A Tight Tunnel

Nora took the natural stairway up, thankful that the air seemed clearer by the step. What she found at the top however, was not a pleasant surprise.

With horror she gasped; a gangly, humanoid creature covered in open sores and thick, knobbly sulphur bracket fungus that grew upon most of its upper torso and head, stood in front of a narrow tunnel. Nora kept her sense of direction about her, and realised that if this tunnel does not turn, it probably leads back to where she was before, back to the ledge she jumped down from. The creature stood with its head titled back and its mouth wide open. It was toothless and a deep, deep red. Whatever this thing was, the stench it emmited was by far the worst thing about it, which is quite a feat considereing everything else; it stank not just of iron but of blood.

Nora kept herself very still and very silent, her flashlight seemingly not getting a response from the creature. The creature also kept very still, and aside a few rasping breaths and a strange squelching sounds coming from the mushrooms, remained silent as well.

...That is until Nora tripped. In an effort to quietly turn back the way she came, Nora stepped on a sharp rock and fell over backwards.

The sound of her flashlight hitting the floor, as well as Nora's surprised yelp, awakened the creature from its stupor. Without hesitation it leaped towards Nora with incredible speed and unnatural smoothness, like some kind of ravenous spectre. The cry the creature emitted was terrifyingly low and booming, which seamlessly and quickly changed to a sound that sounded like a jet engine but with more of a whistle. This monstrous cry threw Nora off guard, but even so she still had a fleeting moment to react.