Hello again! I know I promised to update soon but life got the better of me. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I won't hold you back.

EMMA

He was dressed in rags, his face obscured by the shadow cast by his hood. My heart immediately leapt into my throat, thumping wildly in rhythm with my raspy breath.

The figure stepped into the beam of my flashlight, and I cringed when I saw the hollow, empty eyes that seemed to be bottomless black holes. His skin was wrinkled and flaky and I couldn't help but stare. How had he survived down here?

Edison and Anik slowly manoeuvred their way between me and the stranger that had not moved nor spoken. He didn't seem dangerous or a threat.

'You have come for the prophecy of Durga,' the cloaked figure rasped, his voice throaty and dry. I didn't say anything. It was a statement, not a question. 'You will be tested,' he continued, 'to demonstrate your worth of the aid of Durga. You will have to prove your trust in each other, your intelligence, your courage, your selflessness, your honesty and your purity of heart. There will be six stages, equally divided between the three of you. Each task specifically targeted at one of you, however it is all of your responsibility to get each other through each stage.' The stranger abruptly turned and disappeared into the tunnel he came out of, and I stared at the vast patch of darkness he had vanished into. This suddenly became very, very real.

I glanced at the tigers who were watching me, waiting for me to confirm that they could continue on. As if I was going to say, 'Hey, you know what? Screw this and let's turn back. Don't feel the need to prove by 'purity of heart'.' But however much I wanted to forget this whole thing and go back home to Oregon, I sighed and - like the idiot I am - gestured that we should continue on.

I followed the tigers through the second passage, the soft sound of my shoes scuffing against the dirt echoing off the walls. We were all on edge, walking slowly, waiting for any sign of movement. Anik sniffed the air and the sound made me flinch and stiffen. God. I'm so jittery. We continued to walk on, my flashlight the only source of comfort in the darkness. Surely something should have happened by -

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, something slammed into me, causing me to reel backwards.

ANIK

Abruptly I heard Emma yell and I spun around, searching for danger. But she was just rubbing her forehead and staring confused at something in front of her. I instantly morphed into a human.

'What is it?' I asked anxiously. I stepped forward, reaching for her until my hand came into contact with an invisible barrier. Emma did the same, her hand inches away from mine, but unable to touch me. The barrier had separated us.

Edison morphed into a human as well and ran a hand from one side of the tunnel to the other, as if searching for a gap. I just remained looking at Emma, helplessness overwhelming me. I could see Emma holding back tears of frustration as she pounded on the impenetrable force. Giving up, she frowned with her arms crossed and her eyebrows scrunched. I knew this look. This is the what-is-happening-I-need-to-concentrate look. Her mouth moved as she tried to say something, but I didn't hear anything. Great. Now the stupid wall was a sound barrier too.

Emma turned and walked the other way, with a hand outstretched until she stopped, a couple meters away. That's when we realised that the wall wasn't just to keep her out. It was to keep her in.

She was trapped in a box.

And then the box started filling with water.

Edison swore and began to kick the invisible barrier, pounding on it as if trying to smash it down. I stared in horror as the water reached Emma's knees. She was screaming and thrashing against the wall, throwing her weight onto it and driving her shoulder into the shield-like-barrier.

Smashing the wall down wasn't helping. Think. Think! THINK! I yelled to myself. I stared at the water rising up to Emma's hips. You will be tested on your trust in each other, your intelligence, your courage, your selflessness, your honesty and your purity of heart. Which one of those would were we being tested on now? Okay, be calm. I took a deep breath when it clicked. So simple. I scanned the bottom of the box, trying to find where the water was coming from. There had to be a hole where the water was being propelled out. Emma saw me searching and caught on, ceasing to beat futilely against the barrier. She found the access point: it was a steel tube connected to the wall of the tunnel, and water was quickly gushing out of it. Emma immediately tried to jam her jacket into the hole to block the flow of water, but it was too strong. It wouldn't stay in, just kept being propelled outwards. Cursing in frustration, I furiously tried to come up with another idea. There had to be a way out. There had to be.

I glared at the box in which Emma was trapped in, desperately trying to ignore her terror and anguish and the water inched upwards up to her shoulders. I ignored the flashing image of what she would look like in a couple minutes, limbs flailing, gasping for air –

Air.

Ohmigod. While the water was rising, the empty space above it was growing smaller. Air can be compressed, but it can't possibly disappear completely. It had to be leaking out from somewhere, to allow room for the water to fill the box. I locked eyes with Emma. She seemed to understand that I had thought of an idea and was yelling something I couldn't hear. The water was up to her chin, and she started to tread water as the water pushed her closer to the roof of the tunnel. That's when I noticed the pendant around her neck floating aimlessly in the ever-rising water. That's it, I thought, and at the same moment spotted exactly what I was looking for.

There was a very discreet engraving that was identical to the seal.

The engraving must have empty space behind it for the air to squeeze through as it was replaced by the water. I pointed to the seal hanging around Emma's neck and then to the engraving in the wall, that was soon going to fall under the water line. Emma's eyes widened and then nodded, and with trembling hands pressed the seal into the engraving where it was instantly sucked into place by the air travelling through the small hole. There was a click and –

– Water collapsed against me, slamming me to the ground as I choked and spluttered. Edison was too, knocked to his feet and retched as the wave relaxed, spreading throughout the tunnel. Emma lay on the ground, hacking up water that had decided to reside in her lungs. Closing my eyes with relief I slumped against the dirty wall, breathing heavily. Emma was the first to recover.

'Well,' she began, still coughing and staring straight at me with a grimace. 'I think you just passed the first test.'

'Me?' I repeated dumbly. She nodded.

'Intelligence, right? Well, thanks. For saving me.' She took a deep breath for grabbing the discarded backpack and slinging it over one shoulder. 'One down, five to go.'

Thanks for reading!

Always,

Thoughts of a fangirl

P.S. Comments appreciated