I turned the corner, my fingers scraping the wall as I tumbled past. Dull screeching filled
the hallway, far, but getting closer. My humble jog turned to a run. The portraits fell off the
walls, the shaking of the structure around me pushing the nails out of the cold stone revealing
the things, and people, hidden inside. The faces squished together, the eyes bulged and the face
white, drained of their blood.
I came to another turn in the hallway.
The torches on the walls flickered, then went out. The only light came from behind,
getting brighter and brighter. My run turned to a limp, filled with adrenaline. The screeching
turned to a scream of agony, then to a low growl. The floor shook with footfalls that were not my
own.
I turned the corner, spotting a knight’s armor crushed against the wall, the metal
stripped, and the corpse inside emitting a foul odor. A poor soul with him. A poor soul bound to
the lowest floor; however, the sword lay, untouched, next to the mangled body of the knight. I
scooped it up while running, though I had to slow. The light behind me got brighter, and a fool
may think that that is good.
I ran faster than I had ever, my heart pounding, almost rhythmically with my footsteps,
and the footsteps of something else. The structure shook as the entity came closer. The paintings
fell off of the walls in front of me, but this time, there was something different behind the
portraits of the king and queen.
Swords, weapons of war, hung on mantles beneath the portraits. Maces, blades, hooks,
spears. All things of deadly beauty. Their blades tinged red, the droplets pooling on the floor,
staining the damp stone to a dull red.
The light turned purple, the growls turned to a bloodcurdling scream, and shadows of a
humanoid cast across the purple light. But the shadows depicted something not quite human.
The arms and legs were too long, the torso too thin, and the head too large.
I tried my best to make my legs move faster, the screaming grew louder, a sound of
agony and bloodlust.
I slid across the floor, turning as I went to round the corner. What I found, however, was
the death of me.
A solid stone wall.
I ran to it, banging my hands on the cold stone, begging to be let out, to live. The gods
did not offer pity.

The shadows came closer, their long, thin arms outstretched. the screaming turned to a
wail, the light to a dull red, and I could feel its breath on my neck. Something frigid bit at my
skin like tiny fractures of glass.
I froze, not able to turn about. the stone wall in front of me shifted, the stones sliding
past each other to form a doorway. On the other side, there was no salvation, no freedom, and
no chance of living.
Just a mirror. Covered in dust, grimy and clouded. I could barely see myself in it.
Something shifted behind me, I could feel how close it was now. The light dimmed, and
the breath turned more controlled. The wailing stopped. Utter silence enveloped the hallway, the
only light coming from behind. I could see myself now, framed in a blood-red aura.
Then, the dark mass grew, stretching from behind, rising to its full height.
Its grossly long arms extended from behind my own, gripping the walls on either side of
me. The head, larger than my own, peeked out from behind mine. I could feel its breath moving
my hair, the heat scalding my scalp.
The mirror betrayed nothing of its features, which I am glad not to see.
But one thing penetrated the grimy mirror’s reflection.
A pearly white smile, extended from one end of its head to another. It seemed… truly
happy… happy to have me there.