Having only seconds to think, Abigail did the only thing that made sense. The doors were too buried and there was no guarantee they’d even open in time for her to scramble through. She tucked and rolled towards the swamp, praying to the ancestors the two men in suits wouldn’t see her. Unfortunately, she overshot it a bit and ended up directly in the swamp.
The water was warm when she slid into it, which wouldn’t be so bad if the day hadn’t been hot. Not to mention, going for a dip in a swamp wasn’t exactly on her list of plans for the day.
As careful as she was, there was no way to mask the soft slash as she hit the water. In the distance, she saw the flashlight beams pause for a moment. Abigail settled between the weeds, almost fully submerged and remaining as still as possible.
She saw the men approach the pit and she was grateful for her decision. That would have been bad. Okay, maybe not bad but definitely not great.
She couldn’t tell what they were doing. It was too dark, which again begged the question how long was she down there??? It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes and yet, the sun was gone and night settled across the swamp. When she saw the flashlights turn in her direction, she slunk further into the silt and mud, ignoring the gross way they seemed to suck her hands down into the muck.
There was a moment when the flashlights didn’t move and Abigail held her breath. Once the beams turned away, she exhaled slowly.
Abigail had to think of what to do now, and where to go next. The arrival of the men in suits was giving her a Men in Black vibe. She gathered they were government but which government would that be? Or witch government?
She held back a chuckle at her internal pun and carefully shifted, feeling the ground slowly start to pull her in when she remained too still.
Think, think, think, she thought, looking around.
But a fog had begun to settle. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she had the distinct feeling of being watched. Cautiously, she glanced over her shoulder but all she saw was water and fauna. She could hear crickets and frogs, even an owl hooted in the distance.
Abigail became acutely aware that she was now in the middle of an actual horror movie and she did not like that one bit. She had to move. She had to get out of there or get closer to the men so she could at least hear what they were saying. It sounded like they were talking in hushed voices but she was too far away to make anything out.
She saw a part of the swamp that curved slightly, making it jut out a little further than where she currently was. Thinking that could be the best way to go, she slowly started to move. The ground still tried to pull her in, the mix of mud and weeds making the perfect trap for anyone or anything unfamiliar with the terrain.
It wasn’t until she felt something slither around her ankle that she realized two very important things: one was the swap actually WAS trying to swallow her and two, she had less than a second to take the deepest breath she could.
Suddenly, Abigail was jerked under with a yelp, nearly swallowing gross swamp water in the process. She was dragged further and further away from the shore, deeper into the darkness. Her vision was clouded and not even the faint light of the moon could penetrate the inky void.
The only thing going through her mind was a litany of swears that would have made even sailors blush.
Horrified, she realized how far she was being pulled down and no amount of struggling could free her from whatever had a tight grip on her ankle. The next thing she knew, she was dragged down through the muck, and then…
With a burst of water and a gasp, she found herself pulled down into a cave, landing with a heavy thud on her back. She could barely make out the hole she came through, the water somehow not dripping down to where she lay as if an invisible barrier kept it in place.
Then, whatever had hold of her started pulling her again. Abigail did the only thing she could do and threw her flashlight in the direction of where she was being pulled. It was still dark, making it impossible to see but she must have hit something because immediately she was let go. The light came on and she managed to catch just a glimpse of something big and lanky before it shrieked and disappeared into the darkness.
Gasping for breath, Abigail scrambled for the flashlight, quickly shining it in the direction the creature went but all she saw was the cave wall. A few tense seconds passed and then…nothing happened. Assuming the creature fled from the light and she was as safe as she could be for the moment, she groaned and flopped onto her back again.
“I hate this day. Screw this day in particular!” she said to no one.
It took a minute for her racing heart to slow down and even longer for her to haul herself up. When she finally got her bearings, she took stock of her surroundings. All she could tell was that she was in a dark and surprisingly dry cave.
There was a tunnel leading away from where she was pulled, which was where she assumed the creature ran. When she looked up to where she came from, she indeed saw the water of the swamp covering the hole. But the only thing that was wet was where she fell.
Having no choice, she squared her shoulders, said another prayer to the ancestors, and began to walk.
What struck her most about the cave was how big it was. Granted, Abigail wasn’t particularly tall but she didn’t even need to hunch or stoop to avoid the ceiling. Thankfully, the size was big enough so that she wouldn’t feel claustrophobic.
To her surprise, the more she walked, the wider the tunnel became, begging the question: what the hell was this tunnel doing under a swamp and how long had it been there? WAS she even there anymore? For all she knew, she could be in a different realm or plane.
As she walked, Abigail didn’t see her attacker or even any signs that she wasn’t alone. Not footprints, no claw marks, nothing.
All that changed about a minute later when her ears picked up some kind of noise in the distance. She strained to hear and as she kept walking, cold realization washed over her like ice water as she recognized the sound: singing.
It was still a ways off but it did not bode well.
Nope, don’t like this at all, she thought to herself.
Abigail came to a stop when she found a fork in the tunnel. Down one end, she could hear the singing a little clearer, though not enough to make out words. However, the other tunnel caught her attention. As she shined her light along the walls, she saw where the rocky, earthy cave suddenly transitioned into smooth stone. She ran her hand along it, realizing at once that it was man-made. It had to be.
Not sure which way to go, she bit her lip and looked between the tunnels.
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