Silent Warning

Darkness swallowed everything.

I spun around, my pulse hammering in my ears. I needed to get out. Now.

I bolted toward the entrance. My footsteps echoed, uneven and frantic. The cave was longer than I remembered. Had I gone in that deep?

No... this isn't right.

The air grew colder with each step, as if something was chasing me, reaching for me. My breath came out in ragged gasps, the darkness pressing in from all sides.

Then i heard them.

Footsteps.

Not mine.

Behind me.

Getting faster.

I forced my legs to move faster, my fingers grazing the damp walls as I stumbled forward. The entrance should be close. I could still remember the way I came in.

But then—the ground beneath me shifted.

My foot caught on something—a rock? No—a hand.

I crashed to the floor. Pain shot through my knees, my palms scraping against the rough stone. I gasped, twisting around—

No one was there.

But I swore—I swore I had felt it.

A hand. Grabbing me.

The cave was silent. Too silent. Even my breathing sounded muffled, like the air itself was swallowing the sound.

I forced myself up, every muscle in my body screaming. The entrance had to be close. It had to be..

I took a shaky step back, my body screaming at me to run.. to get out of here.

But then—the light started flickering.

Off. On. Off. On.

Each time, the cave was swallowed in darkness, only to reveal glimpses of what lay around me.

Then—on the third flicker—I saw it.

Something was written on the wall.

At first, I thought it was just another set of scratches like the others. But as the light flickered again, I saw it more clearly. It was smeared, dripping.

Not scratches.

Words.

Written in blood.

And it looked fresh.

My throat tightened. My breath came out in uneven gasps as I forced myself to look.

The letters were jagged, as if whoever wrote them had no time—or had been in pain.

I swallowed hard and read the words.

“LEAVE. IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE.”

My heart stopped.

The air suddenly felt heavier, pressing against my skin. Like something was in the cave with me. Watching.

Then—the light flickered again. Not only one time. Twice.

Then—total darkness.

For a moment, all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart, the ragged sound of my breath. I wasn’t alone. I could feel it.

Then—the light turned back on.

My eyes snapped to the wall.

And I froze.

The writing was gone.

The blood completely vanished. The wall was bare, as if nothing had ever been there.

My head spun. No. No, this isn’t possible.

I had just seen it. I knew I had seen it.

A wave of nausea twisted in my stomach. Am I hallucinating? These things doesn't make sense.. this is totally absurd. But just then, I noticed something near a rock. Curiosity got the better of me, and I stepped forward to pick it up.. it was a old locket. I suddenly froze when I sensed something move with a speed that I couldn't caught up.

A chill crept down my spine. Slowly, I turned my head, scanning the cave. The air felt different. Heavier. The lantern’s glow seemed weaker, barely pushing back the shadows.

Then—I heard it.

A faint, slow dripping sound.

I turned toward the noise. My breath hitched.

The blood was still there.

But it wasn’t on the wall anymore.

It was on the floor.

A trail of fresh, glistening drops leading deeper

I swallowed hard, forcing down the rising panic clawing at my throat. I should leave. Every part of me screamed at me to turn back, to run—but i didn't.

With each step, the air grew colder. Thicker. The weak glow of the lantern barely reached the walls now, the darkness stretching further, swallowing everything ahead of me.

Those bloods were everywhere.

The walls, the floor, splattered, smeared, dripping.

My breath came in short, sharp gasps. The smell of iron filled my lungs, burning my throat. My shoes squished against the damp ground.

Then I noticed something worse.

The handprints.

They covered the walls—some small, some large, some with deep scratches trailing beside them.

As if people had tried to claw their way out.

My stomach twisted.

What happened here?

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