Paonee

Ahead now, the tunnel widened, then spilled out into a kind of groin in the rock. There the tunnel split in two. That much, at least, accorded with the diagram in the notebook. Atrus took the left-hand fork, walking on quickly now, his heart pounding again.(1)

The air around Atrus became sour and salty. The rank smell of rotting fish entered his nostrils. Atrus had just soothed himself to relaxation when, out of nowhere, a creature appeared. He was tall and ragged. His skin was a putrid green, like vomit. Between huge green horns, on his head, was a mass of thick black hair. His horns were that of a bull but were still the dreadful colour of his skin.

As Atrus stumbled backwards in terror, he noticed the creatures clothes were dirty and torn, as if by many years of being snagged on bushes and falling in mud. It's shirt looked as if it was made by human flesh. It was torn at his bicep on the right and at the elbow on his left. His strong stomach was reveled beneth the torn shirt. Beneth the bulk of his muscular arms were three knarly fingers. Their clawed nails were stained crimson. Atrus looked down to where the blood fell on the rock. He was standing in a puddle of blood.

His pants were brown and stained, all that kept them up was a rope. Finally Atrus looked at his attacker's feet. They were large with three orange toenails on each foot. Atrus headed back towards the opening of the tunel unable to look at the grusome beast any longer. But three more of the creatures rolled a rock over the opening. Atrus looked down at the map in his hands. Then he looked in the small cavern, the rigid, rocky, rough walls had cracks and were a majestic brown. Two large rocks stood on either side of the creature. A beaten path lead to a small crevice behind the creature. Could he fit? He wonderered.

The creature flexed hi whole body and looked Atrus up and down. "Come to me 'Child of Normal.'" Atrus' torch went out. Darkness.

Trapped

(1)RAND AND ROBYN MILLER WITH DAVID WINGROVE, MYST, HYPERION 1995