Four boys walked down a dirt path, occasionally exchanging words about school or their parents or the latest game, sometimes laughing when the conversation led to jokes and jabs. This path was seldom traveled, lying on the outskirts of town, surrounded by tall grassy fields sprinkled with trees here and there. Their surroundings were splashed with orange as the sun neared the horizon bit by bit. Grass shimmered warmly and stray leaves flickered with reflections of the sunlight as they tumbled through the air on brisk currents. Soon the four reached the destination, and all conversation fell silent for a brief, awe-filled moment.

“Here we are,” the eldest one boomed with a self-important smirk and hands at his hips as he directed them to the target that stood before them. He had a stocky build, average for a young tiger cub, but to the other, smaller cubs, it was one more reason, aside from the extra year or two he had on them, that they all flocked to him. But, for the most part, he was stating the obvious. What stood before them was certainly impossible to miss, and being the only thing in that direction, other than more grass, trees, and other foliage, for miles on end, there was no mistaking that this was the purpose of their trek out here.

“Aww yeah, it’s even cooler in person,” another said, a weasel who was one year younger than the tiger. Before them stood an absolutely massive house, perhaps some kind of mansion or manor at some point, but now it was decrepit and abandoned, with discolored wood missing much of its paint, chipped, cracked, or scratched in many places, some bits clearly even broken here and there, and windows clouded over with dust or dirt, further hiding whatever the darkness held inside.

“Yeah! Hey,” the third, a fox, said to the tiger, “I know you said this place was supposed to be scary or whatever, but I think it’s pretty cool. Like we could have like a secret base here, ya know!”

The tiger gave a quiet, seemingly knowing laugh, with an almost menacing undertone. “I don’t think you guys would really want to do that. You remember what I said about this place, dont’cha?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the weasel dismissed, “haunted, schmaunted. You really think any one of us here believes in that? ...Heh, well maybe one of us does.” The weasel looked to the fourth, the youngest in the group, a small golden retriever, with a taunting smirk.

He’d been quiet the whole time, and most of the time as they walked here. He was listening, but he had watched the house all the while. The sight, and the stories it carried, stories courtesy of the tiger, nearly made him shiver. So he found himself just staring at it, staring like it might climb out and grab him should he look away. 

For all the things the tiger said, he actually really didn’t want to come here at all. But then how could he say no? They’d totally call him out for the wimp he is, he thought. Then it was time he responded. “A-ah I don’t know what what you’re talking about!”

The weasel leaned in closer now, staring right at him. “I’m talking about you. You’re totally scared of this place, aren’t you?”

“What? No, I’m not! No way!” the dog said, leaning back away from the weasel but finding himself trapped as the other two soon joined in.

“Hah, knew he’d freak. Bailey was practically shuddering the whole walk here,” the fox pitched in.

“I wasn’t!” Bailey denied, but none of them seemed very convinced, “Come on guys cut it out! It’s just some old house, I know that! No such thing as haunted...” Then the tiger stepped in.

“Yeah guys, even Bailey wouldn’t get scared by some dumb house,” the tiger drawled, “I bet he could walk in there right now and be just fine, couldn’t you, Bailey?”

Bailey gulped as he glanced back to the creepy old house. The tiger had a crooked smile on his face while the other two peered in at Bailey intently, before one spoke up. “It’d be easy, wouldn’t it? Just walk right in there, check it out for a bit, then come right out. The door’s probably not even locked.”

“Yeah easy,” another chimed in, “I mean, if you’re not scared.”

Bailey’s eyes flitted from one face to another, to the house and back. His fists were clenched, his tail low, and his fur starting to dampen in some places. Before they could say anything further, he responded. “Pchhh, yeah, I-I can totally do that. No big deal,” he answered with sudden bravado, waving his hand as if it was nothing. 

Then with one paw to his back he was shoved forward, and much of that bravado went up in air. “Go ahead then, Bailey,” the ferret said.

Bailey looked back over his shoulder briefly, then turned back to the mansion and started to walk. He clenched his teeth and had to work to steady his gait into something a bit more confident, when he reached the door.

He tried the knob—unlocked—then the door drifted open with a drawn out creak. He looked back over his shoulder again.

“Well, come on! Go on inside then!” they said, the three still standing there at their spot, watching intently, offering no comfort. After all, Bailey wasn’t scared. He could do this by himself. He stepped inside, slowly at first, and the first plank his paw touch creaked as he put his weight on it. He took another step, then another, then gradually he began to walk as normal, or at least convincingly close to it, albeit with very shortened strides, soon disappearing into the darkness inside. Every other step a floorboard would creak or crackle underneath him, sometimes depressing so far that it nearly tripped him up. He could barely see anything, only making out the basic shapes of the layout of this room, something of a large foyer with what appeared to be staircases upward to either side., and it seemed to only get darker. He stopped walking then, and turned back around to look back to his friends.

The door had drifted closed, only open far enough that a sliver of light could make its way in, and he couldn’t see the others. How hadn’t he noticed? Then he heard a noise, something like a bat, or maybe something scampering along old floorboards, and he jerked back away from the door, toward the direction in which he thought he heard the noises coming from, deeper in the house. He stood paralyzed, ears flitting around from one direction to another as stray noises seemed to come from all directions. His eyes wandered all over the place, only just now adjusting to the dim light conditions, but things seemed to change shape as they did, wherever he looked. He could barely move a muscle, paralyzed, yet his legs shuddered, with his tail hanging limply in between them, and his posture crumpling, his back hunching over, curling into something more protective.

He thought by now he must have been in there long enough to satisfy the others, so he turned and start back toward the door, perhaps a little too quickly. Then with a loud crack a floorboard gave out from under him and his foot plunged down through. He yelped as he fell to one knee, which struck a different, but near equally weak part of the floor that also splintered and bent noisily, thought one could hardly hear it over the boy’s screams of terror.

“AAAAAAH! Help me! Where are you guys!?” he cried out in fear, and in his shaking movements the floor creaked and crackled move as he sunk further down, jagged edges of a floorboard scratching at him, drawing blood. “It’s eating me!” he screamed in a panic, losing all rational thought, now struggling deliberately, trying to climb back out, but it only made it worse. The wooden noises rose and built off each other like dominos, climbing to a crescendo, before the rest of the floor still holding him up, gave away, the pup screaming out as he fell into the darkness below.

...

It was pitch black. The boy tried to open his eyes, but there was only darkness. He was surrounded with a darkness that was so very total, even tangible. He moved his hand, his foot, and felt nothing. Just darkness

But there was something else. A faint noise, but he couldn’t make out where. As he focused on it it grew louder, more audible. It was a voice. A woman? No, a little boy, or maybe girl. They were crying.

Suddenly the darkness seemed to recede, only for more to take its place. It seemed to ebb and flow, pulsating, like an aurora but with none of the beauty and only fear, and an acceleration and proximity that encroached on one’s very self. Then it was gone.
“Are you... okay?”

The dog heard another boy’s voice, very close, and knew now, unlike before, he was awake. But even though the other was likely right there in front of him he still couldn’t see anything. He looked up, or at least made the motion to do so, tilting his head back and pointing his muzzle to the sky, but nothing changed. “I can’t see...” he whimpered.

The voice came back, calm, but comforting. “It’s dark. I can barely see, myself.”

“Wait, hold on a sec,” the dog said, reminded of something as he felt a hard pressure in his back pocket where he sat. He turned over to one side a bit to retrieve it. He fumbled with the small boxy item for a bit, a couple clicks sounding through the air, then a faint, warm light.

Now illuminated was a black cat’s face, mere inches away from his, and not much else with the admittedly weak source of light. But the sudden revelation made the pup jump back with an “Eek!” The cat’s eyes only followed him as he jolted backward, a motion that caused the sole faint light source they had to flicker for a moment. “G-g-g-g-g-g-ghost!” he yelped, pointing rather shakily.

The cat pouted, furrowing his eyebrows in disbelief. “Ghost?” he said. He sat back on his heels, hands on his hips. 

When it became apparent that the cat wasn’t going to hurt him, the pup lowered his paw and said, “So... you’re not a ghost?” and began to turn over onto his hands and knees and crawl over.

“I think I’d know if I were a ghost...” the cat said solemnly, looking off to one side. He might’ve taken some offense to that.

Then the dog reached out carefully, and touched an arm. Solid. Warm. Real. It was tangible, with some give, and covered with soft, short fur. The cat returned his gaze at that touch, ears flicking subtly, not sure what to make of the gesture.

Now totally convinced of his mistake, the dog immediately felt quite embarrassed as he retracted his hand and sat back on his heels as well. “Sorry...” he murmured, now gazing off to the side himself, “I was just scared...”

The cat shook his head softly, allaying the pup. “It’s fine. You didn’t really hurt my feelings.” They sat there through a couple moments of awkward silence, then the cat spoke again. “So.. I guess you’re okay then? I was kinda worried you were dead or something.” He have a short, quiet chuckle, a bit nervous.

The dog looked back. “Mmh. I’m fine. So... who are you?”

The cat started blankly for a few seconds, then answered, “Haru. Haru’s my name.”

“Oh? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name before.”

“Mmh... what about yours then?”

“Bailey—A-ah I mean, ehhh... that’s my name, but Ben’s better,” he answered, murmuring the last part, “It’s not so girly...”

“Hmm... Bailey suits you better.”

“Wha—” Bailey whimpered, wringing his hands together as his muzzle dipped.

“But I’ll call you Ben if you want. But I think Bailey sounds better. And it’s your name. I mean, do you really not like it? I wouldn’t make fun of you for it or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Bailey looked up now, examining the cat. “Really?”

“Yeah. Why would I do that?” he half-giggled.

“I dunno,” Bailey muttered, lowering his muzzle again briefly. “I mean, I don’t really know you at all, so...”

“Mmmnn. Do I look like I’d do that?”

“Not really, I guess...”

“So what? You think just any stranger’s gonna be a jerk, unless you find out otherwise?”

Bailey shifted in his seat. He didn’t really like being prodded like this. “Sorry,” he said, hoping the apology would get Haru to drop it.

Haru sighed. “It’s nothing...” He pouted, noticing the discomfort he might’ve caused. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Then he stood up, and offered a hand to Bailey, with a small smile on his face.

Bailey looked up, studying again, then reached out and took his hand, rising up to his feet as well. Then the cat led a handshake and said, “Nice to meet you, Bailey.”

Haru smiled, feeling a brief pang of embarrassment at how buddy-buddy he already felt, but he answered, “Nice to meet you, Haru,” then let go, letting his hand drop to his side. Then, with his lighter offering some meager amount of light, he decided to take a look up again. He held the lighter up over his head as he looked up, but too no avail. The light could hardly illuminate something a few feet away, and wasn’t strong enough to reveal the floor above them.

“You fell from up there, huh?” said Haru.

“Yeah... at least I think so. Unless someone moved me while I was knocked out.”

“Probably not. I think I would’ve seen it. Plus I’d heard something come crashing down around here, so I guess that must’ve been you.”

“Mmm...” Bailey rubbed at one of several parts of his body where soreness prevailed, but other than the scuffs and bruises, he was largely okay.

“You didn’t break anything, so that’s good,” Haru said, approaching for a closer look. “You couldn’t have fallen very far. Or something must’ve broken your fall.”

“Yeah... or a lot of somethings. If I broke through the floor just walking around, then I probably fell right through any other floors.” Now that Bailey took a good look around the place, he noticed that the floor was mostly dirt. He brushed dust off his clothes with his spare hand instinctively. “Hey... how’d you get here anyway? Do you know this place?”

Haru shook his head. “I just woke up here, actually. Err, I don’t really remember much else. I was just over there actually, when I woke up.”

“Don’t remember anything?” Bailey looked to the other boy inquisitively. He shook his head again.

“I’m pretty sure my name is Haru, though,” he said with a tiny smile.

“Mmm. Maybe you fell somewhere, too; hit your head harder than I did. My brother had something like that once, where you can’t remember stuff. Am...ne...sia..? I think? It can happen when you hurt your head.”

Haru nodded softly, appearing to understand.

Bailey gazed around the room again. They were near a wall, featureless for the most part, no doorways or any other things of importance, at least as far as he could see. Then in the other three directions the darkness stretched out for an indeterminable distance. “So I guess we’ll find our way out of this together, then?” said Bailey.

“Mmh.” Haru nodded. 

Bailey began to walk directly away from the wall, then Haru stopped him. “Wait. Uh, Bailey... do you know where you’re going?”

Bailey paused and looked back over his shoulder to Haru. “Not really,” he chuckled bashfully. “But I figure that since this is around where the front door was, the staircase would probably be somewhere on the other side.”

Haru’s ears drooped, and he wore a rather skeptical face. “Maybe that’s how your house is, but that might not be how it is here. There could be one still along this wall, or on either of the ones to the sides. And depending on how big this place is, if you just go walking out into the darkness, you might just end up walking in circles...”

“Mmh yeah...” Bailey’s muzzle drooped slightly as blush overtook his cheeks.

“I think we should follow the walls. I mean, if you’re okay with that.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Bailey said, eyes lighting up.

So they walked over to the visible wall and began to walk. Bailey, with their source of light, naturally took the lead. At first, Bailey would idly walk his hand along the wall, but then it found something like a cobweb and, after jerking his hand away and squeaking in fear, he decided not to do that.

“So what were you doing here, anyway?” asked Haru, as they rounded the corner, finding nothing of note along the way. 

“Oh. You mean in the house? Well... I guess my friends kinda dared me to go in here. I didn’t expect the floor to give out, though.”

“Were your friends here with you, then?”

“No... well, yeah, but not in the house I mean. They were right outside, as I walked in.”

“Well then they should be coming to help, right?”

“Mmh,” Bailey muttered, his muzzle dipping,  “I wouldn’t count on it...”

Haru moved in a bit closer, studying Bailey’s face for a moment. “Bailey?”
“Huh?” Bailey jerked his head toward Haru, ears perked, then turned back forward. “It’s nothing. We’ll find our way out of this place on our own just fine, so no worries.”

Haru pouted, but decided not to press the issue any further. Besides, it appeared that a staircase was finally in sight in this otherwise barren, dark, and expansive room. “Here it is,” he said as they approached it.

“Wait,” Bailey said, stopping at the foot of the stairs. “Be careful. I fell right through the floorboards already. The stairs could be just as bad.” Bailey took a careful grip of the handrail, steadying himself as he slowly ascended the stairs. There was little to worry about, thankfully, though the odd step did wobble or at least creak here and there. At the top of the stairs they found a smaller room, some type of study. The retriever braced himself on the near wall as he held the lighter out, tracing an arc with his hand as he looked about the room. “This place isn’t much better, but I’m glad we’re moving up a bit. And that basement was kinda creepy.”

Haru joined him, taking his own looks around the vacant room. “Yeah,” he agreed, “seriously creepy. I thought I saw something in the dark a couple times. Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me but it made me nervous all the same.”

“You... saw some things?” Bailey asked, already feeling his legs weaken. Then he thought back, and he’d actually heard noises as well. But he didn’t want to bring them up and sound silly if he was just hearing things. They weren’t too different from the things he was hearing back before he fell, actually. Bailey looked to the wall, where damaged wood boards were chipped or peeling away. Bailey reached out and touched dirt behind it. “Looks like we’re somehow still underground...” he said, but Haru had already walked to a lone table in the room and picked up a book, turning it over and dusting it a bit. “What’s that?” asked Bailey.

“Oh, nothing,” Haru said, looking back over his shoulder at Bailey. “Some kind of chemistry book I think. There’s a lot more over here, but they’re all open and tossed all over the floor.”

“Maybe they fell from that bookcase?” Bailey pondered as he approached, looking up at a nearby bookcase that was mostly full, save for the higher shelves. “Anyway, it doesn’t really matter, does it? We’re just trying to get out of here.”

“You’re right,” Haru agreed, “Let’s go.”

They exited the small room to a hallway. There were several doors along its length, most closed, but some open to varying degrees. Bailey did not dare look in any of them. Then, Bailey started to pick up the pace.

“Bailey?” Haru asked, “Shouldn’t we be walking a bit more carefully. Weak floorboards and all.”

“I-it couldn’t hurt to move a bit faster, could it? And the floorboards here have seemed pretty sturdy so far...” Bailey’s ears perked. Then again a few more paces down. Then Haru heard something. The noises were distant, quiet, but growing strong. Something scratching or scraping against the wooden floors or walls. Then a knocking, something drumming along in their direction, growing nearer and nearer.

“Do you hear that?” Haru asked.

“You hear it too, now?” Bailey picked up the pace yet again.

“What do you think it is?”

“Whatever it is, I don’t like it. I-I think I can see the stairs at the end of this hallway, anyway.”

Haru didn’t like the approaching noises much either, but he knew Bailey couldn’t be seeing anything like stairs, because he would’ve seen it first. And at the rate that the noises were approaching... “Bailey I still can’t see the end of the hallway” he said in a hushed voice, “so I know you can’t either. Look there’s an open door right there. If something’s coming down the hallway, maybe we should hide and just let it pass by. Or do you think we can outrun it?”

Haru’s voice calmed Bailey, if just a little bit, and when the pup thought logically about it, processing the information received from his ears, he came to the conclusion that outrunning whatever it was wasn’t the best idea. “But, what if there’s something bad in that room..?”

“Bailey... Either way we’re gonna be running in the dark to who knows where. At least going into a room gives us a better chance of avoiding whatever we do know is coming.”

Bailey sighed. “Alright.” They reached the door, slipped through the crack, then hid behind it, listening intently. The noise grew closer, and Bailey prudently shut his lighter off. With the door’s placement such that the hinge was on the far end from whatever was approaching, Haru leaned over to peer through the crack, hoping to see the back of whatever it was as it passed, but Bailey quickly stopped him, looking with stern, fearful eyes. The noises came harrowingly close to the door, then waned in the opposite direction. Neither spoke or even moved until the noises had completely disappeared from earshot.

Bailey sighed, relieved, then slumped down the wall, dropping to his bottom, before looking around the room.

“You okay?” Haru asked, reaching out to touch the retriever’s shoulder. He nodded quietly, then Bailey relit the flame, and they both took a look around.

The pair found themselves in a small room, about the size of the one they’d first emerged to, only this one was populated with a canopy bed and a single nightstand. The drapes seemed to float in the air with a ghostly presence, colored a translucent white. The blankets and sheets were disheveled, with a distinctly lived-in appearance. The walls were similar to the last room: stained, decrepit, and peeling back in some spots to reveal only earth on the other side. “We probably shouldn’t stick around,” Bailey said, already turning to leave. Haru voiced his agreement and they left the room, back on their original path.

The hallway had yet to branch off yet, all the doors along the side appearing to lead only to dead end rooms, so in spite of what might now lay ahead of them, they forged on. Eventually the smaller hallway opened up into a bigger one, perpendicular to it. Still just as dark, there was no telling how far it went on... or what might lie waiting inside. Bailey peered around the corner cautiously, though to little effect, then he asked Haru to do the same. As far as the cat could see, it was clear.

They moved forward, careful to avoid creaky and weak floorboards, though they couldn’t help stepping on the occasional noisy one, much to Bailey’s chagrin. Neither boy had the heart to talk again, not after their near encounter with something else, and the expansive darkness that surrounded them once more. “Aha! Here’s the next staircase,” Haru said, stepping toward it.

“Wait!” Bailey laid a paw on Haru’s shoulder, halting his movement. “I thought I heard something up there...” Bailey approached the wall, signalling Haru to stay quiet as he stood as close as possible and listened once more. It was similar to the sounds from before, then something different. Something like a squeak or a screech, then hissing noises, then silence. Bailey climbed the staircase a few steps, then peaked his head up to look just over the floor above, then raised his lighter to get a better look. In the darkness, he swore he could see some moving shape. He strained his neck to look closer. 

Then, emerged from the darkness were huge, yellow teeth and black, beady eyes, the face of a rat, seeming improbably huge, illuminated all too well by the boy’s light. Bailey leapt back, crashing into the wall behind him with a scream as he slumped to the stairs. The two were plunged into darkness as the sudden movement put Bailey’s lighter out, and as the dog dropped, so too did his lighter, with a metallic clank against the wood floor. Haru immediately went to Bailey’s aid. “Bailey? Are you okay?”

The dog had covered his face as soon as he’d fallen back to the ground, but at Haru’s concern, he lowered his fingers, showing that cat he was unharmed, if shaken. His eyes watered, and Haru seeked to comfort him. “It was just a rat, Bailey. That’s all.” Haru’s eyes adjusted quickly, and he spotted the lighter on a nearby step, grabbed it, and handed it to Bailey. “Here”

“Thanks,” Bailey whimpered, but Haru gave his shoulder a squeeze, and put on his best smile. The dog calmed, waited til he figured his eyes were mostly dry, then relit the flame. “Just a rat, huh...” he murmured dejectedly, scratching at the step he now sat on with one of his claws.

“Yeah,” Haru snorted. He looked back up now, expecting to see the rat still wedged between the guardrails, but it was gone. “I guessed that must’ve been the sounds from earlier,” Haru surmised. “Bailey?” he began to ask.

“Yeah?” Bailey responded, looking up now.

Haru thought for a moment. Bailey probably would’ve told him anyway if he’d heard something strange, and it’d likely be for the best if they just forget the incident and move on. It was just a rat, after all. “Nothing,” he said. He held out a hand, and helped the dog back up to his feet.

“Thanks,” Bailey said, and they climbed the rest of the way up the stairs. Bailey held the lighter up high, slowly waving it around him to look around the room. It was almost totally empty, but other than that, not like anything they hadn’t yet seen here. Same decrepit appearance and musty, stale smell, though possibly more pungent? The walls were chipped away in several spots here too, but these holes led only to darkness. Then on the floor, there were streaks and spots of something dark and wet that they nearly missed altogether. Bailey gulped.

“Better not think about it,” Haru said. “It’s probably something to do with the rats.”

“What are rats even doing down here anyway? Do you think someone lives here?”

“I doubt it. The rats are probably just here for shelter. They could go out to hunt, or maybe they just eat bugs around the place.”

“Ew yuck,” Bailey cringed. He at least wasn’t so worried about that stuff on the floor anymore. And it was nice having Haru there, so levelheaded and comforting.

“Bailey. Take a look at this.” Haru stood at one wall, eyeing through a hole. Bailey joined and took a look for himself.

“I can barely see it... but, it looks like light, far away. We must be back on the ground floor now!”

“Or just below it. But either way, that room looks big. I mean, the light’s definitely not nearby, that’s for sure.”

“Maybe another hallway?”

“Mmh.” Haru nodded.

“Think maybe we could... smash through, if we tried?”

Haru chuckled softly. “Not likely. You know it’s probably just right around the corner. I don’t think we need to resort to tearing the house down just yet.”

Bailey whimpered. “Yeah... ugh I just wanna get outta here already. Haunted or not, this place seriously sucks.” Bailey kicks at the ground, scraping his shoe against the wood and kicking up dust, and coughing briefly as a result.

“Probably don’t wanna do that,” Haru commented. “Come on. The doorway’s here.”

They exited the room to yet another hallway, then tried the door to the neighboring room, but found only another empty study, with no way through. “Still don’t wanna try kicking down the wall?” 

“Come on. We’ve only tried one door,” Haru said as they began to walk further down the hallway.

“So? I think I saw a spider in there! What if one of these doors opens up and it’s just like a rat den or something inside...”

“You really think that’ll happen?”

“I don’t think it’s impossible... Where’d that rat even go to anyway.”

“Wherever it went, I doubt it’s to some rat den. I don’t think the rats have made this old house their evil lair or something like that,” Haru giggled.

Bailey joined in, though a bit more hesitantly, and he gave Haru a small shove. “They sure seem to know their way around this place not to.”

The next door they tried would not budge. They noted it odd, then moved on, but the following doors were just like the last. Bailey was about to move on after the third one, when Haru stopped him. “Wait. I think I see something through there.”

“What?”

Haru peered through the crack between the door and the wall, and sure enough he saw a glimmer of light. “There’s light in there.” Haru tried to turn the knob himself, but had no better luck. He took a closer look at the knob. It appeared rusted over or something, and though the knob would move a little, it grey tighter very quickly. “I think it’s rusted or something,” Haru said, jimmying the door back and forth.

“Hold on, maybe I can get it loose. Hold the lighter?”

Haru grabbed the lighter and held it for the dog as he took his try on the knob. He wrapped both paws around it, and twisted it left and right, jerking and jimmying it until it gave way a bit more. “Wait, Bailey, did you hear that?”

“Yeah but it should just be more rats right?” Bailey said in a strained voice, continuing to work the knob. “Besides, I think I’ve almost got it.”

Haru turned to face in the direction of the approaching noises and watched in the darkness as Bailey continued. They grew louder, stronger, then suddenly, stopped. Haru thought he saw something flicker in the darkness, so he held the lighter out to hopefully get a better look. A step forward. Then another. There was something there, he could just barely make it out. Again he stretched his arm out a bit further and leaned over, his tail working to keep his balance. 

There it was. Something round, low to the ground, uniformly dark, except for a white shape in the center that was partially obscured. It began to rise. The shape gradually straightened out into something more man-like, but rounded over the top, hunched over, like a black hill growing before the boy’s very eyes.

Something fell from the white shape, the white shape which had begun to take on more detail in the pervasive darkness and looked now a lot more like some kind of skull, dripping with a dark fluid. It landed with a soft, wet thud. A rat.

The figure drifted forward with an eerie silence as if it wasn’t even there, but the proof of its tangibility lied right below it. Haru backed away just as slowly, bumping into Bailey, who was now watching as well, standing totally silent and still. The dog felt paralyzed, unable even to scream. The figure slowed now, and something emerged from the darkness, gradually taking form. Something narrow, pointed, and as pitch black as the rest of it. It rose higher and higher, pointed at them, and as Haru then realized, poised to strike.

“Run!” he shouted to Bailey.

Bailey finally moved. He’d already managed to open the door. Now all he had to do was move. Bailey threw himself inside, grabbing Haru’s hand and taking the cat with him, then immediately shut the door. Bailey held the door closed with his back to it, his heart pounding and breath racing. 

“Move!” Haru shouted, jerking Bailey away from the door. Whatever that thing was, he doubted a wooden door would stop the sharp black appendage it had produced. They started to run headlong into the unknown. Bailey looked back over his shoulder and watched as the creature emerged from the wall, drifting towards them as if nothing was there. Suddenly, Haru stopped, and Bailey was jerked back by his hand before he’d realized he did. Bailey turned back around, and saw why they’d stopped. Just a few paces in front of them, the floor ended, with only a vague darkness beyond that. Looking up, they saw the light from before, far above, a streak of white in a black sea.

“This way!” shouted Bailey, this time, as they turned to the right, but they didn’t travel very far before they realized the edge of the ground below curved back toward the figure, and they had no hope of outrunning it.

“Bailey,” Haru said as they stood at the very edge, squeezing the dog’s hand, “We have to jump.”

“What? No way! We have no idea how far—” Bailey fell toward Haru before he could finish, jerked by the cat’s hand, and as his body moved, his eye drifted back and saw in the corner of his vision as the black appendage shot through the air right past him. He didn’t see where it hit, but he felt it, felt the sting of the cut it made across his arm as it passed through the place his heart was less than a second ago. He looked back to the figure, still several feet away. There was no way they’d get past it.

Bailey stood, paralyzed once more. He’d nearly died, and now he might die anyway. He looked back over at the cliff, the darkness that awaited him below, and felt his knees weaken and his legs start to shake. He wanted to jump. Knew from the pain in his arm it was now their best bet. But just thinking of the height made his heart pound, his head spin, and his throat tighten. “I-I can’t,” he choked out, tears of fright rolling down his cheeks.

“Bailey! Go!” Haru cried. Another tendril raced toward them, and Haru pushed Bailey off at the last moment, falling into Bailey’s place, and directly in the path of the speeding appendage. Bailey screamed as he felt his footing go out from under him, closing his eyes almost immediately. The last thing he saw was Haru, falling toward him, as the black spike disappeared behind the cat’s back. Bailey felt the ground hit him, but he was still falling, rolling down a slope, turning and tumbling through darkness. Scared, hurt, hurting more with each bump he hit, he shut it all out, and let Haru’s push carry him into the unknown, wherever it may take him.