The Strange Tale Of Ezekiel Henderson

Henderson involuntarily backed away from the door. The cacophony the pierced the air was enough to send chills down the marine's spine. Dash just about fainted.

Henderson halted his retreat and watched the wide open door, through which nothing came but that horrendous smell and the noise; which, at first, Henderson had thought was screaming, now he realized it was a continuous series of high pitched, metallic, groans and squeaks.

Like heavy machinery. Really wet, muddy, heavy machinery., he thought as he also noticed a sloshing noise.

"What the hay is that?", Dash asked.

"Let's find out."

They ventured into this new territory, finding nothing but more stone walls and a few patches of dried blood. They continued deeper, after seeing that it was, yet another, hallway. The noise never ceased, and as they continued, Henderson noticed a deep undertone.

Sounds like the neighbor's subwoofers. Referring to the group of college students that shared the home next to his, back in Montana.

They rounded a corner, and things got nasty. The smooth stone walls faded into whatever was growing in the next stretch of hallway. It looked like the inside of a giant intestine, a few hours after Thanksgiving dinner. There were growths and fungus growing on the rippling, pale pink sides. The sound was emanating from this overgrown gut.

Henderson wasn't anywhere near about to go traipsing down this thing; however, he stuck out an exploratory foot. He touched the edge of the monstrosity. It was squishy, like he expected. What he didn't expect, however, is that it stuck to him when he tried to retract his foot. He pulled harder and his foot can free with an audible POP. Whatever this was didn't much care for the fact that its visitor was leaving so early. The deep bass noise intensified, Henderson could feel it in his chest.

"Uh-oh", Henderson backed up as some of the growths began to quiver and expand. One of them popped and out crawled several dozen, foot wide, metallic spiders. Another popped to reveal the same thing, then another, then another. These spiders came at the duo in a black tidal wave, there were hundreds of them.

"Go, go, GO.", Henderson backpedaled then turned and ran back down the hallway, making sure Dash stayed in front of him.

They came barreling back into the room with two floors. Henderson turned to the door from which they emerged, rifle ready. Dash flew up to the second level, then remembered Henderson couldn't fly.

"Come on!", she dangled a fore-hoof over the edge.

"You can't lift me, and there's no place to climb up.", he shouted as the first of the metal crawlies began to trickle through the door.

"How are you gonna get out?", she would find a way to lift him if he was hinting at staying.

Henderson looked around. There, a door he hadn't noticed in his first sweep.

"There. There's gotta be another exit. You go on through the way we came, it should be clear.", the things were getting close, "We'll meet back up at the trail head."

Dash didn't like this idea, but couldn't think of another way.

"Ok, be careful.", as if he needed that. She turned and galloped out.

The tidal wave had paused when it got to the large room , as if it had lost its prey. Now it had re-located Henderson and continued its advance. Henderson's rifle belched purpleish-orange fire as slugs of the same color hammered the horde. The rifle continued to boom as Henderson backpedaled to his new found escape route. He hit the panel and flipped the lever, opening the door. He backed through it, still firing. 11...5...2...Empty. He hit the lever on the other side, closing the door and shielding him from the remaining...things. He could hear them scratching at the other side, still trying to reach their prey.

He reloaded his weapon and followed the new hallway, Damn hallways.

He walked and walked and walked, Damn *mile long** hallways*.

After a half hour of nothing but featureless, stone walls, He came to... I'm removing all the doors from my house, if and when I get back to it. He pressed the panel and flipped the lever, the door slid silently open.

What. The. Hell.

Sticking with the tradition, this door led him to yet another surprise. This one in the form of what looked like an examination room. There were banks of old, dusty electronics on one wall, and cabinets on another wall. Four large metal tables dominated the rest of the space. Henderson opened one of the cabinets, it was filled with glass bottles full of different colored liquid, and spider webs. He opened another, surgical tools. It was obvious this was a medical facility of some sort. He moved over to the electronic equipment on the opposite wall. He had no idea what they were, just that they hadn't been used in a very long time. He continued through the room to the, Of freakin' course, door on the other side of the room.

He'd found the medical complex of the facility, he deduced as he made his way through several similar rooms. He was half way through number six when a noise made him stop. He held his breath and listened.

Clink, fsshh....clink, fsshh....clink, fsshh

Then silence.

The room he currently occupied was L-shaped, it bent to the left ahead of him. He quietly maneuvered around the room's tables, shining his light around the corner when he neared it.

He found one of the guards.