Dawn
‘I’ve come to ask your help.’
Something stirred. From the far corner of the cave, Lake could see darkness moving. It writhed and slowly slithered towards the large stalagmite that stood at the rim of the visible. Beyond it, only shadows.
Unable to tell whether something was there or not, they took a few more steps in and leaned forward, squinting. Lake’s screen-trained eyes failed to pick up the hint. On the left side of the stalagmite, spreading like pus out of a wound, four small but steadily growing bumps showed.
They were about to repeat the question, in a probably slightly more pressing tone, when they finally caught sight of the now finger-sized four black claws. RUN. Yes, that would have been the sensible thing to do. Running. Away from what was to come. Whatever it was. But away. Far away. Fast away. They could have run. They should have. They didn’t’.
Instead they took a step closer to the stalagmite and swallowing hard, repeated their claim in a strangled voice that fought its way out of a throat like one rushes against the rising tide. This time there was an answer, although they didn’t pick up on it right away. A sound came from behind the stalagmite. A sound Lake had never thought existed outside of tales. And from a tale it did come. But not from one of those tales we tell kids before bed. Not one of those edulcorated good-thinking-good-feeling Pip the Penguin makes a friend. No.
It came from the tales that had been told millenia ago, around a campfire, in the midst of the night. Those that our ancestors shared, mingling reality and dream in terrifying recounts of things that preyed and lurked. It was a sound that had inhabited every cave, every cellar, every empty dwelling since the beginning of time. The sound that had caused humankind to seek fire, to try and tame it, control it, at the risk of their lives, just so they could chase it. It was a sound that had escaped from the land of nightmares and ripped its way to the then and there. And it now gripped Lake’s heart and squeezed.
They recoiled, covering their face in the impulse all humans have to preserve those fragile and soft flesh covering of heads. The croak filled the cave again, and this time it seemed to Lake that there had actually been a word in there. 'Help.' it had said.
Half crouching and half up, Lake stood immobile in the death silence of the cave. Some silences are heavier than others, their weight as always depending on the weight of the words that had been said prior to it. Silence had that power of multiplication intensity for you. Remain silent after you’ve said something sweet, and you’re guaranteed to get a smile. Those are light words which don’t weigh. Remain silent after you’ve said something mean and notice how the air seems to cave in on you, abandoning you to be crushed under the weight of the multitude of oxygen molecules piled on your shoulders from the top of your head right up to the ozone. This silence was crushing.
Right before they reached the conclusion that the best course of action was to run away and never come back, the darkness started melting around a figure carefully advancing towards them. If anyone had told them it was alive, they would have laughed until their hearts burst. The thing -or creature- that appeared in front of Lake had more in common with the biohazard section of a tip than with any living creature that had or would ever exist. But still... it breathed. Could you call it breathing? They guessed you could. Or maybe you couldn’t. Did a raspy rattle that made things clink and clunk and jangle and jingle count as breathing? They weren’t sure. But it didn’t matter, because right then whatever had come of out the shadows was standing within arm’s reach and staring at them.
Or so it felt, for no matter how hard they tried, Lake failed to locate anything that looked like eyes, or any visual perception device for that matter. What stood before them was a heap of jujus. Rising and falling in slowmow, were all the trinkets one could have found at any junk religious shop in the world. And more. Only they were all there at once. Taijitsus, wheels of dharma, stars of David, khandas, fatima hands, ankhs, crosses, oms, ichtyses, dharma wheels, menorahs, crescent moons, scarabs and Marys all sat in an indistinguishable mountain of talismans. There were others too, ones they did not know. Knotted trees and combs, reptile-looking creatures and three-legged swirls, intricate masks and cacti, and an array of geometrical shapes from the simplest to the most intricate. All going through the wave-like motion of breath, releasing a indescribable stench with every exhale.
Coating the plethora of symbols was a greasy-looking substance that looked like it oozed from every pore of the bearer, its stickiness keeping together most of the religious armour in place as the heap moved forward. Lake held their breath to avoid passing out from the fetor, and stood their ground. They hadn’t come all this way to back down so easily. The thing stood shrouded in thick darkness, staining the light. Its presence delimiting a space where nothing could shine.
They repeated their demand in a voice that surprised them with faked confidence when they had assumed it would sound like nothing more than a trailing whisper. ‘I have come to ask your help.’. It was over-articulated this time, sounding like a parent talking to a sleepy three year old when they drag their feet before heading to nursery. Lake wondered whether whatever it was that stood before them could hear what they said at all, buried under the layer of curios.
It stirred and shifted a bit, causing whatever baubles that weren’t riveted by the oozing yellowish glazing to chime. ‘You’ve come to seek my help?’. It paused, something from under the knicknack stared at him.
‘Yes.’
At first it sounded like someone clearing their throat, or maybe about to gag. Then as it intensified, Lake finally grasped its meaning. It was laughing.
‘Foolish youth. I do not grant help. ’
‘But...’
‘You’re mistaken.’
‘... I’ve been told...’
‘You’ve been told wrong.’
Right hook. Had they been? They tried to think pragmatically, fighting the blurriness of sleep-deprivation. Was it possible they had got it wrong? Was it possible they had got only this wrong, while they got everything else right? The location, the time of day, the very existence of the... how had she called it? Lamash. No. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. The thing waited, patiently, still standing uncomfortably close to Lake’s chest. It belched again. Laughed, Lake corrected themselves. Laughed.
‘However... ’ it waited a bit, tilting sideways what Lake was staring to think by then was its head ‘I do grant wishes. But you are mistaken in thinking that wishes and help are the same, foolish youth.’
‘It’s ok. I don’t care. If you want to call it a wish, I’ll call it a wish. God, I’ll call it whatever you want. Just answer this, can you hel... grant my wish?’
‘Can I? Can. Yes. Of course. I can.’ it shifted and got closer, now staring up at Lake with its pair of beads. ‘The question is: can you?’
They stared at each other for a moment, static. The stench of the creature making Lake’s stomach twist. Charred flesh and sun-macerated fish carcass would come to mind, together with a whisk of old french cheese. A smell so thick it felt like you could cut through it with a blade. From so close, it made Lake’s eyes water.
The creature tilted its head and grimaced, or maybe smiled. It was hard to tell what the exact expression was, behind the rags and leather scraps that covered it. From the corner of the mouth Lake could see and the single visible eye, they guessed it was smirking. Yes. It was smirking at them. After what felt like a long scan and evaluation of the visitor, the cave-dweller backed away a little, making the loose trinkets on its back jingle.
‘Where are you going?’ they spurted out.
‘You’re not ready.’
‘What?!’
For a moment there, their heart battled with their brains. Running away. Yes. That was an option. The best one probably. Safest, in any case. But still... You have to try... could they really? Wouldn’t it be a pity after all these efforts they had made to even get here? Can you afford to look her in the eyes if you run now?
‘Wait!’ they rushed behind the thing, catching up and laying their hand on what they hoped was a shoulder. The sticky grease clung to their fingers instantly, sucking them closer. It was like grabbing a block of old frying fat and having it melt into honey over your fingers. They forced themselves to not let go instantly as they touched it. ‘I am ready.’ they creaked, voice shaky with tension.
It didn’t flinch. It didn’t even turn around. But it stopped walking. ‘You’re not.’. It croaked, its hoarse notes reverberating in the cave like thunder in an abandoned house.
‘I am!’ they pleaded, then, realising they sounded more desperate than certain, repeated with all the calm they could muster ‘I am.’
Shaking off Lake’s hand, the creature resumed its slow but inexorable walk away from them. ‘No. Wait!’ This time Lake rushed in front of them to bar the way. More in a desperate attempt at making a point than at any real prevention as the cave walls disappeared into obscurity, leaving them with no way to evaluate the distance. You can’t let it slip away. You can’t! ‘Please. Just tell me. Tell me what I have to do.’
It walked on. Not changing its course of direction the slightest. When it got to Lake whose breath was now a staccato, chest quivering under the forceful heart pumping, it walked on. Until its greasy sticky body was against Lake’s, the putrid smell exploding into an all-encompassing essence. Lake felt the cold sticky texture spread on them, gripping every inch it touched, sending goosebumps shooting through their back. I’m gonna die here.
They closed their eyes. Whatever was to come, they couldn’t muster the courage to see it. They were going to die, then and there, and that would be the end of it. They felt the grease slither up their chest and embrace their shoulders. Something rode down their back while the ankles were being scaled. They were being eaten alive. They would never make it back, make it home. And all of this would have been for nothing.
Heart pounding so hard it made it hard to breathe, they gasped ‘I’ll do anything!’ something wrapped itself around their neck and started squeezing ‘eeez’.
‘There we are.’
Suddenly, the jelly-textured vine that had wreathed around their neck and was making its way to their mouth stopped. The tallow coffin that had materialised around Lake detained its progression. They could still feel parts of it writhe on the back of their calves.
The next thing they knew they had fallen on all fours on the floor, coughing dark unctuous pellets of whatever had reached into their mouth.
‘That’s what I wanted to hear.’ the tone had changed, the voice too, or so it seemed for in the daze they were in after the lack of oxygen, anything could have sounded like anything.
They tried to open their eyes through the muck but could only manage to get suet into them. It didn’t sting or burn, it simply clogged the vision and progressively made everything blurry. ‘I’ll do anything. I swear.’ tears swelled up now, fighting their way though the coating on their eyes.
‘Good job.’ the creature said, leaning over the hunched-up body of the teenager.
‘And now, sleep.’
