The heavy silence of the upper world shattered as a sudden, jerky movement twitched across the face of the boy hanging from the elevated stone threshold.
His dry, cracked lips began to peel back, slowly curling upward until they stretched into a lifeless, unnerving smile that failed to reach his hollow eyes.
The sight was so unnatural that it made the rider's blood run cold, turning to ice in her veins.
With a sharp jerk, the boy retreated, his small frame vanishing into the suffocating darkness of the stone dwelling as if he had never existed at all.
"Mother! There's someone outside! Come quickly... Mother! They are here!"
His voice was a high-pitched, screeching wail that pierced through the valley like a jagged bolt of lightning, the echoes bouncing off the ancient monoliths.
Terror seized the rider. Her survival instinct flared to life.
Without a second of hesitation, she darted behind the massive flank of a nearby monolith to hide.
Pressing her spine against the cold, jagged surface of the ancient stone, she fought a desperate battle to stifle her own gasping breath.
Her heart hammered against her ribs like a panicked bird trapped in a cage.
Staying low within the shadow of the stone, she slowly tilted her face outward, just enough to catch a glimpse of the scene above.
The boy reappeared, but he wasn't alone.
A tall, gaunt silhouette emerged from the darkness behind him.
Under the velvet glow of the starlight, the figure's face became visible—a scorched, fleshless landscape of ruin that looked like it belonged in a breathing hell.
The rider squeezed her eyes shut, her mind chanting a single, frantic prayer: Get out. Just get out.
As the woman's predatory gaze found the rider, that grotesque, distorted smile widened.
The rider couldn't wait any longer.
She bolted from her hiding spot, racing back in the direction she had come from.
The path was lined with gargantuan stone pillars, standing like silent sentinels of a forgotten civilization.
Atop these massive columns rested a colossal, endless stone roof, turning the entire way into a dark, echoing corridor.
The thud of the rider's boots echoed through the forest of pillars.
Every time she passed a column, she glanced back, the rows of stone feeling like a terrifying labyrinth.
Her lungs burned with the icy air, yet she pushed through the forest of stone.
Suddenly, through the gloom, she saw it—the old iron hatch.
She lunged for the door and tried to haul it open, but it remained stubborn, as if held shut by an immense external pressure.
She threw her entire weight into the handle, her shoulder muscles straining.
Then, she looked back—emerging from the shadows of the pillars was the woman, the massive meat cleaver in her hand glinting like a murderous silver blade.
"Open! Open!" the rider screamed inwardly, throwing one last desperate surge of strength into the door.
With a shriek of rusting metal, the hatch finally gave way.
She dove inside with the speed of lightning and hauled the heavy door shut, sliding the bolt home.
The clang of the iron echoed like a gunshot.
She engaged the lock with trembling fingers and lunged up the dark stairs toward the deck.
The climb was a blur of agony.
Finally, reaching the top, she shoved the last iron door open with her remaining strength.
As her final step crossed the threshold, the world began to tilt and spin.
She collapsed onto the cold, hard surface of the ship.
Just before unconsciousness claimed her, her fading gaze fell upon her watch—the hands were frozen exactly where they had been when she arrived.
Suddenly, her phone screen flared to life, displaying the same frozen digits.
A final surge of terror flashed in her eyes before she slipped into total darkness.
To be continue...