Ava saw the blinding lights zip around the yard and zip into the empty dog house. Ava had lost her dog to a hit and run accident during winter vacation, and her mom had promised to get a new dog when the seasons changed; that was before the cancer was confirmed. Ava had spent the spring cleaning up the dog house with gusto in hopes of getting her mom and new puppy home at same time. When mom died, the project stopped mid-renovation.
Ava grabbed a flashlight and bolted for the door to the backyard. By the time the door slammed behind her, she was halfway to the dog house. Lights were flashing on and off, and she thought she heard squeaking noises coming from within. She cautiously called out, “Is something in there? You can come out here.”
Suddenly the squeaking noise rang out, the dog house started shaking and the lights were disappearing.
“Wait, come back here!” Ava scrambled to the door and looked down through the roof holes. The lights were not disappearing, but going down some digging tunnel in the back of that house; the diminishing lights were backlighting what looked like a dog but bolting down into the tunnel like a mole, and slipping into the darkness. Ava squatted down and squeezed herself through the door cutout in the house and flashed her torch towards the last place she had seen the furry critters. The new pile of dirt almost obscured the hole, with the squeaking noise fading away fast. Ava crawled in and swiped her arm trying to grab the critters.
She miscalculated her distance. The hole was much deeper than seen from above, and she had no lower support for her body. With her other hand holding her flashlight, she had no chance to change her grip and tumbled down the tunnel. With a mix of free falls and curves, it felt like she was falling forever; she curled in a ball-shape to try and protect herself and not get motion sick.
The last part to the tunnel rolled her into some wide chamber, like an interstate over section area. She got on her hands and knees, and barfed. So much for her dinner. Once her stomach calmed down, she scooted back from her mess and looked around. The chamber seemed to be more of a throne room or meeting hall, with tunnels on the ground level and balcony spaces surrounding the upper edges of the room. Towards one enclosed end, there lay a stage space with 2 things atop the stage. One was a throne made with a mix of ores, roots, and rugged furs—Ava hoped it was from unwashed stuffed animals; the second was a rock, glowing with hundreds of twinkle lights in dozens of colors. As Ava stepped closer, she felt drawn towards the glowing stone and reached out for it.
The stone was warm to the touch. Ava palmed it, and it was smoother than she expected for all the facets and lights shining through the surface. She held it closer to her face, and caught a peculiar whiff rising from the stone. “Is that … chocolate?” Ava muttered, and licked a small bit. It tasted better than any sweet she could ever remember. Looking behind her to be sure she was alone, she nibbled on the top of the rock.
It was delicious. Ava couldn’t believe it. She chowed down with gusto. The glowing rock tasted like every sweet thing and flowed with energy. Before Ava knew it, the last of the rock was in her mouth, swallowed and gone. She was licking her hand for morsels, and slurping back her saliva to catch every last taste. Then she heard noises from behind her, and slowly turned around.
Coming from a few of the tunnel were the furry creatures that Ava saw before. Ava could make out some features on them, with mole claws and mole noses. Their bodies looked more like werewolves with scrawny long limbs and fuzzy moleskin bodies. The creatures held back, muttering and eyeing her, until one screamed, “The 100 souls stone— she consumed it!”
That stirred them up. The beasts started to grab tools from the edge of the room- pick axes, shovels, and even spears. Then, the beasts spread out to the exits.
Ava realized she had done something bad, and overstayed her welcome here. Something buzzed in her head, triggering her “Fight OR Flight” response…
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