Chapter 11
Crack.
A loud splintering sound echoed from the top of the stairs.
I shined the light up. One of the creature’s long, blackened arms had broken through the wood of the trapdoor. It was wildly thrashing around, blindly searching for the iron bolt to unlock it.
“We don’t have time.”
I panicked, rushing to the iron grate. I grabbed the rusted bars and pulled. It was bolted into the stone.
“It won’t move!” I cried, kicking at the grate.
River stepped up beside me. He picked up a heavy, rusted iron crowbar that was lying near a pile of broken tools. Without a word, he wedged the curved end of the crowbar behind the grate and pulled with all his might.
He was only nine years old, but terror gave him strength.
The rusted bolts holding the grate in place groaned, then snapped. The heavy iron grate fell forward onto the dirt floor.
The tunnel behind it was pitch-black, barely wide enough for me to crawl through on my stomach.
“You first, River,” I ordered, pushing him toward the hole. “Crawl as fast as you can. Don’t stop until you see the moonlight.”
River dropped to his knees and scrambled into the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness.
Snap!
The iron bolt on the trapdoor finally gave way. The heavy wooden door was violently ripped open, crashing against the floor above. A horrific, inhuman shriek echoed down the stone steps.
I dove into the tunnel just as the creature’s mass of filthy gray hair and pale, twisting limbs tumbled down the stairs into the cellar.
I scrambled forward on my elbows and knees, the damp earth scraping against my skin. The tunnel was suffocatingly tight. The smell of stagnant water and mold filled my lungs.
Behind me, I heard the creature hit the cellar floor. It let out a frustrated hiss.
“Where are you going, little birds?”
I heard the sound of it slithering across the cellar floor toward the tunnel opening.
“Faster, River, keep going!” I yelled, seeing the faint glow of his white sneakers moving ahead of me in the dark tube.
Suddenly, something cold and sharp clamped down on my left ankle.
I screamed.
The creature had reached into the tunnel. Its long, jagged nails dug deeply into my flesh, piercing my jeans and sinking into my muscle. It pulled violently.
I was dragged backward, my fingernails desperately clawing at the muddy walls of the tunnel, finding no purchase.
“Hope!” River yelled, stopping ahead of me.
“Keep going! Don’t look back!” I screamed, kicking wildly with my free leg.
My right heel connected with something hard and bony. The creature hissed in pain, but its grip on my ankle only tightened. The nails sank deeper, drawing hot blood that ran down my leg.
I was being pulled back toward the cellar.