15. Chapter 14: Trapped (1/2)

author note: hey guys! it's been awhile since i made a note or had a message to go along with a chapter. thank you to my recent followers and those who recently favorited my story: it was really encouraging to see people are into this story. if you feel so moved, please leave me a review! i think i mentioned this before, but this is my first fanfic, so any sort of feedback would really be appreciated. i probably won't update again for a few more days, but i am so excited for the chapters to come because things are really coming together. make sure you check back soon, and i hope you enjoy these recent installments! -iamacliche

chapter 14: trapped

i jolted upright, my body coated in a sheen of sweat and my

eathing ragged as my lungs burned inside my chest. i looked around, trying to collect my bearings. the last thing i remembered was falling, falling, falling from the sky, and landing with a hard thud against the pavement before blacking out. and now, i didn't know where i was because all around me was thick, impenetrable darkness; i couldn't even see my own hand right in front of my face.

"h-h-hello?" i spoke, my voice quiet to even my own ears. "is there anybody out there?"

silence.

i tried to stand on my feet, but my body felt paralyzed; i couldn't move a muscle, and my legs felt numb.

"someone, anyone, please help me!" i called, raising my voice. but wherever i was must have been vast and open. not only did i hear no sign of life, but i didn't even hear my own voice returned back to me in the form of an echo bouncing along the wall. i shivered, partially because i felt cold, and partially due to the fear that was beginning to glaze over my body, tattooing my arm in goosebumps.

and then, somewhere in the distance, about ten feet away from me, i saw two small, glowing blue orbs flicker in the darkness, ignited suddenly like the lighting of a torch. the orbs grew larger and larger, and it was then that i realized it was because it was drawing closer and closer towards me.

i opened my mouth to scream, but my lips, like my arms and legs, were numb: i felt as though my mouth had been stitched together. i squirmed in an attempt to put some distance between myself and the approaching orbs, but i was completely frozen, as if i were bound and gagged by invisible ropes and chains.

as the two orbs grew larger and larger, the outline of a figure began to materialize before my eyes. i could see that it was a human like shape, and he/she/it was moving slowly but steadily, as if with a purpose, and i realized that the orbs had to be the approaching figure's eyes. and then, suddenly, the figure was looming before me,

eathing heavily and moaning.

"you…will…die…now…" rasped the deep, guttural voice standing before me.

the voice – i know i recognize that voice, but there was no way….

finally the muscles on my lips felt loosened and i screamed as the sound of the figure's throaty, deep laughter splintered my eardrums, and then his laughter was drowned out by the sound of someone calling my name from up above, in the sky; a man with a comforting, familiar voice that was shot with anxiety and fear as he cried my name over and over and over again, imploring me to wake up, "daphne, please wake up, daphne, wake up, daphne, can you hear me, daphne, please, please wake up –"

"daphne!"

i jolted upright, my

eathing choppy as i stifled a scream and glanced all around me, quickly processing my surroundings. sitting beside me was fred, who had his hands on my shoulders and was already drawing me towards him, pulling me into his chest and holding me tight.

"oh my god daph, are you okay?!" fred asked, as i shook in his arms. "you fell down a trap door of some sort when we were exploring the kitchen in the cabin, and you passed out when you landed. i jumped down after you once i saw you fall in. i think the trap door opened up because i found a button underneath that fruit bowl on the table. i'm so sorry – this is all my fault!"

i let him hold me and comfort me for a minute as my

eathing became regular again and as i processed everything he had just told me. so this meant that i was safe here with fred, and whatever happened before this was a dream. i tried to recall the dream, snatching at the tail-end of the horrifying images i was trapped inside moments ago, but it was slipping through my fingers faster than sand. i couldn't recall a single detail: all i could remember was that it had left me feeling paralyzed with fear.

i pulled away from fred so i could look him in the eye. "i'm okay, freddy – please don't beat yourself up: this isn't your fault. thanks for coming after me, but now you're stuck down here, too! i can't believe you did that."

fred stood to his feet, grasping my hand and pulling me up with him. he looked at me and smiled. "are you kidding, daph? you know i would follow you anywhere, even if it meant danger." i felt my cheeks redden, and he blushed, just slightly, but it was noticeable, before continuing, "well, i will say that this is our first real clue, so in a way, maybe it's good that we found this trap door. where do you think we are right now? it looks to me like we're in some kind of basement."

we glanced around, studying our surroundings. the mouth of the tunnel was behind us, and all around us was darkness; somewhere in the distance i heard the sound of water dripping, and stretching before us was a long, narrow tunnel, with no end in sight.

fred turned to me, smiling slightly. "well, should we follow this tunnel? i guess this wouldn't be the first time we've come across dark, foreboding tunnels that could lead to danger during a mystery."

i nodded. "yea, i guess we should see what we can find while we're down here. my only concern is that we'll meet a zombie somewhere down that tunnel."

fred's smile dissolved; he was suddenly grave. "yea, i hadn't thought of that." he glanced around again. "the only problem is the tunnel we just fell down seems to be our only exit, and it's way too steep and dangerous to try and climb back up. i think if we have any chance of escaping, this tunnel is our best chance. maybe we can find some clues down here, and we'll find an exit, too. and so far, the cabin did seem safe enough, or at least the upstairs portion was. maybe there aren't any zombies inside of the cabin."

and with that, fred stepped in front of me and began walking towards the tunnel, turning back to make sure i was following him. "are you coming?" he asked, somehow managing a smile on his face. i nodded, racing to catch up to him, latching onto his arm as we began walking down the tunnel.

we walked down the tunnel, fred in the lead and me following behind closely as i clutched his arm, which seemed to be a given for us during an intense or scary moment of any mystery. unlike upstairs, down here the cabin felt dark and dirty; the air was sticky and humid, the walls looked grimy and wet, and i could still hear the consistent sound of water dripping somewhere in the distance. if i hadn't known better, i would have guessed we were trapped in a sewer, and not the basement of a cute little cabin tucked away in the woods.

after a couple minutes of walking, the tunnel ended with two doors; one was on the right side of the tunnel; the other, on the left. fred and i looked at each other, exchanging a wordless look expression. he reached out and tried opening the door on the left, but it didn't even budge. i removed the bobby pin from my hair that i had used to open the front door of the cabin earlier, but even that was to no avail.