Words: by me
Drawing: also by me
Don't modify or publish anywhere without my permission.
Español:
Palabras: escritas por mí
Dibujo: también lo hice yo
No modifiquen ni publiquen ninguno de los dos sin pedirme permiso primero.
***
As we walked down the steps of the all but abandoned cellar, I felt the inescapable urge to cover both my nose and my mouth with my handkerchief. The stench was only getting more and more unbearable.
My guide paused at the door - a large metal thing, and took the keys out of his pocket.
- Are you ready? - He asked, and for the first time he sounded concerned. - Or would you like a moment to breathe?
My face must've been an impressively unhealthy sight for him to react in that manner, but I doubted that by staying any longer than necessary in this God-forsaken dungeon I would have improved that.
- Breathe? Dear Lord, no. I'd rather just get this done quickly, if you know what I mean.
I thought I saw him smile in the dim light.
- I do. But I should warn you, that no one has been inside this room for... well, at least a century.
I nodded once, hoping that all my previous experience would prepare me for what I was about to see.
And then he opened the door. At first I could see nothing but the dark. But that dreadful smell was so strong in here; I could only assume that I would find its source within the confines of the chamber. I waited for my companion to take the lead once again. He removed the glass from his lamp and used the flame to light one of the torches that I only just noticed were perched on the wall.
- A bit medieval, isn’t it? – I remarked.
- The place hasn’t changed much since it was built. – He pointed out with a smirk. Then he reassembled his lantern and handed it to me like some sort of token – a reminder of the modern world, which now seemed so far, far away. – In we go then, doctor. – He paused to look at me before stepping in. The hint of irony in his voice as he said my title was not lost on me; but I chose to ignore it and followed him into the shadows.
The first thing I noticed was the floor, which was still stone, but not like in the corridor. The blocks were much larger and not nearly as polished. I tripped twice, and then nearly fell once, at which point my guide held out his free hand to support me.
- How big is this chamber? – I inquired. The light from my companion’s torch did not reach the walls, but I was still grateful for its presence for it distracted me from the horrible smell.
- About a hundred feet wide. – I heard him say. – And maybe a hundred-twenty feet long.
- Why so big?
- Oh you’ll see. Careful now, watch your step. – he said it just in time, for as soon as I looked at the floor I noticed that it disappeared less than 5 feet ahead of us. There was just darkness. I could only assume it meant there was some sort of gap.
- Are we anywhere near it? – I asked.
- We are as near as anyone would ever want to be. Well, at least this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to it. – He bent down then, and the glimmer from the flame caught something smoother and darker than the stone. A circular basin filled with some sort of dark liquid, set in the ground like a miniature pool. A thin fissure broke the flawless circular line and ran parallel to the gap. Looking closer, I realized it was too smooth for a fissure. A canal, then. As soon my companion’s source of light touched the liquid, I was proven right. The liquid quickly caught on fire, and the fire ran up the canal in a wide arc, igniting another half a dozen basins along the way. I could finally see the walls of the chamber, and was unsurprised by the fact that they were just as rustic as the floor.
My guide crossed to my other side and lowered himself in order to light another basin, and with it, six more just like the previous ones. The two halves of the circle did not touch – they both ran into a wall at the far end of the cellar thus encompassing what I thought at first was a gap, which in fact looked more like a giant well - over sixty feet wide and with no bottom to be seen. However, I knew immediately that what I had come down to see was in the middle of it; or more precisely, on the platform that seemed to grow out of the wall I was facing. It was barely big enough to sit on, and that was exactly what strange, pale figure was doing. Chained to the wall by its wrists and neck, it sat there, unmoving, like an ancient corpse. It only vaguely resembled a man. It was, by far, the strangest and most unnerving thing I had ever seen. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
And then the man that had brought me down here spoke again.
- Well, doctor - how do you like it?
- Dear god, - I breathed. – Is it really alive?
