sense of comfort that if needed be. She could be shot before suffering too much in this horrific sense of doom. A sudden shock came through the body as cracks could be heard, not sure if they were under her own feet or something from the darkness beyond. His quick change of appearance scared her, and worried her about his mental condition in this place. It had not been but a few hours since she had last seen him, hitting on young women and acting rudely to another.

A shudder would escape through the spine and as she was set forward, staring back through the darkness of the void. Her jaw would drop only slightly before remembering where she was and to keep her mouth shut. Quickly composing herself her hand reached out and gripped onto the front of his shirt. ‘’I’m not going anywhere with out you behind me young man.’’ Her voice was soft but quickly spoken before she started off down the crippled corridor and forcing her way through the darkness with the small light now. ‘’There will be no smacking of anyone if I have anything to do with it. I may be rude, but I am no cold-hearted bitch.’’ Her eyes set narrowed and with her fingers tightly gripped in his shirt she moved forwards, trying not to pull him to hard due to his injured foot. ‘’Comon’ cripple.’’ Stopping, pulling him forwards and again putting his arm over her shoulder she quickly took steps forcing him along with her.

It was not his own machismo that made him not want her help. It was due to the fact that if she was too busy dragging his ass along, she would be unable to watch for cobblestones and other small "traps" left by the dungeon's keepers or mother nature. The pain in his foot was throbbing, but he had a good feeling that it wasn't broken. Otherwise, he would be on the ground screaming his head off like a 5 year old school girl at the playground. Nevertheless, he didn't want to take any chances stopping to look at it. This would expose a weakness to the surrounding wildlife of rats and other things to come and investigate the source of the light. If he kept moving, then he will get out of here alive. That way, he can goto the infirmary and get his toes checked out.

Besides, they were too numb to even wiggle. Probably already swelled up inside of his shoes.

As they walked forward, he would feel her hand take his arm and toss it over hers. Taking a moment to consider these actions, he just sighed and let it go. There was no sense fighting this woman if she felt like it was her duty to drag his ass along. Allowing her to shoulder him, he kept most of the weight on his side as they walked. This method was more taxing on him, but he could handle the weight just fine. Nevertheless, using his single leg and her two, it created a walking crutch for them to walk down upon. Even then he continued to spout off all his things in his mouth.

As the growls continued to grow behind them, he motioned for her to quicken her pace. As much as he would like to see the creature, they were not in a situation to do so. Although they were in a single file hallways, there was always a chance that the creature knew of secret paths through the brick and stone to head them off. As much as he kept looking back, he kept his eyes forward for any possible movement. Nevertheless, the growls and complaints were behind them and the shadows above were the rats scurrying away from the light.

At every turn they took, he could hear the soft echos of running water nearby. It was almost as if they were coming closer to the exit. Having a small feeling they were not going to end up in a nice place to exit, he kept his eyes peeled for a light source and his ears tune for a possible howl of the wind. Nevertheless, with each step in the maze, it would seem like the growling would only increase in intensity.

Stopping at a T-bone fork, they had to make a decision once again. Trailing the light down, he motioned for her to the right. "This away...." Waiting for her to adjust around the corner, he would begin to walk around only to stub his bad toe on something hard on the ground.

"FFFFFFFFFfFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFff----" His eyes watered as he bit down the pain. It took every ounce in his body not to scream, only the gritting and sputter of his own breath would be heard for a few moments. Maning up or not, there was only a few things that could get to him in this cave. He was about to meet one of them.

Twirling the pen light in his hand, he decided to take a peek at whatever he stubbed his toe on. "Holy shi-" He was cut off when he light was shone on the object on the floor, and instantly he would backpedal a few feet. "The fuck!" He would call, nearly losing his balance as he grabbed onto the side panel nearby. "What the hell is that doing down here!" Pointing to the ground, there was a partially eaten decomposing corpse.

Now if a person thought the smell was bad now, since he kicked the object... the stench started to increase exponentially. Given that the corpse had been dying here only a few days, it was still fresh. Maggots would be crawling outside of the bite marks that lined the person's body. Broken and mauled to nearly pieces, the rats only feasted on it until the decomposing squad came in to finish the job. Nevertheless, whatever took down this person managed to steal a leg from the ordeal before the bottom feeders arrived to take their pick. Nevertheless, the body was torn to shreds in many places.

Bite marks...

He would hear female screams inside of his head. Calls. Beckons. Sinister laughter. He would catch a glimpse of a man grabbing a hold of a young girl's neck and ripping out her throat with his bare fingers. Drinking the blood that oozed from her esophagus. He was pinned to the ground, held down by a stake through his left hand. More screams as a teenage girl was dragged into a room, a door shut behind. Then there were sobs as one of the girls was dragged out from another room, tossed back into the pile of women that were being used, tortured, raped, and then eaten. He turned his head as he saw another man who looked just like himself, older... but not in the best of state. He was lying faced down in the pool of man's own blood. One of the evil men would laugh, motioning towards Riley as he laid there beaten and broken. There was a gun nearby. A revolver. So close... if only he could reach. - There was a scream, gunshot... pain... silence.

Riley would be standing there, gasping for air. His eyes would be blood shot, wide open. What the fuck. What the hell just happened. He was told he would start regaining his memories, but he had a sick feeling that was one of them that were not needed anymore. He knew what it was... but his body shuddered at the thought of remembering it. He wanted to vomit. He needed to vomit.

Loud, disgusting gasping sounds would heard back around the corner where he rushed to toss up his lunch in private.

After a few seconds. there would be no more painful gasps. Spitting out the crap in his mouth, he would reach into his pocket and toss a piece of gum in. Swishing it around, he would spit that out and put another piece in. "That'll help for the most part..." He would call as he stepped around the corner. If a light was shined on him, he would look paler... but normal. Still covered in shit, but at least the bile didn't make it's way to the shit collage he was carrying.

Ignoring the whole situation completely, he walked past her and motioned forward. "Come on...." He stepped around the body like it wasn't there, ignoring the putrid smell that escaped the decaying corpse. If she wanted to help him, he allowed her to do so. Nevertheless, he decided to keep point and press onwards towards the exit. "I think we are almost there...." He thought he could hear the echo of the wind along the trees.

Moving quickly along the path, with his allowance she would help him along pulling him slightly as she moved in a quick pace. The breath no longer silent, beating through the chest as the panic of the creature settled within. Forcing thoughts of happier days, seeing the sunlight again and having a warm shower caress the thoughts of death from her mind. Sounds of water echoed through the corridors as they moved quickly through the darkness. ‘’How long do these halls go for…’’ Through a worn breath was spoken, almost in a dream-like state. The fumes were getting through the brain, forcing simplistic thoughts to scorch through the mind.

Coming to the t-bone in the corridors, the mind wandered of the direction to go how much more lost they could be getting with every turn and every step. Fear finally got to the woman as she hung onto the man, her grip seemingly to get tighter as he pointed to the right. She would turn herself and bring him along through the corner, before a sudden stop pulled them both back. His sudden stop, and grunt of pain caused her to step back and take the man’s weight onto her shoulders staring down at the darkness that surrounded his feet

‘’ Yet another cobble stone? ’’ She would speak in soft tunes before the sight of the pen light was caught into view. When she expected to see dark stones rolled around, perhaps pieces of broken wall, she saw blood and various other colors plastered along its stone setting. His sudden outburst caused her to stumble backwards and fall over some stones that were hiding within the sewage. Now level with the ground, her eyes fell onto the dark shade that had stopped his walk. The jaw would drop as her eyes fell to the body that he had kicked, the smell had been bad enough through the entourage and now it felt like her face had been shoved into a casket that was buried for sixteen years.

Groaning and quickly releasing him, turning her body from the distorted sight of the dead and torn body. Trying not to vomit as the sounds of screams emitted through the mind, not sure if it was her mind or some figment of her imagination. Her Hands collapsed against her head, tightening against the temples of her head. ‘’Out, out, out…’’ Was all she said, beneath her breath before finding him behind herself, almost in a lost daze it would seem. His quiet stance off set her on the being of his mental capacity worrying over the man her hand would reach out to touch his arm.

Grasping him as she attempted to shake his body, yet thoughts of pain, torture and diverse hatred emitted through his very soul. Letting go of him quickly, taking a few steps away from the man as these images scorned into her mind. Staring at him as his dead silence stayed with him for a few moments, her eyes watched as he took off running for the corner. Not wanting to be more of a nuisance than she already was, she left him be, hearing that he was sick over the sight of the body, or perhaps the diseased thoughts that pressured other minds to try and connect with this pain. The heart would sink with feelings like these, was she the only one to feel the pain coming through this man? Was it really her ridiculous gift that made this feeling come through like it was her very own memories?

Confused and gracious that these thoughts had surpassed, watching him as he stepped around the body and she quickly moved on through following suit. ‘’I really hope we get out of here soon… This place is too torturous…’’ Her voice was shaky now, these thoughts laid imminently against her mind, scarring certain images in through the vacuums of the mind. She quickly took his wrist into her hand and pushed in front of him, dragging him behind her if needed be. ‘’I just want out, and I’m sure you do too. I’m sure you have someone special waiting for your arrival. So let us get out so those warming showers may be our gifts from the gods’.’’ Her voice seemed to echo through the darkness of the halls, but herself could hear the trickle of water through stones echoing back at her through the same dark halls.

• Were there such things worse than death? That was the first question that popped into his mind when he was told that he had lost his arm and memories. All he felt was emptiness. There was not sorrow when he was told when he was told his entire family was dead. There was no ill-contempt when he was told the killers had escaped. Such feelings were lost on him, easily falling into comparison to hearing that someone's elses family was brutally killed. How sad. How horrible. At least it didn't happen to me. Were the type of feelings he had dealt with over the past several years of his 'new life'. He just felt like he was in someone else's shoes when he had to sign the paperwork, confirm the bodies, etc...etc...etc... It wasn't his problem because he had no idea who the Simmons were. You can't miss something that was never loved in the first place.
  
  But now many of those feelings came rushing back to him. He couldn't remember names, but he could at least feel their warmth within him. A little girl. A young pre teen. A grown teenager. All had differing personalities and characteristics. He remembered playing house with the young one, explaining a math problem to the pre-teen, and taking home the eldest of the sisters from school. All... vacant memories with no images of their faces. But he knew they existed, and that they meant something important to him. But something... took them away from him. Something horrible. Something he would rather die than remember.

The warm touch sent him back into reality.

’I really hope we get out of here soon… This place is too torturous…’’

Nodding, he let a soft sigh escape his lips. "Yeah, I can't wait to get the hell out of this place." Fuck Thomas at this point, if the man was down here he would already be good as dead. By the time they got out of this hell hole, the man would probably had been killed and eaten. It was not as if he was inhumane, it was just the way of life. Still he had his doubts that the man was even down here, considering the fact he hasn't seen any other human... except the corpse. He already verified by the clothing and structure that it wasn't Thomas. The dead man seemed much older, the rate of decay too far advanced for something within the past several hours. Of course he was no expert, but if maggots are that big... means its been a while.

And as it would seem, voices travel in a closed off dungeon. If he was in the damn thing, he would call back.

Taking another turn, he would glimpse around the corner with his flashlight. Seeing objects scurrying from the light, he would squint hard to see a small dim light in the distance. Taking a whiff of the air, he smelled something cleaner. Fresher. Less pollutant. "We are close." Shifting the pen light, he would feel his heart rise in his chest. So close... so very fucking close.

Then he heard the growl. Closer. Much more closer. It would seem that whatever was hiding his presence decided to think the couple was going to be their next meal. Judging the light ahead, he could tell that if he booked it... he would make it before the sound caught up to them. Nevertheless, his foot was fucked up, they were in a dungeon, and he had an extra passenger along. All in all, this was not the scenario he signed up for. Nevertheless, nothing is ever perfect. Expect the unexpected. Keep calm, and you will come out just fine. Fucking bullshit recruiting phrases they told him in blackwater. I bet they'd shit their pants if they knew what was going up here.

"It's close..." Riley's breathing had slowed, the fingers dancing back upon the weapon again. "We aren't going to make it out of here without a fight." It was a surprise for someone like himself to be so calm in this kind of situation, but given his rebirth... hes only about 5 years old mentally. This meant that his brain could soak up much more knowledge and tactics when he was at boot camp a few years ago. Although not as much as a child from birth, but he had an empty glass to fill. An glass filled with nothing but guns, weapons, tactics, and a large ego to fill up the rest.

The growl would echo closer, his eyes turning behind him to catch a glimpse of the sound. Close. Too close. Instantly, he would reach for the weapon and draw the large firearm that he was carrying, pivoting on the balls of his feet as he turned to face the new enemy. Riley knew with the kind of firepower he was toting, it would only take one well placed shot to put down a small elephant. But with his foot fucked up, his reaction was slow. Too slow. A penalty that could easily cost him his life.

Just as he was turning to face behind him, a large creature would cry with a mighty roar. Caught by the surprising sound, he didn't have time to react as a creature came charging down the corridor. Trying to line up his weapon with both hands, the creature collided into Riley. The blanket tackle would send Riley towards a wall nearby, a loud thud would echo across the corridor. "FUC-" Riley would instantly spurt blood, his lungs nearly bursting due to the pain and damage that ricocheted throughout his body. The creature's strength was mighty, his grip insanely strong, and his stench remarkable. Riley would still be clutching the gun as he tried to bring it up towards the creature, but instantly the creature would lean back and slam him into the wall. This dislodged the pen light in mid flight, sending the light spiraling around the air as it finally gave notice to the creature before him.

The beast was a horrible creature that looked like it was spliced with a rat and human being. Standing at about 6 feet tall, it held the physic of a normal human being on steroids. The arms ensnared around Riley were wild and hairy, with dark pink stains and splotches that rolled all over the exposed skin. The creature's head was that of a giant rat thing, with piercing red eyes and gnashing exposed teeth. IT would scream a horrible cry as it would continue to plummet Riley into the wall.

"I AINT GIV-" Another blow, this time he heard something crack. Riley felt the feeling of his arms loosen... his eyes bloodshot open. With the blow to his back, it would dislodge the weapon he was carrying... sending the weapon rolling towards the spot where he was tackled. Is this how I am going to die...? A tiny voice echoed in his mind. Death so early in life, like a child being killed when it learns to walk. No... he can't die. He musten die. He had to fight on. But for what purpose. What gave him the reason to go on? He had no family, relatively few friends, and fuck all he was an asshole to everyone he met. But through the pain his body went through, there was a since of numbness that crept along his soul. All he had to do was give into it. Fuck all, not like he would be missed anyways.

The jaws of the creature would open wide, fanged decayed breath would wash over his body.

This is it. An end to my miserable existence.

Sinister laughter would fill his subconscious, it would say to the back of his mind Is this all you have, boy? Are you going to let this happen again? Eyes would fall to Merisa, who was nearby.

"NOOOOO!"

Riley's left hand would shoot right into the beast's mouth, just as it was about to close on Riley's delicious neck. But from where Merisa's was possibly standing, the creature's cry would halt and the back of the monster would stiffen to Riley's call. Just before a second past, a thin long blade would cut through the neck of the creature's neck. A bloody blade, dripped in the crimson of the horrid creature.

"Get...off...of...me..." Headbutting the creature with his remaining strength, he would send the beast spiraling backwards to the ground. The blade slowly sliding out of the creature's body, the end of the said blade jutting from Riley's left hand. Collapsing against the wall, Riley would slide down into the mess of blood pouring from the creature's body. "Fuck.... you..." He would eye the creature that say before him, wide eyed and sprawling on the ground. Regardless if it was dead or not, that's all Riley could do. He could already feel his conscious wavering. Only a few seconds before he passed out...


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OOC note: Creature may or may not be dead, I relinquish said beast to Merisa.
OOC note: The weapon dropped was a semi-automatic handgun. 8+1 rounds. Safety off. Round chambered.

The darkness would scream and beckon with cries of hate and destruction. The growling getting louder as he spoke as said there was light at the end of the tunnel. Grasping onto him for a pure moment as they moved through the corridor the echo of the beast would shatter through her bones. Sending fear through the body like a quick wave over the shore, his quick stop forced her aside and against the wall. Eyes searching through the darkness for a moment before seeing Riley’s face turn pale and suddenly there was darkness and screams. The sound of a great creature wound past her the force of the push knocking her against the wall, head bouncing from the wall giving her a moment of dizziness and confusion.

With darkness impaling the small pen light could be seen as it was tossed across the corridor, finally landing to a stop on the glow of the beast. From the way it looked, the fear was shattered and now brought upon this urge to fight for the light at the end of the tunnel. Riley’s scream would echo through her mind forcing her to stop and rethink the aspect of the situation. Hands trembling with fear as she realized he was tackled from her grip and forced against this wall. Sounds of Riley and the creature fighting made the blood curl as the body finally focused took stance behind the gigantism of the creature before her.

The smell of death and decaying matter filled the senses as the sounds echoed through the corridors, seeming to shake everything around them. Forcing herself to regain balance, watching in horror as Riley was tossed and thrown about, her heart sinking in the dim light of the pen light. Forcing herself to look away from Riley’s dying face. Her hands covered her face quickly as she took a moments deep breath before hearing the loud clings of his gun that had been strewn across the cobble stones.

‘’Don’t give up!’’ Was all she screamed over the growling and howling of the beast that pinned him down so tightly. The moment on which she stopped and dropped to the ground, hands searching for the weapon that she heard landed so close. Fingers grasping as she looked up and saw Riley pull another weapon out and force it through the creature. The sight of this caused her grip on the gun to tighten and pull back from where it was stuck beneath a rock. Landing on her ass as she stared across at the beast that laid across. She would hear Riley’s voice, weak but it was there and quickly found herself scrambling to her feet.

‘’Riley!’’ Her heart gained hope once again as she stood up and started running down the path to the end of the hall where his body was strewn. The sight that she could catch through the small pen light made her heart go weak with hope as he laid there almost motionless and beaten. As she walked down the corridor , the echo of the beast’s breathing scared her senseless causing her to shoot at the beasts’ head in quick repetitive nature. Her body shaking from the echoes of shots hand barely strong enough to grip the gun that felt so warm.

‘’Riley…’’ A few slow steps she encountered closer and fell to her knees in front of him, lifting his head in her hands forcing his gaze upwards. ‘’Hold on I’m gonna get you out of here.’’ Quickly she would drop the gun into the holster from which it came, tucking it in if needed be. Her arms shaking as they wrapped around Riley’s middle, lifting him in his almost unconscious state. Pressing his form against the wall as she forced his arm over her shoulder once again, this time actually helping. Forcing through the aches of bones and weakness of breath she made her way down through the corridor, thoughts of death and echoing cries forcing through her mind. Touching this man drove her mind insane as if it were the temps of devils following him around.

Without looking back, she forced her way on climbing over cobblestones and forcing over broken holes in the ground, the man over her shoulder she held tightly onto as the sunlight emerged from it’s bitter dark path. The smell of fresh water and the sound of wind whistling through leaves filled the senses as she pulled him from the valiant battle.

Visions swam across his mind as he heard the gunshots echo across his subconscious. Several in all, repetitive in nature. By the explosions of the noise, he could tell it was from his own handgun. Due to the caliber in size, he was surprised whoever shot it knew how to handle the recoil in such a nature. It wasn't a damn 9mm most kids tote now a days. Nevertheless, it was too hard to think, let alone breathe. There were sharp pains in his chest, but for some reason a tiny voice just said they were heavily bruised. Not broken, which was the biggest fear for the boy wonder. Feeling warmth around his body, he would be lifted... carried off to safety.

Covered in blood, sludge, and shit... battle worn Riley would be half dragged, half shoved, through the remaining shithole called Casilin Hallows dungeon to the setting of the sun outside. Coughing with every step, he struggled to breathe with each stride. Nevertheless, he was getting sufficient enough air that it didn't kill him. Although it would of been better to rest a bit before being dragged the rest of the way, the crisp air of the outside would probably be the best form of recovery.

As he was being dragged, the blade would retract quickly into his arm. The blade would spill a large amount of blood, cleaning itself, before re-insertion. But the blood would only stain Riley's pre-soaked clothes.

Arriving outside of the castle walls, he would open his eyes to glance around the area. Where the water ran off into a free-flowing river/creek, there was a ledge off to the side where they could sit down and relax. The hole/gutter opening was just below ground level, so they only had to climb up a few feet to get back onto the main land. Struggling with his own weight, he would half drag himself up the hill with her if she allowed it so. Once they arrived at the top of the hill, he would let himself fall completely to the ground... pulling her down with him if she didn't let go. Collapsing to his knees and falling to the side, he would feel the wet dew of the grass on his cheeks. "Finally..." A soft, wavering voice would echo across his cheeks. "We are... out of that... giant... porta-potty.... shit...hole..." His eyes would be slightly closed, struggling to stay conscious.

It didn't take the man long to locate his target, after all finding people was a large part of the process. Killing them usually took far less effort. As he watched Riley, a name he had stumbled upon recently, from the comfort of one of the many friendly shadows he considered his options. He could simply kill the man right now and get it over with, before he was even aware of his presence. Considering their earlier encounter this seemed the most logical of choices, but this time it wasn't up to him. Scowling to himself he watched the man disappear down a long aging stone stairwell. The rotting stench that assaulted him briefly as the doorway opened was enough to make even Sarthas wrinkle his nose in disgust. A tiny smile twisted his earlier scowl into something resembling what an inmate at the local loony bin might have had plastered on his lips. “Into the breach my dear friend...lets see what darkness lies below.” The words were barely a whisper to himself as the door shut behind his prey cutting off of his view. Waiting a few moments to make sure his entry would not be noticed he followed without a sound that sickening smile proceeding him.

The sound of Riley falling would have been difficult to miss, even for someone who was deaf much less someone as attentive as Sarthas. It didn't take him long to locate the side shoot from which the echoing sound of the unfortunate man's fall emanated. However, it took a bit longer to decided what to do about it. He certainly wasn't about to drop down a hole blindly but at the same time he wasn't about to let a bit of bad luck deter him ether. Giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness he picked the less reckless of the his two options and started off down the long hallway that stretched out in front of him. There had to be a more conventional way down and if there was he would find it.

Time passed slowly as his feet silently patted over the slime covered stone that was littered with the droppings and bones of small rodents. Despite the treacherous nature of the dungeon, the dark man moved quickly along the twists and turns of the corridors. Deciding that down was the direction he intended, he followed his nose. Whatever side passage smelled the worst, that was the one he would take. After doubling back countless times from dead ends he found what he considered to be a promising passage that continued on a long downward slope. The air grew more and more fowl with every step and the floor took on a life of its own. Raw sewage littered the already slimy stone making even walking a treacherous task. Darkness closed in around the man, pressing against his shoulders like a heavy blanket as the final hint of light from the main passage far above at last vanished completely. Darkness....peril....death, “Home sweet home.” The man's amused words though quiet seemed to echo in the silence. The drip, drip, dip of water continued its eternal rhythm somewhere in the distance bringing with it the memory of crimson dripping from cold steel flashing in the moonlight. The memory was shattered by the sound of heavy breathing.

His eyes were useless, it was pitch black down here and no matter how used to the dark the man might be he was only human after all. He however had other senses, senses trained to a fine point over endless years of torture and death, senses that were telling him right now that that breathing was far too deep and guttural to be human. In fact listening carefully he could separate the single sound into a chorus of deep breathing, as if there was a pack of wolves slumbering not to far off around the corner. Very big wolves. Of course Sarthas didn't believe in monsters. Monsters were things that parents used to frighten their children into being good. More often than not, the stories of what people considered true monsters were nothing more than encounters with animals in the wild or strange men. He was quite certain that he had spawned his own 'monster' tales with the path of death he had left in his wake. It wasn't that the man was inflexible, it was simply that he only believed in what he witnessed himself. In all his long years of scouring the most debase and disgusting places that humanity had to offer he had yet to witness anything he would call supernatural...until now.

Moving slowly, he tapped his right pinky against the wall every foot to use as a guide as his feet picked their way along the floor with the careful attention of a hunter stalking its prey. Suddenly the wall fell away as the narrow corridor opened into a massive room. All around him the sounds of slumbering creatures echoed in the darkness. The horrible stench was almost overwhelming, it was so potent that he could taste the rotting decay and wet putrid odor of the creatures themselves. Far on the other side of the room, from one of the dozen corridors that led off into the depths of the castle's underbelly Sarthas heard the distant sound of voices. You have got to be kidding me.

Now Sarthas was never one for religion, had he been he might have considered the fact that this particular turn of fate was gods way of punishing him for the evil he had done in his life. As it was however, he simply took it as a challenge to overcome. A new test that he pass no matter the cost. If only there was someone else a little bit closer to sacrifice, oh well he would have to make due with what he had. Not ten feet away slightly off to his left the sound of a massive body shifting caught the man's attention. Sarthas froze in place. He didn't move, he didn't breath he just waited as the thing was roused from its slumber by the voices in the distance both of which he was certain he recognized. The vile man's smile returned ten fold as the invisible creature sniffed the air and let out a low animal like growl. Fortunately for Sarthas the thing seemed too preoccupied with the voices to notice the fact that food was standing right behind it. One more low growl and the sound of heavy feet could be heard making their way toward the unsuspecting owners of those voices.

Whatever it was, it sure wasn't friendly but if he played his cards right it would lead him right to his prey. As quickly as he dared, he picked his way through the massive room following the sounds of the creature in front of him. But it took him far longer than he would have wanted. The sound of the things movement had been gone for several long agonizing minutes before he had gotten far. Keeping himself pointed in the general direction of the last sounds, he decided it would be best to move in a straight line. After all, he doubted the thing would stumble over one of its kin. When he had managed to make it two thirds of the way across without stepping on any of the other slumbering creatures he began to think that maybe lady luck was on his side after all....and then it happened. Shouts of alarm, followed by a horrifying roar that blasted its way into the cavernous room of the creatures lair. Suddenly the air around him was alive with the sounds of movement and shifting bodies. He knew he was close, but he also knew that it was not unobstructed. Calmly he pulled the blades from their resting place at his sides, letting them hang loosely against his legs.

Sarthas could have immediately darted forward catching the still groggy creatures that blocked his exit by surprise and forcing his way through. But that would have been counterproductive, they would have followed as he undoubtedly led them straight too their prey. Normally this would not have mattered but for the first time in his life Sarthas wasn't actually here to kill someone, in point of fact he was here for the exact opposite reason. “I hate babysitting.” His voice was clam and loud enough to draw the attention of everything in the large room. One of the creatures had already found its way to Riley and his female companion, he had to trust that they would deal with it while he kept the others entertained.

“NOOO” The man's voice was unmistakeable.

Growls filled the room in a chorus of territorial anger and primal hunger.

Gunshots echoed in the distance and Sarthas smiled. Nothing would leave this room, he might die in the process but he would not fail in his latest and perhaps final task.

Not so far away he heard Riley's name being screamed by a woman. He knew that voice...

His eyes closed, time slowed to a crawl and he heard himself hiss in a voice so terrible it seemed inhuman.

“Come then.” They answered his call.

With the Closter phobic feeling finally broken by the soft setting sun, the darkness over taking once again as they came out from the sewer. Taking in a deep breath, inhaling the new fresh scent of the outside world the warms sun touch trying to crack through the layers of mud and shit caked along the body. Sounds of birds chirping their afternoon song as the winds gentle breeze echoed through the open mouth of the sewer exit. Taking a moment to breath in deep breaths as her arms fell loose around Riley as they moved over the few stones and branches that laid in the way, pushing him up as they moved uphill towards the clean water and view of the school once again coming into sight.

Dragging upwards, following after Riley, his pull gave her shock as she thought he was near unconscious .Holding him up with all her strength as she felt him give under the loss of so much blood and energy. Falling to the ground with him, a groan would escape her as she once again wrapped her arms around Riley’s shoulders, pulling him to the waters edge. As she pulled him towards the water, she let herself fall into the river a small squeak would escape the lips as the waters touch was cool but satisfying from the days trials. Her hands laid against his shoulders, pulling him to the waters edge. ‘’Riley… Riley… Are you still with me?’’

Shaky hands would wash clean in the rivers rush of water before finding themselves cupping together and holding water. Taking this water and pouring it along Riley’s face gently as the sounds of wild life teemed around them. Pulling Riley in bit by bit she soaked his face and hands in the water before pushing him against the bank once again. Hand on his chest, holding him against the bank as she relaxed taking deep breaths before her eyes wandered and landed upon the castle of a school once again. A smirk placed on her face before she shook Riley by his shoulder ‘’Riley, the school it’s right there!’’ Her heart exploded with delight that they had not only made it out of the dungeons but had also made their way so close to the school.

The night was coming and as the sun set the sky grew into a darker blue, stars starting to dot the sky as it moved across the solar path. The wind was cooling as the night grew on sounds of chirping birds and nestling animals echoed through the forest as it started to grow still. Somewhat cleaned and feeling slightly more refreshed about her falling in the river. Her nails would dig into the ground as she pulled herself back onto the bank and held herself, hands and knees for a moment, taking in some deep breaths before searching around her.

A soft smile would spread across her lips before sitting back against the bank the touch of clean grass made the skin crawl with goose bumps before the body would lay back and eyes would stare at the darkening sky. The burn of something cold against her chest would awaken her from the quieted relaxation. Hands reached down, resting on the chest grasping at the chain and ring that laid against the skin there. From the looks of things it seemed like it had burned a circle into her chest, regardless she was surprised to find it was still around her neck. A smile would pierce across those lips once again, as feelings of darkness, hate murder and revenge grew through her before a small smile crept across her face as she stared at the sky above with a soft hum back in those lips.

The beaten and broken Riley would have a chance to stare at the stary sky once again. What a tragedy, something like this were to happen. But there would be no faces, no confusions, and no sympathy. Riley had survived, once again, through the shit storm that has followed his life ever since that night. It was a never ending struggle for Riley, always having to strain his beaten and wounded body to the fullest extent. Now at the passing, he realized how much it felt to be alive. The warmth of the night air, the cool breeze that tickled his nose. And the warmth of the wa-
-Water was splashed into his face-

Spluttering, coughing, and rolling to his side... he would fight the ever demanding Merisa as she tried to clean the shit and blood off of his face. "Damn it... Merisa, I am trying to die over here in peace and you are trying to give me a damn bath like I am a five year old." Even though the pain and torment his mind, body, and soul went through, he still had his own inbred versions of an asshat. Never undying or unyielding. He would feel his body being dragged back and forth, partially submerged in water and toss to the bank's side. He knew he was covered in plenty of things that would probably be considered 'extremely unhealthy' by any standard, but he didn't realize that was going to be baptized of the sick goo so quickly after his battle.

‘’Riley, the school it’s right there!’’

Groaning deeply, he would turn his face towards the outline of a castle nearby. The night glow would give it a beautiful hue, striking the side of the castle just as the sun was setting over the horizon. If he were some kind of sensitive photographer, he would already be getting his camera ready. Nevertheless, he had more important things to worry about. Like the fact that Merisa was trying to half drown him while getting the grime off of his face. "...thank you..." Pushing her away, if she tried to continue bathing him further, he would slowly sit up and hold his now sparkling clean hands to his now shiny forehead. "...head feels like I was rammed into a brick wall, repeatedly." Remembering that he did that not moments ago, he would groan and rub his temple lightly. "Oh yeah... that happened like a few minutes ago." Chuckling at his own joke, he would curl his face into the palms of his hands, rubbing his cheeks in order to release a few endorphins that needed to take care of a few areas. Everything hurt like hell, but he had to admit... at least he was alive.

Being in pain was better than being dead.

Allowing her to contemplate on her thoughts, he would fall back to the ground and roll on his side away from her. Not that he was trying to ignore her, but his back and chest were bruised all to hell. Only left his sides able to withstand some of the pressure of lying on his side. "That thing didn't hit you or scratch you, did it?" Of course, he was too busy being plummeted into a wall to tell, so he had to ask. Although he should be more worried about himself, he just felt really sore all over is all. Just as long as he didn't move or be touched, he could hold back the tears just fine. He was going to totally raid his damn cabinet of all the chloro-tabs he could find. Regardless of the side effects, he didn't want to feel anything... at least for tonite. Still he would close his eyes and rest there, weakly answering any questions she had while he tried to regain his strength.

After 15 or so minutes of silent resting of his eyes, he felt the urge to move. Although he had taken alot of physical damage, nothing was broken. He was exhausted, but he wasn't completely inept yet. Considering the fact that she probably wanted to head back to take a shower, he shouldn't hinder her any longer. Even if he fired off a few rounds near her head in order to get her to go back by herself, she would still come back later to see if he was still outside. Sleeping out here would be nice, but not without a shower first.

"Lets head back..." He would slowly rise to his feet, motion her over to help carry him back.

Only a shake of her head before she would hear him speak a smile stripped across those lips for what he said. ‘’And who said you were allowed to die? Especially on my watch if you don’t wash the shit out of your wounds you’ll become infected, trust me, it’s for the better doll.’’ This forced a chuckle from the woman before she found it was too late to take back what she had said. It was like she was telling a five year old how to take care of him self. With a smirk on her lips, lain back enjoying the darkening sky the cool touch of wind against the pressure of her body. The pure and simplistic evaluation of her being made realization a cue effort. Sitting up slowly a great pain in her side as mismatched eyes stared around searching the form for any open wounds. Finding herself completely covered in blood, sure as rain that most of it was Riley’s set her mind aside before she spoke to the man again.

‘’It feels like my side is ripped open, but I’m sure I’ll live.’’ Her fingers caressed her left side poking holes into the claw marks from the beast when Riley was ripped from her side. Giving a soft groan she would lay back onto the grass, fingers rolling in the grass to eliminate the sign of blood. Although from looking at the pair, you would think they just had a battle royal with the kings men of Arthur. The head rang with echoes of the beast’s growl, the fore-brooding scent of death still filled her senses. Not able to perceive visions from reality, the sight of men, women and children dying at the hands of their lords played into mind. Forcing the woman to roll onto her side, clenching at her stomach as the visions grew tiring.

Gathering her self, these visions like reality seeping into her mind. Seeing young children dance along the shores of the river bed as the night grew on into the late hours. Finding her self gripping and pulling at the grass blades beneath her body. Bittersweet moments passed by as stars glimmered above soft wind would howl along the turns and bends of the woods and dungeons alike. The small corners of the moon finding itself reflecting from the rivers surface, like a light in the dark night. Taking into account of all happenings, she would find her self, lost in her own thoughts once again those vicious visions, seeming like someone else’s memories forced back into her sights.

She felt like screaming her head off until these visions were no more, until the darkness swept back over these thoughts and made her seem as normal as one could get. The burning in her eyes, she would ponder if they were bleeding or if her eyes could no longer take the pain of envisioning anymore beliefs or sights. Giving a moment, Riley’s voice seemed like a distant dream almost too real to see that it was happening. ‘’Just go back in the castle, and stay there you…You…’’ Her voice fell weak as she found herself speaking to a vision of the man. Something younger, something older, something lost.

‘’Aaahh!’’ Her heart skipped a beat through the bound steps of blood, causing her to fall backwards and scurry back on her elbows. Clouded eyes would stare through the man as she started back and leaned into the branches of a near-by bush that had faded their sight of the castle behind her now. Forcing her way up, she pushed past the thoughts of illness and fore-brooding hate with the fear attached hindering it’s eloquence through the service. ‘’I’ll… I’ll just see you around.’’

With the words spoken, her feet clambered to hold the body weight above them as arms wrapped tightly around the waist of the woman. Taking a deep breath, faking a smile before she would turn and head back towards the school waiting to fade from sight before she would tilt her head, staring at the entrance of those lost dungeons once again, fingers played along the circles of the chain and ring wrapped around her neck. What felt like security was a disbelief of reality it would seem.

Standing there momentarily, he slowly realized how wounded she had actually been. Thinking that he was the only one that took the beating of the battle, it never occurred to him that the swipe to part them would of caused her any serious trauma. Given her state and mind, he didn't realize she was injured so gravely. Even if it was a minor scratch, the thought that his incompetence caused anyone else pain- Its alright, they were alive. That's all that mattered. A few days in the infirmary would soften them up. Probably be hand fed by one of the cute nurses... but then he realized, who the hell was in charge of such a thing. Did they even have nurses or even a large medicine cabinet? Looking at the floor plans, he thought he saw one.. but then again, the maps were also screwed up a tad due to all of the renovations.

‘’Aaahh!’’

Turning his head behind him, he expected the worst. His hand was already on his sidearm as he twirled, upholstering it to see her...

Running away?

Grunting loudly, he would tilt his head towards her as she said ‘’I’ll… I’ll just see you around.’’ The fuck? Did he look like he should be wandering around alone in this place?

But before he could protest, she was already gone. There was no way he would catch up in the state he was in. Even if he wanted to call back upto her, he barely had the strength to even stand. Even though her cry was blood curling, he didn't have a choice to worry about her right now. He had to get back, before another one of those ratlings showed up. He was left all alone, with nothing but a broken body and a sidearm attached to his hip. Its quite alright. He could manage it if he had to crawl. All he had to do was make it up to his room. That's all he had to do.

With a grit in his teeth, he holstered the side arm and limped his way carefully back to the school campus.

(Exit Thread)