Chapter 4: Hell in the Well

Three days later, they even came back to check on me a few times.

I heard footsteps above, voices muffled through layers of stone and dirt. Hope flickered, only to be snuffed out as quickly as it came.

They knocked on the wall of the old well with stones,

The tapping was rhythmic, almost playful—like kids at recess, not grown men sealing a tomb.

Pretending to shout inside: “Caleb, are you still alive?”

Their voices dripped with mock concern. I pressed myself against the wall, hope fighting with rage.

“You might still be alive, but you won’t last long. Didn’t expect this, did you? This is called giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

Their laughter echoed down, cruel and sharp. My hands balled into fists, nails biting into my palms.

While they were talking, I had already climbed to the mouth of the well.

Desperation gave me strength. I clawed my way upward, hands raw and bleeding, finding footholds in the cracks. My body screamed in protest, but adrenaline pushed me on.

My hands were worn bloody, my legs broken from sliding down the well wall again and again.

Each failed attempt left me weaker, bones aching and skin torn. My vision blurred, blood slicking the stones. But I refused to give up.

I hoped they wouldn’t be able to resist opening the stone to check, so I could jump out and fight them to the death.

I waited, poised like a cornered animal. If they gave me even an inch—if I could just catch one of them off guard—I’d make them pay for everything.

As I waited, I heard the sound of the rock at the wellhead being moved.

The stone scraped aside, letting in a sliver of pale light. My pulse quickened, hope and fear warring inside me.

The gap at the wellhead grew larger.

I tensed, preparing to spring.

My heart pounded with excitement.

Blood thundered in my ears, the anticipation electric.

But in the next second, a bucket of concentrated acid was poured down on me.

The acid splashed down, burning through my skin like battery fluid, the pain so sharp I couldn’t even scream at first.

The burning pain instantly spread all over my body.

Every nerve ending was aflame. My skin bubbled and peeled, the stench choking me.

I fell straight from the wellhead to the bottom.

My grip gave out, and I tumbled back down, the impact jarring my shattered bones. My vision blurred, the world swimming in and out of focus.

The bones of the two skeletons pierced through my chest.

Pain exploded as I landed on the remains, their brittle bones splintering through flesh and muscle. Blood poured from the wounds, pooling beneath me.

“He really is a sneaky one, actually waiting at the wellhead for us.”

Their voices floated down, tinged with grim amusement. I tried to curse them, but my throat was too raw to form words.

Their mocking laughter echoed from above.

It was the last sound I heard before darkness claimed me.

Regret filled my heart. I shouldn’t have helped them do something so awful back then. Now karma had come for me.

I remembered Joey’s face, his cries for help. If I’d been braver, if I’d done the right thing, maybe none of this would have happened. The weight of my choices pressed down, heavier than any stone.

But it was all too late. Blood slowly seeped from my body.

I felt the warmth draining from my limbs, my breaths growing shallow and ragged.

I gradually lost consciousness…

The darkness swallowed me, thick and final, as the pain faded to nothing.