Walking through the damp cave, he panted, seeking shelter from the storm outside. The sound of water dripping through the crevices in the Earth. His dog had run away from him when the thunder started, and he was not expecting to be out this long. He sniffles and pulls his jacket around himself. Stumbling further into the void-filled cave, he pulls his phone out to get his flashlight on. He sees these strange stone carvings on the walls, but they’re too hard to make out. He figures that it must have just been some dumb teens that came and vandilized the wall. Ignoring the cave wall, he continues on, until he reaches what looks to be a dead deer carcass. He walks over to it, inspecting it to make sure it wasn’t his dog.

When he gets close enough, flies and a horrible smell smack him in the face. Quickly covering his nose, he steps a little closer, only to hear footsteps behind him. He turns around and steps back, tripping over the carcass and falling into the mud below. His phone hit the ground, and it all went dark. Not moving a muscle, he heard the footsteps stop. A hissing sound could be heard. The footsteps start again, but they go back the way they came, to the entrance of the cave. He searches for his phone, pulling it from the mud and standing up. He wipes the mud from his face and his phone and continues through the cave, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach.

He walks a little further into the cave before turning his flashlight back on. He turned around to make sure that whatever was standing there was gone only to see something move in the shadows. He panics, and the feeling in his stomach returns at full force. He takes a step back and starts running from whatever was there. The hissing he heard returned. Maybe it was a snake, but he was not stopping to check. He soon calms down enough to stop running and sit for a second. His ankle hurts, and he’s covered in mud in a cave, freezing and terrified. He calls for his dog, maybe he was in here, maybe his dog just so happened to run into the same cave.

He stands up and starts to limp down the cave, using the wall to help him. Calling for his dog again, and listening. He calls out again, and to his surprise, he hears a bark. He gets some hope and calls again and the dog barks louder, did he find him? Was his dog in here with him this whole time? Limping faster now, he calls again. The desperation in his voice is present. He turns a corner only to be met with a wall. Smacking his face into it, he groans and backs up. Looking at the wall, he can hear the distressed barking of his dog. Shining his flashlight around the wall, he sees a small hole. Getting down on his knees, he shines his flashlight through the hole to see what’s on the other side. 

Seeing his dog on the other side, he smiles, before realizing his dog is cowering and yelping. He calls for the dog, but it doesn’t look at him. It doesn’t even move towards him, looking up at something in the cave that’s scaring it. Turning his phone to see what was scaring his dog, his phone suddenly goes out, and he hears his dog yelp loudly before it goes quiet. His eyes grow wide as he is left in the dark with nothing but the smell of fresh blood and the sound of water. His body finally gives out from all the walking and pain he’s gone through.