The Distinguished Mr. Rose Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Walls Are Alive

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Chapter 8: The Walls Are Alive Lucius could see it: the dread within his uneasy cohorts. He saw it in the quivering of their eyes, the dry gulps, the stiff hair on the back of their necks. Every second their sanity was being eroded away, replaced by an ever-growing bout of fear. They were not supposed to be here. It was a new feeling, a curious one for the good Lucius. He had visited many places over the course of his life: exciting trips to those both safe and perilous, the glamorous hotspots of the wealthy and the run-down hovels of the poor, yet no matter the locale Lucius perused, he had never once thought that he wasn’t welcomed. Or rather, that humanity wasn’t welcomed. The earth was their home, and whether one be in forest or desert, prairie or marsh, by sea or mountain or hillside, it changed not the fact that they were all organisms born to roam and settle and thrive as children of the world. But that was not the case here. This ominous realm, on a fundamental level, did not accept them. It was as if the halls were alive: the brick, oozing of malice, distorted like wriggling sinew, and plaguing the musty air was a harsh, metallic odor—the gastric stench of an indescribable being, one Lucius’s party was stuck in the belly of. “I—I can’t…” Mili began to hyperventilate, breath choking on the putrid fumes, but she was not alone in her condition. Jack and Marco both clenched their stomachs and tried their best not to hurl. They failed. Lucius of course was similarly nauseated, but a gentleman had to always remain elegant. He so very abhorred looking unsightly. “Let us take a brief rest,” he said. Lucius rounded his fellows up and diligently attended to them, wiping their mouths and patting their backs like one would a babe. Whatever pride the full-grown adults once had mattered not in the face of such alien environment. Fortunately, humans had a peculiar quality that surpassed all other (known) creatures, and that was their adaptability. Indeed, even this nightmare of a domain lost its charm after a good minute, and eventually Lucius’s party was well enough to wobble onto their feet. “Sorry for troublin’ you, Lucius,” Marco said, his face blushing with red. “Think nothing of it, my friend. We all have our moments of weakness.” All except for Lucius, of course. The man was simply perfect—everywhere, anytime, at every conceivable moment. Once they got their composures resettled, the party took a tense step forward and descended into the impermeable dark. They marched for some time: eyes up front. Ears on edge whilst awaiting for the slightest of sounds. But, there was nothing, a silence so dense that it could be cut with a knife. Soon, the brain began to fill the gaps. It heard creaks where there were none, saw shadows slithering out of sight. It pumped blood and caused the heart to pound in preparation for some thing, some manner of creature or horror, to suddenly jump out. It never came. Time passed on. Their nerves only grew more frayed. During the times they actually spoke to one another, they did so in hushed tones, for the message window’s warning still remained fresh in their minds. Eventually, the group came across something different from their monotonous routine: a fork in the path. Left, right, or center? It seemed an insignificant choice at first, but Jack thought otherwise. “Right!” he said. The others turned towards him, perplexed by his enthusiasm. “Uh, I mean, why not? Right is always right after all… haha…” Mili eyed him suspiciously. Clearly the young Jack knew something they didn’t, but whatever that was he kept to himself for now. “If you say so, Jack-o.” They took a sharp right and continued their jaunt. Their journey was cut short, however, by a dead end. “Right is always right, huh…” But Jack was undeterred. “Hold on, let me try something real quick.” He began to knock on the wall, groping and fiddling with the surface until finally… one of bricks gave way. And a hidden room opened up before them. “How