A short piece that I wrote for a writing website.

She leaned against the wall, feeling the great, cold stones press into her back. A moment to calm her breathing then she opened her eyes. She was back in the castle. And it was dark.

She glanced down the corridor, first one way then the other. She was alone but for the strange shadows cast by the lanterns, shadows which moved and danced though she could feel no breeze that could've stirred the flames.

Creeping carefully forwards, she lifted one of the lanterns from its hook, watching as the little fire inside burned slightly brighter.

A feeling of fear slid like ice down her spine and she shivered. Her skin prickled and she turned slowly, lantern in hand, dreading what she was about to see behind her.

A puzzled frown. The corridor was empty still, stretching away before her, dark and dank. There were no windows, no doors. No escape.

Lifting the lantern higher, she watched as a single bead of water slid down the stones. And then another, chasing after the first. She looked up at the ceiling, to a tiny crack between the stones.

And then she heard it. A faint rustling coming from behind the stones. Quiet at first then becoming louder. And she was frozen in terror, her heart hammering in her chest. The rustling exploded from the crack in the ceiling and her stomach turned over.

Beetles. Hundreds and thousands of beetles scurrying out of the wall, their hard bodies and many legs clicking against the stones and each other as they poured from the crack.

The hand that held the lantern was shaking now as the beetles swarmed over themselves to reach her. They scuttled down the walls, iridescent bodies catching the lantern's light and throwing it back to her so she could see them writhing and wriggling together in the dark like one grotesque creature.

They were flowing onto the floor, seeping towards her feet. She took a step back and felt something crunch. They were still coming, still surging closer. Everywhere she looked now the corridor was teeming with them.

She felt her flesh creep. The beetles started to climb onto her shoes. She screamed then and dropped the lantern, plunging her world into darkness.

Amy awoke with a gasp. Her heart was pounding and her hair was damp, plastered to her forehead. She took a slow, steadying breath and glanced at her alarm clock. Not yet time to get up. Her nightmare always woke her early. She rubbed at her eyes, then crawled back under the covers.