Horror 100 Volume 2

The Cave

The first time I heard about the cave I was scared to check it out, but Roy said everyone had to go in, it was like an initiation or something. I guess I went in because I felt the need to be cool. I was the new kid, a role I had played many times before. Roy was popular though and he knew lots of pretty girls and cool guys, if I impressed him I might be accepted. I regret that now. I should have stayed by myself, gone straight home after school, but it's too late for that now.

I won't blame you if you don't believe me, no one does, not entirely. It doesn't upset me though, we're raised from childhood to not believe that things like this happen, or even exist. But they do. By the way I'm Jim Sterns, not that who I am makes a difference I just thought it might be nice to know who's talking to you.

" Let's go pussies, the cave is this way!" Roy called. His friend, really more like his body guard, Bobby Kiln, stood at his side, an ugly monolith of a boy. His nose had obviously been broken and his knuckles were hard and dry from pounding everyone smaller and less cool. I was one of those smaller, less cool people, but I was in the running for initiation you know. So I could be cool, so I hadn't been beat up yet.

Cole Sadler, Bryan Nippy, and I trotted through the brush to catch up to Roy and Bobby. Cole was tall and thin with blond hair and blue eyes, he was already pretty cool but Roy said he still had to go in the Cave with Bryan and Me. Bryan was sort of fat, but not too big, and he had thick coke bottle glasses, you know the kind I mean. I have brown hair, and I'm pretty thin, but I'm not exactly handsome.

Roy had those classic good looks that the girls fall for and the football coaches like to have in their quarterbacks, one very rarely sees an ugly high school quarter back. Anyway what we looked like isn't as important as where we went, the cave. Roy lead the way, through the bushes and the trees, he seemed to know where he was going, but everything looked just about the same to me, I was more focused on Bobby at this point anyway, he was lagging behind a little to make sure none of us chickened out and that made me think there was a good reason for chickening out. As we walked the sun beat down on us, it was summer, probably around four o'clock when we started so I'd say we reached the spot at around four forty-five, it was a long walk I know that for sure.

The spot we stopped at was sort of a clearing, there was lots of grass and moss on the ground though, and trees were still all around the area, except in front of us. In front of us was a huge hole, in the side of a pretty mossy cliff face, the actual cliff couldn't have been more than twenty or twenty five feet high, the top of the hole was probably about eight feet. Maybe bigger but not by much. The hole was that cave I've been talking about, it was like a black wall it almost seemed to be a void, I wish it had been a void, nothingness would have been a lot better than the something we found inside.     Bobby Pushed us up towards the mouth of the cave. Cole, Bryan, and I stood in a line facing the mouth. Staring down the throat. It was a lot like a throat really, the edges were rough and as it stood there dark and still I felt, I think we all felt, like it was waiting for us to step in so it could just swallow us up, down into the dirt and that would be that, kaput, over and out.

" Okay, boys we're here." said Roy and he stepped in front of us, like a sergeant in front of his soldiers, only the feeling was a lot different, since we were all just kids, but you get the picture. " All of you have to go inside the cave so far so you can't see any light, then stay in there for half an hour." there was a smirk on his face, the kind someone gets when they know they're about to win something but just in case they don't, they hold back from jumping for joy.

" Do we go in together?" Bryan asked nervously

" No, don't be a baby." Roy said, sounding condescending, " You go in at five minute intervals, so you'll all be in the dark alone for at least five minutes."