Tears of Black

Her hair clung to her cheeks, getting into her mouth with every heavy breath. Her panting and boots echoed up the stairwell. She didn’t know what she was running from, but she was scared. Something was catching up to her. She could feel it in the walls, the shadows sliding about, she could see their eyes opening.

She forced the thought out with a long, moaning breath. Walls can’t have eyes. They might have arms, though. Arms stuck to their form, arms that reached down and grabbed for her neck -

With a scream she spun and angrily lit up the wall, holes everywhere. The floor started flooding, within seconds it was already up to her ankles.

The walls were bleeding.

She stepped backwards, feet sloshing through the black ichor. She tripped on the bottommost step, over-rebalancing herself and falling into the pool. It stuck to her figure, like a kind of goo. She squirmed and quickly got back up, racing up the stairs. The pool was up to her chest.

Faster. Higher. She swung desperately around each corner, feeling heavier with every step. She looked down at her clothes, all seeming to grow even thicker with the black bloodstuff. It was reproducing, a never ending waterfall. With a frantic scream, she tried to wipe it off of her. Even if for just a moment she managed to see her own skin, it was quickly covered with the viscous liquid. A frenzied whine and she looked up. There was a light at the top, and she bolted towards it.

Everything below the third floor was flooded.

Up, up, up. Five more floors. Four... three... the stuff was up to her chest again, seeming set on steadily drowning her no matter how fast she ascended.

With a growl of frustration, she jumped onto the railing, and flew to the next level, leaving a trail of blue sparks. The bloodstuff seemed to get angry at this, bubbling with fury, and started to rise even faster.

She wearily smiled as she reached the top, reaching for the door handle...

But found herself face first into the grated flooring.

Something was holding her down. She took a glance at her feet, only to be reminded that she was perspiring infinite goo. It felt like a hand was holding her to the floor, keeping her from running. A look down - the rising water wasn’t too far, maybe five meters away.

Her gun reappeared in her hand with another blue shine, and she fired angrily at her foot. It could be regrown later. Escape was first priority right now.

It hurt like a bitch. Her blood was absorbed into the ichor, and the goo seemed satisfied with the sacrifice, receding to the floor. The rising water seemed to stop.

The girl managed to hobble over to the door, tears starting to streak down her face as she opened the door, greeted with the light of the same twilight she started this mission with -

Only to be dragged back. The same stick feeling clung to her and dragged her back, and the water rose at a slower pace, teasing her with her own death. Half-drowning her. Silencing her. Suffocating her. Blinding her. Consuming her.

Five seconds later, the water level fell, disappearing into the floor. Even the holes in the wall disappeared.

Only a starless orb remained, caged and impaled with silver and despair.