Nebulous Thoughts

This is a short story I wrote for an English assessment last year. It combines fiction and mild horror while trying to convey the innocence of children, and that they must be protected.

“...Wow,” exclaimed Jenny, in a surprised voice.

“What is it?” questioned Carla, as she ever so slowly crept towards the gaping hole in the field.

Jenny glanced around the immediate vicinity before walking up to edge of the hole and replying,

“I don't know.” in a curious voice.

“Robert! Check this out!” Chris yelled from a short distance away. “What is it?”

Robert walked over to his location and replied in his young nine year old voice, “It's a mining tool, a pickaxe, more specifically. Used to mine during the 19^th century though since then has become obsolete, as new methods of mining are now available to us.” Knowledge he had learnt during many of his mother's teachings. He was very smart for his age, already being at an academic level in some fields, while only being in his fourth year of elementary school.

“What's it doing here?” retorted Carla, in an irritated voice, as she knew her brother was smarter than her and had no quarrels making it known.

“Given the fact that we're standing next to a large hole and we found a tool used for mining, I could only assume that this is, in fact, a mine,” mocked Robert, with a smug look on his face, as he thrived on the irritation she emanated when he spoke in a condescending tone.

“I say we explore it!” Jenny suddenly remarked, breaking the silence that had been previously lingering.

“Are you crazy?! We could get hurt!” shouted Carla, in slight horror.

“Bah, it'll be fun, c'mon!” she replied, her spirits unwavering, as she proceeded to clamber down into the mine.

“Hey, wait up!” yelled Carla, as she too, entered the hole. Robert followed suit, with Chris behind him.

Meanwhile Jenny's youngest brother, Timmy, stood staring at their ever darkening figures and whispered. “You shouldn't go down there sister, you're making a mistake.” He was only aged six, but his eyes told stories worth years of wisdom. He knew he was right, they were all making a mistake.

“Tim, we won't wait forever, c'mon!” called Jenny from somewhere within the depths of the cave.

“Coming, sister.” he replied in his innocent voice.

They finally reach an opening in the tunnel and were able to stand to their full heights. They looked around and saw large quantities of ores in the wall. Robert identified them as iron ore and copper ore, for the rest of the group.

“This place looks abandoned, why would they leave a mine like this? It's filled with ore!” Jenny exclaimed, astonished that someone would just walk away from this. “We could be rich!”

“We shouldn't be here,” Timmy interjected, stopping her from continuing. “We should get out, while we can. Who knows what could happen down here.”

“You're not a scaredy cat, are ya'?” Jenny teased, with a smile on her face, “We'll be fine.”

Timmy was silent.

Jenny sighed. “Listen, we'll be okay, you hear me? I promise.”

Timmy simply looked her in the eye, he knew she couldn't make a promise like that.

“We can't stand here all day, let's go.” Robert spoke, as he continued walking through the shaft. They continued like this for some time, none of them knew exactly how long because Jenny's watch wasn't working. “Must be flat,” she said “it couldn't even be midday though, don't worry.” She spoke confidently, as they crept along the corridor, with only the light of the lantern, they found and lit, to guide them.

As they were walking Carla remarked about how she didn't think continuing any further was a good idea. She said that she had seen too many movies where the mine collapses and all inside are forever trapped. Jenny tried to reply confidently by saying “They wouldn't have built a mine shaft, full of people, if it was unstable.” Though she too wondered, 'Maybe, that's why they left...?'

Robert spoke up and remarked that the mine was probably over a century old and that seismic activity could easily have caused it to become unstable.

This did little to ease either of their fears.

Soon enough they came across a door, unlike anything they'd encountered so far. It was completely made of metal, and had a strange pattern and texture to it. They had never seen something like this before.

“Whoa. This is awesome!” exclaimed Jenny, as she opened the door via the turn handle.

“Are we continuing?”

“Of course we are!” yelled Chris as he ran through the door, barging past everyone. He ran into a white, clinical looking room. He stopped dead in his tracks, as the others entered the room. A holographic display popped up in front of them all. Words began forming on the display in a language that only Robert recognized. “It's ancient Greek, closer to the original language than Greek today. It says:”

Flee or fight;

Despite your might;

Fear becomes reality;

Tonight.

“Creepy,” Carla whispered.

“Yea...” agreed Jenny.

“I told you,” said Timmy, afraid for the safety of those around him, “we should leave, it's not safe here. You don't understand.”

Jenny replied, “Stop worrying! I told you we'll be fine. Let's keep goi-” she stopped. “W-what was that?” Jenny asked with false confidence, as she heard loud crushing and breaking sounds and the room began to shake.

“Oh, no...” Carla rasped out, as she looked out the door they just entered from, to find a wall of rubble, stopping them from returning the way they came.

Jenny looked at the scene in horror. “No...no, thi-this can't be happening...I don't wanna die...I-I d-don't wanna die!”

“I gotta get out of here!” screamed Carla, feeling the quintessence of fear, overcoming rationality.

“Don't! It's not safe!” yells Jenny in response, as she ran to stop her friend.

Too late.

Carla dashed out the door and had began tossing rocks aside, when the mine collapsed yet again. This time, taking Carla with it.

Jenny and company looked on in horror, that none of them had ever experienced before. They had just seen their friend, and to Robert, his sister, die, right before their very eyes.

“SISTER! NO!” screamed Robert in agony. His only sibling, his sister that he loved so much. Dead. Gone. Never to be spoken to again. She died getting crushed by tonnes of rocks, right before his eyes. His eyes started welling up.

“No...You-you...you can't go...sister...I love you...” Robert whispered as he began crying, tears steaming down his face. His entire world had just come crashing down. Just as it had for her, moments ago.

“C-c'mon Rob. W-we h-have to get out of h-here,” croaked out Jenny through the tears.

Meanwhile Chris just stood staring. Not believing what had just happened, his ten year old mind breaking down.

“She's gone...” he whispered to himself, trying to grasp the reality of it.

“I told you. It was a mistake coming here, you promised it would be okay. You lied, sister. People are getting hurt. We have to find a way out of here. We have to keep going,” stated Timmy, blankly, as he knew that if they didn't hurry, bad things would happen.

“O-okay, l-let's go...” Jenny barely managed to get out between sobs, as she grabbed Robert's arm and began to help him along, as she knew he couldn't walk on his own. His face made this obvious. A cold sweat breaking over him as his dilated pupils quivered in their sockets. The image of the tragedy forever burned into his mind.

The group ever so slowly moved into the next room, hoping to find an exit and escape. Whilst they continued to explore what they could at the slow rate due to Robert's condition and the groups collaborative, darkened mindset, Robert couldn't help but think that something could happen to his friend Chris. His intelligent mind working he started to connect the dots. The poem saying 'Fear becomes reality,' his sister being afraid of the mine shaft collapsing and then that exact thing happens to be her death. Maybe that's what was being studied at this lab? The ability to somehow use someones fear against them. What was he afraid of...dying? No. It happens to everyone. Chris...? Yes, he was afraid for Chris' well being. He has a habit of disappearing and he hoped it didn't happen down here...wait.

Where was Chris?

Oh god.

He stopped resting on Jenny, regained his own balance and glanced around for him.

Gone.

Suddenly a weight dropped on his heart.

He turned around and started running back from whence they came and kept running until...

He saw it.

Chris, or what was left of him, at least.

There was a mutilated corpse in the corner of the room. It look like he had been eaten by something.

“Oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick...” Robert moaned as he turned away.

“This is my fault...I have to warn the others,” he continued as he began to run back towards his remaining companions, fresh, familiar, tears streaming down his face, once more.

'I'll never forget you, I'm sorry,' he thought, as he finally met up with Jenny and Tim.

“Where's Chri-” started Jenny, only to be cut off by Robert, “Dead. Listen. This place, this lab, they were studying how to use fear as a weapon. Whatever you're afraid of, will happen. Carla, afraid of a collapse in the tunnel, died under falling rocks, I was afraid that Chris would disappear, as he sometimes does, now he's dead. Do not have fear in your mind. Rid yourself of it, or you won't make it out alive. That rhyme, remember? It said 'flee or fight, despite your might' which I would interpret to mean regardless if we believe, or accept it, it won't change the outcome. 'Fear becomes reality, Tonight' which clarifies what I said. What we're afraid of is coming to get us. They must have lost control of it, that's why they abandoned this place.”

Jenny was speechless. She couldn't believe what was happening but it seemed to make perfect sense.

“What do we do then?” she asked, hoping he knew.

“We have to find a way out, and fast. I'm afraid of what will happen and you probably are too. We need to hurry or we won't make it,” Robert replied.

“Let's go then! C'mon Tim!” she cried.

The three of them started running as fast as they could throughout the maze like laboratory. Things started jumping out from behind corners, creatures and monsters from children's nightmares. All the things that Jenny and Robert had ever been afraid of materializing before their very eyes.

It was like a page taken out of a horror story. They kept running and began wondering how none of these things were hurting them, yet. They looked down and saw that Timmy was holding both of their hands running with them. They looked around them more closely and noticed a faint glow of blue, surrounding them, like a shield. Jenny looked on in wonder as they continued running, before they came to a door similar to the one they entered, while Robert, being the genius he is, had already worked it out in his head.

'This terrible creation that thrives off fear, cannot harm him. The strength and innocence and faith of a child's mind is enough to protect both of us from harm. Truly astounding.'

They opened the door, with great haste and hurried inside, before slamming it shut.

They were about to continue running but they all stopped, noticing the lack of screeches, cries and horrible figures.

“We made it!” cried Jenny in absolute happiness, before noticing the lack of happiness coming from Robert.

“They didn't,” Robert said blankly, “my sister and my friend are gone. Let's just get out of here.”

Jenny didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. The three of them side by side left the mine, out of an entrance similar to the one they came in.

“I know where we are,” said Jenny, as she looked at the surrounding forest, “we're west of home. Let's hurry.”

No-one had any complaints as they ran back towards the house, for protection, while eternally thankful for the protection that Timmy provided for them.

“I'm sorry I didn't listen, Tim. I didn't know...” Jenny spoke sadly.

“It's okay. Let's just be thankful we made it out alive and never forget what we lost today.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Robert agreed. “Wait, I don't have anywhere to live anymore.” Robert continued in a sad tone, remembering his beloved sister.

“You can live with us, brother.” assured Jenny, wanting to do anything to help ease the pain that he faced today.

“'Brother', heh. I like that. Thank you...sister,” Robert answered, “Let's go home.”

Author's Note

It's rather rushed because it was completed the day before it was due, as I had other things to worry about at the time, and I very much welcome any criticism to improve my try and improve my writing skills. Thank you!