It was dark and musty. The humid air was so thick that it was almost suffocating. The sound of dripping water echoed through the chasm, pooling beneath a cracked pipe on the wall.

Eve began to stir, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His face had grown numb from being pressed against the cold floor. He looked around blearily, rubbing at his cheek. The man saw nothing but moss-covered stone and large, rusted over iron bars. It seemed like he was in a poorly taken care of prison… of some sort.

Eve called out, his voice quiet and hoarse.

“Dae? Dae are you in here?”

Before he had passed out completely, he thought he had seen Dae burst through the front door, so maybe he was dragged along.

Other prisoners around him began to grumble. Some growled for him to shut up, and others were incoherent due to a lack of sunlight and nutrients.

He’s definitely not alone, that's for sure.

Eve thought to himself.

Still hopeful, he called out once more, a bit louder this time.

Something rustled quietly behind him. Eve spun around quickly, preparing himself for an oncoming threat as a dark figure slowly sat up from where it had lay.

“Eve… please stop speaking so loudly- god damn my head is killing me-” the figure spoke, disgruntled.

Eve’s eyes began to adjust to the dark and he noticed the figure's blonde hair and couldn’t help but crack a little smile.

“Oh Dae, I’m so glad you’re alright,” Eve whispered, exhaling a sigh of relief and shuffling closer to the man.

“Define alright-” Dae snorted, his voice spiteful and bitter, “I think that bastard broke my arm. It is what it is. What about you though, are you okay? What did that creep do to you?”

Eve frowned a bit and shook his head, his messy curls bouncing in the shadows, “Dae, I’m fine… weirdly, I feel better than ever. Though I am a bit hungry?” He admitted in a hushed voice.

Dae gave a small hum, “Oh… alright, We’ll get out of here and I’ll find you something to eat then.”

Eve smiled softly.

“Thank you Dae, I appreciate it.” He reached out and gently patted the man’s shoulder

“How about you? How are you feeling? Can you move?” Eve asked, shuffling closer to him.

Dae beamed in the dark, “I’m great! Er- I can move at least. It’s my arm that's fucked up, not my legs.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Eve sighed again, “Alright good.” He retracted his hand and walked towards the door, giving the large rusted bars an experimental tug when he got there.

A loud clang reverberated through the room.

“Shit-!”

Eve exclaimed, dropping his hands. “It’s locked, Dae, can you help me find something to unlock this door?”

The blond hummed in response and began groping around for something, anything that could be of use. The ground felt gross and it left a slimy wetness upon their hands. The floor was littered with many things. Dae felt loose stones, old tattered cloth, and-

His hand bumped against a large misshapen pile and it rang out a chilling clatter among the stone as it toppled over.

A shiver ran down his spine

“Erm…” Dae hesitated a bit, glancing over in Eve’s direction, “Bone’s should work, yeah?”

He knew the sound of hollow bones clattering well, as well as that long, barely visible, white shape in the shadows.

Eve grew silent and unknowingly held his breath as Dae deposited a long, thin, yet sturdy bone shard into his palm.

“Y-yeah…” His voice waivered as his fingers closed around the bone. He held back his urge to vomit. Those bones shared the story of what would happen to them if they failed to get out of this prison.

Eve’s nerves were shot and he began to panic. What if it didn’t work? Would Dae make it out? His breathing grew short and shallow, his pupils shrinking.

A cold clammy hand engulfed his and squeezed gently.

Don’t panic, it’s gonna be alright.” Dae murmured softly, trying to calm his friend. “We’ll get out of here and go home.”

Eve let out a soft sigh and smiled slightly, “Right, you’re right, thank you, Dae.”

He gave a gentle squeeze back before he let go. He moved to now study the door. His hands grazed against the lock on the outside of the door.

He jammed the shard of osseous matter into the latch and slowly but surely started pushing up the pins and locking them into place.

“Dae, find me a flat piece-” He muttered while still fiddling with the locking mechanism.

Dae gave another small hum in acknowledgment and shuffled around, hands feeling up more bones till he found one fitting Eve’s directions.

He walked over and placed it into Eve’s outstretched hand.

Dae heard a click, and then Eve jammed the flat shard into the lock and twisted it.

The door swung alive and a loud groan echoed through the prison as rusty hinges wailed against one another.

Eve grabbed Dae’s hand swiftly, prepared to pull him back if anything unsavory came their way.

“Alright, it’s open. Let’s get out of here.” Dae quickly whispered, pulling Eve out of the cell. The other prisoners eyed the pair.

“You… got out?”

“Don’t leave me here!”

“Open my door too- I’m so hungry.”

“Get me out!”

“I don’t want to die…”

Eve stared back as Dae led him through the room, stumbling in the darkness to find an exit.

The prisoners were grimy and covered in blood and their own filth. Some had sharp red eyes, others had shining yellow eyes. Some looked like a normal human, and others looked even stranger. What brought all the incarcerated people together was the insanity and fear clouding their gaze as they clamored for safety and protection.

A soft tug from Dae pulled Eve out of his trance. He shook his head.

Eve frowned, “Huh? What is it?”

“I can’t see anything in this darkness. I don’t dare to imagine you do?”

Eve squinted and looked around. On the far side of the room, a spiral staircase winding upwards sat.

“There. It’s a stairwell. Looks like it may be the way out?” He offered, pulling Dae towards it.

“Seriously? You can see that? Hell yeah! Let’s get out of here.”

Dae ran forward enthusiastically and pushed Eve up the stairs. They wound round and round for what seemed like an hour before a simple wooden door sat before them.

Eve closed his eyes and pushed it open. He rushed out the door and into the light.

He ran into someone as he cleared the way. Eve quickly blinked away the blinding glare of LED lights and panicked jade eyes shot up into eyes the color of roses.

His heart sped up as the faded pink hair and pale dotted skin came into view.

He took many steps back

“You-!?” He exclaimed dreadfully