She Stepped Back

By Bashfulglowfly

Shimizu Nanako stood at the entrance of the Artic cave that she'd been searching for.

The steam from her rapid breathing floated away in the gentle breeze while the frozen air seared her lungs.

She couldn't bring herself to step inside.

I'm terrified to go in there.

It wasn't because she'd left the rest of her team sleeping in their tents while she woke at dawn to explore the cave on her own without distractions. She explored caves on her own before.

But this one. It made her blood run cold.

She could hear this voice screaming at her to not go away. Run away. Run. Run. Run.

This cave frightens me!

She looked into the cave and in the depths, darkness seemed to…move.

Nanako took one step back. Then another.

Then she stopped.

A tear ran down her face and froze before it reached her chin. Why? Why am I stopping?!

Her hands rose and began making arcane gestures while a chant fell from her lips. She didn't recognize the words but the screaming in her head stopped.

Terror gripped her heart when she realized that the darkness really was moving, and it was moving towards her.

Suddenly four lights sprang from the depths of the cave.

The darkness lunged. Nanako could feel its rage.

The chant fell quicker from her lips and her hands moved faster.

The lights darted towards her and emerged from the cavern and flew into the sky and swiftly left her view.

She clenched her fists and with a final shout, yanked her arms to her sides.

The entrance of the cave collapsed in a thundering roar of dirt and stone sealing the darkness within.

Nanako collapsed to her knees and wept.