Under the Skin

I don’t remember who first suggested we explore the cave. Probably Liam. He was always the one who wanted to go off-trail, poking around where we shouldn’t. That day, there were five of us: Liam, Mel, Dee, Alex, and me. The air smelled like burnt pine and wet earth. We were two miles off the main trail in Bear Hollow, our phones useless and dead. No signal. No maps. Just adrenaline and too much confidence.

The cave mouth was narrow — jagged and low, half-covered by moss and shadow. It looked like the forest was trying to bury it. I remember saying, “It smells like something died in there,” but Liam laughed and climbed inside first.

We followed.

The entrance forced us to crawl for about fifteen feet, scraping our knees and elbows on cold, uneven rock. But once we broke through, it opened up. A dome-shaped chamber, big enough to stand in. The air was damp, warm, and strangely sweet — like rotting fruit. The light from our headlamps danced across the walls, which shimmered unnaturally, like something was moving just beneath the surface.

Mel said, “Do you guys hear that?”

It was faint — a low rhythmic thump. Like a heartbeat. I thought maybe it was water dripping somewhere, echoing weirdly. But no. It wasn’t echoing. It was pulsing.

We kept moving deeper.

Every new tunnel felt warmer than the last, and the air grew heavier. The walls weren’t hard like rock anymore — they were soft. When I pressed my palm against one, it gave just slightly, like flesh. And it was… moist. I wiped my hand on my jeans and didn’t say anything.

About twenty minutes in, we found the skin.

That’s what Dee called it. A large section of the wall was veined and slick, with tiny pores opening and closing like it was breathing. Mel touched it first. She recoiled immediately, gasping.

“It twitched.”

Liam grinned like a kid on Christmas. “It’s probably just some kind of fungus or—”

Then it moved. A long ripple ran along the wall, like something inside was shifting to get comfortable. Dee screamed. Alex backed into a corner and vomited.

I wish we’d turned back then. But we didn’t. Instead, we went deeper.

Maybe it was pride. Maybe curiosity. Maybe we were already under its influence.

The further we went, the more the cave changed. It didn’t feel like stone anymore. It felt… biological. The tunnels curved like arteries, and some walls throbbed faintly. Our lights started flickering. Liam’s watch stopped ticking. Mine was going backward.

“I think it’s digesting us,” Mel whispered, almost to herself.

That’s when we noticed the floor. It wasn’t solid anymore. Under our feet was a soft, pulpy layer of tissue — pink and warm, like the inside of a cheek. With every step, it squished. Bled, sometimes. Dee tripped and her hand sank wrist-deep into the floor. When we pulled her out, her fingers were covered in clear, stringy slime. She was shaking.

We tried to turn back.

But the entrance was gone.

No one spoke for a long time after that.

Somewhere along the way, Alex disappeared. One second he was behind me, the next he wasn’t. We called his name. No answer. Just that low, constant thumping sound. Closer now.

That’s when we realized the cave wasn’t just alive.

It was aware.

It wanted us.

The walls began to close in, subtly at first. Then faster. The air tightened. Dee started gasping, clawing at her throat. Mel’s flashlight died, followed by Liam’s. I could still see, but barely. The glow from the walls had intensified, casting a sickly orange hue across everything — like we were inside a stomach.

And maybe we were.

We ran.

Somewhere in the chaos, I got separated. I don’t know where the others went. I just kept moving until I reached a chamber that looked like a giant, beating heart. And in the middle, pulsing along with it, was a skeleton — half-digested, fused to the wall. Its mouth was still open in a scream.

That’s when I knew.

We were never supposed to find this place. This wasn’t a cave. It wasn’t a cave at all.

It was a creature.

An ancient, buried thing, slumbering under the forest floor for centuries — and we were its first meal in years.

I don't know how I got out.

I woke up two days later in a ranger’s cabin, wrapped in a blanket, covered in cuts and dirt. They say I was found staggering near the trailhead. Alone. No one else has been found. No remains. No cave entrance.

They said I was dehydrated. Delirious. That I imagined it all. But sometimes, when I close my eyes, I still feel the walls breathing. And the scar on my hand where the floor bit me? It hasn't healed. It’s growing.

Thanks for reading! “Under the Skin” was inspired by a real hike I took where I felt like something was watching us from inside the cave walls. If you enjoyed this story, please leave a ❤️ or comment — and feel free to share with anyone who enjoys a good scare!