...
The world beyond Kairen collapsed. Rock shouted at rock as the cave mouth gave way, one final, absolute bellow engulfing the reverberations of his friends' flight. Choking dust fell, heavy and stifling, coating the dark cavern with a smothering gray dusk. The only light left was the faint, throbbing blue of the broken crystal shard still clutched at his belt.
He was alone. Completely.
The air thickened, heavy with sulfur, ozone, and something else. something wet, metallic, and hungry. His pulse thudded against his ribs, a desperate rhythm against the newfound, endless quiet. He heard it louder than his own hoarse breathing.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
A deep, guttural laughter slid from the darker shadow. It was not laughter; it was hunger.
