A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Crashing against the floor, feet hit the rocky earth with loud, echoing impacts, but it was a vain hope that the echoes would distract the thing from his present position. Unlike him, it could see in the darkness just fine. In fact, it thrived in the dark, and it hunted in the shadows. Unfortunately, he just had made himself its next snack. Oliver gulped and swore in his head at his decision, but he felt that he had made the right choice. He wasn't about to throw the group to the creature and give up what he had earned. If anything, his decision would benefit them because the creature would be distracted by him and might miss them entering the cave to capture him. They could catch him by surprise.

That hope made him run all the faster, but he couldn't increase his speed too much since he couldn't view anything around him. He depended entirely on his hands sliding against the rocky wall to his right, and the feel of the earth beneath his feet. His hands already had received several scrapes on them. Oliver couldn't feel any blood leaking from his skin, but he couldn't actually tell. If he was leaving blood on the walls, he was practically inviting the creature to catch him, but if he didn't utilize his hands, he might run straight off into a drop-off point, which would most likely end in his death.

Gulping at the thought, Oliver tried to focus his mind away from that possibility. Besides, he had the creature on his tail. He trained his ears to the sounds behind him and tried to pick up anything besides his own echoing, racing footsteps. Just slightly, he noticed soft footfalls. They were slow too, but they were following him. Even a quiet giggle hit his ears, which formed a pit in his stomach.

Is this how the tunnels felt to Nick and (f/n) all those months ago? If so, the more rational part of him was realizing why at least Nick had tried to distance himself from the creature. The atmosphere of the whole cave system was nightmarish, and he easily could imagine the sickening grin on the creature's lips presently. He couldn't give up now, though; he had to draw the creature into the cave further so that the rest of the group could sneak up on him. As long as the creature maintained its attention on him, they stood a chance even if it was slimmer than he previously thought.

Diving further into the darkness, Oliver paused momentarily. He continued to hear the footfalls behind him, but he refused to glance behind him. That only would raise the fear in him to a nauseating level, and his mind convinced him that he would spot the very pale blue optics of the creature in the shadows, which he didn't want to view either, even if the creature still was wearing the sunglasses. Most likely, it had taken them off by now.

Along with the footfalls, however, he heard the sound of something drip-dropping. Hopefully, it wasn't the blood of one of the creature's victims. If he was lucky, it would be water melting from outside and falling into the cave, which meant that there would be light.

Forcing himself to stay still, he listened for the direction of it. His legs shook in the process, however, as he heard the creature drawing nearer. To his right. Oliver picked up speed again, and his feet hit the earth hard. As his hands traveled along the wall, he noted that the wall began to curve. He followed it, and the sound of presumably water grew louder.

Giggles resonated throughout the cave system behind him, and dread grew within him. Maybe, the creature just was attempting to throw him off. Either that or it was indicating that something horrible was up ahead of him. The only benefit was that if it was something stomach turning, he wouldn't be able to witness it with his eyes, though; that might only make things worse depending on what it was. Then again, there might be light where the dripping sound was.

Another turn in the wall occurred, though, and it was to the left this time. Shadows began to curve along the walls as outlines of rocks made themselves visible. For a moment, Oliver thought that he was imagining things. When he squinted his eyes, however, he noted a dim light up ahead, but it was ... flickering. A fire?

Well, the creature had been out in daylight, and its eyes had been covered. Why would it need a fire, though? Was it planning on cooking part of him later on? Oliver's stomach churned at the thought. He wouldn't put it past the creature to rip off one of his arms and hold it over the flames given the stories he had heard about the tunnels, but he hadn't heard anything about the creature cooking its food.

Moving his hands off the wall, he finally took off running at his normal pace. Footfalls behind him continued, but he tried to ignore them. If the creature wasn't going to run, he wasn't going to waste the opportunity to create more distance between them. When he turned the corner, he saw the fire up ahead in a small room of the cave. The flames weren't large, but they were enough to brighten up the space.

Brown optics adjusting to the light, he entered the room and surveyed it. Stalactites and stalagmites joined at places along the walls while more rocks were behind the gaps between them. In fact, they formed little cages on either side of the room. Thankfully, there was nothing in either of them. He was half expecting remains to be shoved into one of the areas; however, there was an odd smell in the room.

With cautious steps, he approached the fire and walked around it. What had been hidden now came into full view. Oliver's optics widened, his breath caught in his throat and he felt incredibly nauseous. He had to look away. His feet carried him swiftly over to the right wall, and he pressed his right hand to it as he hung his head by a little bit. Breathing in and out slowly, he steadied himself and managed to calm his stomach down before he emptied what little food was in it. At least, he didn't have to worry about being hungry. That had ruined his appetite for awhile.

"Oh, it's not that bad." The cheery, frightening tone brought Oliver to attention. He shot straight up while the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Oliver hadn't even heard the creature enter the room. "My partner handled a lot worse, and she never even wanted to come after me in the first place." A sigh that sounded like it held longing in it parted from the creature. "She truly is a gift."

Soft, slow footfalls sounded behind him and headed towards the flames. "But, I can't kill her." An angered giggle left it. "It's really hard not to shred you to pieces right now when I'm thinking of her and ..." He heard ragged breathing. "... How she left me. How she left with that a**hole." More giggling, incredibly high-pitched, parted from it. "Even after a little over three weeks, I still can't get over it."

"Then ..."

"Don't give me suggestions, human." The creature straightened its posture and leaned its head back. It tilted it to his right and towards Oliver, who slowly was facing the creature. A grin tugged at its lips. "I'll get the information from you when I want to." Another giggle escaped it. "Remember," its grin widened, "you're only alive right now because I want you to be. At any moment, I can break your clock." Its head popped back to its original position. "Snap!" Oliver jumped and pressed himself against the wall, and he cursed the precarious position he was in. "Like that, your fragile bones could be broken."

Shaking, Oliver managed without stuttering to reply, "Then, why haven't you forced the answers out of me yet? Why wait?" He moved along the wall slowly, but the creature's eyes switched to the item beside the fire. "You want to burn off steam before seeing her, but why aren't you even attacking me a little bit?" Oliver realized he might be walking more into an early grave, but he was curious, and he wanted to keep the creature talking. That way, it wasn't chasing or eating him.

Sitting down, the creature picked up the thawing out liver. Oliver had to avert his eyes, but the liver wasn't the source of the dripping sound. It still continued in the background, and he wondered just where it was coming from. His hands ran along the joined stalactites and stalagmites, and another drop sounded; however, the noise did nothing to mask the other sound in the room: the creature eating.

Squishing and quiet slurping noises came from its direction, and Oliver thought that he might puke. After the creature swallowed the first bite and licked the water from the thawed-out ice as well as a little bit of blood off of its lips, it finally responded, "I want you to suffer, not only for my entertainment and to burn off some of my anger but also for my pink flower." It locked its gaze onto Oliver, causing him to freeze. A giggle exited past its lips. "I wonder what she would think if she knew you were here right now."

Taking another bite and swallowing, the creature continued, "You. The only one who has encountered me and been given the chance of truly being free of me. Not even that other survivor, Nick, is free from me. He's still in my memory, and when I see him next, he might not be as lucky as the first time." A wide grin spread on its lips. "But, you," it giggled, "could've disappeared completely. Do you know how much she wants that?" Another giggle sounded. "But, she'll never get that because I won't let her unless she can kill me. Even then," it tapped its right index finger against its head, "I'll still be there in her mind forever."

Its finger switched towards Oliver. "You, on the other hand, could've forgotten all about me and lived your life without ever coming into contact with me again, but here you are." After another bite, the creature released another giggle. "And, you basically just stomped on her own wish and laughed while doing so. She'd have no qualms about throwing away your life to save her own." The creature's eyes gleamed with ill intent, and Oliver actually wanted to enter the tiny cage to be away from the creature, to separate himself from it even if it was only by a small fraction. "She might even want to give you to me for squashing the freedom given to you." Oliver shifted along the wall more as his heart thumped loudly in his ears now. A drop landed on his left shoulder, and his heart skipped a terrible beat. "So, that's why I'm going to make sure that the rest of your life will be a nightmare."