The Eyes of the Cave

The Eyes of the Cave

Leonardo Cerutti

I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart beating fast and my whole skin sweating. I look at my cellphone – it is exactly 3am. I remember having a nightmare where I was in a cave – judging by my extreme lack of eyesight and the sound of bats echoing in a deafening symphony. It was cold and dark in there which made me hardly afraid since I did not know what was happening. Suddenly, the bats stopped making noise and a sepulchral silence came afterwards. The only sound I could hear was the cold and abysmal breeze that was coming from somewhere and water dropping off the roof. Oh, the way out, I need to find it and get out of this terrible cave as soon as possible. I started looking for an exit to the cave, but as more as I tried to step in that irregular ground, more I felt like going into that cave. I won’t give up. I kept saying it loud a lot of times in an attempt to feel more comfortable, making myself my only company in that sad place. I think I miss the bats; evidencing the fact that my biggest fear is being alone with no ways to call for help. I also missed my dog Courage, my mom, and I even missed my annoying brother Arthur… I could do anything to have them here with me. I said it trembling, because as much as I tried to find the way out, stumbling in rocks and falling, more the weather was getting colder. Fuck off, when will I get out?

After twenty minutes of walking, I felt my faith fading away through the darkness of the cave. I started to think that I would never get out of that dreadful place; and I was exhausted, feeling wet, cold, hungry and afraid, so I decided to stop for a few moments to take a deep breath and warm myself up. I tried to find the most comfortable place to sit down and so I did. When I started to rub my hands, one sound caught my attention – something was coming from the depth of the cave. In the beginning I thought it was the bats again, but I quickly realized that the sound was coming from the paws of a great animal. I immediately got up and squeezed myself in the corner of the cave. The steps of the beast were getting closer and louder, I wanted to run but something inside me just made me freeze, so I started to pray silently in an attempt to get unnoticed by the beast or whatever coming. My heart was jumping out of my chest and I got breathless, so in an act of despair I just closed my eyes pretending that everything was just an invention. When the beast appeared to be near me, it unexpectedly stopped. I opened my eyes trying to see what was happening, but it was difficult to see something in that darkness. I waited for one long minute until taking a deep breath. I think it was my imagination; I’m getting crazy in this fucking cave. I said it a little bit confused and relieved with the fact that it probably was something in my head – this sad and silent place is making me mad – I thought, getting up and cleaning the dirt of my pants and trying bravery to keep walking. When I took a step, I rammed in something – maybe a rock, but wait, it was something soft and it started to cry like a baby; a human baby. I froze up from the tiptoe to my head. My first reaction was looking down trying to see what I stepped in. When I was getting down, I heard a roar coming in front of me; but what scared me more than everything were those red, big and aggressive eyes looking straight at me like it was preparing to attack me anytime. I slowly stepped back, but the beast followed me imposing fear then it stopped, and I could see the eyes going down, preparing to attack me, so I ran as fast as I could, screaming and calling for help, but then I hit a rock and hurt my face, falling in the ground. The beast came closer making a weird sound. I was confused due to the accident, but I could feel its deep breath smelling like death. When I heard its teeth creaking and its mouth opening, I just started crying and closed my eyes waiting for the worst. BUUUMMMMM!!! The ground below me fell apart and I fell together. The only thing I could see in that moment were those red eyes seeing me disappearing through the dark.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I wake up and look at my cellphone – it is 3am. I get up from bed and open the door, going straight to the bathroom, totally wet and breathless. I enter the bathroom turning on the lights, I see my reflection in the mirror looking tired and scared, thinking of the terrible nightmare I had just had. Now it’s over, thanks God… It was so real. In my head there is only the memory of the baby crying and the ugly eyes looking at me, was it a real animal? I would never know, but for now, thinking of it would not be appropriated, so I just put my head down close to the sink to wash my sweaty face. Click, click, click. I lift my head and open my eyes; the lights are flashing. Oh no… I start to feel a terrible sensation coming from my heart, my stomach is hurting. The lights go out, I try to open the door, but it is stuck. MOM! HELP!  I scream for help, but no one hears me. I don’t want to be in the dark again, please! In the awful silence and darkness that terrify me, I see only one thing sparkling in the bathroom, I look at the mirror and the red eyes are right behind me. All I can hear is the agonizing creaking of its teeth inviting me to look behind. So I do it, turning back and looking at the beast, but nothing is there, except for darkness. I turn around trying to find the door lock, but I can’t. I look around – it’s not my bathroom anymore; sounds of bats start echoing again in my head, the temperature sharply drops. The red eyes are in front of me.