The corridor spat him out like a ragdoll, his body rolled for a bit before colliding against jagged stone. Pain flared through his back and ribs, and for a moment he could only lie there, gasping in short, ragged bursts. The air felt heavy, almost suffocating and it was filled with a damp, mineral tang that clung to his tongue and nostrils. The same smell that came of newly mined Lumenis. Every inhale felt like it dragged stone dust down his throat.
After a while of laying still when his vision steadied, Riven saw little beyond the shadows. The place stretched in every direction like a hollowed cavern, yet without any true depth with rocks jutting out here and there, sharp ridges in a place that otherwise looked empty and void-like. Small veins of dull light ran across parts of the ceiling, not enough to brighten the space, only enough to remind him he wasn't entirely blind.
'Urgh, good to know my eyes aren't damaged.'
His pickaxe was still clenched in his hand, now slicked with his blood. He shifted and winced; fire burned across his side and spine. Crawling, dragging himself inch by inch, he pushed through the agony until he found a wall. He pressed his back against it, trying to steady the tremors running through his body.
A quick touch across his torso and head told him more than he wanted to know. His lip was split. His temple was wet with blood that seeped from a cut above his brow. His right palm was raw, scraped and open, and he could feel the warmth of blood soaking through his shirt at the ribs. Each pulse throbbed like a hammer inside him.
"Where… the hell… am I?" His voice came out as a hoarse whisper swallowed by the cavern.
The thought clawed into him 'Am I… still inside the corridor? Where the hell did it throw me?'
His breathing remained rough and ragged. Darkness pressed heavier the longer he stayed still, and the dizziness in his skull dulled his thoughts until his eyelids dragged shut. Against his better judgment, his body surrendered. Sleep claimed him.
---
A sound snapped him awake.
His eyes shot open, chest rising sharp as air hissed through his teeth. For a second, he forgot where he was, only to feel the jagged rock at his back and the weight of pain pulling him down. But then came the sound again, it sounded wet and guttural, like a frog's croak but at the same time it felt twisted.
It came from his side.
Shivers coursed down his spine. He moved slowly, too slowly and turned his head, biting down the grunt that tried to rise. The ache in his body was still there, but strangely it felt dulled now. His mind stumbled over the fact 'The pain's… less? How long was I unconscious for?' He flexed his fingers against the pickaxe's shaft, gripping tighter. 'That was reckless… sleeping here. Idiot move, Riven…Something's been watching me…'
The croak came again and this time it sounded closer.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. The sound was thick enough to vibrate against the stone itself. He pulled one leg under him, bracing carefully against the floor. The very movement earned him a wince, but he kept silent, his eyes darting into the shadows. His blood smeared along the ground where he'd rested, and the realization knifed through him.
'Shit, that'll draw out the predators.'
He forced himself upright, careful not to clatter the pickaxe or make too much sound, but the coppery wetness dripping from his shirt betrayed him.
A croak thundered again and this time it was much closer.
Riven's heart hammered. He edged forward, hand dragging across the wall for balance until his palm brushed against a jagged stone. It felt strange to touch and for some reason soft. He was about to examine it further till it moved.
The wall screamed.
A grotesque face exploded out of the darkness, a mouth opened revealing gaping jaws wide with teeth too long and jagged. Skin stretched and hairless across its skull. Its limbs were elongated and looked more like stinger, scraping the cavern wall with a screech that echoed like knives.
Riven stumbled back, blood roaring in his ears.
'What the fuck kind of deviant IS this?
The creature dragged itself fully into view, its pale skin mottled, its eyeless head twitching in the direction of his heartbeat. It let out another wet croak, rattling the air, before it scuttled toward him with terrifying speed.
Instinct screamed louder than fear.
RUN.
He bolted, every jolt sending knives of pain through his body. His blood left a trail across the cavern floor. The creature paused mid-charge, its twitching head turning to the droplets. Then it sniffed the ground where his blood was spilt.
It shrieked a frenzy of sound, and lunged harder, slamming itself against the walls as its stinger-legs scraped massive gouges from the stone. Bits of rock exploded off with each strike trying to impale him.
Riven dove down dodging the swing at the last second, rolling into a narrow crevice barely wider than his shoulders. He scrambled in, chest heaving and his back scraping raw against the stone until he wedged deep enough that the creature's bulk couldn't follow. Its limbs clawed the rock entrance, shrieking so loud the stone seemed to vibrate.
Pressed against the cold wall, his pickaxe shaking in his hands, Riven's thoughts spiraled as he looked at his bloodied form. 'Shit, it's attracted to the smell of my blood'
The creature continued to ram the barrier, it's stinger-legs splitting the stone around his refuge causing dust to rain down on his head.
His heart kept pounding and wanted to burst from his chest. 'Calm. Calm down. Don't… panic.'
But the horror outside croaked again, its frenzy climbing, and Riven realized there was no guarantee it would give up. Unless of course one of them dies first.
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