#spookytale

It was about a few minutes into the silence—that the group huddled beneath the glow of light still heard nothing in the stiff atmosphere. Some chattered amongst theirselves, while some only sat with panicked faces.

..but, still.. as odd as this whole situation was, Skid felt that everything about it was pretty spooky. Something about it though still felt like a rush of a memory in his brain. As if he could swear that he had either been in this situation before, or at least heard about a situation like this.

Skid lifted his head slightly toward his mom, who still held him firmly in her arms as she spoke with Ms. Jaune—who had scooted up to them to talk about what could possibly be going on.

"..wh—what do we do, Jaune?" His mother uttered anxiously, her purple bangs slightly covering her wide eyes. "First, I end up having to deal with a doll, and then.."

"Hey—" Ms. Jaune tried to smile. "It'll be okay! We don't know if there's not a way out yet. Just chill. If we find a way out of here, then—"

Jaune trailed off. "..then.."

..slowly, the balding elderly man in the corner began to slightly move.

...

The damp atmosphere that enveloped the area caused some to slightly sweat. And in the corner of the room with a faint odor of stone hanging in the air, Radford sat with his head leaned up against the wall, with Robert who sat beside him.

Radfords friends were nearby—Kevin and Rick, who were both sitting in a corner and speaking to eachother about their situation. Though, Kevin, with his eyes wide and beads of sweat trickling down his face—appeared to be the only one really panicking out of either of them.

As much as Radford did want to talk to him, his little brother was here. And he knew how afraid or worried kids could sometimes get. So as of now, he was sitting near him—attempting to smile and keep him distracted with conversation occasionally.

But—Robert had a frown curled on his wide lips, a strange softness within them that was usually rarely there. The cap he usually always wore sat in his lap, held slightly by his hands.

Radford sat with his head tilted up slightly, letting his gaze shift to his brother.

Robert sat for a few more moments in silence, slightly swallowing as he did so. "..do you think we're gonna get out of here?"

"What?" Radford blinked for a moment, gently looking down at the small teenage boy sat near him. He shook his head, a grin twitching onto his lips. "Of course we are, man! Why wouldn't we?"

"I—I don't really know. It just.. feels kind of weird. Does anybody even know we're down here?"

"Well.. yeah. Sure they do. If a bunch of people in a town went missing, wouldn't they go looking for them?"

"..."

At a swift pace, Radford let his hand slowly reach downward. And setting his palm on Robert's shoulder, he gave him a grin.

"Hey.. don't worry. I'm sure we'll get out of here. It's not like every horror movie out there ends with the characters not being able to escape. Hahah.."

Robert blinked, looking down at his legs. And then finally, a smile started to form on his lips.

"..thanks, dude. I just—"

Robert flinched—a tingling flush slowly washing over him as a muffled, sharp noise cried out. From beside him, Radford's body flinched back against the wall, and his grasp on Robert's shoulder tightened.

At the same time, the chattering from everyone else either appeared to cease, or some let out a slight yelp. And silence quickly fell over the area once more.

"Wh—what was that..?!" Kevin muttered in a wavering voice from where he sat, now practically leaning against Rick.

Robert felt a lump form in his throat. The noise was so sharp and loud, it.. sounded like a pistol. No. It was a pistol.

There was the noise of a low, masculine voice shouting something he couldn't exactly decipher.

Several ideas began to form in Robert's head. And he felt a shaky exhale begin to force itself out of his mouth.

He felt Radfords grasp on his shoulder tighten. Turning his head, he let his eyes meet Radfords face. Behind the lenses of Radfords glasses, his small eyes were so.. wide. His mouth was now slightly parted as shuddering breaths began to escape his lips.

"..du—dude..?" Robert tried to say.

He saw Radfords gaze momentarily shift over to him, and then back toward the corridor. At an alarming rate just then, Radford shot up to his feet, his shoes practically slamming against the stone ground.

Robert didn't have a chance to say anything, as his blonde-headed older brother suddenly cried out with a sharp rise in volume—"Uncle!"

Radfords legs began to move at a rapid pace they hadn't before, sweat practically coating his slim face as he scurried into the dark. He heard Kevin call out his name. He.. heard his brother call out his name as he ran around two ladies in the center of the room—sat on the golden rows of flowers. He heard an oddly deep voice he didn't recognize call for him to stop.

Petals flew into the air as he dashed toward the long narrow hallway. He didn't know why. He wasn't sure why. He didn't even know why he was running. It could have been anything. It could have just been his uncle trying to see if his gun worked.

So.. why was his heart racing like this? Why were his thoughts swirling? It wasn't gonna be like that again. He wouldn't lose him. He wasn't going to lose him. His uncle said to not go after him. So why the hell was he running like this?

As the darkness became the only thing he could see behind the red and blue lenses of his glasses, he just ran. He ran. And ran. And ran.

And.. when he finally reached the end of the hall toward a looming, ominous entrance—without thinking of the light that was visible inside or why he was even going in there, he practically leapt inside.

His hands clenched around the gray doorframe, and he yelled out again.

"Wh—What's—"

He stopped.

"..going.."

His eyes trailed over what appeared to be a dark room, a faint crack of light glowing down on a patch of grass in the center. In the faint shadow, he saw two figures. Two tall men in fact, who's faces now appeared to be staring at him. As he processed one with a cigarette in his mouth, and one with black hair, it already became clear to him that it was his uncle and his uncles work partner.

An almost instant sigh of relief seemed to nearly escape his sigh once he processed the sight of his uncle, just standing there with a pistol held in his hand.

Relieving as that sight was for Radford, there was.. something else that caught his eye. Two, bright yellow beams of light were the first thing his eyes began to trail over. And the more he stared, the more it became apparent that they were formed in the shape of.. hearts. The very sight of them made Radford stare with slight shock.

From behind these odd beams of light though, there was something else. A figure. A tall figure that looked somewhat humanoid.

The crack of light that formed on the patch of grass made the figures features more.. apparent though. And as it stood beneath the light, he processed a dark purple dress it appeared to be wearing—long white sleeves worn over its hands. No. It's—white paws.

A strange, white symbol that resembled a tiny bead with wings was printed on the chest-part of its dress—with white lines streaming from above the symbol and onto the lower parts of its dress. The dress was so large it practically seemed like a cloak of some sort.

And.. the things head—stretched from the part of its neck that was covered by the collar of its dress. The things head didn't appear to be shaped like a humans at all. With a muzzle, a beady long lashed pair of red eyes, horns that sprouted up from the top of its head, and long dog-like ears.

It was not the head of a human. But the head of a goat.

"..wh—wha.."

Radford found himself beginning to take a step back, his hands slightly rising, and trembling at such a strange, unreal sight. A part of him wondered if he was hallucinating—or if it was some kind of statue.

And then—a voice began to come from it's muzzle.

"Er.. hello. Do not be afraid. I am—"

A loud, unbelievable scream escaped Radfords mouth for a moment as he stared at this thing in front of him—this thing that was apparently capable of speech. It looked like something out of one of those—those horror movies he saw!

He hadn't noticed, as he screamed, that a green beam of light had now appeared right next to the others—also in the shape of a heart. And as his screaming ceased, he let his eyes trail over it. Over its humanoid form, and its.. head that shouldn't have even been moving it's mouth. That shouldn't have even been producing a voice.

Just then, he began to feel a slightly dizzy sensation enter his head.

"Oh—oh my.. human—are you alright?" He heard it say, though now it's voice seemed slightly.. muffled.

He could barely speak, the room flashing into darkness, and then into light. Over. And over. And over.

"Wh—wha.. wh.."

..everything around him faded into nothingness, and just as that faded, his vision became nothing but darkness.

...

As Radford, his nephew the age of twenty-five shot to the ground, and fell onto the stone—John flinched. "Sh—Shit—kid!" He grunted, turning around as fast as he could despite the aching pain he felt in his chest. He tried to move a little more.

But—the phantom wound that he felt caused his legs to tremble, and be unable to move entirely.

"Urgh—ugh.."

Jack attempted to move as well—clenching a hand over his chest as he turned around. "John—"

"Oh—oh my.. are you hurt?" The things feminine voice asked.

"Ugh—this.. look, this doesn't involve you. You—agh.."

John coughed again. He didn't know how that flower had even hurt him. It hadn't even touched him with its pellets. It just touched the heart, and then—

John tried to move his legs again, shaking off the thoughts. But no amtetr how much he tried, he just..

"Here—let me see."

The things soft, feminine voice breathed out from where it stood. From behind him, he began to hear rough footsteps that moved at a quick pace. A quick pace that caused him to be sent into an alarm. It was walking toward him. He defintely knew that. And at the thought of that, he felt a tinge of slight anxiety overwhelm him.

"N—No. I don't—"

He tried to limp foward. The pain in his chest increased.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The things footsteps grew closer.

"No.."

Thud. Thud.

"..here.. stay still."

Something clenched over his shoulder, and his whole body became stiff. But he couldn't move. The pain was so severe. He didn't know what it was about to do. All rational reactions or reasons escaped his mind in the moment. And—

..something washed over him just then the moment it's.. paw presumably crept over his sturdy shoulder. The moment he felt it, he stopped moving altogether. His body stopped trying to move all together, and.. just stood.

The wave he felt was.. soft. Calming. Gentle.

"..wh.."

Despite the words of protest that were eager to escape his mouth, the calming wave sent over him like a warm blanket just then made him unable to speak at all for a few seconds. It was as if at the very touch of the things paw—the phantom wound had closed. As if it had already healed.

His wide eyes became somehow even wider—the strange feeling that had washed over his chest causing him to just stand there.

"Jo—John—" Jack tried to stammer from beside him.

Jack's low voice became quiet—the things paw slowly slipped from Johns shoulder over to Jack's more larger one, clenching around it's form. Jack flinched, clenching his hand tighter around the pistol he still held in his hand.

"Ugh—"

"Jack—" John's gruff voice spoke without his control, "—wait—"

Jack's head snapped toward him, as if about to protest, or as if he were about to raise his arm right then and there and whip the things head with his pistol.

But then he stiffened. And his eyes became wide, his lips just.. parting as he felt the sensation of whatever this creature was doing to him.

For a few moments, this face remained on Jack—and only after the thing slowly slipped its paw off of Jack's shoulder did his eyes become a little less wide.

The pain they had felt from that flower. At the touch of this things hand, it was as if there had been no wound inflicted at all. The pain was.. taken away. Healed.

This thing had healed them.

"There we are. You should be feeling better now." The thing softly said, "Now.. oh.."

The things beady little eyes trailed over to Radford—his blonde headed nephew who screamed and promptly fainted, now completely out on the side of his body against the ground.

Cocking it's head, the thing held a paw to it's lips. "Oh, dear.. it would appear I've.. made a bit more of a mess than I thought I would. Fret not. I shall carry them."

The thing began to move foward, it's dress making a soft ambience of swishing as it's legs presumably moved beneath. It was so swift though that it was.. sort of hard to believe it might not have just been floating beneath that dress.

It stopped in front of Radfords collapsed body—bending down.

"Wai—wait, hold on—" John found himself saying. "That's my nephew. I should be the one carrying him."

The things eyes gave a glance back at him, blinking slowly. "Oh. I see. Very well then."

He frowned beneath his brown mustache. Not feeling the phantom wound in his chest any longer, John was able to move his sturdy legs with ease. After a few steps, he bent down with a grunt, shaking his arms beneath the young man's torso.

"..hold on, kid." John softly whispered, "We'll find a way outta here. I just need to ask whatever that thing is."

Getting an easier hold on Radford, who laid with his eyes closed and his mouth hung wide open, he lifted him up into his arms. Jack looked on with a somewhat concerned expression, while the Goat only looked with an equal amount. Sort of. It was hard to tell what expression it was even making.

"..my.. I apologize I wasn't here sooner. I usually pass through everyday to see if a human has fallen down or not. I didn't think there'd be more than one."

"..humans?"

"Yes. You're—actually the first humans that have come here in a long time. But, do not worry. I shall—"

The thing went quiet again, slightly lifting up it's head.

There was the frantic noise of.. light thumping. Muffled at first, but as they waited, it gradually grew louder. The damp air filled the room a little more as they waited to see who it could have possibly been.

And then, a small blonde-headed boy came into view, practically throwing himself into the room. "Rad—"

Almost instantly, letting his eyes flicker to the humanoid goat-headed thing in the corner, Robert let out a gasp, and immediately flinched back. His mouth hanging open.

The thing stared back at him, cocking it's head to the side.

"Ah! Oh.. hello." The things feminine voice softened.

It stared at Robert for a moment, who only looked at it with a wide gaze filled with shock and possibly fear—his hands balled up.

The thing blinked, and then looked over to John.

"Du—dude, what's.." Robert tried to speak, his wavering voice making it very apparent he was afraid. His voice began to rise in volume upon noticing a collapsed Radford in his arms. "What happened?!"

John looked over his nephws small form, and let out a sigh from his lips. "Nothin' worth worrying about. No need to be scared." His gaze became slightly stern, meeting the things face once more as he looked off into the corner.

It didn't speak a word, staring back at him with a gentle gaze still in it's dark red eyes. "My goodness. How many of you fell down here?"

The sheriff slowly blinked, letting his thoughts wonder over whether or not he should just casually let this thing know of the other townspeoples presence. Or if he should lie and let it go.

But—as much as his brain screamed for him not to trust this thing, he had a bit of a feeling that if he wanted answers about this place, he wouldn't have a choice. And.. there was a part of him that recalled something from a while ago.

So, he let out a sigh.

And on his behalf, Jack spoke. "..well..

—––——

"..oh, there you are—"

"..."

"Wh—Wha.. what the.."

To be quite frank, as John and Jack emerged from the shadows with his collapsed nephew in his arms, with Robert walking alongside him—the reaction to seeing a tall humanoid goat looming behind them was (not surprisingly) unpleasant.

All at once, John found himself bombarded with the terrified faces of everyone else who sat there—some letting out gasps, and some letting out yelps. Some holding onto their loved ones even tighter upon seeing the thing. And... some like those kids in the Halloween costumes gaining bright, excited smiles.

"John, what the hell is that?!"

He heard Patty yell out from the corner she stood in, her brows furrowed. The elderly man in the black robe, who appeared to finally be awake, held onto a yellow cross that began to peek out from the bag laying in front of him.

"That's what I'm wondering too, Patty." Grumbled John.

"But—don't worry. Its.. not gonna hurt us. I think. Right—? Uhhh.." Jack trailed off, fidgeting with his hands as Robert stood, gazing up in shock at the thing still. (And also beginning to slowly back away in the direction Ross and Roy were)

"..Toriel." The thing gently said, "And... please do not refer to me that way."

"..ye—yeah! Toriel's not gonna hurt us. It—she.. healed us.. actually."

"..healed you? Wha—what do you mean?" Patty tried to say, clearly puzzled out of her mind.

"Do you not know what healing magic is?" The thing—Toriel asked.

The puzzled expression that formed on Patty's face appeared to give her plenty of answers already.

"I see. Well—I am.. not certain how so many of you fell down here. That must have been quite a fall for all of you. But—do not be afraid."

Toriel gave what must have been a soft attempt at a smile, placing her paw over her chest. "I am the caretaker of the Ruins. I happen to pass through everyday to see if any more humans have fallen down. I.. didn't think so many would fall though."

"However," She sighed, "I will do my best to guide you all here. Even if I am not sure if a narrow place like the Ruins will be safe for you."

"Wai—wait, don't trust it! What if this thing might be of the Devil?" The elderly man cried out, "Why would you wish to trust it?!"

"..the Devil?" Toriel repeated. "Pardon me, but.. I do not know of any 'devil'."

"Wh—what?" The man shook his head, "No. I won't fall for your deception. You—"

"Sir—please." John tried to huff out, "I don't care what you think she might be. We kinda don't have a choice here but to follow her. Just stay calm. We'll figure this out."

"..how—how could you defend it? You don't even know if its—"

..a stern glare from John appeared to make the man's eyes soften, and he sighed.

"..very well then. Forgive me."

"..good. Now. Does anyone else here have any—"

A sharp noise sounded out through the large room, causing John and everyone else to flinch. Something swift but small flew fast, and within a few seconds, John was able to contort his body and dodge whatever just flew by.

He felt his nephew jump in his arms—though it was hard to tell if it was the noise that had woken him up, or if John had contorted his body so much to the point of his nephew nearly flying from his arms.

He shook his head. A ringing came into his ears again. Whatever it was, it appeared to come from Toriels direction, who only stood with paws held over her ears.

"Goodness.. what was.."

John shifted his gaze, trying to squint and see whatever had been the source of the noise. It was a gun. He knew because he bore one all the time.

His eyes scanned over the area. He scanned over Patty, the black haired man with glasses, the suspicious muscular man with a blue shirt, and..

The older man with dark gray hair, his gaze fixed into a stern glare. In his hand, he held a small metal object. A gun.

Silence fell over the area as John looked at the man. The older man let his gaze fall over the object, and then the man's face as he clicked his tongue.

The only thing the man huffed out in a gruff manner, was simply:

"..m.."

Skid grunted. Rubbing the outer shell of his white mask with his gloved hand. An ache streaked further and further into his forehead, feeling as if something sharp were stabbing into his skull over and over. A sore, aching pain had formed all across his body. And he felt his head practically wobbling from side to side.

He hadn't.. really known how long he had been falling for. Or how far he had fallen. All he knew was that as he stared at the brilliant blue sky that was suddenly shining down from above—it hadn't been the sky he had previously seen.

The sky he had seen had been pitch black, speckled with flickering stars and a high moon. And in the air was a soft, gentle tune of a flute. He had heard it while he had been playing on his computer. He didn't know where it was coming from. Somewhere outside perhaps.

And then—he saw his mother walking by in the view from the creak of his door at a slow.. zombie-like pace. Nothing about the idea of her walking past his door seemed out of the ordinary. Yet, her pace.. it didn't feel right. The strange glazed look he had caught in her eye as she went past.

And.. for once, he decided to obey his fear. Instead of continuing to play games as he normally he did, he hopped off of his chair and followed.

"Mom? Where—where are you going?" He had asked.

She didn't respond. She just kept walking.

..he stumbled behind her as she turned a corner. "Mom?"

Still, she didn't answer—her mouth slightly parted as she kept walking.

And.. even with that, he wasn't sure how long it had been. How long it had been for when he went from simply saying his mom's name to crying for her and begging for her to talk to him. He didn't know how long it had been that he had ran outside behind her with the cold, blinding chill enveloping him. How long simple tears turned into hysterical sobbing as everyone else he knew in town appeared to be walking slowly in the same direction.

He had ran along the sidewalks after her, along the roads, along the fields of grass which led into the forest, and into the forest itself. He heard the piercing sound of a siren from behind him. It.. it was a bit blurry from there though. He wasn't sure why.

He may have gone with those two officers he had occasionally seen around town, who had seemingly shown up out of nowhere asking him questions about his mom. He might have kept following his mom as the police officers pleaded for him to come back. It might have even been both, or his mind was simply making things up.

..no. No, he defintely went with the officers at some point. But he couldn't remember when. He couldn't remember if he ran away from them or if he went after them when they were gone from the car longer than they should have been.

Either way—what he did remember was stumbling foward once he had reached the gigantic, round hole that led into the darkness below—and feeling himself slowly descend into it. The air around him shifting into humidity. He could barely see as he practically felt himself being spun around. Seeing glimpses of other people in town either falling from below or above him.

It felt like forever. It might have been forever. Maybe a few minutes, or maybe an hour. Things ended up going dark for what felt like only a second—and..

..then merely a second ago, the darkness faded. And he was here. Laying on something soft, a damp atmosphere filling the area around him as warmth coated his face through the holes of his mask. A sweet, fragrant scent filled his nostrils. The more he just.. sat there, he processed the sensation of several soft but small items beneath his arms.

He forced his head to turn, squinting a little as he did so—and attempting to grasp at the ground with his little hands. Instead of firm ground though, he felt his fingers slightly grab at something. Something that felt long, thin, and delicate.

His eyes gazed down—adjusting to the faint darkness around him. Only then as he processed the vibrant shades of golden yellow from within his hands did he realize that it was a small flower. In fact, there were several flowers. Golden flowers sitting from below him in several rows on a patch of beautiful green grass.

Skid blinked. He attempted to shake his head again—but he only felt a searing ache enter his mind once more. He let out a grunt. As if to mirror his noises though, he began to hear several sounds from all around him. Several voices. Grunting at different turns, or grumbling, muttering different things he couldn't understand.

He gave a quick glance up. In the faint corner of his eye from within the darkness, he saw a gray-haired man in a green vest slowly sit up—lifting his upper body and shaking his head at a rather rapid rate. The man let out a low grunt again—sounding as if he were snarling.

Not just that—a gigantic man in the corner with a blue shirt around his muscular build had already been sitting up, grumbling in a low voice. A small girl with her light brown hair tied up in a ponytail, lifting her head up. A curvy woman with brown hair cascading down her back and running her fingers through her hair, sitting on another woman with darkish yellow hair made into a low ponytail. A slim-faced man with black hair and a pink bow around his neck—lifting his head up from the ground.

..they were faces he knew. Familiar faces.

"..son?"

A low, familiar voice with a feminine tone finally breathed out from beside him. Almost immediately, he snapped his head in the voices direction.

His eyes were greeted by the sight of a familiar, tall woman with straight long purple hair that went to her back—her bangs covering her squinted eyes. Her lips formed into a frown. Her hair appeared to be a slight mess from the fall.

And as she looked down at him, her eyes melting with hues of worry and not with a faint glaze—a wet sensation formed in his mind. A lump quickly formed in his throat. Almost instantly, he whimpered—"Mom!"

The ache in his body—the ache in his head. All of it felt like it didn't matter just within a few seconds. He practically hopped up onto his feet—a sob escaping his mouth.

"Mom!"

He cried, throwing his hands around desperately for the few moments he ran. And once he finally approached closely enough, he found himself desperately wrapping his arms around her slender waist. He burrowed his masked face into her chest—sniffling. Her body tensed for a moment, but quickly weakened in his arms.

"So—Son, what.. what happened?" His mom asked in a soft tone.

He couldn't answer—weeping into her chest as he just.. held onto her. He didn't even know how to describe it. All that he knew was that his mom was seemingly okay and normal again. And that filled him with an unbelievable amount of relief.

He exhaled heavily. Inhaled heavily. He felt her slender arms slowly slip around him, pulling him closer as she looked down at him. And then looked up. He looked up only for a moment. But he could see the slow widening of anxiety in her eyes. She went silent, and her mouth hung open.

"..wuuu.."

A higher, familiar voice began to mumble from behind him. And he slowly tilted head from the source of the sound. He blinked—the tears in his eyes seeming to barely stop from shock, streaking down his cheeks as he stared at the orange-masked figure in the shadows.

It was a small boy with a gigantic pumpkin mask over his head, the bright green stem emerging from the top, and a black suit worn around his chubby body. The more his eyes trailed over this boy who began to lift his head with a puzzled grunt, the more the feeling of familiarity started to fill his mind.

He blinked again. Two pairs of round eyes now stared back at him. The boy in the pumpkin mask spoke. "..Skid..?"

"Pump? Wha—what are you doing here? What's—"

His eyes trailed across the room. All around within the shadows, faces he saw slowly starting to open their eyes and gaze around the room.

The gigantic, muscular man with a blue shirt worn over him who he knew as the local man who sold ice cream from within the town. Frank.

The curvy woman with brown hair who he had only seen once, now bending down next to a man with slightly cracked blue glasses before him—and whom struggled to sit up. He couldn't place where he had seen either of them. But something about them seemed familiar.

The woman with the darkish yellow hair, her mouth formed into an almost triangular frown as she momentarily glared at the brown haired woman—and then how her gaze softened once she turned to look at a small black-haired boy with his face firmly planted on the ground. A muscular, tall man with long brown hair slowly sitting up.

Jaune. His mom's friend. Ross. Aaron.

The small girl with her hair tied up into a ponytail—the usual irritated expression she wore now gone as she looked around in confusion from beside Pump. Susie. Pumps older sister.

The slim faced man with black hair flickering his gaze around the room—a gigantic cap now sat with his knees pressed to the ground, his hands placed on them. His white button up slightly messed up from the fall. Kevin. The cashier whom he was friends with at the local candy store.

The two police officers from before—the brown haired sheriff appearing to be helped up into a standing position by his black-haired partner. A worried expression on the black-haired ones face.

A blonde haired woman who he had seen at the hospital from before—rubbing her head.

A blonde headed boy shaking his head with a dimple on the right side of his face. A man with a similar appearance and movie glasses worn over his eyes grunting rather pathetically from the ground. A large man with dark brown hair calmly looking down at him, already sitting up.

The angry neighbor with dark gray hair who had already been sitting up. An elderly bald man with a black cloak and a cross-necklace worn over his shoulders. A small brown haired boy from beside the woman with brown hair. And.. many others. All of whom which he either knew or faintly recognized.

The sheriff with brown hair and a mustache over his lips gazed around slowly in the corner of his eye. The wrinkles in his cheeks fading slightly as he gave a frown. And he blinked slowly. His eyes widened. Scanning over everyone else. The light from above which shone down onto them.

His head was tilted up still. He made himself slowly walk foward—his deputy following alongside him. And his dark eyes just.. stared at the light. The sky. The dark brown rock which he could barely see just from above it. The damp atmosphere of the room seemingly overwhelmed him.

Audibly, beneath his breath in a gruff voice—he uttered—