Page 25 of A Dance Macabre

MERCY

It takes me less than three seconds to hit the bottom. I barely have time to think, my mind shutting off as my survival instincts kick in. The hole is too wide for me to even try using the stone walls to stop myself, and ultimately my back slams into a hard mass of bones, painfully stealing my breath away.

Although I’m fighting afartoo human and irrational hysteria of being at the bottom of a pit of skeletons; the scream I let out while falling still echoes against the walls, and I’m embarrassed by my blatant show of weakness.

Especially in front of a Vainglory.

Egregious self-serving scrote.

I don’t bother to call out his name. I know he’s already left.

Because I would have done the same.

I bare my teeth, wincing as I suck in sharp, harried breaths while making a mental tally of my body’s current state. It’s pitch black down here, the only light source is the mouth of the pit high above, but I’m far too deep for it to travel to me.

A sharp pain coming from my left arm has me hissing loudly, and I blindly grope at my arm to find that a piece of bone haslodged itself into the muscle of my forearm. Forcefully pulling the bone out, the pain travels up into my neck, and I let out a desperate scream knowing that, this time, no one will hear my revolting frailty.

Flipping over to my stomach, I try to push myself up, my left arm giving out under my weight.

I continue to fight through the abhorrent hysteria, sucking down air through my nose and then out through my mouth but end up gagging on the putrid smell surrounding me.

Get yourself together, Mercy.

It’s just a pile of bones. I’ve seen much worse. I’vedonemuch worse.

I manage to get myself up on both feet, the bones shifting under my weight making it difficult to keep my footing. My eyesight has grown accustomed to the dark yet, I only see shadows, my hands in front of me barely visible as I try to reach the stone wall.

I bump into something a little more … fleshy and immediately know I’ve found Boris. Thinking his corpse might help me reach up a little higher, I plant my feet on his stomach and step onto his wide chest.

My hands fumble against the wall and by the feel of the uneven raised brick, I think that I might stand a chance of climbing out of here. But not before I get rid of my long manicured nails. I start with my thumb, clamping my teeth down on the nail. Chewing and then ripping it off, I spit the piece out and then move on to another finger until finally, I’ve done both hands.

Digging my fingers into the grooves between the stone bricks, I struggle to pull myself up, my left arm throbbing with excruciating pain, the warm drip of blood coating my skin. It takes a few tries but my bare feet manage to find a footholdbeneath me, and I let out a shocked laugh, surprised that my plan is working.

Oh so slowly I begin to climb up, sweat prickling my skin as my harsh breathing fills the air.

I’ve only made it up a few feet before my grip slips and I fall backward into the pit of bones.

The rage that flares at my defeat nearly suffocates me.

I curse Wolfgang’s entire lineage while I scramble back to my feet, even more determined than before. This time, I make it a little further up before crashing back down.

I lose count of the times I try and subsequently fail.

I lose count of time itself as my attention is solely focused on climbing out of this rotten well.

I’m catching my breath before my umpteenth attempt when I hear Constantine’s voice float down to me.

“Mercy, darling, are you down there?”

“Tinny?” I say a little too desperately. Looking skyward, I can barely make out a shadow of what looks like a wave of a hand.

“Mercy!” she replies with her usual glee when she hears my voice.

“How did you find me?” I can’t help but ask.

“Wolfie sent me — said you’d probably die down there if I didn’t.” Another shadow appears beside hers. “I brought Gemini as reinforcement!”

“Are you okay, love?” Gemini asks.

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