Yasushi sat hunched on the cage floor, his body aching from hours of confinement. Concentrating on the air expanding his chest, he closed his eyes and suspended the latent moisture around him. The water stirred, responding to his will like extensions of his own body. Methodically, he mustered the moisture to form a thin stream, guiding it to infiltrate the vivarium lock.

  *Click*

  *Click*

  *Click*

  Sensing the water conform into the lock's interior shape, he coaxed the tumblers into place, briefly releasing a soft clack rippling through the silence.

  His eyes snapped open, pressing his palms against the cage door and pushed. Squatting through the opening, he briskly exited, rolling his shoulders and stretching his limbs.

  The full scope of his surroundings registered with jarring clarity as he scanned the area. The cavernous room sprawled far larger than imagined from his confined position, extending deep into a formidable darkness his eyes couldn't penetrate. Towering stacks of wooden crates formed a labyrinth around his cage, their shapes distorted shadows saturated in malevolency. The stalactites overhead disappeared, orienting itself with the murk.

  Moving further into the storage area, the foul odor grew repugnant at every step, evolving into a suffocating miasma of decay and harsh chemicals coating the back of his throat. His stomach lurched as he clamped his jaw shut against the rising bile, forcing shallow gasps through his mouth.

  Where is that smell coming from???

  He tried to orient himself in the gloom, navigating between towers of crates, unexpectedly into a puddle of thick black liquid leaking from the nearby containers.

  The viscous substance wrapped around his ankle with disturbing tenacity, clinging to the fabric of his pants.

  WHAT THE HELL IS THAT! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!!! GET IT OFF!!!!!

  Lifting his leg to pull it free, the black ooze stretched between his foot and the ground like melted tar, refusing to break its hold. Irritation flared hot in his chest. Shaking, twisting, then repositioning his trapped leg at different angles, the substance maintained its grip with stubborn persistence.

  Water responded to his desperate call, droplets gathering from the humid air to pool around his captured foot. He shaped the moisture into a slick barrier, forcing it between his skin and the black substance. The water gradually penetrated the ooze, molecule by molecule, loosening the grip holding him prisoner.

  His foot suddenly broke free and threw his balance, sending him tumbling backward. His body crashed into the wall of crates behind him, wooden containers toppled in a domino effect. Their contents shifted and rattling, sprawling him across the cold floor.

  CRAP!!! I WAS TOO LOUD!!!!! DID THEY HEAR ME?!

  He scrambled to his feet, pulse wildly hammering in his ears awaiting for guards to rush in. Seconds stretched into a full minute, absent of footsteps thundering down corridors and voices shouting orders.

  A relieved breath poured from his exhale. His gaze traced the liquid's path to a crate smeared in dark stains spreading down its side. Enclosing his fingers around the edge of its lid, the wood resisted his grip before the seal tore free. A wave of abhorrent stench exploded from the inside, convulsing his throat and tearing his eyes.

  Through the streaming tears, he held his breath, stunned at the mortal body parts laying sorted and categorized like inventory in a merchant's warehouse. Severed hands positioned by size. Hearts removed from chests and preserved in that same black coating. Eyes extracted from skulls and lined up like merchandise. Some pieces remained recognizable, others thoroughly mutilated and reduced to masses of flesh.

  He slammed the lid back down, numbing himself to the horror. As he staggered backwards, a glint of metal caught his eyes from the corner of the opened crate, partially hidden beneath tangled viscera. Reaching inside, he pulled the crowbar free and wiped the black residue across his blood splattered shirt.

  His eyes shifted towards a dim glow seeping between the cracks, barely lighting its surrounding area. Chains hung from stalactites at irregular intervals, swaying in air currents he couldn't feel. In the far corner, an installed large drain protruded from the floor, its grate clogged with chunks of decomposing flesh and dried remnants.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He proceeded towards the glow, tightly gripping the crowbar with both hands as he approached the door. Leaning his ear against the wooden surface, he scrupulously listened for any signs of movement.

  The coast is clear…. I… I …. don't hear anything!!!

  Keeping his ear against the door, he wrapped his fingers around its handle, gently testing it.

  IT'S UNLOCKED!

  He turned the handle, wearily opening the door. As he pried himself through the narrow gap, his entire body locked rigid coming face to face with the guard.

  Slumped in a rickety wooden chair ready to collapse under his meager weight, slept a thin, gangly man with a face too small for his elongated head. His disproportionately large nose protruded like a bird's beak while one nostril formed a snot bubble, expanding and contracting with each snore. His mouth hung open, revealing a set of crooked teeth competing for space in his narrow jaw.

  A spear rested loosely in the crook of his arm, on the brink of clattering to the floor at the slightest disturbance. His clothing bunched around his neck and wrists, resembling a scarecrow dressed in castoffs several sizes too large.

  Yasushi pushed the door wider, wincing at each creak of hinges. The guard shuffled in his sleep, mumbling as he turned over resuming his slumber with the snot bubble intact. Holding his breath, he dropped to his hands and knees and crawled out the doorway. He inched past the guard, acutely aware of his movements on the muddled floor merging with the milieu.

  Once past the sleeping guard, Yasushi rose to a crouch and hurried toward the hallway. Torches jutted from the walls at inconsistent gaps, smogging the scent of damp earth. Memories from his earlier journey with Lei surfaced as he navigated the tunnels, stealthily arriving to the ladder with ease.

  He climbed upward, gripping the gritty iron rungs beneath his palms. At the top, he poked his head through the opening, skimming for guards.

  No one's here!! I gotta move quickly!

  Pulling himself through, he tiptoed before the metal door.

  I REALLY HOPE THIS WORKS!!!

  He raised his fist and banged three times against the metal surface, dropping his voice to match Lei's gravelly tone.

  "OI! OPEN UP!"

  Blood roared in his ears as he waited, the sound of a lock turning remitted electricity crackling through his veins. He clutched the crowbar tighter, his palms swelling slick with sweat. The door leisurely creaked open, revealing the tenebrous extending passageway. Coiling his body like a spring, Yasushi exploded forward, throwing all his weight behind the push.

  *BANG*

  The door flew wide, dispatching a startled yelp through the corridor. The rat yazumi tumbled sideways, its matted fur straightened upward in shock as it landed hard on the rutty dirt.

  Pouncing on top of it before it could scramble upright, Yasushi swung in a brutal arc, connecting the crowbar across the yazumi's face. The creature's head whipped sideways, trickling blood from the corner of its mouth. Looking up at, its beady eyes deluged with primal fear as he hovered the crowbar above its skull.

  "Tell me where Kaname is," Yasushi snarled, his voice murderously shallow.

  Its whiskers frantically twitched, opening and closing its mouth, unable to produce sound.

  Footsteps abruptly echoed through the corridor, peaking the yazumi's ears. His pulse spiked, clasping its threadbare shirt and hauling it into a shadowy alcove.

  Slamming the creature against the wall, he rammed the crowbar across its throat, mildly crushing its windpipe. His face inched closer to the yazumi's twitching nose, his whisper urgent and low.

  "Where can I find the girl that Lei's holding?"

  The creature sucked in ragged gasps while its eyes darted between his fierce stare and the metal bar cutting off its oxygen.

  "I... umm... he... uh hu..." it nervously wheezed, words stumbling over each other. "Please, I…I… I… I… I… I'm …just a servant. I… don… don… don… don't know anything!"

  Pressing his weight into the crowbar, his composure wore thin.

  "Tell me! I know she's here! Where are they keeping her?"

  The yazumi's eyes bulged, divulging into terror as it heaved for a breath.

  "Ww wa wa wait! WAIT!... The springs! She's at the springs! The child was covered in blood. Zei ordered the turtle to bathe her."

  The footsteps vibrated louder, accompanying rough laughter.

  "Is he with her?" he uttered, easing pressure off its throat.

  "I don't know. I swear, I don't know!" it whimpered, hectically shaking its head.

  Seeing the footstep’s shadows emerge from the low light corner, Yasushi flattened themselves into the alcove's shadows and concealed their presence in the darkness, calmly watching Zei’s men scroll past, never looking in their direction.

  "You better not be lying to me you filthy vermin! " he whispered, slightly pulling his weight back.

  "I'm not!!! I swear to you I'm not!!! After her bath, the child will return to her chains in his back room."

  The yazumi wheezed, its eyes swimming with desperate pleading.

  "This is the truth!! The truth!! I'm begging you... Please don't kill me..."

  Yasushi's jaw tightened, yanking it away from the wall. "Take me there!"

  "I can't. I'm a lowly servant. I only open and close doors. Never allowed in those areas. I'd be killed if they caught me."

  He stood still, his ears tracking the fading footsteps as he weighed his options. Hostility blazed in his eyes, looming over the quivering yazumi.

  "Then this is what we're going to do..."