A Strange Tome

The Moon’s bright light is obscured by a dense mist that enveloped the forest, instead causing a dimly lit glow that illuminated the chilling thick air. Branches snapped and multi-colored leaves crunched under a certain timid waterdog’s paws. Fizzy’s head was on a swivel as he explored the woods behind his house once more. He was getting a strong feeling that all the noises and happenings in these woods are why he got such a deal on his recently acquired house. He paused to reach into his satchel and pull out a dusty old tome, the thick dust on the cover only disturbed by the imprint of his paw pads. 

“Hmmm… It should be in this direction.” He muttered to himself as he leafed through its strange pages. He had found the book in a strange box stowed away in the basement of his new abode. Fizzy felt drawn to the book, compelled to explore its pages and follow its words to a T. Admittedly a majority of it he could not understand, seeming to be written in either a foreign or forgotten language. Though the more he read the illegible text seemed to warp and manifest into something he could comprehend. ‘Go deep into the woods, you will find a cave. Deep inside shall your destiny be made.’ 

Fizzy closed the book, tucking it back into his satchel as his head panned up. He could have sworn that there was no cave in sight, but low and behold he was mere feet away from its intimidating entrance. Was it due to the fog or was the book using a dark influence on its environment? He couldn’t tell, but as he slowly crept into the cave his body began to tremble. He would not feel the light pulsing, almost like a heartbeat, coming from the book in his satchel. 

A click echoes through the body of the cave as Fizzy illuminates the light strapped to his head, allowing him to navigate the cave with a little less peril. As he lurked around the slight bends and declines of the cave Fizzy noticed he had traded the crunchy ground of leaves and branches to a spongy and damp cave floor. After what seemed like an hour Fizzy reached the end of the cave. Pressed into the wall was a chest, no lock seemed to be present but with all of his strength it would not open. Looking at it more closely there was a rectangular hole in the front. Fizzy dug into his satchel and pulled out the tome and opened to the exact page he needed as if he knew where the words lied. ‘The book is the key to your destiny.’ It stated quite simply. Fizzy breathed in deep and pushed the book in until he heard a click. The book sprung back and he placed it into his bag. With a single heave and a long loud creak the chest opened. Inside was a single key, gleaming bright with his light. 

“Uhhh what was that?” Fizzy said shakenly as the cave erupted and shook with a loud growl. Several sets of glowing eyes appeared in the dark corners of the cave and stared at the shaken waterdog. Fizzy grabbed the key and bolted back the way he came, darkness growing behind him and the eyes followed as loud screeching and snarling echoed towards him. All while the cave floor moved and became more moist.

“GOGOGOGO!” He shouted as he saw the dim light at the end of the tunnel. With a final push past what he thought was his limits he leapt out of the cave, crashing into the forest floor. His head snapped to the entrance, the eyes almost to the threshold as the cave slammed shut with a loud crunch and a burp. 

“Was…was I inside a living thing?!?!” He shouted. Fizzy rubbed his eyes and to his bewilderment the cave was gone, no signs that it was ever there. Quickly he dug through his bag and there was the key, now somehow rusted sitting next to the tome. As he looked at the book his fear vanished and his eyes grew cloudy. Fizzy stood up and walked, as if in a trance back to his home. No sounds could Fizzy hear, only one sentence that echoed in this mind ‘The deed is done my child, well done. But there is more to be done…” 

Once again the mist was heavy, more so than before and Fizzy’s shape disappeared into the fog and the night.