Just so everyone knows, I did make up many of these characters; Desiree and Riley, but I didn't make up any of the Tamora Pierce characters in the later chapters. I don't own Kel or anyother TP character! Some of the details in this story are actually from her books, but the plot line and ideas are my own.

I just wanted to say thanks to Katie my sister for editing my story. I couldn't have had good grammer without her!

98….99….100… "Ready or not here I come!"

Desiree uncovered her eyes and started down the alley. No matter how many seconds she counted, Des always found her friend within ten minutes of searching. Throughout the city, endless possibilities lurked fora personto hide, and Des knew every single one of them.

Riley, one of Desiree's friends, had just gotten into adumpster thinking Desireewouldn't look in this smelly place for the him; the trash bin smelled of moldy lasagna and old milk. The thought of how long these food items had been in the dumpster made Riley gag.

"Hurry up and find me Des," Ri choked out.Oblivious to Riley's demand, she continued down the dark alley.

It had been eight minutes and Des had yet to find her friend. Just as she was about to take a rest, she spotted a dumpster at the end of the alley.

"HA! My reputation precedes me," Des shouted as she ran to the smelly bin. Chuckling, she lifted the lid finding the opposite of what she had expected: Nothing! Absolutely nothing and no one could be seen. Confused, she closed the lid and sat down. 'Where couldRiley be?' Des thought. THUMP

Desiree jumped up and twirledin the direction of the sound. Surely something was hidden that didn't want to be found. THUMP! She heard it again, but this time it sounded louder.

"Who's there?" Desiree called out smiling. She knew that she had found someone which would mean she could go and hide. Walking all the way to the wall, she stopped. She stood there for a moment, and decided she was being silly.

"I'm going crazy!" Desiree mumbled to herself.

THUMP!

The sound came right from under her. Quickly she looked to the ground to find a line in the dirt. 'DIRT? In an alley way? Weird.'

Dropping to the ground, Des traced the line with her finger. While tracing the line, dirt started falling through. It had to be a crack! Taking her hand, she made sweeping motions until she had uncovered the entire area, which was not big at all.

Sticking out of the ground was a handle. No,not a handle, adoor knob. Slowly, Desiree put her ear to the ground and knocked twice. Just as she thought. It was hollow.

Desiree backed up to the point where the knocking wasn't hollow. Slowly, she put her hand on the door knob and lifted.

CREAK…………

The hinges were in need of a good oil. The door, no more then the size of a kitchen tile was propped back gently against the alley wall. There were no lights in the deep pit making it impossible for Desiree to see anything.

Not knowing anything about the pit, Desiree put her hands on the ledge and slowly lowered herself down. Her feet dangled in mid air, not touching anything.

"Oh my gosh! This is so cool."

Desiree didn't know whether to let go or to keep holding on. Finally she decided. All at once her fingers came off the ledge. Not knowing whether she would ever be able to get back out of the pit, she fell.