Ben blinks away sleep whilst raising his palm to block the sun. He slowly stands up, yawning before looking around his camp lazily. The flat fish drying rock and burnt out fire are both as he left them.

"I'm glad I didn't wake up to a centipede this time."

Ben casually strolls over to the edge of the forest to take his morning pee. His ears pick up the soft sounds of birdsong and the rumbling of his stomach. Starvation is breathing down Ben's neck, even during bathroom breaks.

Ben's bathroom break is interrupted when he spots a dark hole dug into the ground just beyond the tree line. He finishes up before walking over to the dark hole with cautious steps. The fissure in the soil is more than just a pit: its a cave. There's a strange purple glow visible deeper into the tunnel. Ben eyes the soft violet light before picking up a sturdy looking branch.

"I'm too curious not to explore the cave, but I'm going in prepared."

Ben takes the branch over beside the ashes of yesterday's fire and sets it on the ground. He collects fresh tinder as well as kindling to light a new fire. Within the hour he has a primitive torch.

Torch in hand, Ben makes his way over to the mouth of the cave. He steps gingerly into the tunnel with his eyes scanning the floor for jumbo centipedes. None of the unsightly creatures emerge from the shadows, but Ben remains alert.

Each step takes him further beneath the earth and closer to the strange purple light. The light is unlike anything natural Ben has seen, but it doesn't give Ben any sensations like the metal cube from before. Ben fails to find any centipedes during his initial descent, but he does spot a few clusters of bats sleeping on the ceiling.

With a few turns Ben finds himself at the source of the purple light. Clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms decorate the cave floor; Piles of bat guano fertilize the fungal growths. Ben's torch is nearly useless in this section of the cave, but the harsh orange flame does expose several unsightly reddish brown centipedes. The creatures flee at the sight of the torchlight.

"Ugh. I knew you creeps would be in here."

Ben presses onward despite the presence of the centipedes.

He passes through a deep chamber carved by a trickling stream, and nearly slips into a damp crevice while walking carelessly. Thankfully he catches himself on a stalagmite, and keeps his torch intact.

There's a cavern filled with snake skeletons further down. Centipedes feast here to the point of growing fat and wide. Thankfully glowing mushrooms light the way and Ben avoids contact with the fattened creatures.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Eventually Ben's torch burns out, but by now he is used to the glow of the purple mushrooms. He's strolling through a grove of tree sized mushrooms when he discards his burnt out torch. This mushroom filled cavern is eerily quiet.

"Why is it so quiet in here?"

Ben's mental question goes unanswered as he strolls between the mushroom stalks. The echoing of his footsteps is the only sound in this part of the cave system.

The silence does not last.

"Hell no!" Ben shouts in disbelief.

Wrapped around the trunk of a large bioluminescent mushrooms is a centipede roughly as thick as Ben's thigh and as long as his body. The segmented crimson monster is unbelievably big for its species, and immediately moves upon being disturbed by Ben's voice.

The huge creature skitters along innumerable legs in pursuit of the perceived intruder. Ben's steps guide the creature toward him, but he's already noticed the centipedes actions. Ben raises his bare foot off the ground and lets his emotions boil over as he tenses his leg muscles.

Ben's foot smacks into the side of the centipede's head when it move up to lunge at Ben's other foot. The force of his kick sends the creature sprawling, but it quickly rights itself. The centipede listens for the intruder, but Ben has already sprinted back up the tunnel he came from. Satisfied, The huge centipede climbs onto the stalk of a huge glowing mushroom.

~

Heavy breathing fills the small chamber as Ben catches his breath. He sprinted back up several sections of the cave to put some distance between him and the monstrous centipede. Ben is clenching his jaw as he recalls something he ignored in favor of escape.

"There was a yellow light at the back of that cave. I'm sure of it."

Ben had felt that subtle tug of nostalgia as he neared the end of the cavern, but that huge centipede had distracted him completely. It's unlikely the beast will just let him waltz back into the mushroom grove.

"Violence is the only option. That monster shouldn't be allowed to live."

There are several heavy rocks sitting in this part of the cave, and it just so happens that Ben is willing to crush the centipede with a rock. Ben's thin fingers wrap around the rough edges of a hefty stone before he lifts it up. He carries the roughly basketball sized stone down the tunnel, grunting in effort and occasionally taking breaks.

~

"Come on out!" Ben shouts into the mushroom grove.

His taunt is rewarded with a faint skittering sound. The sound of many legs tapping against the stone grows rapidly, and a huge snaking red body emerges from the shadows. Ben's breath catches in his chest as he sees the beastly centipede rushing at him.

The shock only lasts a moment, and Ben quickly hefts the stone forward. His muscles bulge as he tosses the weighty stone right on top of the centipede's oncoming body. The resounding crunch of rock breaking through chitin gives Ben goosebumps.

Ben steps closer and carefully appraises the corpse. It's definitely dead.

"That was gross, but at least its dead now."

The familiar yellow glow of a metal cube pulls Ben's attention away from the corpse. He scans the cave for the source of the glow, but its obscured by the forest of glowing mushrooms.

Ben walks toward the yellow light with steadily, yet the feeling of belonging swelling in his heart pushes him to hurry. His feet move faster than his brain as he stumbles over glowing mushrooms to reach the unseen light source.

He finally lays eyes on the cube after squeezing between some tightly packed tree sized mushrooms. Tears of relief well up in Ben's eyes as he approaches the metal box.

Ben pushes his palm onto the cube's smooth surface.