Curiosity Killed the Cat

“Aaron this place is amazing! I can’t believe you live here now!”Amanda exclaimed. She twirled around, taking in all the sights. It was a quaint little town her best friend now lived in, with little knick-knack shops painted in pastels, a small bakery, and maybe a diner or two. Amanda lived in the city and had since she was born, so all she knew were the tall skyscrapers of the heads of corporations. But whenever her family took a vacation to a small town, Amanda always loved it and never wanted to leave.

“Yeah, yeah, I know how you love small towns Amanda. You can come visit me whenever you like,” Aaron said as he slid his gloved hands inside his hoodie pocket, “There’s also some cool places to go to too. Like Lake Faroe, the museum, and this really cool burial ground. They used to give tours, but for some reason they don’t anymore. Weird huh?”

“Yeah. Maybe the two of us should go some time!” Amanda laughed.

“I wouldn’t mind. I’ve been there once but I was never able to get inside the actual pyramid thing. Maybe the two of us should figure it out, ya know?”

“Totally.” Amanda agreed. The two discussed their plan as they walked around the small, quiet town. As it neared sunset, Aaron and Amanda decided that they would head for the burial ground first thing in the morning, bright and early to make sure no one would suspect them of anything.

The next morning, the two friends set out for the tomb in Aaron’s jeep. It was a bumpy ride to the grounds, since the only road consisted of dirt and gravel. As they bounced along, thoughts of mystery and treasure passed through Amanda’s mind. We might find the treasure of a buried king! She ventured. Eventually, Aaron slowed to a stop at an iron gate blocking their way.

The two got out of the jeep, and Aaron pushed the gate open with a loud squeak.

“Yeesh. Worse than last time I was here.” He muttered.

They wandered in, a strong fog settling close to the ground. The fog wandered into the clearing from the large forest surrounding it, and the fog was so thick it seemed like it was fake. As they came to the front of the tomb, Aaron began to feel antsy about being at the tomb at all.

“I don’t know any more Amanda… maybe we shouldn’t try and go in, ya know? Let the dead rest in peace, and all that shit.”

“Pussy.” Amanda remarked. She came face to face with the stone door. She pushed forward, but it didn’t budge.

“Gah! This thing just won’t move.” Amanda said after all the pushing she had done. Then she had a thought. She tried to slide the door to the side, and it slid smoothly in. Aaron stood at her side as more fog flooded out of the tomb.

“Amanda, you’re not really going to…” he trailed off.

“Of course I am Aaron! It’s what we came here for!” Aaron seemed torn. He strongly wanted to stay, but he couldn’t let Amanda go in alone. He shook his head as he came to a decision.

“I’m sorry Amanda, but I’m not going in. That place just seems too creepy. It seems wrong to go in there.”

“Whatever Aaron. I’ll probably be back soon anyway. You can stay here I guess.” Amanda replied, as she had always been the more adventurous one of the two.

She entered the tomb, and as she went down a corridor, the light from the entrance quickly faded. Luckily, she had brought along a flashlight. She flicked it on and shone it on the walls. There were lots of ancient pictures regarding some sort of monster the natives worshipped. She continued on, eventually reaching a long flight of stairs.

Amanda pulled her hood over her head as she descended the stair well, flashlight in hand. As she reached the bottom of the stairwell, there was a corridor so that she could turn right or left. She chose right, and continued on that way. There was a mix of fog and dust in the corridor, and cobwebs in the corners. The walls were made of old stone, with patches of weeds growing out of the cracks. As she continued on down the corridor, the fog seemed to get thicker and thicker, and she seemed to be almost wading through it. She came to an old iron gate that stretched all the way up to the curved ceiling, but had a rectangular cut out where the actual door was. She gently pushed it open, and the light from her flashlight beamed into the room.

Amanda heard a low, guttural growl coming from the recesses of the room. She shone the light inside, and came across a furry beast. It stood around fifteen feet tall, close to the ceiling. It had two horns atop its head, and black matted fur along its body. Its feet were adorned with long, yellowed claws, and it had a long snout with small, black eyes. It roared at Amanda, its mouth spread wide to reveal rows and rows of large jagged teeth, more than a shark could ever hope to have.

Amanda screamed, and turned to run, dropping her flashlight in the process, her hood falling off from her head, and ran through the fog. The beast broke through the iron gate, and ran on all fours to catch his prey.

Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she realized what she was in for. Her sobs echoed in the halls as she ran, knowing that she was doomed. The beast finally began to close in on her, and she heard the foot pounds mere feet from her, tha-dum tha-dum tha-dum.

Amanda was panicked, and had begun to lose her way in the small maze underground. She turned left at an intersection and found herself at a dead end. As she came face to face with a stone wall, she beat the stones in fury and in fear as she sunk down to her knees, her body wracked with sobs.

"No, no no no...” She murmured as she tried to squirm further away, huddled in the corner she was crouched in. She looked upon her death-bringer, her milky brown eyes rimmed with tears. She clutched her jacket, bringing it closer around her. Her knees curled up and she shut her eyes, and prepared herself for the horrible outcome that had yet to come.

The gate leading into the grounds of the tomb was pushed shut with a squeak. “Yet another victim for the master,” Aaron grinned.