Stuff Of Legend

Chapter 18

Snow had come as promised. A beautiful white layer had fallen over all the trees and buildings, glossing the grounds in a heavenly glow. Piper couldn't believe the beauty that she had been missing out on her entire life. The cabin could become unbearable at night; she and Wren had taken Audrey's sheets and blankets because she was back at home with her family. Wren had taped down the windows and tried her best to cover all holes to keep in the warmth. Piper dragged a fire pit from the lake into the cabin, along with logs and would light it before they went to bed.

The entire camp was empty. Very few people had stayed for the two week Christmas break they were all having. It would be Christmas in five days, and then there would be one week left for the rest of the year. When everyone came back, the routine would go back to normal.

Aside from Piper and Wren, only four other members remained. Lora Powell, Rufus Gorman, Judah Jacobs, and Alejandro Mendez were all younger than Piper and Wren, so they didn't talk to them much. They all ate food in separate small groups, along with whatever staff was left, which were only the agents who teach them. Piper had spent many of her days in the library, taking full advantage of the quiet and warmly kept room. But she had also let loose a little. Wren had shown her way they stored all the board games, where they kept arts and crafts supplies, and the stock of movies they've collected. There was so much to this camp; when Piper thought she had been to every part of it, Wren managed to show her something new.

That brings them now outside in the cold. Wren had shown Piper some of the secret spots on the camp, including the secret hallway to nothingness in the Mission Hall basement. Literally, behind one of the doors was a random hallway with no doors in it and no chests or cabinets or anything to give it a purpose. Wren had also shown her the small hidey hole underneath the lunch hall, the large well, hidden on one of the trails, and a perfect circle of stones behind the church called the Friendship Circle. They were now officially friends. Wren was now taking Piper to the cave of Mission Hall.

It was hard to get up the mountain and the stairs leading up to Mission Hall. They had been sliding all over the place, laughing as they knocked each other down and at their pitiful attempt to make it all the way up. Eventually they made it, and entered the building. They shook off their big, heavy coats and laid them down in the corner of the entryway. Piper looked over the bare table, remembering that not too long ago this is where she got her first mission. Her opinion on things here and how she perceived people hasn't changed much, but how open she is now much different. Her first time at this table, no one really knew her, but now, some do.

Wren led her down the basement stairs. Piper tried to think of where a hidden cave could be down here, but it didn't seem possible. All that was downstairs were the bathrooms, the hallway to nowhere and a utility closet.

Her questions were answered when Wren went straight to the boy's bathroom and held it open for Piper to join her. The bathroom looked exactly the same the girls except for a small wooden square in one of the walls of the bathroom. Piper couldn't believe it; she gave Wren a you're totally lying look. Wren smirked back, unlatching the wood from a lock and opened it to reveal a large rock behind it. Piper stuck her head through the window and could see that the rock didn't take up the entire space. Inside was a small room with some metal chairs inside sitting around the rock.

"Why is this even here?" Piper asked Wren. Wren shrugged.

"No idea. It's just always been here. I found it when I spent my first Christmas here without my parents." Wren told her. They were now leaving the cave and going back upstairs, putting their jackets on, about to brace the cold again.