Chapter 360: Monster

The shadow in the wall was indeed approaching us, and even its movements had strange changes; its head stretched forward eerily, as if trying to emerge from the stone wall.

"Moving?" Fatty wasn't fully awake yet and didn't understand.

"Before, they were buried about three feet into the rock face. Now they're less than a foot away," Poker-face said, making a gesture. "In five days, they've advanced over two feet toward us. In another day and a half..."

He paused and didn't finish.

I knew what he meant. In another day and a half, those shadows might come out of the rock layer.

"Are they alive?" I couldn't help but shudder.

Poker-face shook his head, staring straight at the shadow. His movements seemed as if he was making eye contact with it.

My drowsiness vanished instantly. I shone the exploration lamp around and saw shadows everywhere. My goosebumps rose. What were these shadows? If they came out of the walls... thinking about it made my scalp tingle.

Walking around, I suddenly realized something and immediately cursed, "Damn! Could this be the purpose of that thing?"

"What purpose?" Fatty was still groggy.

"I don't know, but maybe it's a ritual, and we're the offerings. Or it's feeding, and we're the food. Or it's hunting, and we're the bait... In any case, we're prepared for these shadows."

Fatty frowned and finally came to his senses. He was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "Holy shit! No way!"

I said, "Why not? Looking at those eerie shapes, they definitely aren't beauties. If they're attracted to us, it can't be good."

I was instantly a nervous wreck, not knowing what to do. I looked at Poker-face, but he seemed to be in a trance, not thinking about anything.

Suddenly, Fatty pulled out a stone hammer from a pile of tools and tossed it to me.

"What for?" I asked.

"Strike first," he said in a low voice. "Beat them so bad they won't even recognize their own mother." He was about to swing.

I grabbed him. "We don't even know what these things are. A few hits might not kill them, and you might just let them out. Then see how you handle it!"

Fatty cursed, "I really can't stand you, you idiot! Can't you just knock a crack and take a look first?"

I still felt it was wrong. I looked at Poker-face again, but he still ignored us.

Fatty took that as agreement. He raised the stone hammer and slammed it down at a shadow. He hadn't eaten for days and was weak, so the first hit only made a small dent. But the rock was very brittle and cracked open with a thin fissure.

He spat a few times, then hit it again. Following the dark green jade vein, he cracked a deep fissure.

Instantly, a very strong odor came out of the stone, almost suffocating. We all stepped back involuntarily.

Fatty wanted to hit again, but I grabbed him again because I saw something inside the crack.

We covered our mouths and noses and moved closer once the smell dissipated a bit.

Fatty picked up the miner's lamp and shone it inside.

At first, all I saw was a dark green mass, which seemed to be rock too, but I couldn't tell which part of the shadow it was. I wasn't that scared at first, but as I got closer, the mass turned, and then a pair of eyes with only whites shifted from behind the crack and stared at me.

In that moment, I almost stopped breathing.

Those eyes had no emotion and no direction, but you just knew they were looking at you, from inside the crack. The situation was too eerie! Fatty and I involuntarily gasped. Both of us freaked out and immediately confirmed that this thing was not human!

I dared not look again and quickly turned my head away. Fatty didn't know what to do either.

I looked at him, thinking, "Aren't you going to beat it until it doesn't recognize its mother?" But he shook his head vigorously.

Just as I was about to say something, a baby-like cry came from the crack, extremely piercing. At the same time, a pair of very thin claws shot out and grabbed my neck.

It happened so fast that no one could react. I was yanked toward the crack and slammed hard into the rock wall.

Poker-face reacted faster than Fatty then. He pounced over and grabbed me, while with his other hand he thrust a military spike into the crack, stabbing the wrist of those claws three times before the thing let go.

I fell out and was quickly pulled away by Fatty.

The claws soon came out again, grabbing at empty air several times. Fatty swung his hammer a few times, unsure if he hit anything, and the claws retracted again.

We were still shaken, panting heavily. Fatty said, "Damn! That's a tough son of a bitch!"

Meanwhile, Poker-face had already walked back to the campfire without turning around. He picked up a basket, scooped up a tray of hot coals, and said, "Help."