Willie Dong
Luckily, Willie had managed to escape from the pack of hounds, in part due to their naivety and inexperience, when they turned their attention to a pair of two wild Zigzagoon bursting out of a nearby thicket of green. He remembered sliding down the base of the tree, it?s coarse bark scraping against the skin of his leg and thin clothes, and then just running in whatever direction he was facing. Somehow, they hadn?t caught him. With a moment to finally breathe and think, Willie looked himself over, searching for any injuries. His shins were a bright red, thankfully with no visible cuts, but his white undershirt was splashed with brown marks down the length of it.
?The bright side is I?m fine, but this kind of sucks,? he said, patting down his shirt in a vain attempt to get the stains out. ?Not to mention, I?m kind of lost.? Sighing in resignation, Willie turned his attention upwards, trying to figure out where exactly he had run off to. There was no paved route in sight, and as far as he knew, he was the only person anywhere nearby. But in front of him, maybe some hundred yards away, Willie noticed what seemed to be the outer wall and rock formation of what hopefully was Rusturf Tunnel. ?That?s where I need to go, at least I hope so??
Approaching it, the idea came into Willie?s mind to scale it, hoping to find an entrance somewhere at the top. Hand over hand, foot over foot, Willie began his ascent up to the plateaus atop the rocky wall, oblivious to the fact that had he just walked along the outer edge, finding the entrance would have most likely only have been a matter of time. When his hand reached the top of the small cliff, one hand leveraged over the edge, providing a base, Willie maneuvered his backpack into his free hand and then tossed it up and over. He soon followed afterwards, swinging his hips until one of his legs made it over, his foot digging into the rock, and rolled himself up onto the platform.
It was bare, very rocky, but exactly did Willie expect? Looking around, he saw no sign of an entrance or anything remotely similar. ?I guess I?ll just walk around,? he said, swinging his backpack back onto his shoulders. The teen was so focused on finding an entrance, that he hadn?t noticed the odd patch of rock only steps away, the surface differing in texture from the rest. He unknowingly stepped right in the middle of it, and just like that, Willie felt the earth go out from under him.
He fell with a yelp. His hands reached out, hoping to grab hold of something, but the boy felt nothing but air and dust between his fingers. His legs kicked out, but it only threw him further off balance. He felt like he was plummeting until he wasn?t. Ass landing hard on solid rock, the contents of his bag loudly bumped against each other as he felt himself no longer falling but sliding. Willie shouted again, panicking, his feet kicking about as he skidded along the odd tunnel. His hands shout out to the side, albeit momentarily, drawing them back as the rocky surroundings dug in and slid across his palms. In the heat of the moment and the darkness of it all, his actions seemed vain. Willie?s mind raced, his shouts and screams seemingly deaf to his ears as he looked down into engulfing blackness.
At least, until his brain caught up to his body, and the boy realized he was no longer moving at all. It took a few minutes for the teen to calm down, his breathing ragged and his heart still thumping in his ears. Once he had managed that, he flushed, a brief redness coming over him. Even if no one else had been there to see it, it was embarrassing. Flustered, he felt along the walls of the confine with his hands, still tender from before, and his feet, trying to get a sense of where he was. Aside from his own breathing and the scattering of pebbles as he moved, everything was silent. Willie turned around, and behind him, he could see light faintly brightening the upper area of the diagonal tunnel, but at this angle, the hole back to the surface could not be seen.
?Guess the only way?s forwards?? He sighed, staring down into the darkness. Carefully, Willie searched for solid ground with his feet and then using his hands and hips, pushed himself down the path. Sliding along, he realized the palms of his hands weren?t the only things that were tender.
Willie hadn?t a clue how long he had been at this, his steps slow and small, almost aggravatingly so. He wanted to pick up the pace but falling down another pit wasn?t such an attractive idea right at this moment. What was attractive, was the little source of light Willie noticed as he got closer and closer to the tunnel?s end. It was flat surface he saw through the shimmering faintness, and Willie could not have been any happier. He cheered loudly, his echoes joining in on the celebration. The teen flipped himself so that he was facing forward on his stomach now, peering through this new, unexpected entrance to the cave. He saw little of note, just more rocks, but darker. He scooted out some more, eventually falling forward out of the tunnel. His arms reached out to help his fall, and Willie performed a weird sort of somersault onto the cavern?s floor.
The cave, or at least this room, was dimly lit. Some torches hung high along the walls, a few lanterns too, the leftovers of the cave?s expansions Willie assumed. He made out two more tunnels ahead of him, both much larger, in width and height, than the one he had unwillingly traveled through. Perhaps it may have been a trick, or his eyes adjusting to the darkness, but were they? shaking? He felt it first, saw it second, as small rocks and the ground shuddered around him, his vision coming unfocused. Then he heard it, the deep, low rumblings as something, something big, started to approach.
?The bright side is I?m fine, but this kind of sucks,? he said, patting down his shirt in a vain attempt to get the stains out. ?Not to mention, I?m kind of lost.? Sighing in resignation, Willie turned his attention upwards, trying to figure out where exactly he had run off to. There was no paved route in sight, and as far as he knew, he was the only person anywhere nearby. But in front of him, maybe some hundred yards away, Willie noticed what seemed to be the outer wall and rock formation of what hopefully was Rusturf Tunnel. ?That?s where I need to go, at least I hope so??
Approaching it, the idea came into Willie?s mind to scale it, hoping to find an entrance somewhere at the top. Hand over hand, foot over foot, Willie began his ascent up to the plateaus atop the rocky wall, oblivious to the fact that had he just walked along the outer edge, finding the entrance would have most likely only have been a matter of time. When his hand reached the top of the small cliff, one hand leveraged over the edge, providing a base, Willie maneuvered his backpack into his free hand and then tossed it up and over. He soon followed afterwards, swinging his hips until one of his legs made it over, his foot digging into the rock, and rolled himself up onto the platform.
It was bare, very rocky, but exactly did Willie expect? Looking around, he saw no sign of an entrance or anything remotely similar. ?I guess I?ll just walk around,? he said, swinging his backpack back onto his shoulders. The teen was so focused on finding an entrance, that he hadn?t noticed the odd patch of rock only steps away, the surface differing in texture from the rest. He unknowingly stepped right in the middle of it, and just like that, Willie felt the earth go out from under him.
He fell with a yelp. His hands reached out, hoping to grab hold of something, but the boy felt nothing but air and dust between his fingers. His legs kicked out, but it only threw him further off balance. He felt like he was plummeting until he wasn?t. Ass landing hard on solid rock, the contents of his bag loudly bumped against each other as he felt himself no longer falling but sliding. Willie shouted again, panicking, his feet kicking about as he skidded along the odd tunnel. His hands shout out to the side, albeit momentarily, drawing them back as the rocky surroundings dug in and slid across his palms. In the heat of the moment and the darkness of it all, his actions seemed vain. Willie?s mind raced, his shouts and screams seemingly deaf to his ears as he looked down into engulfing blackness.
At least, until his brain caught up to his body, and the boy realized he was no longer moving at all. It took a few minutes for the teen to calm down, his breathing ragged and his heart still thumping in his ears. Once he had managed that, he flushed, a brief redness coming over him. Even if no one else had been there to see it, it was embarrassing. Flustered, he felt along the walls of the confine with his hands, still tender from before, and his feet, trying to get a sense of where he was. Aside from his own breathing and the scattering of pebbles as he moved, everything was silent. Willie turned around, and behind him, he could see light faintly brightening the upper area of the diagonal tunnel, but at this angle, the hole back to the surface could not be seen.
?Guess the only way?s forwards?? He sighed, staring down into the darkness. Carefully, Willie searched for solid ground with his feet and then using his hands and hips, pushed himself down the path. Sliding along, he realized the palms of his hands weren?t the only things that were tender.
Willie hadn?t a clue how long he had been at this, his steps slow and small, almost aggravatingly so. He wanted to pick up the pace but falling down another pit wasn?t such an attractive idea right at this moment. What was attractive, was the little source of light Willie noticed as he got closer and closer to the tunnel?s end. It was flat surface he saw through the shimmering faintness, and Willie could not have been any happier. He cheered loudly, his echoes joining in on the celebration. The teen flipped himself so that he was facing forward on his stomach now, peering through this new, unexpected entrance to the cave. He saw little of note, just more rocks, but darker. He scooted out some more, eventually falling forward out of the tunnel. His arms reached out to help his fall, and Willie performed a weird sort of somersault onto the cavern?s floor.
The cave, or at least this room, was dimly lit. Some torches hung high along the walls, a few lanterns too, the leftovers of the cave?s expansions Willie assumed. He made out two more tunnels ahead of him, both much larger, in width and height, than the one he had unwillingly traveled through. Perhaps it may have been a trick, or his eyes adjusting to the darkness, but were they? shaking? He felt it first, saw it second, as small rocks and the ground shuddered around him, his vision coming unfocused. Then he heard it, the deep, low rumblings as something, something big, started to approach.
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