Chapter 37: Into the Inferno
(Part 3 – A Choice in the Dark)
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The Horror Before Me
The creatures crawl closer.
Some drag themselves across the scorched earth, their skin melting, leaving behind trails of bubbling flesh.
Others stagger forward, their bodies twisted, broken, barely holding together.
Their mouths hang open, stretching impossibly wide.
And from them—
A chorus of screams.
Agonized.
Endless.
Echoing across the infernal wasteland.
And I—
I can't move.
I am paralyzed by fear, my body refusing to obey.
Because this isn't just fear of death.
It's something worse.
A feeling that tells me—
I don't belong here.
But I have no way out.
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Breathe. Just Breathe.
I stumble backward, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
I clutch my chest, my heartbeat a wild, erratic drum.
I need to think.
I need to move.
But my body is locked in place.
Then—
A thought cuts through the haze of panic.
Breathe.
I force in a breath, my lungs burning from the sulfur in the air.
Just breathe.
I take another.
And another.
The fear doesn't leave.
But the fog in my mind clears just enough for me to think.
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This Fear Will Kill Me
I can't stay frozen.
If I do—
I die.
No.
Worse.
I might not die at all.
I might become one of them.
One of the things surrounding me.
Twisting. Melting. Screaming.
And that—
That thought is worse than anything.
I grit my teeth.
I plant my feet.
And for the first time—
I push the fear down.
I won't die here.
Not like this.
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A Step Forward
The creatures snarl as I shift my stance.
Their hollow eyes lock onto me, waiting, anticipating.
I don't know where I am.
I don't know why I'm here.
But if I want to survive—
I have to move.
Slowly, carefully, I step forward.
Away from the terror.
Away from the paralysis.
I don't know what awaits me in this nightmare.
But I refuse to be its victim.
No matter what happens—
I will keep moving.