So, if you follow me on twitter you know that I feel I’ve written myself into quite the hole by killing James. I’ve been trying to write part twenty-two but it just isn’t coming easily right now.

Well, this morning as I was looking at Twitter, my good friend Mark (@AstragaliUSA), sent me a message saying that he’d had a try at writing part twenty-two. I was amazed when I read it. I told him that I’d like to use it and he said that it was no problem. So without further ado, here is part twenty-two by Mark. Thank you so much!

Part Twenty-Two

“And then there were two,” The Creator chuckled. 

The sound of The Creator’s laughter grated on my nerves, and I’m ashamed to say I lost my self-control. “Screw you!” I yelled to the air around me, startling Erin with the sheer vehemence of my outburst. “Why do you get off on seeing people die?” 

The Creator’s chuckling stopped, but there was still a smugly amused note in his voice. “It’s all part of the experience, Steve. Challenging people, measuring them up to my intellect.” 

“Doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time,” I replied angrily. 

“Of course not,” The Creator said, airily. “You have – sorry, had – to deal with everyday, mundane hardships. Where your next meal would come from. How to get through the day without dying of boredom, perhaps. I have no need for such paltry considerations, and so I choose to see how well my… guests deal with more pressing issues.” Our tormentor took on a businesslike tone. “Now, you two still have a long way to go, so you really ought to be getting a move on. Unless, that is, you need a little… inducement?” 

“Where do you put the bodies?” I asked. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Where do you put the bodies?” I repeated, my voice raising in volume again. “Cory, James, the hundreds of others you’ve dropped into your little slice of Hell – where do you put them?Do you give them some sort of decent burial, or do you just leave them here in the corridors to rot?” 

“What do you care?” The Creator responded. “It’s not even as if you liked James.” 

“That’s true – but I wouldn’t wish death on even my most hated enemy.” 

“Oh, well, since you insist,” The Creator answered. “I leave them to rot, naturally. Well, those who don’t fall into a lava pit, or become consumed by my spiders, or otherwise dealt with by my creations. They serve as a warning to those who follow. And there’ll be plenty of them; I have all the time in the world.” 

“Steve, what are you doing?” Erin hissed. I ignored her. 

“You pulled me from another world. Weren’t there any more people left in this world for you to torture?” Erin’s eyes grew wide at the possible implication of what I’d just said, but I didn’t continue on that thread. I got to my feet, instead, and pressed The Creator harder. “Are you The Creator of everything in the universe, or just this world? You know, for that matter, I’m not even sure that you were the one who made this world in the first place!” 

I paused, to see if I’d managed to goad The Creator into a response, if not an explanation. When he didn’t answer, I filled the silence. “I get the feeling that you’re being punished, just as much as your victims. You’re not the only Creator in this universe – if Creator you actually are – and I think you’ve been exiled here by… I don’t know, some sort of higher power, or organization, or something. Maybe the Powers That Be can’t destroy you, but they can hold you here, indefinitely.” 

My speculation was ridiculously wild, but what the hell. “But you’re getting stronger: you weren’t able to take people from other worlds before, but you can now. I think you’ve been set a challenge of your own: if someone gets through your challenges – just one person – you’ll be freed. And of course, you can’t make it easy for them, because you’re being watched. Judged. By beings who are more powerful than you.” 

When The Creator finally responded, his voice was filled with rage. “I. AM. OMNIPOTENT!” he roared. The ground began to shake, but I stood my ground as well as I could, even when Erin grabbed hold of me and screamed, “What have you done?” 

Suddenly, the corridor tilted sharply under our feet, and Erin and I were sent sprawling, then sliding, towards the next room.

I am sorry this took so long to come out. I decided I wanted to try and rewrite this part. However, after eight times writing this part, I figured it would be better to just post the original. That and, the original was the best incarnation. I hope you enjoy!

Part Twenty-One

I did as Erin said, and began backing away. Suddenly, it started sizzling and exploded. The three of us were blown backward by the explosion.

Everything was blurry. I laid there for a moment and waited for my eyes to focus. As they did, Erin came into view.

“Are you alright, Steve?” she asked anxiously, shaking me slightly.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” I said, sitting up and looking back toward the bridge. “What the hell happened?”

“It was a creeper. Once they get close enough to you, they explode. What is wrong with you, man?” James asked.

I sighed, exasperated. “I’m not from this world, remember?” I got back to my feet and walked forward a few steps. “We have to make a run for it. It’s our only option.”

“What happened to not rushing into things?” James asked, surprised by me wanting to do exactly what I’d accused him of doing.

“I was wrong this time. Are you going to be okay running across the bridge?” I asked him.

James laughed. “Believe me, I’ve had worse injuries.”

I shook my head and smiled slightly, then turned to Erin. “You ready?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hurry.”

Almost immediately, the three of us broke into a run. It wasn’t long before the bridge started retracting. I could make out the shape of a creeper in front of us. I pulled out my sword and gave it a passing blow to its side, knocking it off the bridge.

I could finally see the other side. Another passageway awaited us. We were almost there… Almost safe. Suddenly, from behind us, we heard a sizzling sound. There was no time to react. The creeper exploded, launching the three of us forward, closer to the new passageway.

I struggled to get back onto my feet. We had landed right in front of the tunnel leading out of this room. I looked around, and saw Erin and James laying a couple of meters from me. Erin looked relatively unscathed, but James… He was badly hurt.

I ran over to both of them and, pulled them into what – I hoped – was the safety of the tunnel. As I got through, the entrance sealed itself. At least the creepers wouldn’t be able to get to us.

I quickly turned my attention back to Erin and James. Erin was sitting up now, looking at James. Her expression was filled with sadness. “I don’t know if he’s going to make it, Steve.”

“Steve… I don’t…” James said, followed by a fit of coughing.

I walked over and knelt down by James. “Hey! You’re not dying on me now! You got that?” I urged. “Come on! Show me that stubbornness of yours!”

James laughed lightheartedly. “Sorry, man. I don’t think… I don’t think that will cut it this time,” he said.

Tears began falling from Erin’s eyes. “I can’t watch this,” she said, standing up and walking a short distance away.

“Damn it, James. I didn’t like you that much, but I didn’t want this. I never wanted this,” I said.

“Hey, look at this way: I didn’t like you that much either…” he laughed, then his expression became serious. “You two… You have to make it out… Do it. Show… The Creator… that he can’t win.”

“We will, James. I promise,” I answered, softly.

And with his last breath, James whispered, “Kick some ass for me, Steve.”

Here is part twenty guys! Enjoy!

Part Twenty

Cory’s chest proved useful to us. Either Cory had done a lot of work, or he was given a bigger advantage. Whichever it was, I didn’t care. I was focused now. I wanted to get to the end of this stupid cavern. I wanted this over 

with.

There had been a backpack inside the chest, which we were able to stuff with quite a few things.

“Got everything packed, James?” I said, hoisting the backpack onto my back, and wincing with pain when the strap rested down onto my shoulder.

“Yup. Torches, a couple extra swords, some bread, and a pickaxe and shovel. We’re set,” James said.

“I wish you’d let me carry that, Steve. Your shoulder isn’t going to heal with all that weight on it,” Erin said.

“I’m fine. Let’s go. There’s a tunnel over here,” I said, walking to the cave wall to the east.

“You’re all doing well. Very few people have made it as far as you three,” The Creator said as we entered the tunnel.

The tunnel was well-lit. There was nothing that stood out to me, so I decided it was better if I focused on what was coming up in the next cavern.

“Just let us know what we’re going to be facing,” I said.

“You will see for yourself soon enough,” The Creator said.

“Fine,” I said.

After a few minutes of walking, we came to another cavern. This one had a bridge running through the center of it. It looked like the bridge was suspended over a massive void. “Okay. It’s a bridge. What’s so hard about that?” James asked.

“It’s not that simple, James. We both know that,” I said, stopping him from walking forward.

I knelt down and looked where the bridge connected with the rock of the cave. There was a thin line of empty space between the rock wall and the bridge. “The bridge is going to start moving when we get onto it,” I said, standing back up.

“So, what? We run for the other side,” James said.

“Look out there, James. We can only see about five meters in front of us. Who knows what’s going to be waiting for us out there in the middle of the bridge?” I said.

“Calm down, Steve. We just need to take it slow until the bridge starts moving. I assume its going to retract,” Erin said, trying to comfort me.

“I’m sick of being calm. I’m sick of James’ stupidity. I’m sick of The Creator’s mind games, and I hate it when I can’t trust people,” I said, my tone rising.

Erin looked down at the ground, and James looked back out into the blackness in front of us. Part of me didn’t care that I had offended them. The part that did care, however, won the battle.

“Look… I’m sorry. Please understand: being told I won’t be able to go back home is a hard pill to swallow. Finding out what I found out about you, Erin, has made trusting you hard. And James… You just need to hold off and not rush into everything. You can’t do that here,” I said.

“What about me?” The Creator said, snidely.

“I don’t care if I offended you. You deserve it,” I said.

“Uh… Steve?” James said.

I turned to James, and saw him looking down the bridge. I followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. It was a bright green creature, whose eyes and mouth were black voids. Its eyes and mouth made it look sad. It walked slowly toward us.

“What is it?” I asked.

James and Erin began backing away. “It’s a creeper. I suggest you move back, right now,” Erin said.

Here’s Part Nineteen guys! Enjoy!

Part Nineteen

“Shut up, you evil bastard!” Erin shouted, then turned to me. “He’s lying. I hope you know that.”

“Murder?” I asked, turning to Erin.

“No! It’s not like that at all!” Erin said.

“Tell him the truth. Tell Steve how you gutted your own father and left him to die,” The Creator said, his tone becoming angry.

Erin looked at me desperately. “Steve, I did kill my father, but it wasn’t how The Creator makes it sound,” she said, a few tears falling down her cheeks.

“So tell me. I’m waiting,” I said.

“I came home from doing some work in the wheat fields, and saw my mother lying in the doorway of our house. When I reached her, I saw that she was dead. I ran inside the house, just in time to see my father finish strangling my sister,” Erin said, wiping tears from her eyes.

“When I saw that, it was like I couldn’t control my actions. I grabbed my father’s sword off the wall, ran at him, and stabbed him in the gut. He tried to grab me, so I twisted the sword hard, and pulled,” Erin said, shaking her head and turning away. “I’m sure you understand the rest.”

“You see? She admits to murdering her father,” The Creator said.

“That doesn’t sound like murder to me. She stopped the murderer – her father,” I said.

Erin turned back around and looked at me. “Steve…”

“No. I know what you are going to say. Don’t. This has been confusing for me,” I said, walking over to James and nudging him with my foot.

James groaned. “What?”

“Get up. We need to get things sorted out here,” I said, walking back to the workbench.

“What? You moved past that realization just like that?” The Creator said.

“That isn’t my prime concern right now. Erin isn’t a murderer, so I feel okay with her being around,” I said.

“Thank you, Steve,” Erin said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“No,” I said, shrugging her hand off. “I said I feel okay with you being around. That doesn’t mean I’m not upset,” I said, looking down at the workbench.

“Uh… Did I miss something?” James asked, limping over to the workbench.

“Nothing important,” I said. “Put together some supplies that we can take through the cavern with us. There was a lot of stuff in Cory’s chest. I’m going to look and see what all is there.”

“Alright…” James said.

I walked over to the chest and looked inside, except I wasn’t really looking for anything. I just needed a moment. I needed to think. What Erin had just told me was a lot to take in. Even though we had only known each other for a matter of hours, I felt close to her. I trusted her, but… I wasn’t so sure now.

“Something troubling you, Steve?” The Creator asked.

“Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you,” I said.

“Oh, it’s okay to talk to me. The others can’t hear me right now. What’s on your mind? Anger? Hate? Distrust?” The Creator asked.

“My god, you sound like a psychiatrist. I’m fine. Can’t go annoy someone else for a while? I’m sure there are other places you’d rather be,” I said.

“This cavern represents a lifelong achievement. Thousands of evil people have been put through this cavern. I want to be here for the next part you all will be going through. It will be… a blast,” The Creator said, laughing hysterically.

Tee hee hee. I feel really good about this part. Here is Part Eighteen. Enjoy!

Part Eighteen

“What?” I said, staggering backward slightly.

The Creator gave a sinister laugh. “I pulled you from your universe and into this one.”

“How? Why?” I asked.

“I was becoming bored with the current people in this universe, so I pulled you here. I figured it would be a lot less boring with someone who was not familiar with how to do things,” The Creator said.

“So, you just brought him here because you were bored?” Erin asked.

The Creator laughed again. “Precisely.”

“Will I be able to go back after this is over?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, it is a one-way trip. I have yet to discover how to reverse the process,” The Creator said.

I was starting to feel dizzy. This shouldn’t be possible. To pull someone into a different universe… It wasn’t possible. My legs began to shake, and I dropped to my knees. I was never going to see anyone I knew ever again. I was suddenly nauseated. I tried to fight the urge to throw up, but I couldn’t – it just came.

Erin gasped and knelt down beside me, placing her arm around me. “You’re a monster!” she yelled.

The Creator laughed even harder. He was amused. I knew he was twisted and sick, but to pull me away from everyone I knew and loved… It was wrong.

“I’m going to kill you,” I said, under my breath.

The Creator stopped laughing. “What was that?”

I forced myself up onto my feet, and grabbed the stone sword off the workbench. I held it out and looked around the room. “I am going to kill you. I swear it,” I said.

The Creator began laughing again. “You wouldn’t stand a chance against me. Besides, no one has made it far enough to try.”

“So you are here somewhere,” I said.

“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?” The Creator asked.

“Aren’t you a god or something? I didn’t figure you for actually being in your own deathtrap,” I said.

“I am merely omnipotent. I have powers beyond your comprehension,” The Creator said.

“Well, you’re arrogant enough to be a god,” I said.

“I have no need for arrogance. I made this place with the intent of killing those I felt deserved death. Those who have done evil things. Those… who have murdered. Right, Erin? You grew up with tales of this place, did you not? Why would you commit such a heinous crime?” The Creator said.

I’m sorry there was no part yesterday. Got some real issues going on with certain things. I won’t get into it here. However, I have part seventeen here for your enjoyment. I hope you like it!

Part Seventeen

I opened my eyes and looked around. James was still asleep a few feet away, and Erin was asleep with her head still propped on my shoulder. Sleeping sitting up was not a good idea, especially when you are wearing armor.

I slid slowly away from Erin, so as not to wake her, and stood up. Everything felt stiff, and my shoulder ached from the wound I had taken. I walked over to James and picked up the workbench. I wasn’t sure how to return it to its original size, but we needed to get other things made.

I set the workbench on the ground, and studied it for a moment. The word or name “Notch” was still clearly visible, so I pushed the button inside the “o”. The workbench shuddered, then sprang up and was full-size again. “So weird,” I said.

“Good morning, sunshine,” The Creator said.

The Creator’s sudden talking startled me. “When I find you, I’m going to put a bell on you.”

The Creator laughed. “Believe me, you won’t find me. No matter how hard you look.”

I sighed, walked over to the pile of sticks and logs Cory had made, and took a few of each back to the workbench. “So how does this work?”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you that,” The Creator said, a hint of cheerfulness in his voice.

“Fine. I’ll figure it out,” I said. I noticed that there was a three-by-three grid etched into the wood. Obviously, that was where the items were meant to go, but how would it make an item?

“You’ll need these as well,” came Erin’s voice from behind me.

“I didn’t mean for you to wake up so soon,” I told her, turning to face her. She had some pieces of cobblestone in her arms.

“It’s okay. Your conversation with the Creator woke me. His fault completely,” she said.

“How rude,” the Creator sneered.

“Here, just set those by the workbench. I’m still trying to figure out how it works, but I honestly have no idea,” I said.

“Well, what is the basic shape of a sword?” she asked, placing all but two pieces of the cobblestone on the ground.

“I don’t know. Long and pointy?” I said.

The Creator laughed hysterically.

“No, watch,” she said, placing cobble in the top center and middle of the three-by-three grid. She grabbed a stick and placed it in the bottom center. As if by magic, the items she placed began merging together. The cobblestone flattened out, and the stick looked as if it melted to the bottom of the stone.

My eyes were wide. I had never seen anything like this before. I looked at Erin, who didn’t seem fazed by it one bit. I looked back to the workbench. Laying there on the workbench, in perfect condition, was a stone sword.

“How is that even possible?” I asked.

Erin looked at me, confusion coloring her face. “What do you mean? Have you never used a workbench before?” she asked.

“No. I haven’t. I don’t even know what kind of world I’m in now. It’s like I’m not even in the same universe anymore,” I said.

“That’s because you aren’t, Steve,” The Creator said.

Thank you all so much for your support of me have a day off yesterday. It helped me recharge my brain. I hope you like this part as much you have liked previous parts! Here is part sixteen.

Part Sixteen

“Can’t we just get a break?” I yelled.

“Apparently not,” James said, reaching into the chest, and pulling out the armor. Immediately, he put the armor across his chest and tightened it into place. “Give me the sword, Steve.”

I looked at him hesitantly.

“I promise, I am not going to try to hurt either of you,” James said, holding out his hand.

I groaned slightly, then handed the sword to James. He gave me a cocky smile and ran toward the skeletons. I couldn’t help but notice how easy this seemed for him. He had done things like this before. He took out the skeletons with ease.

James turned and walked back to Erin and I, giving the sword a whirl, and us a grin. I rolled my eyes at him, then looked at Erin. “Where was this attitude when we were with the spiders?” I asked.

Suddenly, James let out a cry of pain. I turned back toward him and saw he was down on his knees, clutching his right arm. There was an arrow sticking out of it.

“James, get up! You can’t sit out in the open like that!” I said.

Another arrow flew out and stuck into his right shoulder. James let out another cry of pain. I rolled my eyes and ran to him. “Come on, James! Get up! Quit being a baby!” I said. He didn’t reply. He just sat there, howling in pain.

“Erin, come get him! Drag him back over to the chest,” I said, removing the armor from James, and taking the sword.

Erin ran over and pushed James over onto his back, grabbed his legs, and, with great effort, pulled him toward the chest.

Once I saw that they were back to safety, I put the armor on, took the sword in my hand, and walked over to the skeletons. Their arrows were easy enough to dodge. Their brains had turned to dust a long time ago, so they were pretty dumb.

I got close to one and swung the sword as fast as I could. The skeleton shuddered, then fell to pieces. I felt a sudden burst of pain in my left shoulder. I looked down and saw an arrow sticking out. The other skeletons had managed to get on either side of me, and were shooting arrows at me.

I ducked and rolled out from between them, my shoulder protesting the entire time. When I looked back at the skeletons, they weren’t focused on me anymore. They had begun circling one another, shooting at each other. I stood up and watched the exchange.

“What are they doing?” Erin asked, confusedly.

“They’re shooting each other,” I said.

One of the skeletons finally got a lucky shot off. The other skeleton dropped to the ground, and was nothing more than a pile of bone now. The last skeleton standing returned its attention to me, firing off an arrow. I managed to block the arrow with my sword, then lunged at the skeleton. My blow hit it so hard, it flew backward and into the cavern wall, bursting into a pile of dust.

I looked around for a moment to make sure there were no more skeletons around. When I was satisfied that it was just the three of us here now, I walked back to Erin and James. “How is he?” I asked, sitting down with my back against the chest.

“He’s sleeping. I managed to bandage him up. There was a little bit of wool in the chest. It’s gone now,” Erin said, looking at the arrow in my shoulder.

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it,” I said.

“I will worry,” Erin said, tearing off her shirt sleeve, and kneeling down in front of me. “This is going to hurt. On the count of three,” she said, wrapping her hand around the arrow.

I closed my eyes tight. “Okay.”

“One,” she said, then yanked the arrow out of my shoulder.

I groaned loudly. “I knew you were going to do that…”

Erin smiled at me, then wrapped her shirt sleeve around my shoulder. “There. Good as new,” she said, sitting down next to me.

“Thanks for bandaging me,” I said.

“You’re welcome. I wasn’t about to let you bleed out and leave me stranded with James,” Erin said, laughing lightly.

“We wouldn’t want that,” I said, laughing as well. I looked over at her and watched her smile fade. “What is it?”

Tears began to form in her eyes. “Are we going to get out of here?”

“Of course we are. I promise you, we are going to make it out,” I said.

Erin smiled slightly, then rested her head on my shoulder. “I believe you.”

I wanted to believe what I told her was true but, deep inside, I wasn’t sure if it actually was.

Apologies for the delay. I took a long nap today and then started getting sidetracked by live streams. Anyway, here is part fifteen!

Part Fifteen

James jerked his head away, and put a hand to his face. When he looked back at me, I saw the crimson line on his cheek. “What the hell?”

“I’m sick of your attitude about that’s everything going on. If you threaten Erin, if you call her a bitch, if you do anything toward her that I don’t like, you can expect a punishment from me,” I said.

James said nothing.

“Do you understand?” I shouted, putting the sword at his throat.

“Yes!” he yelled.

“Good. Now that we have that settled, let’s move on,” I said walking away from James. As I walked away, I surveyed the cavern we were in. The chest was here; that was good. The area actually looked similar to the cavern where I woke up, although more brightly lit. A tree, which Cory must have grown, was laying on the ground in pieces. This confused me, so I walked over to it and took a closer look.

The tree had been chopped down with an ax. Each piece was laid out in a perfect line. The branches looked to have been broken down into individual sticks. “How did Cory know to do all this?” I asked, still confused.

James and Erin walked over to me and looked at the tree, then looked at each other.

“What do you mean?” Erin asked, looking at me now.

“Yeah, don’t you know how to do all of this stuff?” James asked, still holding his cheek.

“No, I don’t. Where the heck are we?” I asked.

James and Erin exchanged looks again, then looked back to me. “What, did you hit your head or something? We are on - “

“Oh no!” Erin gasped, then began looking around frantically.

“What?” I asked, nervously.

“The workbench… I dropped it when the spider started pulling me away!” Erin said, burying her face in her hands and walking off.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out,” I said.

“Actually, we still have it,” James said, pulling the workbench seemingly from nowhere.

Erin ran back over and pulled it from James’ grasp. “Where did you get this? When did you get it?”

“Just as Steve ran off after you, I saw it laying on the ground, and I picked it up. Not something I was about to let us lose,” James said.

“Well, that’s good, I suppose,” I said, walking away from James, to the chest and looked inside. What I saw shocked me. It looked like a piece of armor. A steel chest plate. “Huh…” I said, quizzically.

Erin walked over. “What is it?”

“Why didn’t Cory put this on? It looks like it would stand up to quite a lot of abuse,” I said.

James had walked over, and was looking in the chest as well. He snickered. “He was probably too fat to wear it.”

I shook my head, and reached for the armor. As I was pulling it out, an arrow whizzed past my face. I ducked down in front of the chest. “What the heck was that?” I yelled.

“Oh, no… skeletons!” Erin said.

Hey! If you are an artist and want to send fan art for Cavern of the Damned, I want to see it! Email it to cotdfanart@gmail.com ! I’m really interest in seeing what kind of cover art someone can come up with! So please, send it in. I look forward to seeing it!

And now Part Fourteen.

Part Fourteen

I turned my head, and looked behind us. There were hundreds of spiders in pursuit. It looked hopeless to me.

“Look!” Erin said. “There’s light up ahead!”

I looked forward again. It was the tunnel’s exit. “That isn’t a good thing. They’ll pour into that area and overwhelm us!” I said.

The Creator cackled.

“You know, now really isn’t the time for you to make fun of us!” I shouted impatiently.

“Fine, then. I won’t warn you about the pressure plates up ahead that will detonate dynamite when you run past them,” The Creator said.

“What?” James yelled, incredulously.

“No! That’s a good thing!” Erin said. “It should seal the tunnel!”

We got to the mouth of the tunnel, and stopped. The pressure plates were there, just like the Creator said. “Are you sure about this? How do you know it’s not going to explode immediately and kill us?” James asked.

“I don’t!” Erin said, running over the pressure plates, into the cavern on the other side.

James and I exchanged nervous looks, then ran into the cavern. Five seconds later, there was an explosion and the sound of rocks falling and crashing into one another. The three of us were blown forward with the shock wave.

As the dust cleared, I pushed myself up off the ground and looked back to the tunnel exit. It was completely sealed off. Again we owed Erin our lives.

“Steve!” Erin yelled.

I turned quickly, and saw James holding Erin by the throat. “James! What the hell are you doing?” I said, running over to them, picking up the sword I had dropped along the way.

“This bitch could have killed us! She’s dangerous!” James shouted at me.

“Let her go!” I said, pointing the sword at him.

James’ lip curled upward in anger. There was a moment of hesitation in his eyes, but then he let go of her.

Erin dropped to her knees, holding her neck, and choking and gasping for air. I knelt down next to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded slowly. “Yeah… I just need a minute.”

“Alright,” I said, standing up and walking over to James.

When I got to him, I kicked him behind the knee. He let out a grunt and dropped down to his knees. I walked around in front of him and put the sword on his cheek.

“What are you doing, Steve?” James asked nervously.

“Teaching you a lesson,” I said, pulling the sword quickly across his cheek.

So I am kind of wanting a bit of feedback on this part for some reason. So to those of you that follow me on twitter, @kalen_nighteyes, please tweet me your thoughts. And those of you who do not follow me on twitter, please feel free to leave a comment on this post! Thanks so much!

Here is Part Thirteen!

Part Thirteen

“Erin!” I shouted, running after her. James tried to grab me as I ran past him, but I wouldn’t let him hold me back.

“You’re gonna get yourself killed, you moron!” James called after me.

“I’m not sitting around doing nothing! If you want to be a coward and stay back there while I save her, that’s up to you!” I said.

I didn’t care whether or not James followed me. I just wanted to save Erin. I wasn’t going to let anyone else die here.

“Steve! Help me!” I heard Erin call from somewhere ahead.

“Hold on, Erin! I’m coming!” I shouted, pushing myself to run faster.

Finally, I came to a small cavern, and slowed to a walk. This room was a dead end, so Erin and the spider who took her had to be here, somewhere. Webs hung all over the place here, too. Spiders screeched around me, but none approached. It was as if the spiders were waiting for something.

“Erin?” I called. “Are you here?”

I heard muffled screams from up ahead. She was close, but where? It was only just light enough in this room to see that it was a dead end.

“Damn, you run fast, Steve,” James said, walking up beside me, holding a torch.

I quickly grabbed the torch from James, and walked around the perimeter of the cavern. I didn’t see anything that looked human-shaped. “Damn it,” I said under my breath.

“Hey, uh, Steve?” James said.

“What?” I yelled, turning to look at him.

James looked at me, and pointed up. I looked at what he was pointing at. Above us were dozens – no – hundreds of bodies wrapped in webs. All of them were motionless. Some of the remains were nothing but bone.

“Erin?” I called again. As I watched the bodies, I noticed one of them moving slightly. I walked over and stood under it. “Erin?”

I could hear her muffled cries coming from inside. “Erin! Hold on, I’ll get you out of there!” I looked over at James. “Give me a boost,” I said quickly.

“What are the spiders waiting for?” James asked.

“I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care! Now, give me a boost!” I said, angrily.

“Say what? You know as soon as you go pulling on her, the spider is going to come out and kill all three of us, right?” James said.

“I don’t care! Boost me up there! Now!” I yelled.

“Alright, alright!” James said, walking over to me and holding his hands out for me to step into.

With great effort, I climbed up onto his shoulders, and wrapped my arms around the cocooned Erin. “James, grab onto my legs, and pull when I say,” I said.

James grunted in response.

“Now!” I said, holding tight to Erin.

Almost instantly, the string of web holding her to the top of the cavern snapped, sending all three of us crashing to the ground. I took a moment to regain my bearings, then crawled to Erin’s side, and ripped the webbing open.

She sat up slowly, and began coughing and gasping for air. I put my hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?” I asked.

Erin looked at me, her eyes tear-stained, and threw her arms around me, hugging me. “Thank you. Thank you!” she said, sobbing.

“It’s alright. You’re okay now,” I said, wrapping one arm around her.

“Hey guys, I hate to interrupt your sappy moment there, but these spiders don’t seem too happy. Maybe we should get out of here,” James said, urgently.

“Come on. We have to leave, now,” I said, pulling away and helping Erin to her feet.

The spiders’ screeching started up again, this time louder than before. “What’s going on?” James said.

“Who cares! Run for it!” I said, taking Erin by the hand and running back the way we had come from.

“Hey, wait for me!” James hollered after us.

The screeching of the spiders wasn’t letting up. There had to be hundreds of them, and they were all coming for us.