The room’s warmth surprised her. It made her flush. A joyful cry erupted from inside her when her feet touched the hard wooden floor. Rubbing her feet hard on the welcome mat, she carefully trotted forward. The floor creaked like under her weight. Its creak sounded like a groan which made her jump. She almost ran outside, but the endless looping dark tunnel made her hesitate and made her stay.

In the room, she looked around. Her eyes darted from corner to corner, from the walls to the roof. It was surprising enough to find a clean warm room in the sewer but the furniture decorating the room really made it look out of place. A royal printed rug under a brown maple wood dining table. A fireplace burning logs of wood just right to the table, opposite to which hung a stuffed deer bust. Then her eyes fell on the black recliners back, the stand to its right upon which rested a glass of milk, and the television.

A video played on the black and white television. A video showing uncensored violence played on it. It was a video of men raping women and women burning their children wearing the biggest smiles their faces could hold. In it she saw towns burning and turning to ash, fathers cutting their parents into pieces and children burying their own parents alive. It was horrible. It was gruesome. The video was pure madness. A probable fiction because there’s no way such a reality could be plausible.

The bricked room was lit in a warm orange color of the crackling fire. The painting hanging above the fireplace wasn’t an art piece either. It was just another account of conceivable horror. It depicted men and women burning alive, their skin melting and their organs keeping the fire going, their blood evaporating and charring their souls inside their own bodies. The images moved inside the painting to complete a cycle of suffering before refreshing and starting anew another cycle with a different cast. If anything, the silent depiction of horror, of a possible future, churned Ria's inside more than the video playing on the television had.

“Me can help you, little lamb. Do you want me to help?” The voice came from behind the recliner. Someone sat there, hiding behind its velvety cover.

“Help- I- where am I? Who are you? Please, I need to leave!” She said, her voice shivering.

“We are in the sewer, of course. Where else could me be found? To leave, umm, sure-” The voice said and the recliner rotated. The person sitting on it came face to face with Ria. Her eyes opened wide upon seeing him. She was visibly panicking. Her teeth clacked. She drew a sharp breath and stepped back.

Her fingers curled and made a fist. She quickly brought her hand to her mouth and held it shut, tight. She would have screamed if she hadn’t closed her mouth shut, for sure. Thoughts left her. She found herself staring at the being slew jacked. It was not human. It shared no resemblance to humans, other than the general structure of its body.

Light green skin, long pointed ears, and small eyes. He stood only five feet tall and was a few inches shorter than Ria. However, it looked way gruesome. Two sets of fangs grew straight out of his lips. Nails so pointed they looked sharper than a razor. Its muscles weren’t bulging, but something down his waist -a monstrosity of unclenchable girth- stood straight pointing toward the ceiling. It donned no clothes. Naked he stood in front of her, showing not a hint of shame or inexperience. He probably had done this countless time before. This wasn’t his virgin meeting.

It took a step forward and Ria screamed.

“NO! DON’T COME NEAR ME!” Tears trailed out of her eyes. Her heart rate rose and picked up the fight.

“Now, now, why be so afraid? Me won’t hurt lamb. Me will help you. Me promise.” He said.

“Wha-what do you want from me?” She said. Her clenched hand turned pale. Something changed in her.

This can’t be happening. I’m dreaming. I probably drank too much. Nicky will wake me up. This can’t be happening. Her delusional thoughts kept her sane.

“Do you not want to go free?”

The words sounded so good to her. She held her breath to hold the moment- afraid she would miss her chance.

“Ye-yes,” she said stuttering. Nails bit into her clenched hands. “Ho-how?” she asked, looking around the room for other monsters that might be hiding in the shadows.

“Good lamb… here, here, drink this and you can go free.” The being enthusiastically grabbed the milk glass resting on the table to his left and limped toward her. Holding a sly smile which made him look eager and dangerous, he forcibly grabbed Ria’s hand and made her hold the glass as she screamed in terror but no sound came out.

“Drink it. You drink it and we wait for one hour. Then you can go.”

“What?” she said soundlessly. “Th-That ca-can’t be right.” The words came out as a harsh scream. “You are lying!” she floundered to get away, but the being didn’t let go. It looked sheepishly at the glass- as if afraid of spilling its content.

“NO little lamb. Me don’t lie. Me is good goblin. You only have to drink and wait. Me will then let you go.” The goblin said rubbing his hands together.

She looked at the glass in her hand then looked outside the open door. The door was still wide open and the darkness was not overturned by light either. She wanted to runway. She could leave. She didn’t know whether it would allow her. But she could leave. However, the darkness, the corpse, the kindle of light lighting her starting point made her hesitate. Here, she had a chance, no matter how slim. It was there. While outside, there was only endless darkness, a looping tunnel, a maze ever repeating.

She was scared, really scared. But the limited options and the fear of the unknown allowed her to take a decision.

“I’ll… I’ll drink.”

“Excellent choice. Me is happy. Me is very happy. Drink, Drink, hurry…. One hour and you’ll be free.”

“Bu-but only i-if you step aside,”

“Me will stand near the fire. If you agree,”

“Yes,”

The goblin walked away toward the fire and shivered in excitement. He kept his eyes on her. His mouth opened, watering in wait. Ria knew she was trapping herself, but she had no other choice.

Hopefully, it’ll be nothing serious. Looking at the glass she smelled the milk. It smelled awful: Of salt and vomit, of diarrhea mixed with the smell of sewer.

She gagged. She retched. The vinegarish taste of stomach acid gnawed at her throat. Her eyes watered. She looked at the excited gobbling, gritting her teeth, reluctantly, she drank the thing sip by sip.

The liquid was gooey, very salty and pungent. It refused to quickly go down her throat and relieve her from the humiliation. Moving around her mouth, it coated her insides in its viscous layer, and then slowly slipped down her throat, almost blocking her windpipe.

The first sip made her lips sticky. The second sip covered her mouth. The third sip made the horrible taste explode on her tongue. On her fourth sip, some of it reached her stomach. The fifth sip was a large gulp which made her body heat up questionably. During the sixth gulp, she was sweating so hard, her t-shirt was drenched, making her nipples visible. Seventh sip and her nipples turned hard and started itching. On the eight gulp, she wanted to throw the glass, but her shivering hands kept raising it high. Another gulp made her feel a heat building below her navel, right under her stomach. A burning desire grew inside her. She drank the tenth gulp and her tongue subconsciously came out of her mouth and licked the glass clean.

A moan escaped her throat and she shivered excitedly. She wasn’t high. The thick pungent milk didn’t contain any drugs. She knew how being high felt. It was something else. Something which made her parched which left her breathless and increased her heart rate. It was something which made her wet, which flamed a fierce fire in her body. Which-

‘WHAT DID YOU GIVE ME?” She yelled, horrified, terrified. Goosebumps licked her skin. Sweat caressed her folds. The warmth made her shiver. Her vision started spinning. The whole room spun like a top.

“Te-Tell me Wh-what- what did you make me drink!”

“Me didn’t hurt you. You please be no angry. Me will care for you. Me love will you. You will be cared. Me gave you my love fluid. It works will for an hour. Me will wait for you. You will come. Me will pregnant you again and again.”

The goblin scratched his head and sat back on the couch facing her. His bulging member gawked straight at her. Raging blood pumped it into hardness. The thing scared her. The room scared her. The sewer scared her. The darkness scared her. She wished she hadn’t woken up to Nicky’s call. She wished she had died instead of waking up in this nightmare. She wanted to run. She wanted to leave. The door, however, was no longer open. It had closed at some time while she was drinking. She slammed into her with all the strength she could muster. It didn't budge

“Your one hour starts now.”