Chapter 9

The Dungeon

Reid carefully entered the infamous dungeon where it all began. He still couldn’t fathom how large the entrance was compared to his size…a puny size to those monsters even the possible smallest ones. He had to constantly remind himself that he should never overestimate or underestimate his or the monsters’ abilities. He felt his guts were quivering and yelling at him that he might regret it if he wasn’t careful pr tactful enough. He had yet to take his flashlight but even without it, Reid felt…the various volume and texture of the ground. One step it was smooth, the second it was rocky, but the steps that he hated the most was the obvious crunch of the bones of the human and the slimy squish of…who knows if it was the monster or human remains. Thankfully he was wearing thick shoes so he wouldn’t feel how disgusting it was. Even with his shoes on he could indirectly feel the gush and moist teasing the sole of his foot. 

“Guess that it’s a good thing I can’t really see the floor. It would make my stomach tingle further seeing even more organs splattered…who knows if there would be a head or two.” Reid grimaced at the idea of seeing crushed internals. He wasn’t so fond of joining the new group of mush, so he surely had to calculate every movement whether it was his light footsteps or direction of his flashlight.

“I hope I don’t jinx myself…that’s the last thing I need but I do have to consider all options.” Reid thought to himself as he entered in further. 

Of course, he was prepared with a flashlight. What idiot would come this far into a dark cave possibly filled with threat…to not bring a flashlight? It was a death wish…it was a death wish to even come here but Reid had to remind himself that he had every reason to approach. He took the flashlight out from his pocket and switched it on, holding it firmly in front on him with his gun. 

“I feel like some person would casually say hello when entering but would the monster say hello back or bite back?” Reid internally chuckled. “Right, I need to be serious about this…” 

Although a little humor would help this anxious tense situation.

At first sight, the cave seemed like a normal abandoned cave by some ancestors or a previous group of architectures looking for some treasures. It would be nice if there were treasure instead of vicious creatures disrupting their peace and lives. He looked around from the walls to the little corners and possible tracks for any signs of life again. He still couldn’t be sure if there were any monsters who still passes through his dungeon. 

“I’m not sure if passing through or lurking is worse…I hope it’s not as often. Maybe I should have set up a camera or something to monitor this place for a week or a month to be extra careful. Why didn’t I think of that…I am losing more and more of my braincells each day?”  

Reid was considering that option now if he had to return to this place or any other locations where the monsters lurk. Or perhaps he could set up a department that focuses on the monster’s behaviors. The authorities could continue their physical scientific research and experiments while his little private department could find more information. Maybe, not what they eat since that was a brainless question with a brainless answer. Perhaps they could find out its sleeping patterns, growth rate…how they reproduce if the monsters are even capable of it. Every single information is vital. Who know if they could even be capable of predicting their next attack. Sure, for now it seems at random but there should be a sign, a pattern that no one is paying attention too. All these constantly filled his thoughts while he went deeper in the cave. Reid constantly glanced back as the entrance became further and further. 

“Now I wished that there were some ropes but, no, no that’s a bad idea. If a monster came by and tug that rope, I would be done for.”

On the bright side of this doom, he was still amusing himself with his little internal conversations so he wouldn’t end up easily sacrificing himself for nothing. Again, just in case…if things go that bad. Speaking of conversations, he took out his Dictaphone to record. At least this way there is a decent reason for him to have these mindless yet useful conversations that his future self could refer to when a similar situation occur. 

“Alright…I’m inside the cave. It’s as humongous as what you’d think…maybe even more. I feel like someone could build two or three hidden mansions in this if only it wasn’t littered with corpses and bones.” Reid took a little pause to re-examine his surroundings. So far, he heard nothing alive…seen nothing alive yet so it should be a good sign that he can continue. “As I was saying, if I or anyone who listens to this have the need to come here whether it was research or a hunt or whatever, please, please come with a mask and I’m taking about a thick mask or it a few layers if you must because I can guarantee that the second you step in here, you’d be puking not from the sight but the foul smell that resembles rotten eggs…feces mixed with cheap perfume. My apologies if any ladies who loves cheap perfume is listening to this.” 

Reid paused the Dictaphone for a bit. He wanted to sigh but as he said…the smell was foul and as thick as his mask was, he could nearly taste the decaying corpses and organs. He needs to have a thorough wash on his clothes and shoes after this. He continued walking in, seeing no change of the scenery that was filled with death and despair made him conserve some pictures. He wished he could count the number of…humans who died but it was practically impossible. He wasn’t sure what the pictures would be of use, but he might as well. 

With the pictures taken, Reid stored them in his side pocket safely. But while doing so, the whole environment constantly reminded him about the night…the very first night. With that thought in mind, Reid pulled the Dictaphone close to him again.  

“This…it made me wonder of a similar situation of where it all begins. The first night they appeared and till this day, I have no idea why they made their move. I guess if someone intentionally provoked them, I understand their frustrations but there’s no need to tease and demolish humanity for that. I would get annoyed too if someone were to disturb my deep slumber. But…what if someone didn’t provoke them? What if it was accidental since that first person was hiking or so? What if for the past few years, before the first attack…they were preparing themselves for that very day. Especially their leader. Why? I would be open to suggesting a conversation but at this state I doubt that was even 0.01% possible.” Reid paused once again. It was a lengthy thought for him. 

Before he continued again, Reid check through his weapon to make sure it will work. While he was checking through his gun was when he made a minor…or major? Realization. Since the ground was covered in mush, dead bodies, and organs…it was nearly impossible to determine a footprint. Maybe he could determine a monster’s but… wouldn’t that print just be like every corner and surface he sees and feel? Reid flicked his flashlight towards a few other surfaces of the ground, and nothing indicated any change. Even the path he went by left no sign of him ever entering. It looked as if he jumped there or slide there. 

“Great…just what I needed…” Reid mumbled and shook his head. He knew there may be a chance that he would be lost once he reached deeper into the cave. He needed another way of leaving tracks so ropes and the footprints is out of the question. Reid glanced around, shining his flashlight around the walls of the cave for a next option. So far…the walls seemed untouched other than the speckles of blood and possibly some grime or whatever that was that he shouldn’t make direct contact with his skin. 

“Hmm…maybe I can make a marking on the wall. Something obvious enough for me but subtle enough for the monster in case they can read. Now that’s another mystery to find out. I won’t be surprised if they were smart.” Reid took out a knife and carved an ‘XR’ on the wall, ensuring that it was deep enough for him to feel if he had to travel in the blinded dark by chance like losing his flashlight or if the batteries run out.

“Okay let’s not further jinx me…” He mumbled and continued the cave. Taking snapshots, attempting to identify how old was the decay and trying to not puke at each site and smell. At this point he’d rather if the ground were just bones. Well, it was better if there were none but that would be a dream at this point. 

“Alright, alright focus.” Reid shook his head and prevented slapping himself since he didn’t want his gloved hands touching his face despite wearing his mask. At the same time, he wouldn’t deny that he was feeling a little…or more like very warm in this cave. But the risk of being exposed to the toxins and possibly being monster food were far too high to relax.

“Hopefully after this I can gather a team, better team or so. A fair team. Because doing this solo is surely exhausting. Even if I brought a snack, I doubt I can consume it without coming home with a massive stomachache followed by a whole series of puking my guts out.” Reid mumbled, feeling that he was being a little too comfortable here, but it was for the sake of his sanity. Before he went into another self-distraction, Reid glanced back to the entrance and seeing it as a small circle now. There were no blockage or vibration from the ground or even low rumbling so that meant he was safe from any humongous presence. At least for now.  He decided to give himself a limit of an hour and observe how far he could venture in. If he had yet to find anything, he would probably find a safe hotel to sanitize and rest before coming in earlier the day after. 

It was quite the long exterior of a cave before finally there were some structures that resembles a dungeon. Through the light of his flashlight, Reid saw what resembles torchwoods of different sizes. Some were the ones that he could probably hold, and others were no doubt far too heavy for him to even push it let alone lift it from its holder. He snapped a quick photo before mumbling to himself again.

“If, if those are there…does that means some of them can breathe fire or is that placed by humans…whatever it is, we can find out later but that’s a thing, I guess.” He shone his flashlight to another direction and now within his sight were a few…entrances? And some large rocks which he assumes were the beds of the previous monsters. Or so to him it looks like one. Either a bed or somewhere where they would torture and kill their prey before feasting a bit then dumping into the pile of mush he walked on. 

Reid walked ahead as lightly as he could. Since there were a few more entrances, he couldn’t make wild guesses if there were remaining monsters inside. If there were, firstly he had to hide behind some of the staggered rocks and hope that they were unmovable. He surely didn’t like the idea of being squished by one or caught by the monster. If all else fails which meant that he was caught, then he would have used his weapons to divert or blind it before making his run out of the cave and pray he would survive to continue his private agency. 

“Alright, new observation and findings.” Reid started talking again on his Dictaphone. “I’m deeper than before in this cave and I’ve come across a few entrances, I can’t verify exactly how many there were but…there are entrances of different sizes. What’s the depth of it? I can’t be sure. Perhaps I’ll enter one and label it so the next time I enter or if someone else needs to, we would have a slightly better expectation of what’s inside or what was inside.”  

Once he placed the Dictaphone aside to provide him full use of both hands to attack and shine the flashlight, Reid carefully stepped forward to the closer entrance. It was no bigger than possibly a metro’s tunnel, but it was a good sign to warn him that a monster that big will be able to pass through, but it should be easier for him to tackle or distract it compared to a larger sized monster.

“Okay creatures, let’s see what all of you are hiding.”

Reid shone the flashlight towards the entrance. Not seeing much other than a few scratches on the walls possibly by the monster’s claws and some splattered blood as expected. There were mess of dirt or soil on the ground, or so that was what he managed to make out of it. Almost as if it was sort of a nesting ground. Now that made him wonder if these creatures reproduce as mammals or through eggs. While placing a hold on that thought, Reid brought out his knife once again and marked out a number one at the entrance of the cave before continuing in.

“There we go. It should be enough and common sense to others that this is the first I explored…or so if they listened throughout. Maybe I’ll note it better at home so if they don’t want to listen to it, they can instead read it.”

As he went in further, Reid avoided stepping on the makeshift nests to not leave obvious signs that he was here. Since he was already examining, he crouched to take a closer look and snap some pictures. 

“Of course, we can’t expect these creatures to be that neat…It’s a miracle if one was or if one can even be friendly. And at least it didn’t smell as bad as the main entrance. It’s still a…dirt kind of scent mixed with like garlic and of course blood. Perhaps some time with us thought them to season their food.” Reid reached his gloved hand out to the dirt to gently press on it. The surface was dried but underneath still had some mushy texture. Noticing how most around him were still similar, he stood up and continued walking in.

As he walked, no matter how light he tried to be despite wearing a heavy equipment, he couldn’t escape the silently loud squishy sounds coming out from the sole of his shoes. It was better the dirt than the overly ripened organs. Again, the humidity was engulfing him, making Reid convince himself that he made it that far, but this would be the final tunnel he would explore in this dungeon despite merely being the first one. He could tackle the largest entrances and spaces when he’s better familiarized with the place after confirming that indeed no monsters would come here for a period. 

Reid felt the walls as he walked and shone the light further ahead. He noticed how there was a sort of gap. That meant that his leads to a bigger dungeon. Now that reminded him of an ant nest or something like that. Probably these monsters resemble the gigantic version of them. He crouched down and entered the larger space. This time its interior seems like a circle with of course, a variety of new entrances with different sizes.

“Looks like a meeting point, I guess. Do they even meet and discuss with each other?”  Reid muttered and ventured in deeper.

The ceiling of this dungeon was now higher like the main entrance where Reid wouldn’t be able to dream of reaching it. It’s not like there were any reasons for him to. He shone his flashlight upwards to the ceiling to see if there were any damages like the walls. He wasn’t wrong about assuming it would be similar, but the ceiling was…less smooth. It was as if the monster rammed their heads in. The levels were or seemed uneven to him. He had to be careful where his next paths would be because there were some…structures that may instantly kill him when a rumble happened or if it simply decided to fall and treat his soul to dinner from his organs. 

“Right…I should try to hear out if there’s any subtle noises. I haven’t tried that out yet since it might be dangerous, but I could use some of these rocks around to hide. Just for a minute or two shouldn’t…shouldn’t be too risky I guess.” Of course, it took him awhile to fully convince himself to pursue it. He wouldn’t deny that he was afraid because who knew if there were a monster watching him from the start. But from the echoes in the cave, he should be able to hear it. However, this was still their territory so he wouldn’t be surprised if they had their ways to hide their presence from him. That should be another note he can keep aside for his future team and research.

At last, after a few internal debates with himself, Reid decided to move closer to the walls and stay behind a rock just for as much safety as he could on what he was about to do next. He switched off his flashlight and closed his eyes and held his breath, listening to the dungeon and what sounds it might produce. 

Drip…drip…drip…

Followed by a loud suffocating silence.

What Reid wasn’t expecting was another sound that caused him to jolt and hold his breath again to prevent notifying his presence. It was sounds of rustles on the ground, as if the dirt underneath it was being kicked. There were almost faint breathing and that reminded him that he needed some air too. Reid carefully released his breath and opened his eyes. His heart was clenching tightly that he was expecting a monster snarling above him. Thankfully, the dark ceiling darkly greeted him. He internally sighed in relief knowing that there weren’t any monsters around…not yet at least. The sounds gradually became louder the more he focused his hearing on it.

“So, what was that sound? It…sounded like footsteps? Is there someone here? If there was someone here, wouldn’t they have known my presence? Unless they were doing something suspicious which I can’t blame them for hiding then.”

Reid decided to leave his flashlight off to not attract sudden attention. If it was a human, then it would be a relief no matter the intention but if it was a monster, he would need to escape as quietly as possible. He crouched carefully and moved away from the rock. This time he had to make his footsteps as light as possible, hoping his eyes would quickly adjust to the darkness. At the same time, he used his left gloved hand to feel the wall so he wouldn’t be vulnerable in the open in the dungeon while his right gloved hand gripped his gun tighter, his finger wrapped around the trigger of the gun. His heart was racing but his nerves were more than ready to squeeze it at a moment’s notice if whatever that was making the sound was a threat to him.

Since Reid was in the disadvantage of sight, the wall was helping, and he felt a bend in the path through the walls. He stopped for a second and sucked in a breath when he heard the rustling footsteps again. It was louder but eventually became soften and Reid had to quicken his speed to not lose it but not get too close to it. He moved his right foot forward then stopped, hearing the sound closer then fading so he followed with his left foot forward and repeating as slowly as possible. His chest was heaving at every step that he sword his hear was demanding him to let it out and breathe despite his extreme efforts to try his best to control his breath that caused from the anxiousness he felt. He leaned against the wall and pressed a finger at the barrel of his gun, once again double checking that it was well loaded and ready to use. He also ensured that his Dictaphone and other device wouldn’t randomly go off and for his other weapons to be at its place where it accessible for him to reach and use on the spot.

“As much as I want to learn and use the monster for the greater good of humanity…I sure hope it is a human…who know if it was someone trapped in here and they may have valuable information. Of course, I would need to get them treated and checked before I interrogate them…I’m not cruel. They deserve every chance to live and continue a normal life.” 

Reid came with other intentions, but it was easy to switch them if there was someone indeed. He did swear that his agency would be better than others…it was the best way to success and that is to ensure that everyone and everything is valuable and to be cared for…well the cared for is for humans of course. While he was still following the footsteps, Reid was also controlling how his body was shivering in anxiousness but quickly filled his brain with either someone who might be injured or an easier monster to tackle down. If it was any other option that he had yet to list…that meant he would have to rely on his smarts to think and move as fast as he could out of the place. At least till he could toss his recordings somewhere accessible for someone. He never knew when someone would make good use of the recordings and finally put an end to this…humanity extinction. He hoped that there would be a time when they can in turn, tease and get rid of the monsters for invading their peace. 

He even prevented licking his lips in case of the muck that might be staining his mask or even brush his hand through his hair. His hair was exposed enough to the toxicity from the corpses, so he didn’t need to make things worse and ended up incapable of such missions due to a sudden virus or something. He needs to focus. However, he felt like he needed something to ease him but how could he think about these things at this time. 

“I’m surely going to need something to ease me back home…or in the hotel. Some food and a drink.”

Despite his slight distraction, Reid was still listening to the footsteps till it finally reached to a stop and that’s when Reid halted his movements as well. He swallowed an invisible ball of air down his throat, breathing in deep slowly then breathing out as silently as he could.

“Alright…alright, alright here we go. It’s now or nothing…”

Reid was trying his absolute hardest to prevent his breath from becoming audible. He didn’t even dare to blink in fear of a monster suddenly pouncing and biting off his head. Reid side eyed towards the bend where the footsteps stopped, forcing his body to remain still and not shiver in case he had to shoot and he sure didn’t want to waste a bullet by missing his target, especially if it was a threat. Finally, Reid carefully counted to three silently in his head.

“1…2…3!”

He swiftly turned to the corn and aimed his gun directly at what he has been chasing.