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the piece of stone, snaking its way out of the dirt and dried leaves. |
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Betty's mouth moved, but now the words didn't come out. Her lips were trembling, her whole body shaking violently. |
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Theodore fared no better. The flashlight dangled from his hand, the beam dancing eerily in space, betraying his mounting terror. |
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What was at first something unidentifiable had become a single finger, slowly transforming, as more of it was revealed, into a clutching, clawing, desperate hand. |
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Finally it was all too apparent. What was under the earththe dank, foul-smelling, black earthwas trying to escape its confinement. |
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"My God," Theodore muttered. The words stumbled out, tumbling over each other. |
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The grisly phenomenon continued, metamorphosing into hideous reality right before their terrified eyes. |
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Clumps of earth began to heave, and the ground began to tremble. The stone teetered and toppled over. The heavy base shifted still further, grinding against the protesting stone. The thin layer of high clouds that had thoughtfully masked the sordidness of their surroundings was gone, and the full empty face of the moon cast down a somber, revealing light. |
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The yawning pit at their feet belched out stagnant, foul airand he was there, staring |
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