Monster Rundown Part One Chapters 1 and 2

Monster Rundown Part One Chapters 19 and 20

Chapter 19

"I know nothing about underground, but is it normal for it to be this cold?" Harper said, touching one of the beams.

Woden said, "We should avoid talking as much as possible."

Theo whispered to Henry, "We need to hurry. The spell's escalating."

"Do you know how much time we have?"

"No."

Henry picked up the pace, practically jogging down the tunnel, which curved constantly to the right like a spiral.

Eventually the tunnel took a hard right and continued only a few feet before opening into a large natural cave the size of a house. Stalactites and stalagmites covered the ceiling and floor, some of them over ten feet high.

"How did they find this?" Sherman looked around the cave with wide eyes, just like the rest of them.

"The only way they could have: by knowing it was there," Woden said.

"It's beautiful," Beatrice said. The limestone cones varied in color from pale white to peach.

"Which is which again?" Mel said, tapping one of them.

Woden slapped his hand away. "Do you know how old these are?"

"No."

"Stalactites hold tightly to the ceiling," Finley said.

"Stalagmites have to be mighty to stand so tall," Sherman said. They looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Wow," Mel said.

They found three caves leading out from this one, all of them natural.

"Which way, genius?" Adam said to Henry.

"Split up?" Sherman said.

"No, never," Mel said. "We'll just have to try each one."

Henry purposefully avoided looking at Theodore. "Any guesses?"

Adam pointed at the middle cave. "This one."

Theo said, "I think the right one is more likely."

"Why?" Adam said.

Because he can feel a spell being cast in that direction, Henry thought. Theo shrugged. "I don't know. Instinct."

"Why'd you pick that one?" Woden said to Adam.

"Because I'm standing closest to it."

"We'll go with Theo."

Adam shrugged. "Like I care."

If this was a television show, Mel and Henry would have glanced at each other knowingly, but that kind of thing is how other people find out about secrets. "Let's keep going," Henry said after checking his phone. They'd only been underground for twenty-five minutes, but it was impossible to get a feeling for how much time passes without natural light. If it had been two hours or five minutes, he wouldn't have been surprised.

As he left the cavern and entered the mouth of the cramped tunnel, Henry knew Theo was right. He felt like he wanted to go into the darkness. This time he did look at Mel, who had the same wide eyes and clenched jaw. It was more than instinct.

The cave floor was bumpy and slippery. Mel marked the walls with a piece of chalk so they could find their way out, and Theo made sure Henry chose the correct path as many tunnels, turns, and holes appeared. At this point, he could have found the way by himself, the strange feeling was that strong.