The Cavern

Chapter Three

We walked along the path leading down to the rickety bridge. there were rocks and branches in our way, showing that this place was either abandoned or never found.

Once we got to the bridge, Owen and Emma ran across it. Bryson and I both stopped short. I wanted to test it's weight first. We found a big rock and threw it.

It landed with a loud thud, while the bridge shook. Ultimately, it held up and the four of us crossed. After we got across the bridge, we were lead down a hill with no path.

It was sandy and rough terrain. I almost fell every three feet that I walked. I didn't particularly like nature but it was better than trust exercises, that's for sure. 

"Hurry up, you guys!" Owen called from below. We all walked just a little bit faster and made it to the bottom quickly, before I heard someone scream.

I looked in the direction of the scream. Laura was falling down the hill. Ryker was forward and pulled her up, just before she would've hit a rock. When she was safe again she couldn't speak. She just looked around.

"Are you okay?" I asked. No response. I couldn't even tell if she heard me or not. Bryson helped her walk since her leg got scraped badly on the way down. We walked through some more bushes and trees before we got to the entrance of the cave. It looked overgrown and unkept. 

"Through here guys!" Owen yelled excitedly. It was too narrow for us all to go through so we went single filed.

"Whoa!" Emma said. The cave was open on two sides of it, letting light fall in. It was beautiful. 

There was moisture inside the cave and small water droplets were raining down from the ceiling in some spots. 

"There's pools in here too!" Owen said, rushing up the unsteady rocks to the top of one area. 

"I don't see Elle, though." He sighed. I could feel the tension rising. We all saw how easily some parts of the cave fell right off into ditches. 

"Elle!" Emma started yelling. They walked carefully through the cave until they had to start climbing. Laura stayed by he entrance, while Bryson went with Owen and Emma.

"Can you climb?" Ryker asked. I looked around at the unsteady hills of rock. 

"No." I sighed. "I'll stay here with Laura." I offered.

"C'mon, I'll help you." He said offering his hand. I took it and together we walked through the cave. The three of them were already far enough ahead that their echo's disappeared.

We walked past clear blue pools of water and through rain droplets before we got to a part that required us to balance on rocks to cross water. Ryker did it with ease and turned around to help me with foot placement. We eventually got to the climbing part where we had to pull ourselves up on to the rock. 

"How do we even know this won't lead to a ditch?" I asked him as he pulled me up. 

"They left footprints, so I think they know where they are going." He explained. 

"So we're relying on footprints of people hoping they didn't separate or get lost?" I asked rhetorically.

"Are you always this pessimistic?" He groaned. 

"No, just realistic." I countered. My breath was getting shallower as we climbed. I looked at my feet most of the time. I didn't want to look down. At some point my feet crossed and i felt like I was going to fall.

"I'm stuck!" I nearly screamed even though he was right above me.

"You're okay! Here." He pointed at a place to put my left foot, but I couldn't move it without falling. I felt the fear settling in.

"I can't!" I yelled. He moved so that his foot was locked by a rock, and laid on his stomach so he could pull me up. 

"No! we'll fall!" I objected. He pulled us up and I moved behind him. He seemed stuck now, so I pulled him into an easier position. As soon as we were both safe again, I felt calmer.

"Thank you!" I sighed as we reached slightly level ground. 

"Thank You!" he chuckled. I was walked ahead of him now. I felt more comfortable on even ground.

"Do you think thy are okay?" He asked me after we found our breath. 

"I haven't heard anything, and if they were hurt they would be screaming, but then again, Owen should be yelling anyways." He laughed at that. I thought about Laura sitting back. She had no idea if any of us were okay or if we could get back to her. How was she supposed to gt help when she was hurt?

"I feel bad for Laura. She doesn't know what is happening right now." I said. 

"That's true. She didn't seem too hurt, though. I think she will be fine and if anything happens, she will be able to get back fine." He evaluated.

"If she doesn't get lost." I pointed out. He gave me a strange look. 

"Always the pess-" 

"Realist!" I interrupted. He chuckled. 

"What powers do you think this place has?" He asked. He was mocking the very possibility. I laughed.

"I think the only power this place has is to make you think you're high." I said. 

"Well Owen was definitely high last night." We laughed about this crazy human, we just met. 

"Shi-"I screamed. I fell face forward with no warning. I caught myself with my hand, causing scrapes. 

"That is some slippery shi-" I said after getting back up. Ryker cut me off with a loud laugh. 

"Really?" I asked. The next part of our journey was slippery rock to travel up, but at least it wasn't climbing.

When I got over the rock, I saw something in the water floating. I decided to walk into the water, which wasn't as clear as the rest. I found a black jacket.

"That's Elle's or Emma's" Ryker said. I was still standing in water that was about two inches deep.

"Emma didn't have a jacket on." I realized. 

"Elle must be around here somewhere. Why wouldn't see come back last night?" He wondered. we kept walking and found our answer was only three feet away.