"I am Mortem." The dark words spoken in a gravely tone awoke a small child in a dark lit room deep beneath the ground. The child had golden hair and red irises with looks that some might call divine. "Mortem..." the child softly whispered to himself in confusion. There was little constructive thought inside his mind at the moment, complete confusion and identity crisis along with flashes of gore were keeping the young boy's mind occupied.

'Where am I? Who am I?' He struggled to reign in his thoughts and understand what was happening but the violent thoughts and dark flashes of imagery kept distracting him.

"YOU ARE REASON!" A angry voice screamed inside of his head causing the young boy extreme pain. His pupils turned into the shape of small black pentagons before he cried out and soon lost consciousness. 

400 feet above ground was a band of 4 men. They looked shabby and each one carried a shovel and a small burlap sack. "Are you sure this grave hasn't been sacked yet Rob?" One of the men questioned the younger man who looked like the leader. He had bright red hair, green eyes, and a serious face. 

"I'm certain the map I got from the Baron's men stated that this is old ground. This graveyard hasn't been touched since before the dead refused to die." He responded with confidence and a smile. The other men cheered around him, "We're gonna be rich!" With a laugh Rob turned back towards their target mausoleum. It was the largest one in the area which meant that it most likely had the best burial treasures. It was a ominous looking structure with 6 pillars supporting the limestone architecture that had long turned dark grey and foreboding with age. At the peak of the mausoleum there was a symbol inscribed that had been badly eroded over time and was near impossible to make out. 

Dreaming of gold coins to treat his sister Rob drooled at the thought of the treasures this shithole might contain. "Let’s go boys!" He yelled out with a smile and started walking towards the large double door entrance that led into the crypts below. The three other men followed behind him with the same lighthearted spirit and dreams of wealth. Little did they know that deep beneath the earth of the mausoleum they were entering, what looked to be a small boy was curled up and clutching his head in pain. 

"Hungry..." He was starving, beyond famished bordering on fervent, there was nothing in the room he was trapped in, only the stone platform he laid upon and some long-extinguished torches that lined the walls. Despite the lack of light, the boy could see perfectly clearly in the dark his red eyes shining with an ethereal light. The mental torment he was going through only seemed to fuel his desire for nourishment, but there was nothing... "THERE IS NOTHING!" The young boy screamed out, obviously agitated and not in the right mind. “Unbearable..." His tone suddenly shifted and he started whispering to himself softly. His head cleared slightly after the outburst, but the hunger was only growing stronger.

*Thud Thud* Suddenly the young boy turned almost predatorial to the north side of the tomb, his head cocking unnaturally at the sudden sound of footsteps shovels and laughter.

"Damn it! Rob! This door must have been sealed tight but based on the treasures we've found so far; this place has got to be the biggest gold mine of our lives. Providence is just around the corner. Can you imagine what must be inside this main crypt? Hahahaha!" A gruff voice exclaimed excitedly. The banging continued and dust fell softly from the ceiling, the boy, however, remained perfectly in place and unnaturally still. Silent, and waiting.

Rob was feeling uneasy. The mausoleum had proved to be all he had wanted and more. Every room they had visited so far contained at least a single item made of gold and the wealth was adding up to a staggering level. However, something in his subconscious, call it a gut feeling, was feeling very uneasy. He turned towards the three men who were excitedly banging away on the crypt doors. "I think we should leave." He said solemnly. The three men stopped what they were doing and looked at him with bewildered faces. "Rob, pal, we will never have to work again with just the amount of gold items we've collected from the side rooms. And you are telling us that you don't want to go any further right when we get to the main dish? Why?" The largest of the three men he had brought with him Sally Bragwort, turned and asked. Sally was a large man and a bully; he was greedy to get ahead but too lazy to do it by conventional means. Get rich quick schemes and prostitutes were all he was interested in and clearly, he had no interest in listening to Rob, especially with all the wealth they'd found so far. Rob had been friends with Sally for a long time, so he knew this, but his growing feeling of unease was urging him to leave more and more. 

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Something doesn't feel right." He said uneasily. Sally made a dissatisfied frown. "You're telling us to leave a potential gold mine because your gut is squirming like a girl on her moon month? Shut up Rob. I like you but I'm not gonna listen to you being an idiot and babble about gut feelings when we are about to live lives better than kings." 

"It doesn't feel right Sal, trust me." Rob reasoned. 

Sally turned back, and with a loud grunt he kicked into his shovel finally dislodging the stuck crypt door. "Well trust me Rob, whatever is in this crypt is likely to make us the kings of Walled City 13, so stop being a baby and let’s get rich!" The other two men chuckled and started pushing the large stone door open with Sally. The door slowly swung open to reveal a pitch-black room. The darkness was so dense even the light from the torches they carried barely penetrated the room. 

The moment the door opened, that gut feeling inside of Rob morphed from great discomfort into pure horror and screamed at him to run away. It was such a pure and raw feeling of terror that he froze up and was unable to voice a warning to his companions that had already started venturing deeper into the crypt. 

"What the hell! There is nothing in here!" Sally's unamused voice sounded out. Rob looked past the doors and saw Salley and his other two companions standing in front of a stone pedestal. It was the only visible thing in the room. The torches Sally's group was holding were still trying to fight back the darkness that seemed to want to devour all sight. They appeared like a small glimpse within an ocean of darkness.

Suddenly Rob felt a shiver crawl up his spine. In the darkness he could make out two points of red light hanging just above Sally and his companions. Salley turned towards Rob. "See nothing to be afraid of, this fucking shithole is empty. Guess we won't be kings, but at least we will be nobles with the hoard we got Hahaha!"

Rob suddenly unfroze and shouted, "ABOVE YOU!"

"Huh?" Sally looked at Rob like he was crazy person. "Now you're just trying to get back at me for undermining your leadership you dickhead." 

"AHHHHHHHHHHH” A symphony of screams rang out from behind Sally. Two long tongues were pierced through their companions’ eyes and their bodies bulged at grotesque angles as whatever was lying the darkness above raised their bodies into the air as blood rained down onto the ground.

"OH FUCK!" Sally yelled and immediately bolted to the door where Rob was standing. "RUN MOTHERFUCKER RUN!" Rob and Sally immediately took off up the stairs of the crypt and headed towards the entrance. 

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT! THERE AREN"T SUPPOSED TO BE ANY DEADLINGS IN THE CITY!" Sally screamed at Rob as they rushed out the mausoleum. Rob, still reeling from the horrific sight of his companions becoming something's dinner was left absent of words. Primal instinct had kicked in, get away, get as far away from the mausoleum as possible were the only thoughts on his mind.

"Hello." Suddenly, there was a small child with golden hair and red eyes standing in front of them. Sally and Rob froze in place. The child's white shirt was matted with fresh blood. The kid's eyes were black pentagrams, and his teeth were sharp and pointed for tearing meat. "I have some questions for you two." The child smiled innocently as a little bit of bloodied drool leaked from the side of his mouth. Two terrified screams rang loud and clear in the night in the old graveyard. But like trees falling in the forest, no one was around to hear it.