100 Words a Day 913

I crouched behind one of the grotesque statues and observed my neighbors at their blasphemous rite. They dancing and gyrations were obscene, seeming to defy the possibilities available to the human form as they moved with reckless abandon to the music issuing from the large speakers ringing the ceremonial cavern.

At the center of it all was a great altar, carved from a single piece of blood-colored rock. My father had been a geologist, but had never mentioned such a rock as the one these people were dancing around. Atop the alien stone was a skull carved from clear crystal.

100 Words a Day 912

My shovel struck something solid as it sank deep into the damp muck.

“I’ve got something,” I shouted. The rain was such that I had to repeat myself several times before my companions heard my excited cries.

They eagerly sunk their shovels into the small depression I had made and we quickly exposed the hard thing I had so recently discovered. To this day we don’t speak of the terrible thing we eventually unearthed from that muddy hole.

It was inside a small box covered in complex geometric designs. There was no visible lock or hinge; we smashed it open.

100 Words a Day 911

The door creaked open, exposing a dim, dingy bar with a perpetual haze of smoke making it look like something out of a bad dream. I headed towards the bar, squeezing between the dirty tables and the dregs of humanity drinking there.

I had been leaning on sticky bar top for a few moments when I felt a rough tug on my sleeve. I turned and found myself face to face with a grotesque man of indeterminate age. He pointed awkwardly at a table in the back where a man sat, shrouded in a formless, trench coat blotchy in color.

100 Words a Day 910

“Take this,” the old groundskeeper handed me a battered flashlight. The yellow beam of light flickered erratically, reminding me of the fluttering of a moth’s wings when drawn to the flame.

“Give ‘er a good whack.”

The impact left my palm stinging, but I had no trouble with the flashlight for the remainder of our nocturnal sojourn.

I followed the disheveled man along the winding trails that made up the large estate. He walked with casual familiarity. I found myself jumping at every noise, sending the beam of my flashlight dancing erratically.

“Are we almost there?” I asked.

He nodded.

100 Words a Day 909

After twenty minutes of waiting I jumped behind the desk. I needed that book to finish my paper. I looked around. No one in sight. I was surprised, there were usually at least a few students hanging around the cafeteria. By instinct, I crept along to the elevator that led down to the stacks. I hit the button. The doors slid open and after a final glance around, I darted in and hit a random button. The descent was slow, but the elevator eventually stopped. The metal doors opened, revealing a floor illuminated only by the pale light above me.

100 Words a Day 908

Despite living in Durnam my entire life, I had never been to this part of the library. By the look of it, neither had anyone else. The books smelled old and many were covered with cobwebs. I ran my flashlight over plaques labeling each row of bookshelves until I found B-4. Following my flashlight, I made my way down the row, until I found The Weird Grimoire of Mad Wong. I pulled the ponderous tome from the shelf, disturbing the considerable quantity of dust that had accumulated on it. The string of coughs it induced in me echoed through the empty chamber.