Spirit Animals - The Ten Keepers: The Lost Talisman of Ursala [Book Two]

Chapter Five - We're Stuck!

George's POV

George groaned, his head in pain and he opened his eyes to see darkness. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head.

"Guys?" George called.

"I'm here," came Hope's weak voice.

"Over here," Zoron replied.

"I'm fine," John said, wincing.

Then there was silence.

"Eilene?" George called, feeling anxious.

Even thought Eilene had betrayed them, he still cared for her as a friend.

"Here," came the reply, "Zoron, do you have the torch?"

After a couple of seconds, Zoron had lit up the torch. They were lying around a rocky surface. George looked up and could barely see the hole where they came from.

"Great," John muttered, his voice growing louder, "Just great. We're stuck here in the bottom of the world with no way of getting back up, looking for some talisman from a Great Beast we never heard of!"

"John, calm down," George said.

"Calm down?" John exclaimed, "Calm down? How can I calm down when we're stuck here? We're stuck here because of her, that traitor!"

"Yet you listened to me," Lin pointed out.

"I wish I haven't," John fired.

"Too bad, you've done it already," she retorted, "Arguing is getting us nowhere so let's just keep walking."

"Walking where exactly?" he argued, "I bet you don't even know where this talismans is."

Lin just glared at him and pulled out a compass. Like the compass she gave to the other group, it wasn't pointing north. Without another word, she started walking and the others had no choice but to follow.

Riley's POV

"Um, guys," Riley said, "It looks like this compass is pointed towards the Hundred Isles."

"That would mean we're supposed to go on a ship," Jef groaned.

"Wow, you really do hate riding ships," Irene said.

"There are many unpleasant memories, the Hundred Isles in particular," Ivan said, shuddering.

"Really cause it was kinda fun," Zoey said.

"Fun," Jef snorted.

As they reached where Tellun's Pride III was, they boarded the ship and sailed towards the Hundred Isles.

"Guys, I don't know," Riley said, uncertainly, "I mean, what if this is another trap? What if Eilene's just tricking us again?"

"If she meant to trap us, why would she join the other group?" Irene replied, "If they get trap down there, she's trap with them but I get what you're saying."

"I don't think we should go to the Hundred Isles," Ivan said.

"Is it because of those unpleasant memories?" Zoey asked.

"No. Well, maybe that's partly the reason," Ivan admitted, "but like Riley said, what if it's another trap?"

"So what you guys are saying is that we shouldn't go to the Hundred Isles?" Irene said, "Well, what if Eilene's right?"

"We don't have much proof if she's telling the truth," Jef said.

"Why don't we just do a bit of research for ourselves?" Riley suggested, "See if there actually was a sixteenth Great Beast."

Irene hesitated.

"I know she's your friend and all," Zoey said, "She's my friend too, or she was but we need to make sure that this isn't another trap."

Irene hesitated then reluctantly nodded, "Okay, let's go back to Greenhaven. Maybe they might know something."

Eilene's POV

Out of all the places Ursa picked, it had to be her group to go underground. She would fight through a bunch of Bile infected animals then go underground. It's not because she was scared of the dark or anything, she was scared of the deepness. She didn't like deep oceans or deep caves that go so deep that it felt endless. She kept on walking, trying not to look scared as they go through tunnel by tunnel. She didn't know how long they had been walking when they reached another dead end.

"Are you sure you're reading that right?" John snapped.

"The compass points straight to where the talisman is," Eilene muttered, "but the caves don't."

"It's okay, we just need to go back," Hope said, trying to calm them down.

They started walking back out and went the other tunnel only to meet another dead end.

"Okay then, let's go back," Zoron suggested.

The kept on walking back but they were starting to get farther from the talisman. They went into other tunnels which opened to new paths and they still kept meeting dead ends.

"Maybe we should go back," George said.

"We're lost, okay?" John fired, "We're lost!"

John sat down and closed his eyes, exhausted. The others did the same as they sat there, exhausted and frustrated. Eilene was mostly frustrated. She doesn't know a single thing about tunnels and she was afraid that she might lead them to a dangerous place. She already lead them to a dangerous place and because of her, they're trapped underground with no way out!

"We should take a break," Zoron suggested, quietly.

"Ya think?" John muttered.

"Look, we're just as frustrated as you are," Zoron snapped, "But there's no need to be harsh."

"Why did I even agree to this?" John exclaimed, "We can't even trust her. She betrayed us, yet we listened her. Now we're stuck on the bottom of the world!"

Eilene couldn't hold it anymore, "You think I got you guys stuck here? You think I've meant for that ground to crumble and let us fall? You think i'm not having doubts too about this?"

"Why would you have doubts?" John asked, suddenly confused.

"My dad was the one who had been trying to find out what the book meant," Eilene answered, "I'm just trying to finish what he started. I'm not even sure if the talisman is still here or not. Who knows, maybe some underground beast had already eaten it already!"

They just looked at her, speechless, unsure of what to say.

"I understand why you blame me," Eilene sighed, "I blame myself too. I understand if you won't believe me or trust me anymore. If you want just say the word and i'll lead you back and then i'll leave you alone for the rest of your lives."

Eilene got up then walked further into the tunnels just so she could calm down. No one tried to stop her or follow her. She sighed and looked up only seeing darkness. She wished she could see the stars right now but they're stuck down here, because of her.

Still having doubts about Eilene? She's super confusing I tell you. Please vote and leave a comment on what you guys think. Stay tuned for the next chapters!