Book of Secrets

Chapter 17

Madi's POV

I'll admit it- I've always been more than a little afraid of small enclosed spaces. The underground chamber we're in isn't too large. I'd say it's about twice the size of a walk-in-closet, but it's definitely too small for me, especially now that we're trapped down here.

My fists sting from all the force I used to pound on the trapdoor above our heads. I gently rub them now, hoping to relieve some of the pain. Kylie and Emma are sitting against the wall and I'm on the bottom stair. 

We've all checked our cell phones, but of course, none of us have service. Figures. 

"Can we pray?" a shaky voice asks. I recognize the voice as Emma's, and I'm shocked to say the least. 

Kylie swallows. "Sure. That's a great idea." 

I  nod even though I'm sure they can't see me that well. I start the prayer, "Dear Jesus, thank you for keeping us safe in the good times and bad times. Although this situation isn't ideal, I wanted to thank you that nothing worse has happened."

Kylie continues, "We also wanted to ask you to provide our parents with comfort when they can't contact with us. Please tell them that we're okay."

Yet again to my surprise, Emma chips in. "Also, can you help us find the treasure and the owner of it? I- I mean we- really would like to find it and be rich so we can do good stuff for you I guess."

Well, it's not the most sincere prayer, but she's praying at least, right?

Kylie and I chorus, "Amen." 

Emma's voice adds another "amen" a moment later.

The room falls silent again. I think we've been down here for about half an hour. The room is dimly lit and the only thing I can easily see is a slight reflection of something on the ceiling. Wait a minute...

I carefully move over to the spot of the room that's below the reflection. I bang my shin on the wooden chest. The chest that has caused us so much pain, annoyance, and trouble. The chest that was supposed to hold treasures that were unimaginable. 

'i feel around me, hoping to find whatever is reflecting the light from the lantern. My hand brushes against something glassy, and when my hand passes over it, the reflection on the ceiling fades back into shadows. Reaching down I press down on the object. A loud sliding noise comes from the inside of the chest. 

"Come here!" I beckon the others.

We all gather around the chest, and Emma pulls out her phone and powers it on so the backlight can illuminate the inside. We gasp. A trap panel has slid away revealing a book. 

A thick, black canvas covered book, identical to the one Kylie has in her hands. 

"Aww dang it!" Emma whines. 

I take the new book and open it. I expected there to be pages and pages of beautiful pieces of art and French dialect, but what is there instead is a hollowed out section with a miniture canvas resting upside down in the hole. 

Gently pulling it out, I make the colors and lines out to be a small painted portrait of a woman wearing bright, vibrant shades of spring green. On the backside of the canvas, which must only be four inches by four inches, is a scribbled name and an address in black pen. 

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this is all crap sorry guys. i don't really spend a lot of time working on this story. i don't plan out the plot in advance, or work on character developement. i seriously sit down and peck out half a page of material.... that's why it sucks. i have no idea why you like this story. i hate it. seriously, please go read the big break. i spend a lot of time on it and i love when people comment on it and share their opinions. it makes me happy. well, until next time... bye.