A Wicked Whisper

The wind whipped at my cloak, nipping at my bare face as I trudged along the mountain pass. The familiar path was shrouded in supernatural darkness, and the full moon was hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. As I neared a bend in the path, I noticed the mouth of a cave that had never been there before. The cave’s maw was like that of a beast, jagged and menacing, ready to devour any victim who walked too close.

I hesitated, my instincts screaming at me to turn back, to pass, but I trudged on. As I walked on the opposite side of the path, watching my steps just a foot from the abyss, I eyed the fall which would undoubtedly spell my death should I lose my footing.

But as I passed the cave’s opening, a voice called to me. It was the distinct voice of a woman, I thought. I stood still to listen, cupping one ear to block the rushing wind and straining the other to hear the voice again. It sounded out once more in a whisper at first, then louder and louder, not yelling but a sweet voice as if the woman’s voice was whispering in my ear. The voice called to me, “Help, please, somebody help.”

Suddenly, I found myself no longer in control of my body; I turned to face the mouth of the cave and slowly stumbled forward in a daze.

My eyes looked around frantically, looking for a way out, as the mouth of the cave grew ever nearer.

Was this some unseen force drawing me in? As I entered the cave, struggling, I momentarily regained control of my right arm. Reaching out, I grasped the rock, holding on tight, but my legs kept moving, pulling me further into the cave.

The entrance to the cave shut, causing me to fall and plunging me into absolute darkness. Lying there for a moment, the echo of the slamming rock reverberated in the cave, and my heart beat like a drum. The fall had knocked the wind out of me, and as I gasped for breath, my senses writhed.

As I slowly picked myself up, I felt disoriented. An unseen force had pulled me into the cave. A woman’s haunting cries, the sudden closure of the entrance—it was unreal, like a dream … a terrifying dream. I pinched my face, and damn, it hurt. I was awake. Realizing this was not a dream, a sense of dread crept over me.

With trembling hands, I fumbled for my lantern; when my hand came across it, I held it tight. I then lit a match. The sound of the match lighting echoed in the silence. The lantern illumined the strange, alien landscape of the cave.

Looking around, I saw that the cave was made of an unusual stone I had not noticed before. It was a smokey black color with glowing red veins flowing through it. As I approached the wall, the veins glowed a bright, dark red.

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I could smell the dampness in the air as it passed into my lungs. The dampness brought a smell of iron that made my nose tingle—almost like the smell of blood.

I trekked on, looking about hesitantly, as there was nowhere else to go but forward. As I walked on, the light from my lantern shined ahead of me, showing a twisting and curving cave, angling suddenly downward. Coming around the first curve, I heard the voice of the woman once more, calling me and drawing me in.

I walked on for what seemed like half an hour, down an endless spiral, the voice periodically calling me onward. Knowing not everything was as it appeared, I pulled out a small blade from the sheath on my side. Holding it in my right hand and the lantern in the other, I again trudged on.

As I got deeper into the winding cavern, every shadow flickered as if it were alive. I could have sworn that my own shadow had glowing red eyes. But every time I looked, it was my familiar, unassuming shadow. The whisper calling me onward was still there, but now there was periodic laughing.

Around an hour later, something pushed me from behind as I climbed downward, and a burning sensation rushed up my back. Startled, I peered over my shoulder, and there was my shadow grinning at me, my eyes locked with its glowing red eyes.

My pupils widened, and my teeth clinched. I then lunged at the shadow with my blade, striking true. My hand sank into the shadow. The shadow flowed and oozed like a liquid engulfing my hand, but it was cold like snow.

My hand was held fast in the shadowy ooze, sinking further and further like it was stuck in quicksand. Jerking my hand around violently and with as much force as I could muster, my hand started to tingle in pain. It would not budge.

The pain intensified as if it were being stabbed with a thousand needles over and over. My hand was consumed by an agonizing heat, a searing pain that surged like a living thing up my arm, reaching for my heart.

The shadow laughed an evil laugh as it moved ever closer to me. I smashed my lantern above its head on the shallow cave roof without thinking. The gas in the lantern ignited, resulting in a small explosion that produced a brief but intense release of heat. The sound was sharp and sudden, echoing in my ear. The gas that was once contained was now violently burning on the ceiling and dripping onto the shadow. It reeled back in pain, releasing my hand. Its glowing red eyes flickered in and out, disappearing a second later. As soon as the eyes disappeared, the shadow melted into an ooze, and nothing was left. As the shadowy ooze dissipated, a sudden burst of wind extinguished the flames as quickly as I had started them. A sudden darkness rushed over the cave as though it was chasing away the light. But just then, a bright, flickering red light breached the darkness.

My eyes blinked at the sudden change in lighting. The red veins in the black stone were now much greater and brighter than at the entrance to the cave. With this new form of light, I walked on, though not before picking up my blade and preparing for anything yet to come.

As I steadied on, a wicked whisper came once more, beckoning me and taunting me. Within another hour of trudging through the cave, it began to open up into a large cavern. The whisper was now louder and clearer than it had ever been. It sounded like I was nearing the source; it must be near.

The cavern still had several twists and turns going every which way. Looking at the three paths before me, the red veins of the middle path glowed brightly, and the paths to the right and to the left were dimly lit.

Picking the middle path, I marched on with my blade in hand. Walking for just a short time, I came to a vast room. There, I saw a creature in the form of a young woman with long, ghostly black hair flowing as if the wind was blowing it, though no wind was present. The creature wore a ghostly white dress, which billowed and draped upon the ground.

Seeing me, the creature screamed, a terrifying scream that reverberated through my body. The creature’s mouth disconnected, sagging like a limp sack; its teeth grew an inch in length, and its nails grew to over two inches. Then, it charged at me.

It was so fast that I barely dodged the full force of the attack. Its long nails cut my left arm. Blood flowed from the wound like a river. My once-black overcoat was now soaked with blood. The blood ran down my arm, dripping to the floor. The creature looked at the blood with longing as it dripped from my vein. Its long tongue quivered in the air as if it was tasting the scent of my blood.

I reached down and grabbed a fistful of blood-soaked dirt at my feet and flung it in the creature’s eyes. Then, I charged it.

Momentarily blinded, it swung wildly. It missed, but with every swing, it got closer. I lunged at the creature, driving my blade into its stomach. I dragged my blade clean through as I slid along the floor, and it split open, spilling black blood and guts.

The creature let out a harrowing, high-pitched scream that tore at my ears and echoed throughout the cavern.

Rising to my feet, I drove my blade through its head. It twitched violently and slumped to the floor. From its mouth, a shadowy ooze flowed forth, rising into the air and dissipating into nothing. Toward the back of the cavern, an opening suddenly appeared, revealing an exit from this nightmare.

As I emerged from the cave, everything went dark. I suddenly found myself lying on a snowy mountain path, my eyes blinking quickly as if in shock. Raising my head, I saw a bloody rock lying a foot in front of me. I felt my head, which was sticky, my hair was matted with blood, and my bloody flat cap lay on the snow on my side. Was it all a dream? I wondered. As I stumbled to my feet, the wind rushed past me, sounding almost like a wicked whisper.