Idk what to call this yet, part 2

A Story by Caleb

Have you ever let meat spoil? You know the smell, the hard hit punch it gives you when the overwhelming power of that stench invade your senses. Or how about when someone has neglected to bathe for about a week, maybe a month; you are aware of the tears that it brings to any who are sensitive to such things? Now imagine those two things combine into a wonderful and oh so elegant symphony and put them in a dark and ominous room so they are allowed to mingle with each other.

That is only the first impression that comes to mind when I entered into the cave. Now, you must be wondering. Why am I, a seventeen year old boy, wandering around in some abandoned mine shaft all alone with little more than a flashlight? Well, that is a very good question and I will give you an answer when I figure it out.

The one thing I can tell you though, is that I am doing this for a girl. Oh you should see her; her hair, her body, her smile, her… You know I just love it when your mind plays tricks on you and you start to hear things in the darkness. It could be a rat or it could be a ghost- no nevermind that, no ghost in here.

There it is again. I soft little knock, with an eerie afterthought of a silent whisper; if that makes any sense. I turned the corner and there was a long shaft that inclined downward at a slight degree, but there was something down at the end. I couldn’t see anything, but at the same time I could. Something inviting, something tempting me to the other side. I know, let me go take a peek and see what is over there; never once has that been a bad idea for anyone who is all alone in a dark and abandoned cave.

I crept silently, like a ninja, using the darkness to stealthily move toward my prey, with the flashlight on of course. The wall was surprisingly smooth with some pattern etched into the surface, but why should I care about that when there is something over there that feels not at all friendly, but why not, I am going to continue on.

Falling, well I thought that this hall was perfect, but they were a couple inches off when designing the floor; so for a split second I tripped on air and thought I was plummeting to my death. I can tell you, your mind is your worst enemy when darkness is involved.

There was a rushing wind; a howling thunderstorm of silence. I felt the air change, but not a sound could be heard. I felt the air get colder; it became harder to breath, and then… all back to normal. What is going on; should I continue down this way? I know the answer, yes I should, why not?

There was a thud, a crack, a sharp whine of some structure that did not wish to yield. Falling, now I am falling. It was not a free fall, but the hallway turned into a stairless staircase and now I was sliding down without able to take grip of anything. When I reached the bottom, there was a thud, a crack, and I let out a soft whine as all of my organs settled back into place.

Before I blacked out, I could feel something. It was a warmth, but a cold heat. Something that was so cold, that is was a little comforting as my body became numb. Of course, this should not be alarming at the slightest. I dark shape moved toward over me. I heard a soft clink and clack of my flashlight catching up to me and when it finally reached the bottom, it illuminated the room I was in. The dark shape disappeared and I was all alone as I layed there. What have I done now?

Drip drip drip. Wait, no… is that water? I opened my eyes and heard a slight dripping of water in the distance. I turned to see the figure there again. The room was dark and I could see a shadow of a man before me. Was it a man? No, it looked like a man, but something was different.

He noticed I was awake, is he truely a he or am I just jumping to conclusion. How am I to know what pronoun this creature identifies as; why should I even care? There was a flash of light and he spoke with authority, with grace, with kindness?

“You have fallen, much like I.

Should you live or should you die?

No no no, it’s not time yet,

Stop your shaking. Do not fret.

If I wish to slay you now

I could do it, like a cow.

Carve you up and eat you whole

And toss you inside a bowl.”

Oh please let this be a concussion. You know, I would not mind if I was crazy and I was just talking to nothing but air, at least I would no longer be lonely. I spoke up, “Can I have some water?” Really, that’s the first thing I ask… May I have a cup of water to dampen my lips oh dark and mysterious being? The shock on his face much resembled my own confusion.

“You seek for water, do you not?

I have no cup nor a pot,

For what you thirst, give I can

But please be still, stay down lad.

Did he just call me a lad? He looked at me again with a sort of stone faced coolness, but there was something warm about his features. They was an air of captivation that surrounded him and I could not look away. He was beautiful, more so than that girl I came down here in the first place… Am I gay? I’ll revisit that idea later, but for now I’m going to pretend that I did not just question my sexuality. “What do you want from me and please, it’s bad enough that I’m down here so can you kindly stop talking in riddles and give me the answer straight?” He frowned slightly, I guess he really liked talking like that.
“I do have a plan for you, but that requires that you truly are the one to set me free. For long have I been trapped down here, so long have I been left to be. Can you truly be the one? Have my ties now been undone?”

I guess he’s trying, but why does he need to talk like that. At the very least I was able to understand him so I guess I’ll give him some slack. “Again, what do you want from me?” By this time I finally sat up and began to take in my environment. He was talking, but for some reason I didn’t really care; I just wanted to get out of this place.

As he got into something about a rebellion and how he was cast out of some kingdom, I noticed that I was in a small room. There were no furnishings or decor to give the room a welcoming feel. The wall I was leaning against was made of some sort of stone that gave off some sort of hume and a glow; that’s probably why I can see without any source of light around me, although there was also some light coming from my captor. Was he even my captor; why is he still talking… this might be important, naw I’ll regret it later, but I specialize in stupid. Am I stupid though if I have enough knowledge to know that I’m stupid?

“How stupid are you?” Can he read my thoughts; why did he ask me; why haven’t I woken up yet? This has to be a dream.

“Depends on your definition of stupid. If you’re aware of your stupidity, are you truly stupid?” This should be great. In all my life, how could I ever guess I would be argueing about my intellect with whatever this is.

“Just because you're perceptive doesn’t nullify your stupidity.” Yea he’s got a point there, but he still hasn’t answered my question.

“Why am I here?”

“Soon… it will be soon, take me at my word on that.”

“That answers the when, but let’s focus on the why.”

“Why why why, that’s all you care about. Better yet, you should first understand the when and the why will unravel before your very eyes.”

He came closer to me. He grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. Spinning, when did I start spinning? The room faded away, as did my captor, and I began to fall; splots of light whizzed past me as I plummeted further down. Blinding white flushed my vision; that only lasted a couple of seconds, but I can see… where am I?

I was still falling, but that only occupied a small portion of my thought. Rolling hills or green untouched grass. A river meandered its way cutting through the hills; it was perfect. I came closer to the ground, seconds before impact… Is splot even a word?

© 2016 Caleb

Author's Note

This is still a working progress and in some respects this is my little baby, so any critique to let my little baby grow and mature will be helpful. I still have no idea where this is going, which may be apparent in the way I write, but i should polish it up before I'm finished. This may turn into a full fledged novel or may stay as a short story. That too is still up in the air.