The Sterner Splasing

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

"Not hiding, not hiding, not hiding, not hiding," the chilling voice continued to call out behind her as she dashed all the more. She felt her crimson stain her thigh bandages, and she did her best to avoid having the lantern hit her left leg. (F/n) would've carried it in her right hand, but she didn't wish to put too much strain on her right arm either. That wound ultimately was deeper than the one on her thigh, and she didn't want it to start bleeding again.


Behind her, she heard booming footsteps. They echoed down the hall, and the scratchy voice never stopped its assault. It kept repeating that phrase over and over again to the point she wished to cover her ears and curl up in a corner. Something scraped along the stone wall, and she desired to protect her ears all the more. The noise screeched like a dying animal or a heavy blade dragging itself across the floor. She wouldn't be surprised if her ears began to bleed.


Swiftly, she reached the curving wall. The noise of the steps behind her seemed to bounce off of the walls, and she saw a rat scurry in front of her before it crawled away into the safety of a hole in the wall. She wished that she had such a safety mechanism. With the closeness of the thing behind, though, she didn't even have time to glance at the map of the tunnels. (F/n) recalled what she could from memory.


If she didn't take the path to the pool, the other path led towards a cafeteria, which branched off into other hallways. Her mind foolishly drifted to her last experiences with cafeterias. Both were in Cankerfell tunnels: one led to despair and the other her freedom. Then again, her freedom could be questioned given everything that had happened as a result of her escape. Laura's deceased state popped up in her head, and she nearly gagged at the memory of her friend's gruesome death.


She managed to push the image away, however, and she noticed that the split paths were nearing. Her ears, though, caught onto the fact that there no longer were any footsteps behind her. Cautiously, she slowed down and checked over her left shoulder. Nothing was there. The light in the lantern flickered and cast ominous shadows across the stone walls. All of those surrounded her own shadow, and she felt a dreadful chill creep through her veins.


Averting her stare from them, she looked forward and chose the path that led to the cafeteria. Before she started down it, however, she checked the lantern. It would be better to replace the candle while things were quiet, and that way, the candle would last longer before she had to switch it out again. Quietly, she seated herself on the ground and opened the lantern. She removed a new candle from her backpack and lit it with the old one.


After she blew out the old one, she waited for the embers on the wick to die out completely so that nothing in her backpack would be set on fire. Once it was safe, she placed the old candle in her backpack since she didn't know how many replacement candles she would discover in the tunnels, let alone how many she would require. Getting back to her feet, she started down the path towards the cafeteria. Her steps grew quiet, and she listened for anything behind her.


Occasionally, there were little feet running across the floors, but she figured rats to be the source or other small critters inhabiting the tunnels. The voice didn't return, much to her relief, and her heartbeat was steady. As she advanced towards the part where the path began to become straight once more, she held the lantern up higher, hoping that she was imagining things. In the distance, there was ... there was a blockage.


"No," she muttered softly to herself in disbelief. She neared it, and she, desperately, hoped that it would vanish before her eyes; it would be another hallucination of hers. Unfortunately, it stayed. (F/n) placed her hands against some of the fallen rubble of the cave in and tried to move some of it. It wouldn't budge, and there were no openings at the top for her to crawl over. There weren't even any terrifying air vents. The only way was backwards ... where that thing was. Or, she could wait. Eventually, the creature would enter the tunnels and find her ... right?


Told you. Chuckling sounded directly in her right ear. Frustrated at the whole circumstance, she yelled quietly, "Shut up!" Another chuckle greeted her ears, but the voice didn't say anything more. (F/n) couldn't rely on the creature. After all, she had escaped Cankerfell tunnels. Sure, she had help back then, but she'd figure a way out. There was the secret entrance from the clothing store. She'd have to trail back and most likely face that thing again with the scratchy voice, but she wasn't going to sit around. (F/n) refused to call out for help from the creature. Gripping the lantern a bit tighter, she turned around and headed back towards where she had come from.


Facing that way again, she froze. In the distance, she saw another light. It shone on the hallway, and she saw a tall shadow move across the wall. She couldn't hold back a gulp, and she felt her legs trembling. A large portion of her mind told her to stay still. It yelled at her that moving forward would be a trap, but where was she supposed to go? If she stayed by the rubble, either the creature or the thing out there would reach her, and she had a feeling that strange being would be first.


Horrible possibilities of what it might do to her ran through her mind, and she felt panic wrap its tendrils around her insides and limbs. If it was possible for her to collapse into a pile of jelly, she would have with how wobbly she felt all over. She hated how she constantly was presented with terrible options. No matter what she did, they always seemed to find and ensnare her one way or another.


With shaky legs, she took a few steps forward, watching the walls for the tall shadow to return. Her slow advance paid off, and she reached the split paths. About to take another step forward, she paused, and she nearly dropped the lantern. The shadow returned, and it was headed in her direction. Part of her hoped for it to turn the other way, but it kept coming. "Please no," she whispered to herself as she stepped back a little.


"You're not hiding," it called out, and she took that as her cue to bolt again. Due to the blockade, she faced the path towards the pool and raced down it. Possibly, there was an exit through it if a natural stream flowed through it. Where that exit would lead and if it was even safe were beyond her, but she couldn't give up. She hadn't survived so much with the creature only to be killed by a ghost or something else in the tunnels that kept bringing up memories of Cankerfell.


Getting closer towards the pool, she heard flowing water, which was a good sign. The light from the lantern bounced off of the walls with her movement, and she still could hear the thing walking behind her at a casual pace. It reminded her of how the creature would walk sometimes during their present game. Whatever the thing was, it was confident in its abilities, which worried her about what was ahead.


Running water soon greeted her as she reached the stairs leading down into the pool. She managed to stop her fast pace before she rolled down them. (F/n) held up the lantern more and stared at the dark waters. Stone walls surrounded the pool, and unlit torches lined the staircase. No openings in the wall greeted her, but there had to be some underneath the water; however, she doubted that she would be able to find an exit out of the stream before she drowned.


Back where she came from, she heard rushing steps behind her. She cursed loudly and headed down the stairs. Maybe, she'd get lucky, and it wouldn't be able to swim, but she'd have to abandon her lantern in the process. And even if she lit the torches, the thing always could blow them out. Her lighter probably would be ruined by the water too.


Lost in her thoughts of what to do, she didn't realize her left food had landed on loose stone. It caved under her weight and broke off. Instantly, she snapped out of her thoughts and felt herself lose her balance as her weight pulled her to her left and toward the water. A sharp cry broke out from her lips, and her grip on the lantern was lost. It banged against the steps before it crashed against the water below. She only was spared from the fall due to her right hand gripping onto the stairs just in time. Her hold was weak, however, and her right arm was screaming in pain. (F/n) could feel the strain on her arm pulling on the stitches there.


Above her, she heard the steps nearing her. She tried to steady her breathing, and she thought that maybe her hanging there might be more beneficial. It was dark, and she hoped that, perhaps, the thing might miss her even if that chance was incredibly low, especially with her shout from earlier. Besides, her lantern had splashed against the water, so the thing might've assumed that she had fallen in. While it checked the water, she could lift herself up and run. Or, she could wait until it left completely, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to last that long with her grip. Even now, it was an immense struggle to hold on.


To her horror, the steps stopped right where her fingers were. She couldn't see the thing staring at her, but she felt its intense gaze. "You didn't hide." The voice was just as scratchy, and it was mocking too. She half expected a crazed laugh to follow, but it didn't. Feet shifted on the stone, and she felt a light weight on her fingers. It felt like a shoe, but before she could think more on it or commit to any action, the shoe pressed down harder on her hand.


Wincing, she tried to lift her other hand up, but she didn't have the strength too. The shoe left her fingers, but a sick feeling crossed her stomach. Immediately, she let go and fell just as the shoe impacted the stone where her fingers had been hard.

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