Stuart Adventures Chapter 4

As Stuart made his way down the brightly lit passageway, he became aware of a steady, low humming sound coming from somewhere ahead of him. The light in the passageway was coming from the wall panels on both sides. The way ahead of him was slightly inclined with a barely perceptible curve to the left, in fact it was almost straight ahead and behind him. Stuart could see for what appeared to be miles in both directions with no signs of any openings other than the one he had emerged from. He decided to jog so he could cover more ground and uncover the mystery of where he had arrived.

After about 10 minutes of jogging Stuart noted that he had not even started to breath hard or sweat so he decided to run as fast as he could push himself. He rapidly picked up speed and his clothing began pressing against him in front and whipping about like a flag behind him as he rushed through the relatively still air in the passageway. Faster and faster he went without a trace of reaching his upper limits. His legs felt like enormously powerful engines beneath him and his strides were smooth and effortless. The passageway was so uniform in appearance that it was difficult to judge his speed, but Stuart realized that he had never traveled this fast before not even in a car on the highway. He easily ran yet faster and then he began to notice the floor becoming soft under his feet making him have to slow down and put his arms out for balance. As he slowed he began to hear an alarm siren coming from behind him. When he slowed to almost a walk he heard another sound which frightened him so badly that he broke out in a cold sweat and he prepared to flee.

When Stuart was 7 years old, he was chased and attacked by a large grayish colored stray dog. Fortunately for him, a passing postman rescued Stuart; but not after the dog had bitten him several times. He was taken to the Doctor’s office and given antibiotic injections and, since the dog was never found, he had to recieve a series of Rabies vacinations. They had to leave the wounds open so the deep punctures could properly drain, making his healing process a slow and painful one. His wounds did eventually heal, but ever since that incident Stuart harbored an intense fear of all dogs.

That memory was only 3 years old and still fresh in his mind when he realized that the alarm sound was quickly being drowned out by barking. The sound was not of a single dog, but of a pack of dogs or wolves growling, howling, and snapping. As he turned to run, he noticed the floor was now as soft as mud up to his ankles and very slippery. His feet popped out of his shoes and stayed in the mud-like floor, so Stuart went sloshing barefoot down the passageway. The pack was definately gaining on him now since he could hear them splashing down the way towards him. As he looked back, he could see dark shapes in the distance moving closer. He had to think of something quick because he couldn’t out run them in these conditions and they would be upon him in minutes. As Stuart leaned against a wall to steady himself a thought suddenly occurred to him and he began to smile.

Chapter 5 of Stuart's Adventures

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