Jason turned his eyes here and there, trying to find any glimpse of an object, or light at all. The darkness engulfed him and was completely impermeable despite his efforts. He knew the floor was stone and slightly damp from the touch of his bare feet against it.

Questioning why he had entered in the first place, Jason damned himself for venturing into the cave. His torch had long ago burned out, leaving him with no way to even see the markings he had left along the walls. “Help,” he cried, hoarse from the effort of trying to find aid.

In the black, he began to hear sounds which his mind could not place. Dripping water broke the silence in a steady rhythm, but other sounds pervaded his ears and did nothing to settle his anxiety. He knew his hearing must be sharper in the absence of sight, and he focused on the alien clicking in the void. Not unlike the sound of a dog’s nails clicking on floorboards, he allowed himself a little hope, but he heard no human footsteps accompanying it. His mind raced, attempting to conjure an answer to his questions until the sound seemed to be within ten meters.

He groped on the ground for a sizeable piece of rock, and finding one, raised it over his head and brought it down on something quite harder than he anticipated. It landed with a crunch and he heard the sound of snapping wood as it cleaved through whatever it had hit.

Jason dropped to his hands and knees and felt around for whatever it was that he had struck. His hand ran against something soft and shaggy laying prostrate on the floor and realized what it was. He lifted the body of his faithful companion and began to sob. Not only had he struck down his best friend in the world, but also the only rescue that might come for him.

As he resigned himself to starvation, Jason knew that everything looked the same in the dark.