Darkest Depths

• Tye Evans, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2021

Footsteps, quite but getting louder. The shroud ran to cover as the Warden approached him. It had giant muscles and broken chains hanging from its wrists its sleeveless hood covered its face in shadow. The shroud looked around the dungeon and ran for the steps running down the warden was deaf he knew that but he disliked making so much noise. He was thinking of how he was going to get out when the pain hit looming in his skull the pain made the corners of his vision fade. He fell leaning onto a wall near the bottom of the mossy wooden stairs and reached shakily into his grey coat. He pulled out a pill it was green on one end white on the other he swallowed it and the headache made his nose bleed. The pain disappeared as suddenly as it had come he shakily stood and knew he needed the medicine soon or he would lose himself. He walked down the hallway checking the wooden doors until he hit door number 53, it had blood on it.
He stepped slowly through the door and saw a humanoid crouched over a bloodied stone slab. It turned slowly and faced him. It had long legs and arms no eyes or nose and a gaping maw that stretched from one side of its face to the other. Its skin was grey and stretched, the shroud could see its bones underneath its skin. It drew itself to its full height. It had a scalpel in its right hand and it was nearly twice the shrouds height, the shroud asked in a strained voice “Are you him?” He stepped back fear seeping doubt into his voice “Can you cure me?” The thing tilted its head and he continued “I have skelanthroposis.” The monster bent down to his height “Do you know what that is?” The shroud asked wearily. The monster nodded and stood it walked to an old wooden table in the corner that had all manner of chemistry tools and ingredients.
The shroud walked over and the monster glanced at him the monster opened its mouth revealing two more rows of sharp and bloodied teeth and a serpentine tongue and hissed “A sacrifice.” The shroud nodded and pulled out a still pulsing heart in a jar and handed it over. The monster placed it gingerly on the bench and picked up a vial of swirling black liquid, and handed it to him the creature gestured to drink it. The shroud drank it in one go he grinned, he was cured! Finally, after years of turning into a skeleton on the full moon. He was cured! He should have felt better but he didn’t he felt worse. The Warden shambled into the doorway its hulking figure flickering in the torch light. The shroud felt weak and collapsed before looking up at the figure of the Warden lifting its hood revealing its face…