“It’s a dead end!”

“What?! No, no way! We just came from here! Two streets, we did not make any consequent turns to be back here!”

“Maybe… maybe it is another closed alley.” Bidane and the others watched the crowds move through the streets, back and forth, like mice in a labyrinth. “We’re just lost! Come on!”

That couple took off again, leaving the rest to find another path.
Because, after half an hour of fearful fleeing, most of the townspeople had reached this place. All were now gathering in it, yelling, questioning, cowering. Most men were accusing each other of taking a bad path, while women were trying to figure why most paths led to dead ends or the same place where they came from.

“We can’t stay here, too many people.”

Lyssa glared at Adam, reminding him it was him who kept taking them into closed alleys, always arriving back here.

“Can’t go anywhere else.” Lyssa, with a sly grimace, narrowed her eyes. She nudged Bidane’s shoulder, to then nod towards what bothered her and most of the crowd. “No matter where we run we always get back here, with that… hole.”

Anna was the tallest one. Tiptoeing, she tried to peek over the loud crowd to get a better look of the end of the street. Past all bodies, she could see the hole.

Right in the center of the stone wall, black as night, seemingly long as a tunnel. She could not see the end; a big adult would fit in it, allowing anyone to crawl through.

Judging by the calls and yells of a woman at its mouth, some had already crawled into it in their desperation. Her crying yells were getting no answer from the other side.

Any architect would say it was impossible for the hole to have such length in such a small town… but the way the streets seemed to lengthen, the corners to bend, and the new strange new layout of their home said otherwise. All looked familiar, but it was twisted and reassembled into a nightmare.

“Mike! Robert!” The woman cried insistently, even leaning into the hole herself to yell. “Please, tell me you are there! Please!”

Her husband had seemingly been the first to go, against her wishes. But the crowd was anxious, and he chose to brave it with his son.

Bidane could not see much with so many people cramped around her and her friends. Even more people were getting behind them, preventing them from trying to find another way out of the town center.

Her friends were beginning to argue loudly, the girls favoring the protection of a crowd, while Adam vouched for leaving the dangers of multitudes.
They chose neither, not when Bidane noticed someone who she trusted, there in between the crowd.

“Iker!”

The man jolted when he heard her call. With a sharp turn and a quick scope of the crowd, he tried to pinpoint her location. His eyes opened with joy and relief when he saw her pushing towards him. His voice reached her as he yelled back, both trying to get to each other.

“Sis!”

Bidane made his brother huff when she latched herself onto him with a tight hug. He let out a small chuckle, the first normal expression he had since he had to run for his life. After taking in his presence for a moment, she looked up, her smile fading into a worried frown.

“Is dad here?”

Iker stopped smiling too. His dreadful expression told her enough; he took a moment to answer her fears.

“Haven’t seen him since he left for work this morning. He did not answer my calls before… any of this started.”

Bidane’s arms fell, her hug losing its strength. Her father could be in great danger… or maybe, just maybe, nothing had happened where he was. Maybe he was safe in the factory, right in the outskirts by the lake and river that surrounded the town. Normally, he would have stopped working a couple of hours ago.
Her uncertainty was clear in her voice.

“How do we get to him?”

Iker was proud to see her worry and determination, but sad as well. Their father was the only thing they had left, their mother never having been around for years.

“Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.” He gave her friends a glance as they reached the two of them. With a sigh, he pointed behind him and through the crowd, glaring at the hole with apprehension. “That’s a ‘way out’. But… I don’t trust it. No one really does here, not after what we have seen.”

“Right, the monster. It could be on the other side now.”

Iker looked at Anna with a perplexed stare. He leaned his head, both hating to ask and feeling forced to.

“Monster?” He cringed, not daring to tell her she was wrong. “I… have not seen a monster. I was at a café; when I got out, I heard screams, as you have. But I didn’t see a monster. I… saw the streets twist. One minute I had people in front of me, just a few steps. Next thing I know, they are gone, with walls just growing between us out of nowhere.” – He shuddered.-
“I heard… things behind those twisting walls, from them. Crushing sounds.”

He debated hard if he should say that last part. He said it, and he was not surprised by the different reactions he got from the teens.

His sister had grasped her head, assimilating that it was not only one thing that was causing the screams. Anna had paled and had seemed to shut off. Lyssa had cursed. And Adam was now keeping his distance from the walls.

Iker’s words confirmed why he was not trying to find another path like others. The town was really reshaping itself.

Silence was not what defined their next lack of words. Iker, seeing that everyone was silent due to the grim circumstances, returned his attention to his phone. Like many others around him, he had been trying to call the police, or anybody that might help. Most people had either been afraid of the visual glitches on their screens or had given up when their ears suffered the intense screeching noise that came out of any call attempted. However, many were still screaming at their phones in frustration, trying in vain to reach loved ones or any authority. All around them a cacophony of confused yells and unanswered calls.

“No one is going to come for us.”

Iker affirmed, the only adult blunt enough to tell them. Even if there were many people around them, it was clear that everyone was all for themselves. Arguments had been rising in intensity, and some men were starting to look like they wanted to throw punches at anyone who crossed them. Many wanted to leave the alley, while others insisted on crossing it. Nobody wanted to be the first to enter the hole, however.

“If no one is coming, we have to get going.” Bidane had shared a look with her brother, both knowing their thoughts. She turned to her friends, nodding towards the crowd that was between them and the hole. “We either go back, or stay to queue up. Your call, we will vote.”

“Go back.” Adam frowned, uncomfortable at the thought of being a sitting duck. “That beast will eventually come, and I don’t want to be the first to be noticed. These people will attract it.”

“You heard Iker. We tried already, and we might have been lucky to not find any moving walls.” Lyssa crossed her arms, her feet firm on the stony ground. “We need to cross. We’re being herded back here anyway.”

“Like lambs to the slaughter.” Adam grabbed Anna’s arm and stared at her intently, making her nervous under his scrutiny. “You agree with me, right Anna?”

Anna trembled; Lyssa was eyeing her with a scowl and Adam was inching closer. She just patted his hand away and cowered, finding herself behind Bidane.

“I don’t know!” She cried out, while Bidane tried to stay still while being held tight. “I don’t feel like going back, but I don’t like that hole either! Nobody is crossing! It’s small, something looks wrong with it! When has there ever been a hole in our town?!”

“Never.” Bidane sighed with a troubled look, her eyes filled with resignation. “There was no monster, moving walls or a black sky either. But there is now.”

They could not waste time with circular debates. Iker made a choice. A choice he did not like, but one he felt forced to make. He was the only adult in the group.

“Most say to try the hole, so that’s what we will do. It’s a way out.”

Adam scoffed but surrendered, causing Anna to look away in shame. “Let’s go closer, see if we can push past this wall of people.”

With polite excuses and insistent nudges, Iker began to move people aside. He found some resistance from some, while others gave way easily. While some people wanted to get closer to the end of the alley like them, they found themselves deterred by the fact nobody there was crossing.
As expected, the ones by the hole were not climbing into it. Three men were yelling loudly, pointing fingers and insulting each other.

“We need to cross the hole! Now.”

“Well why don’t you?! If you are so sure it leads to safety, why are you so afraid?! I say we stay! We have not crossed that thing you speak off yet!”

“It is real, you dipshit!” The third pointed back urgently. “There is a moss aberration roaming, and I don’t want to see it again! We can’t stay here!”

“The real problem is the walls! And here, they don’t move! If you want to, you go in.”

“Look at that woman!” The three looked at her again, her cries echoing into the hole. “Her family might very well be dead! The hole’s dangerous. There is no other possible reason why her family is so silent on the other side!”

“So, as I said, the best option is to stay!”

And there was the circular argument that was causing such a big crowd to stall. A monster roamed, fleeing was necessary, but all attempts led to this dead end or a crushing death, and the only possible way out could be a gamble.

“Guys, stop.” Iker moved into the argument, Bidane and the others close behind. They managed to get the attention of the crowd, who had been silent towards the men. “We must all agree nothing normal is going on. Whatever this hole is… anything could explain why we can’t see its end.”

“A smart ass, aren’t you?” Iker leaned slightly back, but kept his stance when the oldest man inched towards him. His narrowed eyes looked him up and down, while he cursed him out. “Fine, want to vouch for these idiots? Say something else than them; you all just talk, but don’t move a damn finger! Like all of you!”

The crowd seemed to shrink under the old man’s pointing. The other two men did too, urgent yet scared.
Iker opened his mouth, he was about to say something. But someone took the chance first.

“Shut up.”

Iker, the old man and the crowd blinked. Bidane’s friends paled. Because she was the one to yell, while steeping in between her brother and him.

“I’ll do it. I’m smaller, and faster than you three. You can sit here and hope to get older.”

“Bida-”

“It’s fine.” She smiled back at him, and even though he could see through it, she kept pretending she was unfaced by the possible risks. “It’s ok; look, tie something around my waist! I can pull at it from the other side! Two pulls, danger! Three, it’s safe.”

“But what if it’s not safe.” He grabbed her shoulders, fear in his eyes. “Let me go first. I can’t lose you.”

“Iker…” His eyes had been fixed on the burn on her shoulder. But when she said the next words with a sorrowful whisper, he looked her in the eyes. “I rather not lose you.”

That felt like a stab. Either let her go and suffer if it was final, or go and let her suffer instead. Loss was heavy on one’s shoulders.

“Sis, I-”

“The girl does make a point; clever one.” Before he could argue, one of the men was already moving in to profit from the chance. He already had a rope in his hands, and with help from the other one, was tying it up around her waist. Worst of all, Bidane helped them with only an apologetic look for him. “A rope is what we need, a signal. She is fast, smaller, and the less time we waste, the better.”

“Let her through.”

“No, I’ll go instead.” Iker tried to snatch her as she advanced towards the hole, but the men got in the way. “Bidane, don’t you dare.”

“Iker, I’ll be fine, I promise.” She took a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and threw it to him. He stared in perplexity as she winked with a comforting laugh. “We’ll have a smoke together at the other side, k?”

“You told dad you were quitting!”

“I may have. But hey, you smoke too.” With one last hand wave, she climbed in, calling without looking at his fearful expression. “You are my biggest influence, bro!”

“Bidane!” Her friends flinched and jolted, because Iker shoved the men and finally managed to get to the hole. “Fuck, don’t!”

Too late. She was already far in.
He considered pulling at the rope she dragged. He grabbed it and was about to yank it… until the woman’s hands laid on his. She looked at him silently, begging him to let her connect both sides with a single desperate stare.
So he let go, fixating his eyes in the blackness inside, her body out of sight already. His heart pounded harder than any punch that the men had considered giving him to stop him. For once, the crowd had felt silent, not even the sounds of her crawling reaching them anymore.
But the rope was moving. It was long, part of a laundry hanger that had been above them all. And still, some feared it would not be long enough. They waited minutes that felt hours.
The rope stopped moving. Its end dangled loosely at the edge of the hole.
He counted every second. Every moment felt torturous, like if a part of him had been ripped away.
It was only when a faint twitch caught his eye that he felt his own heartbeat again. That twitch intensified into a pull, the rope inching deeper into the hole with a single motion. He was kick to grab its end, before it could get even deeper and away from his reach. Her pull made the crowd whisper, hope overcoming their expressions. A second pull, a tight yank…

“Come on, a third.”

And so it came. All let out a sigh of relief when the third yank happened. The other side was safe, even though there seemed to have been a small delay to her signal.
As Iker relaxed his stance and breathed out, the crowd inched closer. The crying woman yelled once more, moving in and climbing decisively.

“My dear, Mike! Mom is coming!”

Right behind her went one of the arguing men, now finally convinced of the path’s safety. The second one seemed to willfully delay, even if nervously, his eyes scanning the end of the crowd. It was evident he was hoping to see somebody arrive; he began to yell at the crowd, seeing that disorder could happen soon, as everybody was pushing to get through.

“Everyone, please make a queue! We can’t all go in at once!”

Even the old man seemed to reconsider, not without cursing having to do so. Adam let out an inquisitive yell, when the man cut in line in front of him with a push, placing himself between the friends and Iker.

“What the hell?!”

“First come first served, boy.”

“You stepped aside and wanted to stay!” Iker noticed it all. He let others go into the hole in favor of preventing the teens from being forced away by more selfish people. “We are with him!”

“Yeah, right, and youll tell me now you also are with that girl to get through before me, hah!”

Adam, Anna and Lyssa yelled next, at once.

“We are with her!”

Iker was about to intervene. Instead, he stared at the distance, his body tensing. The queue was moving ahead without him, and yet, he stayed frozen. His eyes widened slowly… and soon, others did like him.
A scream, a few more. The argument died out, as did the cheerful and hopeful comments all around them. A distant thud, two more, louder. The ground began to tremble… and then the air ran cold, a ravenous wail echoing through it.
They had been noticed.
Like a concert being cut out by a blackout, there was a second of silence from the crowd. Only one. Instantly, hell broke loose.
Everyone began to yell in a panic, push and struggle forward. With each step from the creature in the near streets, there was less space to breathe, a stampede that could do nothing but crush itself.
As quickly as possible, the ones at the mouth of the hole crawled deeper, only those with family looking back in alarm.

“Move!”

Iker, ignoring the old man’s complaints, pulled the guys as close to the hole as possible. He managed to guide them to it, not without pushing and moving through people who tried to cut in front of them. He helped Lyssa up, making sure to make her grab the rope tightly. Then, Anna, who only stopped being reluctant once Adam yelled at her to go first.
He would have let Adam go in next, if not for him being hit sharply and unexpectedly on the head.
Adam gasped, seeing Iker fall to the ground under people’s uncaring steps. He spotted the old man in the corner of his eye, taking their turn into the hole. He had a smirk on his face, his hand dropping the cane he had used to make his way.

“You asshole!”

As quickly as possible, Adam managed to grasp Iker’s hand and help him up. Less stunned and pacifist than Bidane’s brother, he shoved people off and returned to the mouth, intent of catching up to the old man. He was followed closely by Iker, not because he also intended to get back.

“Adam, let it go!” Both of them climbed in. Iker paled, his last look back giving him a partial sight of what had creeped near his sister. He could do nothing but crawl faster and deeper, knowing that the screams were close, and that the faster he moved, the more people would survive. The thing was on them, the smell of melted flesh emanating from the end of the alley. “F-fuck.”

Pushes, shoves, pleas and deathly impotence. All was happening behind him… and he no longer could see it. Darkness engulfed him, all the ones inside the path. At first, he could see the scared and horrified faces of the ones crawling behind him. But soon, he could see nothing but his own hands. Even the screams faded, something distant, something that would only reside in his nightmares.
And yet, he had not moved all that far. A few meters. Light should be able to creep over him, the people behind should be visible. No matter how he tried, how much his eyes narrowed, he could not see Adam ahead of him.

“Ad-!”

His call died out, something making him shiver. Slowly, he stopped crawling. No one yelled at him from behind for his delay. Someone should have hit him, came upon him, a blockage. Yet no one did.
Trembling, he slowly moved his hand away from the rope he held. He raised his fingers closer to his eyes. Instead of dust from the claustrophobic walls, he saw something… wet.
It was not only in his hand; both hands, on the ground of the hole, around him. All over.
He could smell it. The walls felt tighter, the darkness was blinding.
So he kept crawling, eyes fixed ahead. His breathing fastened even more, the only thing he could hear.
But he wanted to hear something else, see. He wanted to reach the end of it.
He wanted to see her.