The Hollow Below

Chapter Five: Creatures of the Dark

The tunnel twisted sharply after the gorge, narrowing into a long, sloping corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly. Every surface throbbed faintly with heat, like the inside of a sleeping beast. The only sound was their rapid breathing and the occasional drip of moisture hitting stone. Richard held the crystal tightly, its glow reduced to a dim, flickering ember. It had led them this far -but now it was silent. Still.

"Do you think we lost the?" Davis whispered. "No,' Loret grimly, his sling still in hand. "They let us go. There's a difference.' Jake, walking with his notebook pressed against his chest like a shield, added, "That voice said we weren't chosen. That we didn't belong. But Richard activated the altar. That means something chose him.' Richard didn't reply. His mind was too full of questions he couldn't answer. Why did the Hollow react to him? Why did the crystal respond only to his touch? And why had his father never mentioned any of this? The air grew colder.

The walls shifted from natural stone to carved brickwork-dark, ancient, and wet. Deep cracks ran along the floor like veins. In places, strange mushrooms glowed softly in purples and greens. They passed a wide pit filled with a thick, bubbling black substance. None of them dared get close. Suddenly, Richard stopped. 'Did you hear that?' he asked, holding up a hand. The others froze. Silence. Then... skrrrk.

It was soft. Barely there. Like claws scraping lightly across stone. Jake turned slowly, aiming his dying torch behind them. "There's something there.' Richard squinted. The light revealed only the empty corridor stretching into darkness. Then -A shape darted past the beam. Fast. Crawling on the walls. "Something's following us,' Loret said, voice tight, "More than one." The skittering grew louder, multiplying, as if the walls were alive with movement. "Run,' Richard said. They bolted.

The corridor curved, then opened into a vast chamber with no ceiling in sight. The air was dense with the scent of mildew and something sour. Jagged columns of stone rose from the floor like claws, and stalactites hung above like teeth. They darted between them, breath loud in the echoing space. Then the first creature dropped from above. it landed just a few feet from Davis with a wet thud. It looked like a cross between a giant centipede and a hairless bat - long, thin, boneless limbs, skin like gray leather, and a head with no eyes - only a mouth that split its entire face open vertically, rows of needle-like teeth glistening. "MOVE!" Davis shrieked.

They ran again, but more dropped in their path- skittering sideways, twisting along the ground, their limbs bending the wrong way. "They're blind like the first one!" Jake shouted. "Sound- they track us by sound!" "Then stop shouting!' Loret snapped. Too late. The creatures were everywhere now, swarming from the shadows, crawling upside down across the ceiling. hissing and twitching as they hunted. Richard skidded to a stop behind a large stone slab. "Over here!" They ducked behind it, hearts pounding.

We need a distraction," Richard whispered. "Something to draw them away." Davis dug into his backpack and pulled out his flashlight. "It's dying anyway." He clicked it on, then lobbed it far across the chamber. It clattered loudly, bouncing off stone. Instantly, the creatures swarmed toward the sound, their bodies contorting unnaturally as they moved. "This way!" Richard hissed, leading them through a narrow crack in the wall.

It opened into a smaller tunnel, tight and suffocating, but safer than the open chamber. They crawled through single, scraping their elbows and knees. The walls were damp and cold, and in places they had to hold their breath to squeeze through. Finally, they emerged into another chamber -this one eerily quiet. No skittering. No fog. Just stillness. They collapsed to the floor, gasping. "That was way too close," Davis panted, rubbing his knees.

"They are like nothing I've ever read about," Jake muttered. "Blind, hive-minded maybe, and... reactive. They were guarding something." 'Maybe this whole place is alive,' Loret said. 'And we're the infection." Richard didn't answer. He was still thinking about the crystal - how the creatures had backed away when it glowed, how the altar had flared when he touched it. Why him? As he stood up to scan the new chamber, his foot struck something metallic. He looked down. A helm. Old, cracked, and rusted.

He knelt and brushed off the dirt. Beside it were bones- human. Half buried. A belt. A torn sleeve with a mining company logo. 'Guys," he whispered. 'I think someone's been here before.' The others crowded around. "That's your father's company,' Jake said, frowning. "The logo is from an older branch, though - one that was shut down years ago." Richard's pulse quickened. "Do you think he knew about this?" Loret asked. "That there were people who never came back?" "Maybe," Richard said, his voice dark. "Maybe this is what he's been hiding."

He turned and shone his light across the chamber. More bones. Dozens. Scattered along the edges, hidden in the shadows. And on the far wall-a doorway. Large. Arched. Engraved with more symbols, and a carving above it -a spiral within an eye, just like the altar. Jake stepped forward. "I think this is what the crystal was meant to open.' As they approached, the crystal in Richard's hand began to hum again, stronger this time. Warm. Alive.

He placed it in a round socket at the center of the door. With a low rumble, the door began to sink into the ground, revealing a staircase beyond- spiraling downward into deeper darkness. No one spoke for a long moment. Then Loret broke the silence."Let me guess - we're going down?" Richard nodded. "We are too far in to turn back. And if this is the key... then whatever lies below might be our way out." Jake gave a half- smile. "Or the end of the world." Davis groaned. "Why did i ever agree to follow you?"

They descended together, one step at a time, leaving behind the bones, the silence, and whatever was still crawling in the dark. But the Hollow wasn't done with them. Not yet.

'