Terror After Freedom

"YES!" With both the chains released from the wall, Asher couldn't help but exclaim.

"The key!" Asher still needed to unlock the shackles on his hands and feet before he could leave the cave.

After all, even if the chains weren't attached to the walls and keeping him in place, they would still be a hindrance to him while running away.

Asher quickly took the key from the dead guard and unlocked the shackles.

~clack~ clack~

The shackles fell to the ground, freeing Asher. Then without missing a beat Asher picked up the torch and started to run.

~Rumble~

The cave continued to shake and more debris fell from the roof. Asher shielded his head as best as he could and ran nonstop. He ignored the pebbles that pricked his feet as he couldn't even feel the pain with all the adrenaline rushing through his blood.

Once Asher was out of the tunnel where he was restrained, he arrived in the bigger main tunnel which branched out into several other tunnels.

"Run! Run!" Here, Asher could hear the frantic cries of many people.

It included both guards as well as others that had been imprisoned there.

~haah~haah~

Asher paused to catch his breath and took a look around quickly. He could hear the cries coming from many tunnels asking to free them. The Guards were not going to do that while risking their lives, thus they chose to run out.

There were also a few lucky prisoners who were either in the middle of being moved, or had also managed to free themselves in a similar manner as Asher. But unlike him, they still had chains attached to their limbs which limited how fast they could run.

~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM~

It was at this time that several collapses happened. Dust clouds spewed out of the tunnels that collapsed, making it hard to see.

"Have to run." Asher had barely paused for five seconds before he started to run again.

No one exactly knew how big or long the Trench Rot cave was as its size had changed several times. And now that Asher was running through it, he understood it was much bigger than he had expected.

Even after running for two minutes, he had still not reached the exit. The only thing that was working in his favor right now was the fact that the tremors were spreading from the deeper parts of the mine to the outer parts.

~TREMBLE~

Asher could feel the tremors catching up, and it made it hard for him to run properly. 

'I need to be faster… Faster!' Asher used all his might to make his legs move.

His lungs were burning, but he didn't falter. The face of Tess flashed in his mind, reminding him that he needed to keep his promise and survive.

He didn't know how long he had run, but the sunlight finally told him that he was nearing the end.

"Almost there…" Asher muttered between his breaths.

~BOOM~

And just when he was at the edge of the exit, a major collapse happened burying the tunnel behind him!

"ARGH!" Asher jumped out with all his might, managing to avoid getting crushed.

~THUD~

He landed on the hard ground outside, feeling the stinging pain on his face. Warm blood trickled down from his busted lip, which stimulated him with its metallic taste.

Asher got up with some difficulty, as the fatigue started to set in. His legs were burning from exhaustion as well, but thankfully he was outside the mine now. The sunlight was a bit harsh for his eyes, but he squinted to look around.

"Barely managed to get out… that was close." Asher said as he gazed at the half buried corpses that weren't as lucky as him.

The terror of impending death was still fresh on their faces that were caked with dirt mixed with blood. Their cries kept on echoing in his ears, as if they were still struggling.

"Haah!" Seeing that caused Asher to feel overwhelmed, and he laid back down on the ground.

The exhaustion was also adding to his woes, and he needed to rest for a bit. Finding his vision hazy, Asher closed his eyes trying to recover from his stupor.

~SCREAM~

"What…?"

But after a minute or so, Asher realized that the cries had not stopped, instead of getting stronger. 

"AHHHHHHHH!" Screams of people became apparent as Asher recovered from his stupor.

"Those aren't from earlier…" Asher realized the screams weren't just in his mind. 

Opening his eyes, Asher saw that the sunlight was gone.

"What's that?" Asher narrowed his eyes, finding that it wasn't clouds that were blocking the sunlight, but rather something else. 

~SCREECH~

The harsh screeching sound coming from the sky confirmed that those were no mere clouds. Asher's vision cleared up and he finally saw it clearly.

"Gods…" And when he did, Asher's eyes went wide.

Flying above were strange creatures with bat-like wings. They had sharp claws and teeth that were dripping with saliva. They were unlike anything Asher had ever seen, and there seemed to be hundreds of them.

"It can't be… Demons!" Asher recognized them from the many stories he had heard.

They were the beings that almost all humans feared and fought against. The mention of demons was a common thing in the Crude Lands, as they were near a fortress that defended them against these creatures.

The fortress was built next to a dungeon that was filled with demons and kept them at bay. As such they needed a steady supply of weapons, which were made with the very same ore that was mined in the Crude Lands.

But even though Asher had heard about them almost every day, this was his first time seeing one.

Asher watched as the demons filled the sky. But upon seeing where they were flying to, fear rose in his heart once again, a terrifying thought appearing in his mind.

"Grandma!" Asher shouted, getting up.

The direction that the demons were flying to was none other than the camps!