The sounds of the hounds echoing through the halls made Phantom’s fur stand on end. He had been exploring the giant furnace that had been accidentally stumbled upon and wasn’t sure if there was actually anything down here with him. The heat of the furnace was making the air hot and with the sweat forming on his pelt, he also thought that it felt kinda humid.

His ears flicked slightly as a growl appeared around the corner. The grey thought he had more time to get away, the echoing of their growls and barks seeming far away compared to where he was. He almost flipped backwards when one appeared in front of him, the others hot on the trail. Cursing under his breath the courser pushed himself as hard as he could, turning himself around just in time to avoid the snap of jaws near his legs.

He kicked back, hearing a sharp snap against bone and a high pitched whine before more angry growls could be heard. Phantom didn't have time to turn around before the heat of the next beast was hot on his heels. He didn’t have enough footing to kick out for this one; but before he could even think about it the ground changed below him. What was a long hallway suddenly turned into stairs and the courser went headfirst down them. 

Phantom could hear the sounds of the hellhounds behind him as well as they all tumbled down the stairs. He was thankful when his descent stopped with him on his back because he didn’t want to take too long escaping the beasts. As fast as he could, he was up on his feet and making his way down another long corridor before the hounds were even up. His brown eyes scanned the different rooms and such that lay in front of him, the heat making him want to rest.

When the howls could be heard once more they grey made a quick split decision to duck into one of the open spaces beside him, not caring what would be waiting for him on the other side. Whatever it was would be a more welcoming sight than the beast of the underground after him relentlessly. 

While he caught his breath in the dim light, hot breath could be heard in the hallway beside him. He sunk into the floor, his head curled into his side when suddenly he felt hot air ON him as well. There was no way in hell that Phantom was going to die down here, especially to a bunch of mangy hellhounds. 

What he didn’t realize though is the sounds of the hounds had died down; they were no longer close to him. So what was breathing on him then? He fiddled around in his pack, looking for the flint to help light his torch. A sigh of relief when his teeth hit something solid and he quickly struck the rock on the ground. 

A little face appeared in the light, the creature before him no bigger than a cat. There was no way that this pup had gotten lost in here with him, maybe he was in their brooding den? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, but then he started to question it again. If that was the case, why didn’t it smell like hound in here?

The pup tilted his head down to look up at Phantom and the stallion sighed. Fine. The pup was abandoned and there was no way he could say no to the thing. “You can stay with me until we get out of here.” 

The hellhound pup wagged his tail as the sounds of the others drew close once more.