painfully familiar; the vocal equivalent of seeing someone whose face you recognize but the name escapes you. “I am hardcore losing it,” Rynn thought, unmoving, as though her lack of reaction might make them go away or cease to exist altogether. “Good, good. No farther. Back the way you came.” “Very quickly. You’re wasting time. Always wasting time.” A monstrous debate was roaring in her head now. “Maybe they’re right. After all, what harm could possibly come from listening to them at this point? It’ll take longer to get out if I go back, but at least I’m guaranteed to get out at all. Unless going back is a trap....” She shook her head to clear it. This was all just an illusion. It had to be. Too long down in this cave. There was a hole in the ceiling, and it was close. The entrance was all the way back, unreasonably far. She could feel a definite draft from above, curling around her and pulling her onward. “Clearly the better option,” she reassured herself. But the voices persisted. “You’re taking far too long,” one warned, its tone going sinister and demeaning. “You aren’t listening to us.” “You’re darn right I’m not,” Rynn blurted out, surprised at her own audacity. The voices hushed for a moment and she took the opportunity to begin forward again, stumbling in her hurry to escape before they started up once more. Alas, she could not have been that lucky. They soon resumed their warnings, starting low and swiftly building, rolling and growing until they were deafening. And yet, somehow, she could still make out singular sentences every now and then, echoing the thoughts that were pressing in at the corners of her mind. “Fool!” “You’ll find no escape that way!” “Why do you continue on?” “Listen!” She braced herself against the cacophony, focusing on her own movements. The ground was treacherously uneven, and she was blatantly blundering now, not daring to touch the walls to steady herself. Her thoughts raged on. “Go back Rynn, you idiot. What makes you think that you’re smarter than they are? If anyone knows whether there’s a way out down here, it’s obviously them.” “Questioning your decision?” “Possibly clever after all.” Rynn clenched her jaw. “That’s exactly what someone would say that wanted me to go back and get killed because of it. They’re playing tricks with you, Rynn. Keep your head. Trust your instincts. You’re not wrong.” She increased her pace, trying to drown them out in the sound of her own breathing, but they were soon far too loud, mocking. Page 61
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