The roar fades, but its echo keeps crawling through the flesh around me like a shiver that never stops. My legs are trembling. Some part of me wants to believe this is a nightmare. A hallucination. A fever dream. Anything but the truth.
But the walls… pulse.
And the ground… twitches.
No. This is real.
I swallow hard and force myself to move. If I stand still any longer, the creature-whatever it is, might decide to digest me next.
"No, I won't let that happen"
I have to find an exit.
I limp deeper down the tunnel, each step a dull throb through my ribs. The 'walls' are damp and warm, like something alive. Every few seconds they contract rhythmically, pushing foul-smelling steam into the air.
A living hallway.
A throat, maybe.
"Okay… okay… keep going,"
I whisper to myself.
"There has to be a way out. A mouth. An opening. Something."
I follow the path until it splits into two. The left tunnel sways slightly, like it's breathing. The right one gurgles.
Neither option feels promising.
...
I take the left. It's my lucky direction.
After a minute of painful walking, I press a hand against the wall for support and immediately yank it away. The surface squelches beneath my fingers as if something shifted under the membrane.
And then the entire passage contracts around me.
"What-!? Hey-HEY!"
The tunnel tightens, squeezing inward like a giant throat trying to swallow. I stagger backward in panic, slipping on the slimy floor. Another contraction ripples through the corridor.
Nope. Not this way.
I stagger back toward the fork, lungs burning, body screaming. Once I reach the split again, I brace myself and pick the right tunnel.
...
This one is worse.
About twenty steps in, the floor becomes soft. Too soft. My boot sinks in with a sickening squish. Then the ground depresses, opening like a wet mouth.
"Oh, hell no-!"
I throw myself backward just in time as the pit snaps shut, teeth-like ridges closing where I stood seconds ago.
A trap.
The entire place is trying to digest me.
Panting, shaking, I return once more to the split. My injuries are throbbing harder now.
"Damn it..! "
I've lost more blood than I want to admit.
But I'm not dying here. I refuse. I have someone waiting for me.
I try again. And again. And again.
Every path I take leads to another dead end. An acid pit, a contracting tunnel, a wall of thick membranes that push me back like a heartbeat. I find no mouth. No light. No escape.
It's like the creature is designed so nothing leaves once it enters.
Eventually, I slump against the least repulsive wall I can find. My vision blurs. I'm exhausted. Cold. The stench feels like it's coating my lungs. God, I miss fresh air.
"This… is impossible," I whisper.
I can barely breathe. Every inhale tastes like rot. Every exhale feels hollow.
But then, through the haze, my thoughts drift back to the old battlefield reports. The ones about massive, living beasts that swallow ships whole. Creatures so large your only hope is to kill them from the inside.
Kill them… from the inside.
The idea is absurd. Insane. Utter madness. I don't even know if I can do it with my injuries. If I weren't in this situation, I'd laugh at it.
But right now?
It's the only plan I have left.
I push myself upright, wincing as pain flares through my chest. My legs wobble but hold.
"Fine," I mutter. "If there's no way out… then I'll make one."
If this thing has organs, if it's truly alive, then somewhere inside it, is a heart. A massive one. A weak point.
And if I can reach it…
I might have a chance.
Terrifying. Impossible. Stupid.
But still a chance.
I steady myself, wipe the blood and bile from my hands, and stare into the dark, pulsing tunnels ahead.
"Time to find the damn heart."