The Scarlet Walker

He searched by touch, kicking aside pebbles and feeling beneath ledges. His fingers found a rusted tin, but it was empty. He threw it away, and the clang rolled through the passage until it became a faint metallic whisper.

“Come on,” he said. “There has to be something.”

A gust of air brushed the back of his neck.

Elias froze.

The cave had been still a second before. Now something moved behind him, fast enough to stir the cold air.

Zoom!

A dark shape shot past his face.

Elias stumbled against the wall. His shoulder struck stone, and pain flashed down his arm. He spun around, but the passage lay empty. Water continued to fall from the ceiling.

“What was that?”

His voice returned in a thin echo.

He strained to listen. Nothing. Then, from far ahead, came a scraping sound. Slow. Deliberate.

Elias took one step toward the entrance.

The scraping stopped.

He took another.

Swish!

The shape came back.

Elias ducked. Something sliced through the air above him with a sharp rush, and a red blur struck the wall where his head had been. He dropped onto one knee, covering his face. For one instant, lightning from outside flashed through the cave mouth, and the creature appeared as a thin black silhouette against the pale entrance.

It was too tall to be human.

Its arms hung low. Two points rose from its head. One narrow hand clung to the wall, and its fingers ended in short, glinting claws.

Then the darkness swallowed it.

Elias crawled backward. His breath shook in his chest.

A voice rolled through the cave.

“Who dares to enter my cave?”

The words seemed to come from every wall at once.

Elias pushed himself upright. “I didn’t know anyone lived here.”

A low sound answered him, almost a laugh.

“I didn’t ask what you knew.”

He turned toward the entrance. The gray rectangle of rain was still visible behind him. It was close - ten steps, perhaps twelve.

Elias ran.

His foot slipped on wet stone. He caught himself and kept moving, arms flailing for balance. The cave mouth widened ahead, and rain blew across the floor. He could almost feel the cold storm against his face.

Something struck the ground in front of him.

Elias stopped so suddenly that his shoes skidded.

A long red hand reached down from the darkness beside the entrance. Its skin was stretched tight over narrow bones. The claws were short, but each one was sharp enough to scratch pale lines into the rock.

Elias backed away.

“No,” he whispered.

The hand flexed.

He turned to flee in the opposite direction, but the creature moved faster. A tall shape slid across the passage, blocking the way. Elias saw only pieces of it: a red shoulder, black strips of ripped cloth, a bent arm too slender to carry such strength.

“Wait!” Elias shouted. “I’m leaving!”

The creature leaned toward him.

“Too late.”

The red hand struck his chest.

Elias flew backward. His heels left the ground, and his spine slammed against the edge of a hidden drop. Stone crumbled beneath him. He grabbed at the floor, catching a jagged rock with both hands.

For half a second, he hung there.

Above him, the beast’s hand reached over the edge.

Elias looked up and saw three hollow eyes staring down through the darkness.

Then the rock tore free.

He fell.

His shoulder hit a ledge. He spun, struck the wall again, and dropped into blackness. The impact knocked the air from his lungs. He landed hard on his side, and pain spread through his ribs.

For several seconds, he could not move.

Water tapped somewhere nearby. His cheek rested against cold grit. He opened his eyes, but the darkness below the cave was thick and complete.

“Elias,” he whispered, testing his voice.

The cave gave him back a broken echo.

He rolled onto his back. Nothing felt broken, though his shoulder burned and one knee trembled beneath him. Above, the opening was only a distant smear of gray. The upper passage and the storm were far beyond reach.

Then something struck stone overhead.

Boom.

Dust sifted down onto his face.

Elias flinched and covered his mouth. The creature had followed him - or was searching for a way down.

A second impact shook the cavern.

“No,” Elias said. “Stay up there.”

The words sounded foolish as soon as he spoke them.

He crawled along the floor, sweeping his hands through mud and stones. His fingers touched a strip of cloth, then a broken branch, then a metal object.

He pulled it close.

A flashlight.

The casing was scratched and damp, but when Elias twisted the switch, a weak yellow beam flickered across the floor. He nearly laughed.

“Please,” he murmured. “Please work.”

The beam steadied.

The cavern around him spread wide and round, unlike the narrow passage above. Rock walls rose into darkness, marked by vertical cracks. The floor dipped toward the center, where old stones formed a rough ring. It looked like an arena buried beneath the hill.

Elias turned slowly, holding the flashlight in both hands.

A red streak flashed across the far wall.

He jerked the beam toward it.

Nothing.

Another streak appeared behind him.

Elias spun around. The flashlight shook so badly that the beam bounced across the ceiling.

“Show yourself!”

His shout faded into the cavern.

A breath brushed his ear.

He turned.

The creature stood a few feet away.

The flashlight caught its body first. It was tall and slender, red and black beneath layers of ripped clothing. Pale bones showed through torn fabric along its arms and sides. Its ribs were visible beneath stretched skin, rising and falling as it breathed.

Elias lifted the beam higher.

Two horns curved above its head.

Three hollow, pitch-black eyes stared back at him.

The light slipped from his hand and struck the ground. It continued shining upward, cutting across the beast’s legs and throwing its body into a warped shadow.

Elias could not make his mouth work.

The Scarlet Walker stepped forward.

Its foot scraped across the stone.

Elias stumbled back. “Don’t come closer.”

The beast tilted its head.

“You entered my cave.”

“I needed food.”

“You found something else.”

The flashlight beam rolled sideways, and the cavern spun through broken patches of yellow light. Elias snatched it up and aimed it at the creature’s face. The three eyes did not blink.

The Scarlet Walker moved.

Elias ran.

He crossed the rocky floor, following no path, only distance. Behind him came the quick slap of narrow feet. The sound grew louder, then vanished, then returned from another direction. The beast moved through the cavern as if the walls belonged to it.

Elias swept the flashlight across the stone. A narrow opening appeared between two slabs, barely wide enough for his shoulders.

He dropped to his knees and crawled toward it.

The Scarlet Walker struck the ground behind him. Stone cracked.

Elias shoved his flashlight into the passage and squeezed after it. Rock scraped his coat and tore his sleeve. His ribs screamed as he pulled himself through the tight space.

A clawed hand slid into the opening behind him.

The red fingers curled, searching for his ankle.

Elias kicked backward. His heel struck something solid.

The creature gave a sharp hiss.

Elias pulled himself forward, dragging his body through the last few feet. Behind him, the hand withdrew.

“This isn’t over, human!” the Scarlet Walker shouted.

Elias emerged into another stretch of darkness and scrambled upright. He aimed the flashlight back at the crawl space.

For a moment, nothing moved.

Then the red hand reached through again.

The claws caught the edge of the stone.

Elias stared at them, frozen.

The fingers tightened. Rock cracked beneath them.

He looked down at the creature’s narrow foot, just visible beyond the opening.

Elias lifted his boot.

“Sorry,” he breathed.

He brought it down with all his strength.

The foot vanished. The Scarlet Walker shrieked.

“Ow!”

Elias ran blindly into the dark as the cave walls began to tremble behind him. Somewhere in the depths, stone broke loose with a thunderous crash. He clutched the flashlight and pushed forward, leaving the red hand, the claws, and the furious voice behind him - for now.

End of chapter one. 4 more chapters and about 8,967 words in the full book.