NOVEL NEXT 18-The unfortunate
The warden stepped into the elevator, his body betraying every ounce of fear he was trying to suppress. As the doors began to close, he glanced back, his eyes pleading with the wardens outside, hoping for any sign of reprieve. But there was none. The metal doors shut with a finality that made his heart sink, and the elevator descended with terrifying speed, heading toward the darkest depths of the prison.
His breath was shallow, and his hands trembled as he held onto the lunch tray. The cold, sterile air inside the elevator felt suffocating, each passing second dragging him closer to the nightmare below. The stories he’d heard about Grekan haunted his mind, painting pictures of a creature so vile that even the most hardened wardens feared to speak his name aloud.
With a sudden jolt, the elevator stopped. The doors slid open, revealing a dimly lit hallway that stretched a hundred feet to a solitary cell door. The sight was unsettling. The hallway was filthy, littered with debris and the flickering lights gave it a haunted, desolate feel. Clearly, no one cared enough to maintain this part of the prison. This was a forgotten place, where only those who drew the shortest straw ventured.
Each step felt heavier than the last, like he was dragging his feet through quicksand. His muscles tensed, his grip tightening on the tray as he made his way forward. The lights blinked on and off, casting eerie shadows along the cracked walls. The silence was unnerving, broken only by the buzzing of malfunctioning lights. The stench of dampness and neglect filled the air.
As he neared the cell door, every instinct screamed at him to turn back, but there was no escape now. He had to finish the task. Whatever lay beyond that door awaited him, and the weight of dread in his chest was almost unbearable. Each footstep felt like he was carrying a mountain, and the long, dark walk seemed to stretch endlessly into his deepest fears.
The warden’s hands shook violently as he fumbled to enter the code for the cell door. The keypad beeped, and the door began to slide open slowly, creaking as the dim light from the hallway illuminated the dark cell inside.
As the smallest crack in the door appeared, something moved with lightning speed.
(WHOOSHH,SLAM)
A massive vine-like tentacle shot out from the darkness, coiling around the warden before he could react. His terrified scream echoed briefly through the corridor, “AHHHH—" before being brutally cut short. The monstrous appendage yanked him inside the cell with such force that the sound of bones cracking reverberated through the silence.
As the door fully opened, all that could be seen was a giant, glowing red eye peering from within the blackness, watching the lifeless remains of the warden. Without hesitation, the massive tentacle reached out again, slamming the heavy cell door shut with a deafening THUD.
The eerie quiet returned, leaving only the memory of his scream and the distant hum of the malfunctioning lights in the deserted hallway.