The door groaned to reveal the dragon's silhouette when the light from the hall was cast over his back and into the darkness before him. He took a few tentative steps forward. Every muscle flexed and he could feel a chill arc down his spine. A sudden squeak by his foot startled him and he stumbled to the side with a yelp. He crashed into a wooden support beam and caused the fragile thing to collapse. The storage alcove it supported came crashing down and blocked the door. Spike dove out of the way just in time and narrowly missed having his foot pinned between two large rocks. It was barred now with several feet of stone and wood strewn around the door.

"NO! No, it can't be! Shit!" He cried out. He immediately began to rip away the fallen pillars and pull the stones away, making a ruckus as he did. "Let. Me. OUT!" Spike heard the echoes from further away bounce back to his own ears...but that wasn't the only sound he heard...

An angry growl called back to him from somewhere in the dark. No...it wasn't quite angry as it seemed almost...hungry. It was hunting and he just rang the dinner bell.

Spike's keen ears heard the heavy foot-falls of the monster approaching. He crept forward into the darkness and hid behind a bookshelf and let his eyes adjust for a moment. He dared to crane his head around the bookshelf and caught a glimpse of a humanoid shaped monster in the darkness. He couldn't see any details about it but his gut told him he should be thankful for that. He also heard it coming closer.

If I sit here it'll find me no doubt...I gotta move...

In between the monster and himself was a tall well and beyond that another bookshelf jutted out of the wall. It was already approaching the far bookshelf.

If I can keep low and circle around the well the opposite way he does I should be able to get past...

Spike's plan was ruined the second he took another step as he claws raked against the floor. The beast stopped groaning and grunted simply, no doubt turning its to exactly where he was hiding. The footsteps came faster.

Although his instincts screamed at him not too he poked his head out again. The monster was within a few feet of him now and he missed getting knocked in the head by its muscular arm by only a hair.

RUN, NOW! His mind screamed.

His instincts kicked in and he scrambled to the top of the bookshelf. He leaped off of it and hit the ground running with the horror trailing only a few paces behind him. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide, every step he took only attracted attention. For now, he simply ran.

Spike's claws raked the stone as they covered a long hallway in an astonishingly short time but even so the monster did not lag far behind.

There has to be a way out!

The young dragon's feet practically flew across the floor as he raced through the castle with the monster in tow. He prayed that he wouldn't run into a dead end. Eventually he saw a wooden door at the end of the hall. It was one of three and was on his right side. He made a dash for the handle. He pulled it open and burst through, making sure to slam the door behind him. Once inside h let out a relieved breath and leaned against the door, confident he was safe for now.

He felt the door shake when something slammed into it.

Damn that thing's strong! The door won't hold! There's nowhere out!

Spikes eyes darted around the room for anything he could use. The only things in the room were a desk and a cupboard. He rushed to barricade the door with the desk to buy time, his strength allowing him to do so quickly. His eyes turned to the cupboard and he desperately hoped there was room inside. There was another slam against the door. This time he heard wood start to give way. Spike quickly crept into the cupboard, fortunately it was empty aside from a couple shirts on the bottom of it which served as something that he could keep his claws on without making noise.

Suddenly he heard the door shatter, spraying wood chips against the wall and the front of the cupboard. He could feel the impact of the desk flying into the wall beside him. He held his breath as the monster walked inside. Spike heard it wander about in confusion. His blood ran cold when it stopped directly in front of his hiding place. It growled slowly and he felt something gently knock on the door and start to pull.

Spike's heart raced like lightning and his life began flash before him as he prepared to fight in a last ditch effort. His tail still clutched the tinderbox from earlier and he held the lantern loosely in one hand. He set them down softly on the bottom of the cupboard and readied himself to unleash a torrent of fire against his assailant. Just before the door opened a loud squeak came from outside the room. The monster let go of the door and followed after the sound. It squeaked again and he heard the squeak begin to move farther away as the sounds of footsteps did as well.

He breathed out in relief when he could tell the room was empty now.

He cautiously stepped out of the cupboard, grabbing his lantern and tinderbox as he did. He wrapped the shirts from the cupboard around his talons and created make-shift socks. They'd hold but if he started running they'd come off quickly. Spike tested the results and tapped a foot lightly on the stone. He couldn't even hear it.

A spark of hope ignited in Spike's heart. A small one but it was something.

He softly pushed open the doors of the cupboard and carefully made his way to the empty door-frame. His eyes widened at the damage the monster had left. The door was nothing but a scattered mess of wood on the floor and even the desk lay broken in pieces. He shuddered to imagine the result if it had found him.

He glanced into the hallway. Farther down the hall he could see the terrifying creature walking away from him. Directly in front of him was another door identical to the one that used to be where he stood and to his right was a somewhat larger door that he was willing to bet actually led somewhere.

Spike slowly put his right foot forward, then his left and tried the handle on the bigger door. Locked. He tried the other remaining door as well and had the same luck.

Damn it! There's nowhere to go! Unless...

Spike already had the beginnings of a plan in his mind. He witnessed how easily that monster beat down a door just standing there.

Spike looked around for anything he could use as a tool or even weapon to pry open the door. While he suspected the monster could break it down there's no way that he would get it to attack the door. He could try to break it down himself but even if he succeeded it would create a great amount of noise. That was when he noticed the pipes running along the ceiling.

Maybe...just maybe...

The pipes were easily within jumping range and looked like they'd be out of reach of the monster.

"Here goes nothing..." Spike whispered to himself in uncertainty. He could still see the monster, even if it pained him to look at the abomination.

He cupped his claws around his snout and shouted.

"HEY!"

The monster stopped and turned it's head to stare at him. For just a moment its twisted eyes met his own and they seemed to peer into his very soul. Spike regretted his decision already but it was far too late to back out now. He set the tinderbox and lantern on the floor and made ready to jump.

"Yeah you! Ugly! Come and get me!" Spike's fear added to the pitch of the voice. It was louder but his tone wavered as he spoke. The creature began walking towards him. The walk slowly grew faster until it was near a run.

"Come on, freak! I'm right here you piece of-" The nervous dragon shut up when he saw how fast it was coming now. It was charging at him in a full sprint. In a matter of seconds he'd be smashed into the door.

"Now for the moment of truth..."

Just before the abomination made contact Spike leaped up to the ceiling and wrapped his arms and legs around the pipe, narrowly dodging the monster. The monster passed underneath him, smashing into the door like a train. The door shattered into bits and the creature fell forward after impact.

Spike jumped down from the pipe and raced over the monster into a room filled with lab equipment and all sorts of chemicals, including a large barrel on the far side of the room with some bubbling green liquid in it. All around were corpses, though he was slightly relieved that they were all pigs though it was still an ugly sight. The true bad news was that he couldn't see a way out.

He was trapped.

He heard the monster behind him already rising to its feet and Spike's heart froze. He spun around just in time to see the monster charge him once more. He held up both claws just in time to catch the monsters arms in his grip. As they made contact Spike felt himself pushed several feet back. It tried to free itself from Spike and was starting to overpower him. It growled and spat in his face. With the monster's grotesque features fully visible now he began to feel his resolve fade. It continued to push him back to the wall and was about to free an arm to swing at him.

Spike's mind raced and when he was unsure what to do he began to feel the adrenaline in his veins, fueling his strength. His muscles flexed in defiance and his eyes narrowed at the assailant. The dragon mustered his power and threw the monster back a couple feet. It stumbled but remained fixed on him. It moved towards him again and Spike slashed a claw up in line with the monster. The talons sliced into it but the creature barely flinched. It swung a meaty arm at Spike's head.

Spike ducked just in time and quickly got behind the beast. He raised a leg and kicked as hard as he could, pushing the monster to the wall. It impacted against the barrel and its head dipped into the barrel before coming back out. The head was noticeably burnt but the monster continued undeterred.

As soon as it emerged Spike released a torrent of fire upon the creature without hesitation. Finally it stopped in its tracks as the fire began to take hold and burn away the flesh. The beast only stopped for a moment however before attacking yet again. It swung at Spike in a vicious rage, this time he was hit. The claws in the monster's arm carved three long marks across Spike's face and drew blood. Another attack left three shallow stab wounds in Spike's chest. Drops of blood fell from the injured dragon.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" He howled in pain. In a flash he charged back at the monster, lifting the heavy beast into the air with both claws. He rushed forward and dropped it into the acid barrel. It tried to climb out but Spike held it down, though not without earning a slash across the length of his left arm. The creature began to scream with him as Spike roared in pain with the acid eating away at it.

At last Spike let go and breathed fire into the monster's face at point blank. He held the flames for several long seconds until the monster ceased to make a sound. Spike let up to see the results of his work and gave a disgusted look.

Its face was charred completely black and the body was starting to sink into the acid, eventually dissolving completely into the concoction. At once Spike felt his strength leave him and pain take its place.

He fell to his knees and hissed in pain.

"Ahhhh...damn it..." He looked at himself and assessed the damage. He was relieved that nothing would cause permanent damage but it would probably scar, especially on his face. He grabbed at the cloth only barely clinging to his feet now and removed them. Spike quickly wiped the blood that remained on himself before gripping onto it tightly with both hands. He'd need to cauterize the wounds or risk getting dizzy from blood loss. It wouldn't do any damage to him but it would hurt as badly as the original wounds did with those scales broken.

"Alright...here goes..." He let out a small flame over his chest, just enough to do what he sought to do. He had to suppress the urge to stop and scream but he didn't lighten up until the wound stopped bleeding. While the pain was still fresh Spike quickly cauterized the wound on his arm. It was agonizing but at last the bleeding from both areas stopped rather than adding to the small puddle on the floor.

Slowly the pain began to fade, though it never completely left. Spike silently wished there was a way to cauterize the wounds on his face, fortunately those cuts were very shallow and the blood would stop on its own before long.

As Spike stood up something dawned on him.

I...I actually killed it! This was the first time Spike had ever killed anything other than a fish, though he didn't feel very guilty about ending the monstrosity that had tried to end him. In fact he grinned. He no longer felt helpless...he felt empowered. The fear drained from him and became replaced with a new-found confidence.

Now that there was no immediate danger Spike had time to closely look around the room for a way out. He was pacing about the far end of the room when he felt something on the floor. He looked down and saw a trapdoor disguised to match the stone around it. He threw it open and gazed into the darkness. There was a ladder that seemed to lead into another section of the castle.

Spike retrieved his lantern and tinderbox before proceeding down the hole. Once at the bottom he noticed how distinctly cold the room was as well as how oddly soft the floor seemed to be. An instant later a foul stench assaulted his nostrils and he couldn't help but gag.

Spike opened the lantern and breathed a soft flame into it to light it. A dim light bathed the room painted in a crimson red. A second observation revealed that it wasn't paint on the walls...

He looked down and was horrified to see he was standing out a mound of bodies. He gasped in shock and his scales crawled as he looked around. Corpses were all around the room, many of them were on the floor but there was some half decayed or eaten bodies still chained to the walls. One was missing both legs and the intestines simply dangled out onto the remains of another rotting man.

The whole room was like a huge box but with the important exception of having a hallway leading out. Spike gladly took a few steps to leave until he heard a haunting, echoing moan. It was very different from the one the other creature had made and it triggered a slight glimmer of recognition in his mind. Accompanying the moan was the sound of rusty iron shifting, as well as scraping noise of something heavy being dragged. The nervous dragon backed up to the pile of bodies as his eyes began to make a shape out in the darkness.

It was shaped like a man...only in place of a right arm it wielded a long bloodied cleaver. It was also walking straight towards him, dragging along another shape. Spike quickly doused the lantern and set it and the tinderbox on the ground.

There was nowhere to hide and if he tried to climb the ladder it would probably see him since light from the room above served only to illuminate the ladder. Spike held no doubts that if he didn't do something the monster would spot him in only moments. He began to see details of the monster and that it was dragging yet another body to add to the pile.

The pile! He thought. He hesitated to even consider it but he was out of options.

Without any other hope...Spike crawled into the mound of bodies.

Author's Note

Definitely one of my gorier stories and I know I kinda broke the cardinal rule of Amnesia but don't worry it's not like he can just take on everything in the castle, there will still be a great amount of tension and nervousness. Spike isn't going to follow Daniel's exact route but you can expect to see some familiar areas. Anyway hope you guys enjoyed!

Let me know if you find any mistakes so I can make the edit right away!