text: Aster breathed heavily as she pressed her hand firmly against her stomach, glaring at the blue glow emanating from between her grimy fingers. When a pebble flew across the cave room and landed by her foot, she smothered her mouth with her other hand and pressed her back flush against the stalagmite, the rocky spire barely thick enough to hide her trembling body. “*Aster*!” Her target’s voice sounded heavy, tired and frustrated. How long had she been stumbling in these dark caverns to hunt this...this thing down? Was it still light outside? “Just surrender, little star,” it groaned, dragging its feet across the gravelly ground. “I won’t hurt you. I would *never* hurt you.” She bit into her finger as two cylindrical objects manifested in her hand and lay against her aching stomach, while a bead of sweat rolled down her grubbily scratched face. *Only* *two?* The glow faded and her heart sank as she lifted her hand, revealing the turquoise bullets. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she pushed back into the stalagmite, a tear mixing with sweat and blood as she listened to the shuffling footsteps that paced the room. “Aster? My little star? Where are you?” Silence. Such deafening silence. Aster didn’t dare breathe. Her teeth sunk deeper into her finger and she squeezed her eyes shut. Drip. Something cold landed on her head and her body tensed in response. She began to shake again, praying to any deity or any higher power that nothing will give her away. She flinched at the sound of a weary sigh. “My starshine...” it began singing as the shuffled footsteps moved away. “My lovely starshine... Come home to me, oh come home to me...” She listened to the footsteps fading deeper into the cavern system, waiting several seconds more when they’d faded, and the room was silent. Then, with a shaky gasp, she scrabbled for her bullets and pistols. “Hell...” she whimpered as the bullets slipped in her fingers. “*Hell*.” The clicks echoed painfully in the room as she slid a bullet each into her pistols. She hastily patted the pockets of her trousers, each one empty until... She pulled out a caramel wrapped in clear plastic. She stared at it with wide blue eyes and parted dry lips. It wouldn’t do much, but right now, it was definitely better than nothing. The wrapper crinkled stridently. She chewed hard and grimaced as the stretchy substance got stuck between her teeth. Wetting her lips and taking a deep, calming breath, she forced the ball of sugar to swirl around her mouth as she pushed herself to her feet. The motion made her stagger and grab the stalagmite, wheezing and choking on her sugary saliva as she swooned on the spot. She closed her eyes and chewed harder. The dizziness swept over her again and faded as quickly as it came. Her grip on the stalagmite tightened as she opened her eyes to the dim light that struggled to light up the cave. With clumsy footsteps she crossed the room to the cavern path outside, shoving her right pistol into its holster and supporting her left hand as she aimed down the corridors. She could feel her heart thud in her chest with every unsteady step into the darkness, the tunnels winding around bends, up and down slopes and opening into empty rooms; every sound she made felt far too loud. Aster turned the next corner and her heart leapt. A breeze. Fresh air. *Escape*. She lowered her pistol and hobbled down the tunnel. To her dismay, she arrived in yet another cavern room. Above was a skylight, allowing moonlight to illuminate the lake below. Aster inched towards the ledge and peered down. She could see an islet that hadn’t been consumed by the still water and a tunnel from where the water was flowing in from. She closed her eyes, tipped her head back and took a deep breath of fresh air, listening to the faint chirping of crickets and grasshoppers outside, and smiling as the breeze kissed her cheeks. She heard the scraping of a foot across gravel. She spun on her heel and saw glowing golden eyes. “Aster!” She shot. Black substance splashed on her. An unholy shriek of agony echoed in the cavern as it reeled back. Aster grabbed her other pistol and aimed for its cowed form. She took another shot. BANG! The pistol backfired on its owner and Aster cried out in pain. She lost her footing and fell back into the lake. The cold soothed her burns as she was submerged, while the pistol in her right hand drifted from her grip and disappeared into the murky darkness below. She forced herself to swallow what was left of the caramel and pressed her hand to her stomach again, her heart leaping at the sight of the familiar blue glow. *Please, please, just one more...* Aster used her spare hand to flail in the water and resurface. She gasped and sloppily swum to the islet nearby. She crawled onto the stone, bent over and gripped her shirt. Her stomach churned and a bullet fell into her palm. *Thank gods!* She fumbled with her remaining pistol, shoving the fresh bullet into its chamber. “Aster...” She paused and looked up at those golden eyes glaring at her. It had gotten bigger, its form more distorted. It was difficult to believe this had been a human, if it ever had been in the first place. “Look at me, little star. We’re both at breaking point. Surrender now and we can relax. We can while away the hours in peace.” Aster raised her pistol and pressed the barrel between the eyes. She supported her left hand with her right. A black tendril coiled around the barrel as she closed her eyes. *Please.* She pulled the trigger.