As he fell he noticed a ladder suspended in space, hanging from nowhere. It contrasted to the walls of the vertical cavern. Its wood and paint was new and crisp. The wall was a dull earthy toned brown, with a hint of molding green. A while past and still he did not touch the floor. Soon he felt strangley drowsy, he resisted, but sleep finally took him.

Errin woke up on a hard metal floor. He was covered in dirt and sprawled across the surface. His possessions were thrown about, and had someone searched threw them? He hoped not…..what would live down here. A hiss caught his attention. He looked up to see a pair of slitted eyes glaring at him. The pupils shown intellegince and calculation. Instantly he felt fear.

Another ear splitting roar shook the ground. The yellow eyes averted backwards. It yelped and dissapeared into the shadow. A faint glow lighted the cavern at a distance. For the first time he noticed the markings on the walls. They showed drawings. Strange mutilated illustrations of hunting animals….were they? Yes. Humans.

The glow appeared closer, lighting a brighter orange. Picking himself up he ran in the opposite direction of the colors. He bumped right into a ladder. The same from before. Hope glimmered in his heart. Perhaps he would survive after all.

He grabbed at the first set of handles and pulled himself up onto the bars. Another roar sounded, although this one sounded more malicious and dangerous. The howl almost made him lose his grip on the wood. Hope drove him on.

His progress was slow, but it was progress. The glow was a bright inferno now less than a hundred yards away. He could smell brimstone, and taste sulfur. He hoped this wasn’t…no it couldn’t be. Out in the distance he could hear a crack of a whip or something close.

A voice sounded out above everything like it was right next to him although the floor was now hundreds of feet below. “stay awhile, we don’t bite”.

“no”, was Errins simple reply.

A sound echoed through the shaft. Its grinding sounded like a steam engine going to war. Fear drove him on. He pulled himself higher and higher. Suddenly a rumble met his ears. He looked around like a blind man for the first time, panicking.

The walls were closing in. He moves faster like a experienced trapeze gymnast. He could smell the fresh air. The end of the ladder was near, he was close.

Less than a half meter away it dawned on him he would not make it. The walls were closing in. Constricting like a boa on prey. Yes, he was there at the top, when the ladder wasn’t there.

He fell, and fell. Screaming in desperation. Finally he slept. Errin woke up, on the hard metal ground with a start. He woke to yellow eyes.

“welcome to hell”.

Errin screamed with a final effort. He picked himself up, and prepared to climb the ladder once again for an eternity.