vamoose
to leave hurriedly or quickly; decamp.
to leave hurriedly or quickly from; decamp from.
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The darkness was absolute. Even the spears of light coming from the high intensity flashlights seemed to be swallowed up by the ever-present gloom. The lights belonged to three people, with each commanding one of them. The trio moved slowly, spreading their lights out as much as the darkness would allow.
There was no sound in the vast chamber. At least, none that belonged there. The footsteps and breaths of the invaders filled the place like their lights never could. One was purposefully calm, a second was filled with panic, and the third was quick and eager.
None of them spoke though. It felt wrong to violate the eternal silence with sound. They were already blaspheming enough as it was with what they did bring. And the light felt almost like an unforgivable sin.
But they kept going. One flashlight flitted around the chamber like a hummingbird. The other two were more steady. Suddenly, there was a sound. A sound that did not come from any of the invaders. All three beams quickly focused on the location of the sound. Or at least, they tried to. With the size of the chamber, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where it had come from. The lights found nothing.
After a few moments, two of the invaders started moving again. The third was more reluctant, but followed the others. Another sound echoed out a few minutes later. It was farther away from the trio, but the response was just as rapid. The nervous member of the trio wanted to say something, but refrained. They were making enough noise as it was.
As they went, more of the rapid, clicking sounds came and went. Soon, they were just seconds apart from each other. And there was more than one source. The sound of something clinking off stone, or scraping against it was almost everyone. Now two of the invaders were moving their lights frantically, trying to find whatever was causing the sound. Only the third was steady with their light and their steps.
One of the sources sounded only a few feet from the trio. That was all it took. The terrified member of the group violated the unspoken agreement of silence with a scream. And then he ran. He turned towards the entrance and ran with everything he had.
Now with two invaders remaining, one continued on, seemingly undaunted by the loss of one of their members. The other paused. Her light moved from one to the other slowly. She stopped. A brief glimpse of movement at the edge of the light. She was not even sure if it was really there. But it was all that was needed. She lost her nerve and ran. She did not scream like the first deserter, but she ran just the same.
The last invader merely looked back at the two who had run with all their might. They chose to leave the darkness and silence. But he would not. Once the lights of the other two had faded, he grinned and turned his off. He knelt on the cold stone floor, ready and willing to accept whatever gifts the darkness had for him.
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Possibly the start of either a horror or supervillain story. Well, it would be if I actually bothered with that kind of thing.
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