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“I found a cave out behind the house!” Midoriya said excitedly to his boyfriend Todoroki. “A what? I’ve been out there hundreds of times and I’ve never seen a cave.” Me neither, but it’s there!” Midoirya was ecstatic. He had always wanted to explore a cave, and now was his opportunity. Todoroki could see the glimmer of excitement in Midoirya’s eyes as he talked about the cave. “It’s just a big opening but it sounds like there is a small spring in it! It seems like it’s pretty wide! I’m surprised we’ve never seen it before…” Midoriya started to ramble as always, and Todoroki put a hand on his shoulder. “If you want to explore the cave, we can explore the cave. We’ll just have to be careful.” “Really Shoto? We can go?!” Midoirya seemed almost like a child though he was really twenty-two. Todoroki was twenty-one. “Yeah! I’m curious. I wanna see what's in it.” Todoroki responded
It was getting late that night and the sun was barely peeking up over the horizon, so the boys went to bed. Midoriya couldn’t stop thinking about the cave. He had never been in one but had always wanted to. The boys curled up under the covers of their bed and layed down. “So what do you think is in the cave?” Todoroki asked curiously with a look of slight excitement. “Probably buried treasure!” Midoriya said jokingly, though it would have been cool if there actually was treasure down there. “A chest of shining gold, diamonds that sparkle in the dim light of the flashlights…” Midoriya was imagining the sight now, a smile spreading across his face.
The boys talked about the adventure they were going to have the next day until late into the night. At around 11:30, with the stars glimmering in the night sky, the boys finally fell asleep cuddled up next to each other.
Midoriya awoke with a start. He was covered in sweat and shaking, though he couldn’t remember what he was dreaming about moments before. The dream had all but left his mind, but he was just as shaken up about it as he would have been if he had remembered. Midoriya glanced at his alarm clock which read 3:30. Midoriya had a bad feeling in his gut but he couldn’t figure out why.
“Shoto…?” Midoriya whispered, shaking his lover awake. “...Hmm?” “Sorry… I didn’t want to wake you… but I had a nightmare again.” Midoriya had been having nightmares since he was a kid, so Todoroki was used to this kind of thing. “What was it about..?” Todoroki asked quietly, still half asleep but alert enough to see the worry in Midoriya’s face. “I-I don’t remember…” Midoriya felt bad for waking his sleeping partner over something so small. “C'mere.” Todoroki said, pulling Midoriya up against his chest and putting an arm around him. After a while Midoriya fell back asleep.
The rest of the night flew by without incident. The boys awoke to the sound of the birds chirping a happy tune in the morning. “Mmm… Shoto… You awake?” Midoriya asked quietly to his lover. “Yeah. You ready to go explore the cave?” Midoriya’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Yeah! I’ve been ready since I found it!”
After breakfast, the boys packed the proper supplies for cave exploring, which they found on an internet forum for avid cave explorers. They packed four flashlights, extra batteries, portable chargers, food, water, rope, extra rope… The list goes on. Pretty soon they had everything they needed. The light blue bag they were holding was surprisingly smaller than either of them had expected.
After the sun had risen above the green trees, the duo set off. “So where is this cave we’re talking about?” “Just this way.” Todoroki was surprised at how close to the house it was. “How have we never seen it before?” Todoroki and Midoriya loved to go on long walks through the wilderness and have practically explored every inch of that forest, so Todoroki was surprised that they had never come across that cave before.
As the boys arrived at the cave, Todoroki’s confusion only grew. “I’ve been in this spot tons of times, this cave wasn’t here before…” Todoroki was starting to feel uneasy about the whole situation, but Midoirya was ready as ever to explore. The cave had a wide opening extending out of the ground. As far as they could see, it looked level grounded. It also seemed wide enough to walk through without much hassle, to Todoroki’s relief.
There was a light moss growing on the cave and small vines lowered themselves about halfway down the entrance. You could hear the small trickle of a freshwater spring inside, and with the sun shining down through the trees, the whole thing looked like something from a fairy tale.
“Ready?” Midoriya asked. “Ready.” The boys started their adventure down the cave. Todoroki brushed his hand along the damp walls of the opening as he walked behind the quick paced Midoriya. “Izuku, slow down.” Todoroki had already begun to feel claustrophobic in the small space. It was something that he had thought about before, but had pushed away due to his readiness for adventure. The boys slowed to a calm pace as they examined the cave. It had stalagmites and stalactites all up and down the walls, it was damp and it smelled slightly of sulfur, but all in all, it was beautiful.
The lovers came up to a dead end, but noticed an opening in the wall. It was on the left of the cave wall. It was narrow and shaped like a larger version of a coin slot. They would have to press their backs and chest up against the walls to fit through, much to Todoroki’s horror. Midoirya was ready to go, though. Todoroki pushed his fear down and hid it deep inside, as he didn’t want to spoil the adventure for his companion. Midoirya took the bag off of his back and started to slide through the opening in the wall. It was easy for Midoriya, as he was slim. Todoroki, on the other hand, was more broad and had a harder time fitting in the opening.
A little ways into the small opening, Todoroki decided that it was too much. He couldn’t do it. “I-Izuku… C-can we go back…” Todoroki was trying his hardest to hide his fear, but he could hear the quivering in his voice. “What’s wrong Sho?” Todoroki had never told Midoriya about his fear, so his boyfriend had no idea that he felt like he was going to have a panic attack. “I-I… I just don’t think I’ll fit any further through this narrow passage.” “Ok, we can go back. We’ve seen plenty already.” Todoroki took this opportunity and started to slide back the other way.
Something was wrong. His shoulder wouldn’t fit back through the opening. “Izuku… I’m stuck! I’m stuck! How can I not fit back out if I could fit in!” Todoroki was going into panic mode. “I can’t get out! I’m stuck!” Todoroki felt like he couldn’t breathe. His chest and back were pressed against two walls, and he couldn’t get out. Who knows how much further the cave passageway would go. And how much narrower it would get. What if they were stuck down here?
Todoroki was hyperventilating now. He was having a panic attack. Midoriya grabbed Todoroki’s hand and guided him quickly down the opening. He could see the end of it up ahead. The boys made it out of the tunnel and into what appeared to be a square room, with rocks for walls, floor, and ceiling. There was no light which was to be expected. Todoroki had tears streaming down his face. He was hyperventilating and shaking. “We’re going to be stuck down here! I-I can’t breathe!” Todoroki yelled through tears. Not at Midoriya, but more at the world for doing this to the boys. Midoriya grabbed Todoroki’s shoulders. “Shoto. Listen to me. We’re going to get out. I need you to sit down.” Midoriya guided Todoroki to the floor. “Good. Now put your head between your legs and your hands on your head. Just focus on your breathing.” Todoroki had done this for Midoriya many times before and it had always seemed to help. Midoriya looked at his phone. “No signal… I’m going to slip back through and go get help.” Midoriya suggested. “No! Don’t leave! Please don’t leave!” Midoirya’s heart broke looking at his strong, brave lover in such a vulnerable state. “Ok… but that means we're going to have to keep moving forward.”
Midoiriya shined the beam of his flashlight around in front of him, looking for a way out. As it shined over the right corner, Midoriya could swear he saw a tall dark figure. As his flashlight passed over it, he quickly darted it back to see that nothing was there. “Just the dark playing tricks on me…” Todoroki seemed to be calming down. That was good. Midoriya shined a light on another coin slot shaped opening in the wall. This one was wider and looked as though it would be easier to fit through. Todoroki stood up. “L-lets go…”
The boys slid through that opening easily, just to find another square room like the one before. There was no other opening on this one though. “Shit…” Midoriya said to no one on in particular. “We're going to have to go back.” Todoroki swallowed nervously. “Ok…” When they turned around however, the opening they had just come through wasn’t there.
“The fu-” Todoroki was cut off by the sound of a child's laughter. Midoirya began to cry. “Where’d the way back go?! We need to get out of here!” Midoriya was pounding on the wall they had just come through. It was solid. That wasn’t possible! Todoroki began to shine his flashlight around the small room. “I-Izuku…” Todoroki frantically tapped Midoriya on the shoulder. “Was that there before?” Midoriya turned around, eyes wide. There was an entrance to another coin slot shaped tunnel. It was narrower than the one which they had just come through. It was about the same size as the first one, though there was no real way to tell.
Todoroki began to cry with Midoriya. “I-I don’t want to! It’s too small!” Todoroki was shaking and squeezing Midoirya’s hand tighter than before. “Wait. You’re claustrophobic?” Midoriya was caught off guard. “Why didn’t you tell me? We didn’t have to go through that first tunnel if you didn’t want to.” Midoriya felt bad for suggesting going into the cave. “I didn’t want- I didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t want to ruin your adventure!” Todoroki said loudly, tears streaming down his face and breathing like he had just run a marathon. “You wouldn’t have ruined anything…” Midoirya said soothingly, though he felt on the brink of panic. “We need to get out of here. You need to slow your breathing.” Midoriya helped Todoroki calm down so they could find a way out. “There has to be a way out somehow…” Midoriya said, worrying that he may be wrong.
The boys approached the narrow tunnel. This time Todoroki entered first, that way Midoirya, who wasn’t claustrophobic, could guide him. The walls of the tunnel were rough and left scrapes along the boys chests and backs. Midoriya nudged Todoroki along, saying comforting words the whole way. Once Todoroki stepped out of the tunnel he froze, making Midoriya bump into him. Midoirya pushed his way out of the tunnel to see what was going on. “What’s wro-” Midoriya stopped mid-sentence. There, in the middle of the room, was a corpse hanging from the ceiling by a large rope. The corpse’s eyes were wide open, and lacking eyelids, and it’s mouth was curled into a smile too wide for any human to make. It’s face was purple and blue, and it’s abdomen was cut open with its insides splattered onto the floor below. Todoroki was silent, tears streaming down his face. Midoriya fought the urge to vomit, and lost, throwing up his breakfast on the floor. “No...no, no, no…” Todoroki was mumbling. “This isn’t real! It can’t be!” Midoriya wiped his mouth and grabbed Todoroki’s hand. “Shoto. L-look up…” Midoriya had looked up to the ceiling to see that the rope was being held up by a grey deformed hand that appeared to be going through the ceiling like a ghost. “Oh my gosh…” Just as Todoroki said that, the hand jerked up and crushed the corpse into the ceiling causing it to splatter and bones to crack. The rope and body fell to a pile on the floor, the body now nothing more than a pile of broken and deformed flesh and bones. Both boys were covered in blood and pieces of flesh and brain matter, causing Midoriya to throw up again. Todoroki screamed at the top of his lungs. Todoroki grabbed Midoirya’s hand and dragged him past the body and through a much wider passageway on the wall adjacent to the one which they had just come.
Their flashlight beams danced on the walls as they ran through the passageway full sprint. As the adrenaline began to fade, the boys began to slow, and they decided to stop and just walk for a while, as they were in no immediate danger. “What the hell was that?” Midoriya asked, confused and scared. “I don’t have a single clue. We just need to get out of here.” Todoroki was tired and everything hurt. All he wanted to do was get out of that cave. The boys walked for a while longer, and Midoriya had a terrible thought. “Shoto… What if this is just going deeper? What if there isn’t an opening.” “Don’t say that. There’ll be a way out.
The duo walked at a steady pace but Todoroki noticed that something was off. He could hear three people walking. Not two, three. “Izuku stop.” The boys came to a halt in the dark passageway. The extra footsteps stopped too. The lovers began to walk again and so did the extra footsteps. They stopped and so did the extra steps until all of a sudden they could hear the sound of the footsteps sprinting towards them. They both ran. Todoroki grabbed Midoriya’s hand so they didn’t get separated. Todoroki was a much faster runner than Midoirya but the shorter boy managed to keep up somehow. They again came to a screeching halt as the passage came to a dead end. Midoriya looked at Todoroki with terror in his eyes. Now what?! The boys turned to face the footsteps and came face to face with a huge monster. It’s eyes were nonexistent and instead it just had open wrinkled eyelids. Its mouth, which was wide open, had rows behind rows of long pointed, sharp teeth. It had dark grey skin that stretched tight to its long lanky body. It let out a screech, and embarrassingly, Midoriya wet himself. The monster reached out a hand for them and the sudden sound of the laughter of children surrounded the room.
Todoroki stood in front of Midoriya to try and protect him. Midoriya looked to the right to see another tunnel. He grabbed Todoroki and they both ran. They ran for what seemed like hours, that monster gaining on them the whole time. The duo’s adrenaline was pumping and Midoriya felt like he was going to pass out. Midoirya lost his footing and fell, pulling Todoroki down with him. They, however, didn’t hit the ground. Instead they kept falling. The feeling of falling rippled through the boys’ stomachs as they screamed.
Both boys shot up! They were sitting right where the cave entrance used to be, and Midoriya recognized the spot. The cave was gone, however. They had come there to have a picnic before, but had never seen a cave. They were covered in blood and scratches, and there was a damp spot on Midoriya’s pants. “It was all real…” Midoriya said to no one in particular. Todoroki was the first to stand up. If it weren't for the circumstances, the place would have been beautiful. The sun was shining and the birds were singing, and all the trees had their beautiful green leaves with colorful wildflowers growing at the base of their trunks. Todoroki grabbed Midoriya’s hand and pulled him up but Midoriya fell.
“His ankle must have gotten hurt in the fall.” Todoroki thought to himself. Without a second thought, he picked up his boyfriend and carried him back to the house.
At the house, they cleaned up and got rid of the clothes that they had been wearing. The boys treated their wounds and took a long, hot shower together. Neither of them slept that night, and instead turned to the internet to try and find answers. There were none. Nobody had had an experience like that before that they could find. There were ghost stories, sure, but nothing like what the lovers had experienced.
A week later, they packed up their belongings and moved to an apartment in the city, with no forests anywhere nearby. The view from the apartment balcony was amazing, and the apartment was rather large and sold for a good price. The boys never went on romantic strolls through the forest anymore. Instead they walked through the city, enjoying the crowd and lights. When they didn’t want the crowd, they enjoyed each other's company in the apartment. Neither of them really missed the forest, and neither of them ever wanted to go in a cave again. They both still had occasional nightmares, Midoriya more so than Todoroki, but they were always there for each other when that did happen.
One nightmare Midoirya had, Todoroki didn’t make it out of the cave, and he never knew what happened to him. Midoriya woke up screaming, tears streaming down his face. Todoroki held him and comforted him. Neither of them got any more sleep that night and it took hours for Midoriya to calm down completely. Both boys had been traumatized by that night. Todoroki’s claustrophobia had increased to the point that even just a crowded room got to him. One time he had a panic attack on an extra busy day at the coffee shop he worked at, and Midoriya had to calm him down. Midoirya became more clingy to Todoroki and would never let him out of his sight, which Todoroki didn’t mind. Especially since they both worked at the coffee shop.
Nothing good came from that day in the cave, but their relationship had no problems from it, so things were ok. The boys never did find out how or why that experience happened to them, no matter how hard they looked. They scoured the internet looking for answers, but never found any. Eventually they moved on from the incident. They never forgot it, but they moved on. They are still doing good in their new apartment with their new life, but one vacation the couple had taken into the mountains, they ran across an ever so familiar cave entrance. This time they didn’t go in. They canceled the trip and came right home. They have never seen the cave since.