BIRDSONG

There’s an unwelcome chill in the air. The black stone tile is cold against your bare feet, but you’re too overcome with fear to move them. Before you stands… it. The gaunt form of the spirit that has been haunting you for years now, lily white skin and stringy hair, all wrapped in rose and silver. You hate looking at it. You hate it.

It doesn’t move, it just stands there staring you down. You can’t see it’s eyes, they’re lost in the shadows of it’s bony face, but you can tell it’s staring right at you. It’s so close to you now, is it getting closer?

Wordlessly, it speaks to you.

ταῦτά ͘σοι ͢πάντ́α͏̕͡ ̶̧̛δ̛̕ώ͘͢͡σ̴̢͞ω͞͞͞

It’s mouth doesn’t move, but you hear it all the same. You need to get out of here.

You muster all of your strength to run away, turning your back on the body before you and taking off in a full sprint into the darkness.

The floor changes, what once was smooth marble was now rough stone, scraping the soles of your feet. Your arms brush against the cavern walls, and the ceiling lowers to inches above your head, keeping you on your linear escape path.

You keep running.

You can hear the sound of rushing water behind you as the cavern tightens even more. There is no point of rest now.

You keep running.

You can feel the hot spray splashing against your bare back, the rock walls are now cutting into you, grinding your skin against the icy stone.

You keep running.

The voice calls out again, cutting clearly through the crashing waves.

ταῦτά ͘σοι ͢πάντ́α͏̕͡ ̶̧̛δ̛̕ώ͘͢͡σ̴̢͞ω͞͞͞

The tunnel starts to rise, what once was a straight level path has now shifted into a steep incline, resorting to crawling on all fours to scramble upwards, breaking your fingernails against the rock.

The water doesn’t stop, lapping harshly at your feet. It’s boiling.

The cave becomes almost completely vertical as you climb. Your attention is now focused directly upwards, and above you, a light! A soft, warm light. Freedom-- from this--!

You hoist yourself up the crevasse, upper body doing all the work now. Achingly, you stretch upwards, straining with every move in this claustrophobic passage as the crags grind against your skin. You can’t tell whether it’s sweat or blood that’s running down your back.
 
You’re getting so close, the light is getting brighter and warmer and you can smell the fresh air.
You put everything you have into it, you’re gonna make it out! You swear that you can hear birdsong--!

But then your hand slips. And your heart sinks. You drop into the boiling water, it sears your skin and you wretch out a scream in agony, letting the water fill your lungs and burn you from the inside. A pair of thin arms grabs hold of you and pulls you under. You try to grab onto something but the walls have vanished into the water. You were so close. The light above you fades as your senses are snuffed out by the water. Blackness.

Drenched in your own sweat, you sit bolt upright in the dark and tear your damp shirt off. You can barely breathe , just short, shallow breaths as you cough your throat raw. You lurch to the side to try and stand, but are quickly held still by a pair of strong arms wrapping around you. Gasping, you squirm and pull away but they don’t give. A hand gently rubs your back as you collapse forward into the soft fur of the figure holding you. It’s Chrome.
He holds you tightly and gently mutters his reassurances.

“It’s okay chick, you’re okay.”

Gradually, Your breathing slows and your heart stops pounding. You bury your face in his neck as tears leak from your eyes, letting out a pathetic mewl that doesn’t even register as speech. You stay like this for who knows how long. You’re safe now, you’re safe.

Finally, your body stops shaking, and you pull your head from his neck, catching a glimpse of your bedroom window. Through blurry eyes you see a few streaks of pink light.

It’s nearly morning.