It had been thirty-five years since they first stepped into the dark.
Gone was even the faintest trace of that original curiosity.
How had it come to this?
Linda—
She stared into the dim light at the end of the tunnel.
The faded memory of that day flowed in the shadows ahead; whispers echoing through the silence of the cave.
"—Come on, it'll only take a minute!"
"+ He's right, Linda. Don't you wanna see if the legends are true?"
She smirked bitterly. Legends? She couldn't even remember one of those, but every part of her hated them.
She was hungry. She had to hunt.
Her hand brushed slowly across the cold floor.
She felt it. Maybe today was her lucky day.
If it was still day, that is.
The crunch of a cockroach beneath her teeth sparked a memory.
She tried to recall what she used to eat—before all this.
Her favorite meal had been her boyfriend's improvised spaghetti dish.
His face had faded into oblivion, but somewhere deep inside, she still remembered his kindness.
Everything from the past was a haze now—just a blur she could barely reach.
She wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at the light.
How terrifying could it really be?
The legend...
She could remember only one line:
"No one ever came out of that cave alive—not even their bones. Only ash."
Ash.
In those first days, they had burned the bodies scattered throughout the cave for light.
And when hunger clawed too deep, they ate them.
They became feral—sparing no living creature.
Once, they even ate a horse alive.
And once... a human.
She tried to remember—had she ever had dreams?
A family?
She didn't know.
"I'm gonna throw up."
It was Jack's voice, echoing in the silence.
Maybe he was fed up too—but Linda said nothing.
"Same here, man. Haven't seen anything on this side in weeks—I'm starving."
So that was it. She should've known.
She stood and stepped toward the light.
Jack shouted,
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"
—"Just wanna get closer."
Her voice trembled, fear and confusion dancing through it.
She took another step—
—but was yanked back.
Joseph's strong arms held her firmly.
And then, the same tired script as always.
"You think we like this? You think we don't want to get out? Of course we do! But don't forget—we have no idea what kind of nightmare's waiting out there."
—"But there's light. That means… we could see."
"See what? A monster that rips people apart? You want to be next?"
Her tears fell silently.
Same old story.
She turned back and sat twenty meters from the light.
They had walked for five days to get this far.
And now, for thirty-five years, they'd stared into that terrifying glow—afraid to move forward.
Why hadn't they turned back?
A local legend said:
If anyone entered the cave and returned alive, they'd be possessed by demons—marked as the very killers they feared.
So going back wasn't an option.
The villagers would've stoned them, like they did to Adam Burke.
But the fear of people only lasted the first three months.
After that… they feared the light itself.
Another week passed.
Jack had come to terms with it.
In fact, he liked the dark.
He remembered the world outside—
the beatings, the punishments, the brutal farm labor.
He didn't want to go back.
So he adapted. He accepted.
But Joseph—
He had no hope.
He couldn't move forward, couldn't go back.
So he simply endured.
Had it been a week? Maybe less.
Footsteps.
Jack's ears twitched.
He was hungry. He pounced—
—but was swiftly overpowered, his arms locked behind him, body pressed to the floor.
"Hey! Help!"
Linda stepped forward, but froze in the glare of the intruder's flashlight.
Joseph lunged too—he was starving.
Was the newcomer lucky—or just skilled?
Minutes later, both Jack and Joseph were bound, clearly unhappy with their situation.
The newcomer—
He was tired. What even were these things?
People?
He wondered if these were the monsters the legends warned of.
He turned to the woman.
She looked harmless.
He aimed the flashlight at her face—and recoiled.
She was hideous. Disgusting. Inhuman.
But then… she looked up.
In her eyes—
Not malice.
Something else.
Fear.
Hope?
Her eyes were speaking.
Screaming.
He stepped forward gently.
"Hey. I'm Mark. I'm 18. How old are you?"
She said nothing.
Maybe she's still scared, he thought.
"You must be hungry."
He reached into his backpack and pulled out his last sandwich, offering it to her.
Linda hadn't seen a sandwich in years.
She snatched it and devoured it with wild hunger—
—but moments later, was gagging violently.
The taste, the texture…
Too alien. Too much.
It was unbearable.
A flash of memory—
Picnics with her family.
Her mother's sandwiches.
She'd loved them.
Tears welled in her eyes.
She crawled into a corner and hugged her knees again.
She hated this.
But what could she do?
Nothing.
Mark stood to leave the cave—
—but Linda grabbed his leg.
"Don't go. The monsters... they'll tear you apart."
"Come on. I'm not staying in this hell forever."
Something stirred inside Linda.
"Besides… the real monsters… are the ones you're living with."
He nodded toward the bound men.
Jack, furious at the lost prey, growled with a voice no longer fully human:
"You call us monsters? We only did what we had to! You're just a kid. You don't know how cruel they are!"
But Mark ignored him.
He held out his hand.
"Come with me?"
Linda trembled.
But she couldn't take the darkness anymore.
She stood.
They took ten steps—
Then she remembered Jack and Joseph.
Well, not remembered exactly—
She heard them. Their screams and curses.
She turned back.
Freed Joseph.
His silence had haunted her—but she couldn't abandon him.
They walked toward the light.
Minutes later—
She winced.
The brightness burned.
Her eyes clamped shut.
She almost turned back—
—but the song of birds, the gentle murmur of the waterfall, held her in place.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
There it was.
A waterfall, flowing gently nearby.
Endless green.
A sky painted blue, dotted with clouds.
She smiled.
Not visibly—her face couldn't manage that anymore.
But her eyes?
Her eyes told everything.
The peace. The relief. The quiet joy.
That day, the village beneath the falls celebrated.
They had waited generations for this moment—
The day legends stepped out of the cave.
Because on this side of the mountain,
There was another legend, passed down for centuries:
"From the cave shall emerge those who are destined to be brave generals and wise kings.
Honor them—for they have conquered what most cannot.
And that is the essence of being human."