BACKROOMS Part Two
Jenna sat just to the side of where she fell through the hole. Her clothes were still drenched so the water dripping from the cave walls didn’t bother her much. Every deep breath did little to steady her nerves. The constant low chanting wasn’t helping.
“What the hell was that?” She looked up the shaft again but couldn’t see the monster anymore. It must have moved on.
Looking around, Jenna could see she was in a large cave. How it was so light in there was beyond her understanding. There seemed to be more tunnels leading off than the above room had. There had to be a way out but where did she go? She couldn’t even think clearly from the constant ritualistic noise seeming to come from everywhere. It rose and lowered in a rhythmic fashion.
She drew up her knees to her chest and laid her head on top of them. Tears streamed down her face. Maybe if she just stayed where she was, someone would come looking for her. Her mother and father would have noticed by now that she was gone, right? Even friends from school would have been blowing up her cell phone. Why wasn’t anyone looking for her already?
Thinking that moving would just force her into another encounter with a monster, Jenna decided to stay where she was. Strangely enough, she wasn’t hungry or thirsty so it shouldn’t be an issue. Jenna instantly regretted thinking that.
Screaming echoed in the cavern. Jenna covered her ears, but it didn’t help. Wait. Was it really screaming? Now it sounded like crying or moaning. And screaming? All in one voice or was it many? Again, Jenna felt as if her mind was slipping away slowly.
The pitch and tone changed causing Jenna to freak out even more. “Mom? Is that you? Where are you? What’s wrong?” Jenna stood up quickly and started looking at her options. Each tunnel appeared to be the same just went in different directions. The screaming came from all of them.
“Mom! Where are you?” Jenna ran from one tunnel opening to the other. There was no way she would run down one if it was the wrong choice.
A sound drew her attention from a tunnel across from where she stood. The scream, moan, cry continued all around her, but footsteps were coming from one tunnel only. She ran over to that one and tried to investigate the darkness. There wasn’t any light in it, unlike the huge cave she now stood in.
Ever so slowly, a figure became visible. At first it was just a shadow. Then it grew into a woman’s form. She had long red hair just like Jenna and a thin frame. As she drew near, however, Jenna noticed her mother wasn’t wearing any clothes. Her stride was hindered by an injured leg, too. But it was her arms and face that caused Jenna to gasp in horror.
The form strode closer and closer giving Jenna a clearer look at what approached. Her arms were almost down to the rock floor and her mouth didn’t move even though the screaming continued. She didn’t blink either. Her gaze was straight ahead and locked onto Jenna. This was not her mother.
Jenna fell backwards hitting the ground hard jarring every bone in her body. She crab walked backwards as fast as she could but only made it as far as the furthest wall. On bated breath, Jenna watched as the thing emerged from the tunnel and into the light.
Now even more visible, it was even more wrong. The skin sagged all over. Blood dripped from the fingertips and smeared the ground with each step. Its gate was almost the same as the thing on the above level. Stomp. Slide. Stomp. Slide.
The mimic stopped just barely outside of the tunnel’s opening. It stared at Jenna, twisting its head sideways. Her mother’s voice rose above the screaming, but the mouth still didn’t move. “Jenna. Jenna, come here. I need you.”
Jenna wanted to scream but her voice was gone. She shook her head violently in answer. Her legs shook as she stood up trying to get further away.
“Jenna, dear. Come to mommy.” It twisted its head to the other side.
Finally, finding her voice again, Jenna screamed. “You are not my mother! Stay away from me!”
It didn’t speak again, only stared at Jenna. Its mouth opened hanging loosely. This time, the scream did come from with its core. A shrill, ear-piercing screech shook the ground. Jenna wanted to cover her hearing but didn’t dare move. She could feel blood trickle out of her ears and down her neck on both sides.
As if the monster’s visage couldn’t get anymore disturbing, its skin ruptured in an instant, falling to the ground. Hair, fingers, eyes, were all gone. In its place was a skeletal thing dripping blood. Not an inch of skin covered it, nor organs filled its gaps. All there was, were bones.
Hunching over, the monster dug its branch like bones into the cave floor. A snarl rose above the screaming that still rocked Jenna’s core. Just below that sound, she could still hear the chanting. It was all maddening. This couldn’t be happening. If she wanted to live, she needed believe and then run.
At this point, any of the tunnels would do so she turned around and took the closest one. Barreling down the black space, she could hear that thing pursuing her. Scratching and stomping got closer and closer. There was no way to tell where she was going so, she just sped on.
Jenna slammed into a wall but quickly regained her control. It was merely a turn. When she did turn, a light ahead of her shone in the darkness. It had to be a way out.
Pumping her legs as fast as she could, Jenna put on more speed. The monster didn’t slam into the wall like she did so all Jenna could think was its sight was better than hers. That cut her head start down by a lot.
Jenna made it to the light’s source. It was a small hole in the side of the wall. With her slender build, she might be able to squeeze through. There was no time to consider it though, so she climbed in. It was tight and her claustrophobia instantly kicked in. She scrambled as far enough in that she thought she would be safe so she could take control of the overwhelming panic.
She wasn’t safe. A long boney appendage reached in and wrapped around her ankle. Jenna screamed as loud as she could only to have the beast mimic her. Kicking, Jenna finally got her ankle free, and she shimmied her way further into the closed in space.
She didn’t take the time to look back beyond her feet to see if it was following her. Instead, Jenna crawled forward with all her strength. Again, she ended up falling out of where she was and into another room. This one was similar to the one above but dry.
Scurrying away from the opening, she looked back but the creature didn’t come through. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief until she heard the chanting again. This time it was louder.
