The Puddle Portal

Part 5: A Cave in the Woods

       Deep in the woods, behind the lake and the towns, stood a short, small cave. The cave was covered with moss and sticks. Two guard dogs stood in front of the entrance to the cave. One was black, the other was white. Anyone would try to get through without permission, would be killed. Inside the cave, was a long dark hallway. The hallway was lined with torches.

       Inside the middle of the cave, stood a small table that wasn't but a few feet off the ground. Four chairs sat around the table. Three were taken, the fourth was not. In one chair, sat Dallas. Dallas was a tall thin man and always wore a gray hoodie. His eyes were bright red, and he always carried a gun. Next to him, was a woman. Kelsey wore a long red dress and black shoes. Her hair was dark brown and her eyes sparkled like emeralds. Next to her was Caleb. He had short black hair and‌ had small glasses on his face. He wore a black suit with a golden trim. He had a hooded cape around his neck. His eyes were as dark as death. The fourth seat was empty.

       "Okay," Kelsey groaned, "I am getting bored. Can we do something evil? Where is she?" "Kelsey relax," Dallas said, "She'll be here any minute." Dallas's voice was calming and sinister. "You know, it wouldn't be boring if someone didn't lose the gems!" Kelsey yelled shaking the whole cave. "Excuse me," Caleb said. "How about you go steal five different gems and try to fly away with them while disappearing in a ball of light!" They always got into arguments. "Enough you two," Dallas said, "We have to wait for..."

       Footsteps echoed through the hall. A hooded figure walked into the room and sat in the fourth chair. She took off her hood and let her blond hair fall out of the hood. "Lexie, you're back." Dallas said. Lexie stared at the three of them. "We have a problem." Kelsey smirked, "Yeah, Caleb is with us." Caleb glared at her. Lexie rolled her eyes and continued. "After I saved those girls, I noticed that they wanted to get home. Skyler will definitely let them try to find the gems. We can't let that happen." Dallas sighed, "You've been talking about these gems for years now. What gems are they?" Kelsey frowned and said, "The same gems that Caleb threw all over the world." Caleb blushed, "Sorry."

       Lexie smiled and said, "Our hopes may not be lost. I have one of the five gems!" Lexie pulled out a back from her hood and opened it. Inside was the biggest Diamond they have ever seen. "Two down, three to go." Caleb said. Kelsey said, "That's one idiot." Caleb smiled, and a back appeared on the table. He opened it and said, "We have the Diamond and the Black Opal." The two gems sat on the table. Suddenly, they started to move towards each other. They collided and became one gem. Lexie slapped her face. "You had the Black Opal the whole time? Why didn't you say anything." Caleb smiled. Dallas grabbed a knife out of his pocket and put it up to Caleb's throat. "You had something that could've saved us from this world?" Caleb gulped and disappeared. He reappeared behind Lexie. "Now that's no way to treat a friend, is it?"

       Lexie said, "Anyway, I know where the other gems are." She laid a map of the world and the table. "Y'all know this world like the back of your hand, right?" They all nodded. "Well, the Sapphire is in the Lake where I found those brats, the Ruby is in the mountains, and the Emerald is at pirate's cove. We will get our world back." The all smiled, except for Caleb. He started to walk around the table. Lexie sat down and sighed. "Caleb, what the hell are you doing?" Caleb smiled.

       "I just wanted to say, 'why don't we just relax?'" Lexie watched as Caleb walked towards Dallas. He gave Dallas a coin. On one side it had the word, "Victory", and on the other said, "Fail". He walked over to Kelsey and gave her a white rose. He put it in her hair and smiled. Suddenly, their necks started glowing. They pulled out a necklace from around their necks. The necklace was in the shape of a key. "What's happening?" Dallas asked. Caleb said, "This is how we'll win. If all goes well, we'll be the ones ruling the world." Caleb pulled out his necklace and it glowed too.

       Lexie pulled out her necklace, but hers didn't glow. "Why isn't mine glowing?" Caleb walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Because the necklaces only turn on when the person gets something special." Lexie looked around. "But what is my something?" Caleb smiled. "Maybe your love to be back from the dead?" Lexie smiled and her necklace glowed. Caleb smiled and sat back in his seat. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.

       Then, Dallas started humming. Lexie, recognizing the tune, did the same. Kelsey followed along. Caleb smiled and started humming along too. For about the next five minutes, the only sound in the cave was the sound of humming. The longer they hummed, the brighter their necklaces glowed. Caleb smiled and said, "This is what I'm talking about." Lexie smiled, and while the other hummed, said, "Dallas you go get Sapphire. Kelsey and Caleb follow me." Dallas got up and walked out of the cave. Caleb got up and held Lexie's and Kelsey's hand. In a bright flash, Lexie said, "We are the darkness." Then, they disappeared.