Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 38
Ethan’s expression shifted slightly, and it wasn’t just that. The ground felt sticky and slick underfoot, like treading on some kind of slime.
The surroundings had clearly transformed dramatically, though he couldn’t make out the details.
Suddenly, he recalled the space made of flesh described in Mrs. Bennett’s handbook.
Maybe this was it.
If so, it meant he was edging closer to the heart of the truth.
Yet instead of triumph, he ramped up his caution even more.
Step.
Step.
Step.
In the eerie passage, only his footsteps echoed, with nothing but that intense light ahead as a reference point.
He couldn’t even tell if the glow marked a safe destination or a trap lying in wait.
The deeper the darkness, the sharper his other senses grew.
But the rotting stench overwhelmed his sense of smell, leaving his hearing heightened in compensation.
He picked up faint squirming from the walls, like countless tiny insects scurrying about.
Beyond that, his own steps rang out unnaturally clear, each one reverberating through the empty corridor and pounding in his chest.
He tried lightening his tread, but the sound clung stubbornly, impossible to shake.
Something’s off.
Ethan drew a deep breath, steadying his nerves against the rising tension.
This wasn’t purely his footsteps; odd noises mixed in, syncing perfectly with his rhythm to mask their presence.
To test it, he slowed deliberately.
In that instant, a distinct “squish” reached his ears.
It came from all directions, not just one.
His face drained of color as he realized the hunters weren’t solitary, but a pack.
What now? Keeping this pace would only hand them the perfect moment to strike, leaving him no chance to flee.
The light ahead swelled, as if the exit neared.
Should he risk it?
After a brief pause, Ethan steeled himself. He had to go all in.
His instincts warned that the lurkers in the shadows were closing in.
With a sharp inhale, he burst into a frantic sprint.
His dash triggered a horrifying spectacle right before his eyes.
As he ran, the surrounding darkness receded like a tide, replaced by a swarm of one-eyed monsters blanketing everything.
These creatures, the ones that knocked at doors by night and slain rule-breakers, hid here during the day.
He also understood the passage’s unnatural blackness: a trait of these monsters, shrouding their vicinity in shadow.
But movement broke the effect, letting light return.
With visibility restored, Ethan took in the scene.
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