The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Through the Cave
by Nadia Corin

As I exit the cave I see a place I’d only seen in my dreams. An expanse of lights and bustling life. Bigger than any village I’d known of, with houses reaching into the sky. This must be the home of the Gods, I thought. But why have they led me away from my family? Why have they brought me here? These questions plague my thoughts as I enter this undiscovered domain.

The people here are unclean and unkempt. They walk fast with sour faces. I look for anyone friendly, anyone I can ask for help, but they stare at me with disgust in their eyes. Their voices are hostile as they tell me to get away.

I walk until darkness falls. Less people prowl the streets in this late hour. I’m getting tired, but there is nowhere to sleep. I’m lost in this place, and start to wonder, if maybe it wasn’t the Gods who brought me here. Maybe it isn’t their domain after all…

Panic sets in. I worry I’ll never leave this place. Never see home or my family ever again. I beg strangers for help in vain. They cast me away like trash.

I see a man sitting along on a bench. He looks more friendly than the rest I’ve encountered. I go to him in a last-ditch attempt to find my way home. He welcomes me, doesn’t turn me away like everyone else. He lets me sit next to him.

“Can you help me find my way home?” I ask.

“Of course,” he says. “No problem at all.”

He takes me by the hand and we walk through the park. My fears are temporarily subsided, he must be leading me back to the cave, so I can go back where I belong.

But that relief washes away when I see something shiny glinting in the moonlight. He’s holding a knife. Before I can react, he plunges it into my stomach.

“Don’t worry, dear. You’ll be home soon enough,” he whispers in my ear as my consciousness fades away to nothingness.

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Fiction © Copyright Nadia Corin
Image courtesy of Pixabay