A World Beyond the Waterfalls

No Way Out, No Dylan

"DYLAN!" I scream. But it's no use. He's gone. Trapped behind the door that opened out of no where. The door that we all completely missed.

"Holy crap. What the hell just happened?!" Liam shouts.

"My thoughts exactly." I say, rubbing my face with my hands. "What do we do now?"

He rolls his eyes. "How about we kick the boulder." He states, more of an order than a question.

"Good idea." He laughs and walks over to the boulder, kicking it twice. The door lurches open and Liam stumbles back, landing on his butt next to me.

He turns to face me. "Do we check it out?"

"Obviously! Dylan's back there!"

He crambles to his feet and pulls me up with him, throwing my arm around his shoulders. "Come on, you can walk, Dakota."

I glare at him as we make our way through the dark doorway. So many emotions fill my head-fear, excitement, fear, eagerness, fear, anxiety, but mostly fear. It's pitch black and never have I been so scared. My heart pounds in my chest; Liam can probably feel it in his ribs. My hand shakes as I try to grip his shoulder. His grasp on my waist tightens and I smile, glad to have him with me.

My head throbs, like someone is slamming a hammer into my head at the same one as pricking a needle into my eyeballs.

My body aches from the fall, but somehow, Liam and I make our way down the tunnel. It's about fifteen feet wide and about six and a half feet tall. Liam's hair brushes the ceiling, the top of his head covered in sawdust and spider webs. We squish closer to each other, our sides pressed together.

Liam breaks the eerie silence. "Is it just me, or is this place totally creeping you out too?" He asks.

"It's definitely NOT you because I am freaked out fight now!" I exclaim, my voice shaky.

"Don't worry. I got ya." Liam says, squeezing my side.

"That's very reassuring, Liam but your hand is killing my ribs." I say, wincing.

He quickly removes his hand. "Sorry." He says, concern evident in his voice. "Are you positive you're okay?"

"No. But it doesn't really make a difference. We have to keep walking either way, so I'm trying to forget my pain."

A small smile creeps onto his lips. "Toughie." He mutters. But then his grin turns into a frown. "Okay where in the world did that boy go?! He couldn't even walk! Where could he have gone?"

Before I can answer, we stop in our tracks when we bump into something. "What was that?" I ask nervously.

"Uh....." Liam reaches out and his hands feel around. All I can see is his bracelet, glowing in the darkness. It finds its way to the surface we hit and moves sideways. "It's a wall." He states blankly. "What the heck? A wall?" He looks around until he realizes it's no use since he can't see. "Hmmm. How do you suggest we-" but he stops, mid-sentence. "Um, Dakota?"

I sigh. "Yea?"

"Look down." Liam whispers, his hand clasping mine.

I slowly look at his face, until I realize that I can see his facial features in a dim blue light. His eyes are filled with a nervousness I've never seen in him before. His cheeks are flushed red from exhaustion and his eyes dart around the tunnel, taking everything in. My eyes widen as I look down, straight at the source of the creepy blue light. My foot rests on a button. Correction: a bright blue button. I lift my foot and the light shines brightly, illuminating Liam's face, his cheeks puffed in frustration.

"Ah!" He covers his face with his hands until his eyes adjust to the light. I squint, my brain stinging with the pure shine of the button. "What is that thing?" He asks.

"A button." I answer bluntly.

"Thanks Captain Obvious. I meant, what's it for?"

"How am I supposed to know?" I say, throwing my hands in the air.

"Maybe we should-"

"Wait, Liam." I interrupt him, mid-sentence.

"What?" He follows me eyes, his face looking down at the ground, landing at my feet.

Right in front of my toes is one sentence, carved into the dirt of the hard ground.

IF YOU WANT YOUR FRIEND BACK YOU BETTER FIND A WAY OUT

Liam and I look at each other, our eyes meeting. And then Liam says something that scares me more than I can even describe. "He-he's gone."