(Sheepishly) Hi, it's me again. Yes, I know, I said I wasn't going to write again until someone reviewed. But the truth is, I lied. Besides, I figured I had better start updating a little more regularly, or at least get a bunch of chapters out there before my next 5 month hiatus. Hope you like this one!
Elliot and I stare at the box, which we've placed on one of the barrels.
"So this is it?" I say.
"Yea." We stare at it a little longer. Don't ask me why, but it creeps me out. Like, whatever's inside their doesn't belong anywhere near here. Or maybe I don't belong anywhere near it. The point is, the longer we sit in silence, the more I feel like I'm standing on live explosives. Then I look down at the gunpowder spread all over my feet and realize that I am standing on live explosives.
"Um, Emma?"
"Yea?"
"Are you gonna open this thing or what?"
"How come I have to open it? How come you can't?"
"Fine, I'll open it then." Elliot pulls the lid off the chest in what seems like slow motion. I inwardly brace myself. I tentatively peer inside the box, and staring me straight in the face is... a bunch of pieces of paper. Well, really old pieces of paper, but still, it seems a little disappointing.
"That's it?"
"Yea, I guess so."
"I sprained my ankle for this?"
"Well, what were you expecting?"
"I don't know, maybe like, an engraved stone that, when held at the right angle, reveals a riddle that reveals the location of the treasure, and maybe also acts as a key?"
"You watch way too many adventure movies."
"Yea, I know."
"So, I guess we read them now?" It is just then that I remember that we are in a claustrophobic collection of tunnels, and that we need to get out of here before I cause a cave-in or worse, starve to death.
"Find an exit first, read old papers later." As I say this, we hear what sounds like a roar in the distance. We look at each with expressions of terror.
"Definitely exit first."
We search every crack, every crevice for a ladder, a secret door, a magic portal to Wonderland, anything that might help us escape. Meanwhile, footsteps echo through the hallway, getting louder and louder.
"Whatever made that noise is headed straight for us? How does it know right where we are?"
"It's a monster Elliot. It can smell us. Duh." The whatever-it-is roars again. It's sounds like the sound the T-rex makes is "Jurassic Park" this is not a happy thought.
"There's now way out of here but the entrance we came, Emma!"
"Then let's get out of here before that thing finds us!"
"We might run into it!"
"If we stay here, we'll definitely run into it!" Elliot pauses to think.
"Good point. Now let's run for it!" I grab the papers and stuff them in my backpack. Then I out of the room like a bat out of hell.
"I say we go left." We hear more roaring from the corridor to our left.
"Right it is." I've never been more terrified in my life than I am now, not even when the SUV sized bat-attacked. We run this way and that through the tunnels, until I notice a faint glimmer of light. I stop dead, and Elliot run into me.
"Oww! Emma, what the heck?"
"Isn't that sunlight over there?" He takes a look.
"Definitely." We walk down the side tunnel. The ceiling is very low, about 4 feet, and we have to duck. The light is shining in between some boards that make up the ceiling.
"Elliot, if we can move those boards, we can climb out of here!" We try to lift the wood up. I here a faint roaring in the distance.
"Hurry!" We begin pounding on the boards as hard as we can. Dirt falls through into the tunnel.
"It's working!" We remove enough of the wood to climb through.
"Lady's first! Give me a boost."
"How I come I have to give you a boost? Why can't you give me a boost?"
"Because, I'm lighter, and if you hadn't jumped down here without a way back out, we never would have been in this mess in the first place." He groans.
"Make it quick. That backpack adds like 50 pounds."
"Actually, it's only about 25." I Scramble up as fast as I can, then I hold out my hand.
"Elliot, jump. I'll pull you up. He does so. We find ourselves in an old storage shed, which, thankfully, is not locked. We run outside. It's just after sunrise.
"I recognize this place. We're on one of the plantations. If we follow the trail down there, we should make it back to-" He never finishes, because just then the whole place explodes.
Do I love my cliffhangers or do I love my cliffhangers? Tell me what you think! Post a review!
-Sage
