Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Prologue

Prologue Chapter 17: A United Front

Kat and Grim skidded around the corner of a mineshaft, with Ace and Deuce right behind them.
Kat stiffened as she heard it-- the dragging, metallic sound of the monster's pickaxe on the stone floor.

She squinted.
Yeah... Yeah, she was pretty sure she could see that pinkish light reflected on the walls.

"Oh, shit-- I- I think it's over there," she muttered, heart and stomach fluttering anxiously.
"Okay, who wants to--"

Grim skittered forward, taking a deep breath.
"H-HEY-- YOU BIG SCARY MONSTER!" He yelled at the top of his little lungs, echoing in the cave. "COME OVER HERE! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"

She blinked, looking down at him in surprise.
Wow... She hadn't expected HIM to be the one to do that!

Once again, she heard that gurgling, staticky roar, and the tunnels shook as the thing surged towards them.

"LLLEEEEEEEEAAVVEEEE!" It roared, making the caves shake again.

She staggered, trying not to fall.
"Oh, shit-- oh, shitshitshitshitshit! Okay, it- it's coming... Stay strong, Grim-- you gotta let it see you!"

Oh, shit, oh, fuck, here it comes...

The thing plunged forward, raising the pickaxe.

"Myargh?!" She heard Grim squeak.
Darting forward, she grabbed him, tucking him under her arm and waving the lantern aggressively.

"HEY, DICKHEAD-- OVER HERE!" She yelled.

It got closer and closer...
Just a little more...
A little more....

She turned, pelting back down the tunnel and glancing back to make sure it was still following her.
Sure enough, it was...
Her brain said that this was a good thing, but everything else disagreed strongly.

"TTHHHHIIIEEEEEEEEEF!" It screamed. "STOOOOONNNNSS.... MIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!"

ShitshitshitshitshitshitSHIT!
She tried to run faster, putting her head down.

Soon enough, she could see the light of the moon from the entrance.

"HEADS UP!" She yelled hoarsely.

It was half-cut off by another bellow from the monster.
It was closer now, pulling the hand with the lantern back into a fist.

"Eep!" Grim yelped, ears flattening.
"I-If it lands just ONE a' those punches--"

"I KNOW!" She snapped angrily. "SHUT UP!"

She just had to keep running.
She just had to lure that thing as far out from the cave as she could.

Finally, she was flying back out of the cave's entrance, feet thudding across the dirt.

"LEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAVE!" The monster bellowed, ducking down and squeezing itself out of the entrance. "LLLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAVVEEEE!"

It almost got stuck for a second.
Then, with a gross squelching sound, it popped out like a cork, oozing forward.
Oh, jesus-- was this how the people who got caught in that fucking molasses flood in Boston felt?

She sprinted down the incline towards the cottage, with it still following her.

Grim scrambled up her arm, clinging to it and looking back at the monster.
"Okay-- we got 'im a good distance from the mine!" He yelled.

Kat took a deep breath.
"ACE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ace streak forward from where he was hiding next to the mine's entrance.
She thought he said something, but she couldn't really hear it. It wouldn't really have mattered anyway, since the air suddenly roared with an enormous gust of wind.