Arranged by Jessica Spears

her with its other four-fingered hand. She screamed more, trying to get away. Suddenly its hands were on her head, stilling her. Her eyes bulged in horror as it applied gentle pressure.
    A strange glow raced down its arms and to its hands, covering Alison in warmth. Instantly her eyes grew heavy and closed. She felt more arms around her as she collapsed and drifted into oblivion.
    The cold chill surrounding her brought her out of her strange slumber. Her eyes cracked open, taking more effort than usual. She groaned as she pushed herself to her elbows and peered around. Darkness surrounded her, except for a small patch of strange moss that clung to the stonewall at her side. It seemed to be giving light in a strange greenish glow.
    She racked her brain feverishly for answers. She remembered the chase, the capture then she had been brought to a strange cavern. One of them touched her head. Her fingers grazed her temples, sighing in relief as she realized they felt normal enough. She rubbed her fists into her eyes and pushed herself to a seated position. Since she couldn't see past a few inches in front of her, she used her hands to feel around her.
    Her palms slapped the cold stone floor. She touched dirt, grit and more stones. She tried to pull her knees to her chest, but was met with a sharp pain rocketing up her leg. Her hands flew to her injured ankle and to her surprise she found shackles surrounding it. Her fingers blindly followed the shackles to where they were bolted into the wall.
    Fear rose in her and threatened to overtake her in the suffocating darkness. She was their prisoner. How was she going to escape when she was chained to the wall?
    A dry sob escaped her throat. She wished she had light. Hearing her cry, a tiny door opened and a pair of blood red eyes peered in. Alison couldn't help but shrink back from the monster peering in at her. She was also forced to shield her eyes from the soft light that was coming from the hole.
    "Kaaasnaa arrrray," it said in its strange hissing language. Suddenly the tiny door closed, leaving her alone with the darkness once again.
    She pressed her back into the cold stone and carefully dragged her legs by her. Hope faded more and more with each passing minute. Awhile had passed, then the entire door opened and one of the creatures entered. The soft light from the lantern it was holding stung her eyes. She squeezed them shut for a moment before she realized she would rather see what was going on. Forcing her eyes open, her retinas screamed as they hurried to adjust to the light.
    The creature was tall. It was the one who had put her to sleep. She pulled her legs closer, ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle. It was wearing dark pants of black leather, knitted together by thick string. It wore no shirt, but a thick black cloth that seemed to attach to the front of its pants, crossed its chest and wrapped around the back, only to be draped over its arm. Its shoes were made from a strange material; however she didn't have time to study them because it knelt down before her, at her eyelevel and peered at her through pitch black eyes that seemed to reflect the light from the lantern. She couldn't help but tremble under its gaze.
    From the stature of the creature, she could tell it was a male. He looked her over with his dark eyes. The lantern he held hardly offered any light for her to see him clearly. His four-fingered hand reached out to touch her and she shrunk back. Her back pressed into the wall, she wished she could pass through it.
    He tensed for a moment before taking his hand back. "Do not fear me," he said.
    The sound of him speaking her language surprised her so much that she jumped and gasped, trying to shield her face. "Don't eat me!" she whimpered.
    She heard a soft rumble and realized that he was laughing at her. She swallowed hard. "I do not want to eat you," he said gruffly, his voice thick with an accent from his strange language.
    She dared to meet his eyes, raising