Blood Lust: A Supernatural Horror (48 page)

T
he
entire
tunnel began to sh
udder
. Dust
and rock
cascaded
from the ceiling
. I realized a
subway
train was passing in the
adjacent
tunnel. Perhaps this was what
had
frightened the rats. Suddenly, the
ground
beneath me
gave way
and I plunged
headfirst down the opening. I held onto my weapon
, sliding down a chute
barely
wider than my body.
I
slid
for less than
fifteen seconds
,
but it seemed
an interminable amount of time
amid fears I would
become a permanent cork in the narrow opening
.
Thankfully
,
or perhaps regretfully,
my slide ended
in icy cold water.

I clung to my weapon
as I
fought my way to the surface
, chagrined to discover I was in water only waste deep.
My flashlight reflected from the rocky walls of
an underground river
twenty feet wide
and
ten feet above the
water level
.
I had
stumbled upon
the
missing river that had once r
u
n alongside the
monastery’s mill
, diverted by s
ome geologic fault
that had
driven its course
deep
underground.
I
activated
a
glow stick
and sent it
floating
downstream
. I spotted
my missing rodent friends running along a small ledge beside the river.

I now faced two choices:
Either
follow the river downstream and
look
for
the
exit
the rats were running toward
or
head upstream in hopes that it led to the cavern system and a way back into the tunnel. I chose upstream.

I slogged along maybe a quarter mile before the
river tunnel
opened up into
a
larger cavern
. I clambered out
of the frigid water
onto dry land and removed my clothes to wring out the excess moisture.
My feet were cold and wet
.
I remembered the safety flares
I carried
and
struck the end on the hard ground
,
filling the underground cavity with light
.
The cavern was ancient, carved over the eons by the river’s relentless passage.
Smooth
,
scalloped
-
edged walls traced the many changes in water level. Slender stalactites hung from the ceiling and needle
-thin
stalagmites thrust upwards to meet them.
Delicate winding sheets of
white
crystal
line gypsum
festooned the roof of the cavern like
my grandmother’s
lace curtains.
The
sputtering
light of the
flare
reflected from the crystal
-
clear
surface of the pool in a scintillating light.
The river bubbled up in a
ledge-lined
pool in the center of the cavern
with a pleasant fountain sound. It was a small piece of paradise deep underground, but I could not linger
.

Nor could I
wait for my clothes to dry
.
I gave myself half an hour’s respite, then
donned my
still
damp pants and shirt and soaking wet boots
.
Another opening marked
the far end of the cavern
.
Th
e opening looked dark and uninviting
, but it was my only choice
.
I followed
the winding passage.
It
narrowed slowly until it became a mere fracture in the rock ten feet high and less than three feet in width. I squeezed through it, scraping elbows
,
knees
and shoulders
in the process. The fracture twisted and meandered until I lost all sense of direction.
I stopped once to drink from my water bottle
and
to
rest by leaning against the rock wall.

I
had
resisted the urge to urinate until it became a compelling notion
. My bladder was about to burst.
Mentally haranguing myself for not
taking the opportunity to urinate in the cavern,
I unzipped and relieved myself along the path I had come.
The odor of
my
urine reminded me of the
heavy
ammonia smell of the creature
’s urine
, which I had yet to detect. Could I be wrong about the creature choice of a lair?

I
zipped up and
sucked in my stomach to squeeze through a particularly narrow spot, hoping
that I would
not have
to retrace my steps.
It was with great relief when
a
half an hour
later
my flashlight shone on weather
ed
wooden boards. I beat at them
enthusiastically
with the butt of the elephant gun until I broke through into
the
far
end of the old tunnel, the point at which
all
digging had
halted
.

I took a minute to
catch my breath and
survey my surroundings. Much of the old
abandoned
equipment and tools
lying around
were relics from
when the tunnel work had stopped
–
rusty
picks
and
shovels,
air-powered
jackhammers,
cobweb
-
covered
wenches and
decaying
wooden
carts with railroad wheels used to move
men and equipment
along the rails
.
There was no sign of my prey.
Now, I faced the possibility of pursuing my quarry
, if it was here at all,
to the
far
end of the tunnel, a prospect I did not relish.

I
located the
last steel door, or, in this case, the first
. It was securely sealed. A hundred yards
back up the tunnel
,
I caught the unmistakable odor of ammonia. The creature
or its lair was near
by
.
I felt relief tempered with apprehension.
I moved as silently as I could, knowing the creature’s superior hearing and excellent night vision probably would alert it
to
my presence long before I became aware of it. I stopped each time my foot dislodged a rock or struck a
wooden tie, listening for a response.

In spite of all my wariness, the creature was upon me,
peeling from the wall like a shadow
almost before I could react
.
I dropped to the ground, barely avoiding
the rake of
its sharp talons. I turned and fired. The blast
of the elephant gun
shook the walls and ceiling, bringing down
a
n
inundation
of dirt. I hoped I didn’t ina
d
ve
rtently collapse the entire tunnel
in my eagerness to kill the creature.

My shot
went wild
. I heard the creature clucking its contempt
from the shadows. I swung the light around but could not find it. The echo of the tunnel masked it voice
.

“You were warned, human
,” it screamed at me
.
“
Yet you chose to come after me. For this you will die slowly.”

“You’ve got nowhere to go,
” I yelled back
.
“
The entrances are all sealed. It’s just
you and
me. Even if you win, you lose.”

“I have all the time in the world to find a way out. Much more
time
than you have to live.”

“Bring it on!” I yelled.

T
he flapping of wings
broke the stillness
and
I
steeled myself for another assault.
T
he confines of the tunnel
did
not
allow me
m
uch room
in which to
maneuver. As the creature soared at me out of the darkness, I swept my flashlight across it
s
body
and fired.
Flashing t
alons
scored a hit
to
my left
bicep
,
grabbed my
shirtsleeve
and jerked me upwards,
but my
shot connected. The creature screamed and twis
ted in midair, landing
heavily on its side a few yards behind me
as I
crashed
to my knees
. I twirled to fire again, but
my gun was empty.
As I reloaded, t
he creature
dove
into an alcove.
A trail of yellowish blood led into the
dark opening
.

“Gotcha!” I whooped, ignoring the pain in my arm.

“I will soon heal. Will you arm heal as quickly? I think not.”

I cursed. The creature was right. Soon, the f
e
ver would rack my body, leaving me vu
lnerable. I had to end this soon. I strode boldly to the alcove and
played my light across the walls
. The creature wasn’t there! I spun around searching for it and spotted it on the ceiling
behind me across the tunnel
. It had
s
campered
out of the alcove and across
the ceiling
as it
had
taunted me. I fired both barrels
, missing the creature but
the
.50 caliber
slugs ripped into the wooden boards supp
orting the tunnel’s roof, s
plintering
them. With
the
groan
of an overwhelmed Atlas
,
a large section of roof
c
ollapsed
.
D
irt and rock pou
red through the wooden planking
in a torrent
, creating a
cloud of dust
that
billowed up, filling the tunnel. I tried to move away, choking on the dust, and slammed into the wall, dropping the elephant gun.
Blind and panicked,
I scr
am
bled
on hands and knees
to find it, but the dust was too thick.
I cowered with my back against the wall
to wait
until the dust cleared
sufficiently to see again
.

For long minutes, the roof poured through the opening.
Wooden support beams and the wooden ceiling creaked and
moaned but held
.
I
had fears that the entire tunnel might collapse
around me, but luck was with me.
When I could see again, the creature
was
struggling to free itself
from beneath a pile of dirt
and debris
. The collapsing roof had caught it. I couldn’t find the elephant gun
, but
I
spotted a rusty
pickaxe
leaning against the wall. I grabbed it
, held it over my head
and rushed at the creature.
I brought the pick down as hard as I c
ould,
but the creature
had managed to free one leg. It swept its talons painfully across my left leg, forcing m
y blow
to miss its head
by inches
. The axe embedded in the creature’s wing, pinning it to the ground but I could
n’t
get close
enough
because of its
frenetic
flailing
to finish it off. I
backed off
to
search
for my elephant gun.
I
frantically
raked through piles of loose earth near the wall.
Finally,
a gleam of light shone through the rubble, the flashlight.
I yanked it out of the dirt but the creature
had already freed itself
,
winging
down the tunnel. I shook the dirt out of the barrel and reloaded, damning myself for missing my chance.