The Van Til House: STRAF SABBAT
Chapiter 10's

For a moment they walked together in silence.

We should have found a way out, Magisna thought. Why so long?

Magisna buried her hand in Hendra's jacket pocket. He twirled the gas with one hand, and felt another lump of paper in his hand. Whether in the fold of the jacket where there is a folding knife, a can of lighters, and who knows what else.

Magisna doesn't want to know.

I can't believe I'm wearing a Hendra—Si Real Fuck jacket, he thought. Yesterday I didn't want to deal with a fucking guy. I don't even want to be seen with a guy like Hendra Dwi Maulana.

Magisna.

I think I'll know him pretty well, he thought. It could be that I'll spend some time with Hendra if we don't find a way out of here.

Never think that way, he told himself.

And Magisna almost hit Novi. In front, Hendra suddenly stopped.

"Take a look at that" said Hendra.

Magisna saw nothing but gloomy walls and thick cobwebs.

"What the hell?" ask Novi.

"Don't you see?" Hendra asked back.

"You clay cave, what's the nanya cave?" Novi asked again, this time half screaming.

"Liat that," said Hendra, pointing with his torch.

Magisna. Up until now all the walls were made of coal and tiles. But Hendra pointed to a section of the wall about two meters high, from floor to ceiling, made of crumbling dark red bricks.

"Something is not right" said Magisna.

"Yep. Tau gua you mean. The cake's tightness is out of place," Hendra agreed. He gave Alexza his torch. Then start choosing the old cement around the bricks.

"Why are you doing it again now?" ask Novi.

"Just torture" said Hendra.

He shifted a number of chunks of cement and put his finger into the gap around the bricks, trying to dismantle them.

The brick slid in an inch, as if pulled from the other direction.

Hendra jerked his hand away.

"Can that be?" ask Dika. "Pake tricks what the hell are you, bro?"

"It's not a cave" Hendra said. He cleared his throat.

Wuah, thought Magisna. He felt a ball of fear forming in Hendra's throat. Does he dream of seeing something? Someone-or something-has moved that brick from the other direction.

"Superficial" whispered Alexza.

Magisna wrapped her finger around Hendra's jacket cuff. He wanted to say something-like maybe they should forget that silly brick and continue on. They don't have to check everything, do they?

"Ndra.." he started talking, but Hendra's hand started to move to touch the bricks again.

Before he touched it, the brick moved forward a few inches.

"Uh-oh," murmured Hendra.

It's weird, Magisna thought.

Hendra's finger touched another brick and pushed it. The moving brick appeared a few inches, and stopped altogether.

"Liat it," said Hendra in amazement. "Where?"

As if in response, a soft roar came from the direction of the wall. It gets louder, and Magisna's fear grows.

Run on! he said to himself.

Be late.

The sound turned into a growl. Then the whole wall exploded.

The force of the explosion threw Magisna into the coal wall. It landed on the left shoulder. Brick fragments stung his face. Loud screams echoed in his ears.

He blinked through the red dust and saw a hole in the brick wall, big enough to fit someone into it.

"Guy! You're all right, aren't you?" ask Hendra. He sat up straight, wiping the dust off his body. Magisna's eyes narrowed. Blood dripped down Hendra's forehead.

"It's okay, isn't it?" hendra asked Magisna.

"No. The cave is not pa-pa" said Magisna. "That's what?"

"The cave doesn't know either" murmured Hendra. He wiped the blood off his face, frowning as his hand touched the wound on his head.

Magisna. He felt nausea in his stomach. Hendra's afraid. He can see it.

Dika rolled over and pushed the chunks of brick from his body. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He shook his head. "Wuah," he murmured.

"What was that?" ask Novi. He rubbed dust all over his body.

"The hydra?" Alexza called out in confusion.

"The cave is here" replied Hendra.

Alexza moved slowly through the rubble and hugged her. He put his arm around Hendra's body.

Magisna turned her face and picked up the still burning torch.

"The cave is afraid, Ndra," Alexza said. "That's what the hell?"

"The cave doesn't know" said Hendra. He let go of his embrace and picked up a dead torch. Magisna thrust the lighter before Hendra asked for it. It took three times to try to light that torch, but it ended up lighting up as well.

"Everything's fine, right?" ask Hendra again. Everyone nodded that they were okay.

"Let's find a way out of here" urged Novi. "This place is really weird."

"Something made sure of that wall earlier," Dika agreed.

Alexza coughed. "Gua can't breathe if the dust is like this." He blinked through the red mist, and Magisna noticed his eyes watering. "Surprisingly, the dust won't come down."

"Gua knows," Novi agreed. "The cave cannot breathe either. What the hell is this?"

Magisna covered her mouth and lifted the torch into the red clouds. The flying dust grains revolved around the fire like very small moths in large numbers. They formed a kind of small cloud that bubbled and stopped, but did not want to disappear. It doesn't look like dust at all.

It feels heavier than air, more concentrated and warmer.

Magisna scrunched her nose. The dust is almost alive.

"Ugh," Alexza grumbled. "What the hell are you doing?"

Magisna kissed him too. The sour smell of rotting meat. He closed his nose and raised his torch even higher.

The red cloud, it looks increasingly red - much redder than the brick-like color of blood. The clouds were writhing around Magisna and the others.

"What the hell is this?" Dika whispers. He stood up and began to wave his hands in front of his face.

The fog did not want to disappear either. The reality was even stronger around Dika. Getting thicker. Grows.

Dika's mouth was gaping in fear. "Something's wrong" he murmured. "Something's wrong here."

"They?" ask Hendra. "Lu why?"

Dika's body suddenly stiffened. His fingers bent like claws. His eyes widened.

Magisna. What happened to Dika?

"Dik--" Hendra began to open his mouth. But his words were choked in his throat, interrupted by Dika's screams.

Dika roared-the red mist lifted his body from the ground.

Magisna looked at Dika in horror.

He was lifted a meter from the ground. And red clouds flew around him like a hurricane. Dika's body twists in it.

Both of Dika's hands were attached to her sides as if tied firmly by something invisible.

Magisna held back the scream as Dika's body jolted and became stiff like a corpse.

The red mist moved as Dika wriggled.