Substitute Creature by Charles Gilman

Author:Charles Gilman [Gilman, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-59474-659-8
Publisher: Quirk Books
Published: 2013-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

“What is this place?” Karina whispered. Her voice echoed throughout the tunnel. Clusters of icicles hung from the ceiling like stalactites. Ahead of them, icy stone steps descended into darkness.

“I have no idea,” Robert replied. He had never heard of an underground cavern anywhere in the village of Dunwich. And yet this space seemed like it had existed for centuries. Robert snapped a small icicle from the ceiling and tossed it down the stairs; it disappeared into the gaping black void without making a sound.

“You really want to go down there?” Karina asked.

“No,” Robert said, “but if Pip and Squeak think it’s important, we should.”

He moved cautiously from one step to the next, descending lower into the abyss, arms outstretched to keep his balance. His worn-out sneakers had terrible traction, and he knew one false move would send him tumbling all the way down.

“Glenn is going to be sorry he went home,” Karina said.

Robert laughed. “Right now Glenn is sitting in a warm room watching television. Getting on that bus is the smartest thing he ever did.”

“Well, I’m glad you stuck around,” she said. “This is a lot more fun than babysitting your rats.”

Robert stepped on something that felt like a bundle of sticks. “Watch out!”

At their feet was a human skeleton, sprawled across several of the steps, as if the person had died while attempting to climb out.

“Yikes,” Karina said. “What happened to that guy?”

A small leather satchel hung from the skeleton’s shoulder. Robert reached into a pocket and pulled out a faded identification card: DR. WILLIAM DYER, it read. PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY, MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY EXPLORERS’ SOCIETY. FEBRUARY 1936.

Robert showed the card to Pip and Squeak. “This is what you wanted me to see?”

No, no, keep going—

“What’d they say?” Karina asked.

“They keep saying it’s fine,” Robert said. “But after meeting Professor Dyer, I’m finding it hard to believe them.”

They continued their descent, venturing lower and lower into the earth, and the unpleasant smell grew ever more pungent. Eventually the steps ended and the passage widened into an enormous cavern, much too big for the lantern to fully illuminate. Pip and Squeak ran up Robert’s chest and plunged into the hood of his jacket, as if they had no intention of walking any farther on their own.

“What’s wrong?” Robert asked.

Old Ones! Coming!

Robert squinted into the shadows but didn’t see anything.

“On the floor,” Karina said. “Look.”

A tiny puff of fur wobbled toward them. It wasn’t much larger than a pom-pom. Robert lowered the lantern and the little puffball shrieked, as if the light hurt its eyes.

“Whoa, sorry,” he said, dimming the lantern until there was just enough of a glow to find the creature in the dark. “Why, it’s just a baby! Come here, little fella. Don’t be afraid.”

Yes, be afraid, be very afraid—

Robert shook his head. “There’s no way this little puffball broke all those windows.”

“Of course not,” Karina agreed, leaning down for a closer look. “They’re just jealous because he’s cute! He’s like an itty-bitty hamster!”

The puffball crouched low to the ground, shivering on the ice, seemingly terrified.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.