Trigger warnings and maturity: Not mature, but there is a bit of blood, ominous voices, possible implied cannibalism, and the capture of a young girl.

Genre: Thriller/horror, Fantasy

•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•

Daisy crouched to inspect a footprint on the ground, looking at it closely and noting the tread of the shoes and the slightly red rim.

Blood?

She turned around, looking back the way she came and keeping an ever-watchful eye on the path out the cave. It was the only way out and if it was blocked, she was trapped.

But so was the risk of being a spy and junior investigations officer. It was a treacherous job, not for the faint of heart.

A small rock echoed loudly against the ground as it fell in the every silence of the cave. Daisy glanced around once more and saw with surprise that there were no more footprints.

The footprint's a dead end, she thought. But why would someone leave it here?

A burst of wind snuffed out her lantern, throwing her into darkness. She cursed her
procrastination, for not packing a flashlight instead of the lantern left over from her exam.

It's things like this that'll stop you from becoming a true investigations officer.

A booming voice sounded, drowning out her thoughts. Daisy tensed her muscles, preparing for a fight.

"My, my, Crosby, we've caught another! These spies are so easy, just show them a footprint and they're off!"

The cave went dark as something slid across the entrance.

"A curious one, and quick. She'll make excellent prey," another voice said.

"P-prey?" Daisy finally said, her usual confidence gone. The exam had never prepared her for this, and she was going to be eaten by these ominous voices of... demons?

"Prey," the first one confirmed as the shadows around her convulsed. "You'll make a nice treat for us. On the scrawny side, but most of you are. Shall we feast, brother?"

"Certainly," the second replied, emitting a sound like licking its lips.

As the shadows around her grew, Daisy realized her mistake.

These were the twin demons of the twin mountains, feasters of mankind, and she had just fallen into their trap.

The shadows reached up and grabbed her. Daisy let out a scream as they fell on top of her, then everything went black.

•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•

A Wattpad story, word count 381

Prompt: Use the words curious, procrastination, and certainly in a short story.