The Undercave [Incomplete]

Chapter 11 - Digging Deeper

"You okay?" Sheri asked Theo as she followed the others out of Rachael's house.
"Yep," he responded quietly, turning round to face her as he stepped down onto the pavement. "My mum's probably gonna be asleep, my brother's gonna be high, and my dad's gonna be out at a club or something. So I'll be just fine." Sheri gripped his arm as he began to walk away.
"We could, hang out, if you want. Only for the rest of the afternoon." She smiled kindly at him, trying her best to get a grin out of him. And it worked.
"Ok," he agreed, looking up at her with grateful eyes. "Where should we go?"
"How about the park? It's usually quiet at this time."
"Alright. After you!" Sheri took his hand and pulled him down the road, giggling as she realised that she was being to quick for him.
"Oh, sorry!" She said apologetically when she saw the look on his face. "I'll try to walk with you from now on!" They shared a laugh, before they continued their walk.

Sheri sat on the swing next to the identical one that Theo was sat on. She manoeuvred so that it was swinging slightly to allow her to reflect on their problems. She let out a sigh.
"I just wish that... that I could have you stay round at my house." Her eyes found the ground. "But... I know she wouldn't allow you. And I could go to my grandma's with you, but even though she's the only person in my family who doesn't think I'm a mistake, I don't think that she'd want us being there for too long." She kicked the wood chip covered ground. "She's getting old; she needs her peace. And when she... passes... I don't know what I'll do..." Tears began to form in her eyes, blurring her vision. She shook her head in order to get rid of them, but one still managed to escape and run down her cheek.
"It's alright, Sheri. I don't need anywhere else to stay. It's not like they're doing anything to me..."
"But that's the problem!" She interrupted, "They're completely ignoring you! Look, I know your brother is always out smoking pot, I know your mum has a drinking problem, and I know your dad is getting fed up of them, but that doesn't mean they can't at least spend some time with you!"
Theo's eyes drifted to the ground. "I know," he exhaled, "But my brother's going out less, and my mum's getting help. My dad just needs some time away from it all, you know?"
"I don't think that's an excuse for bringing chicks home though," she snapped.
"That was only once," he mumbled. "Look, all I'm trying to say is you have it worse than me! Your mum blames you for being born even though she's the one who messed up!"
"It was my dad." She butted in. "That's the reason they split up. I never even got to meet him." Theo glanced up at the sky. "And at least I have another family member to go to. All the rest of your family lives abroad, and my gran is the one who takes me abroad. Who do you have?"
Theo directed his attention to her, gripping onto the chains on the swing and staring into her eyes. "I have you."
Colour flushed into her cheeks, but before she could respond, Theo's lips smashed into hers.
When their faces separated a few seconds afterwards, a smirk spread across Sheri's face.
"Wanna walk home together?" She asked, holding her hair out of her face to look at him out the corner of her eye. He nodded in response, before hopping onto the ground and holding out his hand. She interlocked her fingers with his and jumped off of the swing. They then began to walk off out of the park and into the quiet street.

This time, on their way to the Undercave, Rachael ventured through the woods with them to make sure that they didn't get lost and that they remembered to take the CND with them so that they would be able to find their way around. They were also planning to use her new capture feature in order to experiment further on the Cuniculators. But she still wouldn't step foot inside the cave; in fact, she couldn't.
"Here we are!" Rachael announced, pushing aside a branch from an overgrown tree. The others followed behind her, gazing up at the tall entrance which widened out at the bottom. Cracks pierced the perimeter of the solid rock, evidently displaying its centuries of age. Rachael pulled the CND out of her trouser pocket. "I think I might have to change the name of this..." She flipped it open and let it transform in the palm of her hand. "Maybe... CCND? SCND?"
"Uh, maybe it would be easier if we left the name," Lana commented.
Rachael glared at her. "If you say so." Her fingers glided over the holographic screen to set up the capture program. "All set! Who's going to be the captain?"
"Ooh! Meeee!" Sheri yelled out, stretching her arm out to the sky. "Me! Me! Pleeaaase!" The others stared at her, concerned.
"Hm, okay," Rachael chuckled. She handed the device over and gave a brief demonstration of how to use it. Sheri nodded, before leading the rest inside.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the caverns as they traipsed further from the opening, and though they were walking away from it, they could see a new light at the end of the passage.
"Shhh..." Sheri lightly began to rush forward, before a figure appeared at the end. As quick as they could, they hopped behind a conveniently placed boulder leaning against the wall. They all peeked their heads over the top to examine what was standing there. From what they could make out, it was a male Miner. He had light grey skin, tinted slightly by the light behind him and dull, messy black hair with a few thin white strands running through it which spiked downward on his forehead as a fringe and out at both sides of his face. Around his waist, he wore a metal belt wielding several shards of iron, and on each hand, he wore white gloves that reached halfway up his forearms. The group exchanged looks, trying in their heads to figure out what they were going to do. The Miner stood there for a few seconds before starting to walk forward. This was the moment that the anticipation told them that they were not prepared for this at all. However, this was the perfect time to capture one of them with the newly installed program. Sheri turned to the others. "On the count of three, we go for it. Ready?" They nodded simultaneously in agreement. "One, two, three!" They followed Sheri as she jumped out into the open passage and charged forward, pulling the pearl orbs from her earlobes and pressing the button on both of them where all of the scales met to transform them into her war fans.