Mere seconds after she'd disappeared Patch was back, looking unnaturally afraid. Her eyes immediately went to Ace, who looked confused. We were all silent; a little shocked to see the normally brave Patch looking spooked.

"Ace," she began, "Something is wrong."

"What do you mean?" Though her voice was noticeably inflicted with stress, his voice was still calm and composed.

"I found someone's camp," she said, her voice hushing to a whisper. She still looked scared and he looked confused and I was sure now that there was no real treasure hunt going on. This had been a big joke. Now it looked like it was backfiring on them.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his eyes straying back to the hole. She nodded, and he frowned.

"What's going on guys?" I asked, suddenly bold and in need of answers. "Seems like something went wrong with your plans."

"Did you not hear her, Lancer?" Ace turned to glare at me, "There's someone else here."

"Why are you surprised? We saw footprints back there! Unless that was a set up, and you guys were trying to trick us." I crossed my arms over my chest and wasn't about to let Ace manipulate me into believing his story.

"Wow, Lance, you really think they'd do that?" Teddy asked, looking at Ace and Patch with a curious expression. "I guess it would explain why you two know so much."

"We're not making anything up! There is a legend, and there is a camp through that hole and I know it's not old because there are embers in the fire pit! We need to get out of here before whoever it is finds us." Patch looked back at the hole, as though contemplating whether or not she should push the rock back to cover the entrance. Just then we all heard voices coming from the other direction (the one we'd come from) and my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

"Patch, is there a path that leads away from their camp?" Ace asked her, and she nodded, and he took over the reins of leadership. "Everyone through the hole, and hurry up!" He pushed Patch back towards it and she hurried through. "Come on, move!" He whispered as loud as he dared before grabbing Melody and pushing her towards the hole. She didn't appear to want to go but he shoved her down, grabbing Bon Bon's arm next. She didn't need as much persuading. As soon as she was gone Teddy followed, which left only me and Ace. Our eyes met and I still wasn't convinced that he was telling the truth about the reality of this trip, but at that moment I couldn't afford to take a chance on busting him in a lie.

I squeezed my way through the hole and stood back to make room for Ace, who slid through and reached back for a moment. I guess he was moving the rock back into place, but I wasn't about to ask, because the voices we'd heard coming toward us had gotten louder. Patch was standing at one end of the camp and beckoning us to follow her. We did.

My heart was still racing madly as we wove our way through the winding paths and I couldn't help but feel claustrophobia setting in. How on earth were we going to find our way out? No one was stopping to think about where we were going. What if we got lost down here? What if those people caught up to us? How many of them were there anyway? I hadn't had a chance to look around the camp before we'd left.

Part of me was still convinced it was part of the joke, while another part of me was scared beyond all comprehension. What if they had guns? What if they were fugitives, hiding in a cave to escape police? What if there was no way out aside from the way we'd come in?

"Patch," I asked, "Do you have any idea where we're going in here?"

"Not really," she answered, "I'm just following their footprints," she pointed her flashlight ahead of her and I saw a line of prints in the dirt.

That kind of made me feel better, but kind of made me feel worse. What if they were waiting for us at the end? What if this was just a big loop that would take us back to where we were?

"Patch, hold on," Ace spoke up from behind us, and we all moved out of the way so he could come to the front. "I think we're okay to stop for a moment and think about this. I just followed the trail back a bit to see if anyone was coming, but there was nothing. I couldn't even hear anyone coming. I don't think we were spotted."

When had he gone back? And why hadn't he told us he was going back? How did he know the way?

"Okay, what should we do? Do we keep following this thing? What if there's no exit," she asked in a rush, still clearly spooked. That in itself was eerie.

"We don't really have a choice; we have to keep following this path. It'll come out somewhere eventually." He looked ahead, shining his light further down the tunnel. "Do you want to keep leading or should I?"

"No I'll do it, I like the idea of you being at the back better, in case someone does come up behind us. I'll be careful," she told him, and they nodded to each other before Patch held up her flashlight and started off again. I grabbed Ace's arm as he was about to pass me and locked my gaze on his eyes.

"This better not be a joke," was all I said before letting go and following Patch. I didn't look back at him.

We'd been wandering through the winding tunnel for what felt like hours, though in reality it was only ten minutes. Patch seemed to have calmed down a bit after talking to Ace, though I still thought that maybe it was all an act. I wouldn't put it past them. We came to a fork in the path, and Patch stopped, looking both ways. She waited for Ace to join her.

"Footsteps go right, what do you think?" She asked him, shining her flashlight down both paths. This decision could be the most important one they make.

"I don't know," he answered, looking around. "I've been checking my compass for the past little while. We're been travelling in a southwest direction on this path, and if we want to get back to the opening I think we'd have to go north."

"Which direction is north?" Patch asked, glancing left and right again.

"Right, of course. Whoever's in here must have followed the path back to the cavern. But just because it's the way out, it doesn't mean it's the way we should go." He looked down the path to the left, while I tried to keep my heart from hammering its way out of my chest.

"Is there another way out of the cave?" Teddy asked, standing on the path and looking down both ways.

"No idea," Ace answered, "It's not charted, remember?"

"Then we should go right," Melody spoke up. "What if there is no other exit, and we just get lost or stuck in the cave? What if those people are following us, and they follow us the other way and it's just a dead end?"

Everyone looked at her, before looking at Ace. He was still staring at his compass. "Right it is, then. We need to be quiet though, in case they are waiting. I'll lead this time. Teddy, you and Patch cover the back, make sure no one comes up behind us." He hung the compass around his neck and aimed his flashlight at the ground. "Keep your lights low, guys. Don't flash them all over the place any more. And try not to talk if you don't have to."

I looked from Ace to Melody and Bon Bon, who were both wearing masks of fear. They were scared in a way that you couldn't fake, and I felt horrible because there was nothing I could do.

I felt just as afraid.

We were walking slower this time, staying a few paces behind Ace, who was scouting quietly ahead of us. It was nerve wracking to say the least, and I couldn't help but think that maybe this wasn't a joke any more. At least not this part of it. I still think it had started out as a joke, though, and my anger toward Ace is probably what kept me from freaking out too much.

I was walking second, with the girls just behind me. I could hear Patch and Teddy's shuffling feet behind the girls, but I couldn't bring myself to look back at them. Maybe it was because I didn't want to see if they were scared; maybe it was because I didn't want them to see that I was scared.

Just then Ace was back in front of me, holding up his hand and telling us all to stop. My stomach clenched in anticipation – was there someone ahead, or were we finally back where we'd come from? I didn't recognize a thing.

"We're back at the cavern," Ace explained in low tones, "I'm going ahead to scout out the area, see if anyone is around. You guys stay here, and if you hear me yell, go back the other way. Okay?" His eyes were on Teddy and Patch, and even though I didn't want the responsibility of making that kind of decision, I still felt gypped. He didn't trust me to make choices for the group.

They nodded and suddenly Ace was off again, his flashlight turned off. We all stood together by the wall, listening intently for any sounds. I thought I could hear him walking, but maybe it was someone else? I couldn't even tell which direction it came from, because everything echoed so much. This had been such a stupid decision! Why had I let him manipulate me into following him? What was my problem?

I decided then that as soon as we were out of here that was it – no more stupid adventures. No more letting anyone walk all over me. This was it. I was done.

Just then we heard a scuffle from ahead, and I held my breath, my heart hammering so loud I was sure everyone could hear it. He told us to wait for him to yell, but what if someone had hit him from behind and knocked him out? What if they were closing in on us right now, as we stood here waiting?

Just as I was about to suggest that someone go ahead to check we heard Ace yell loud and clear.

"Let go of me!"

I looked at Teddy, whose mouth was wide open in shock. What should we do? He told us to run, but how could we leave him?

"Guys, come on!" Patch whispered, grabbing Melody's arm and tugging her. "We have to move!"

"We can't just leave him Patch!" Teddy said, though he made no move toward the cavern.

"We can't stay here! We need to get somewhere safer and regroup! Come on!" She started running down the path and Melody and Bon Bon were following her, and as I looked at Teddy I made my decision. Even though I hated the thought of leaving Ace to whatever was happening to him, I couldn't let the girls run off by themselves.

A second later and I heard Teddy following behind me, but as I looked back my chest felt like it was going to explode because I saw the shadow of a man coming around the bend where the cavern entrance was. We had nowhere to hide, and we were going to be spotted.

"Hey! Who the fuck are you? Come back here!"

The voice shouted at us and I didn't look back as I sprinted forward toward the group, so scared I nearly lost my grip on reality. But just as we were about to enter the path to the left Patch let out an ear shattering scream.

They'd found us. We'd run right into their trap, and there was no one around to help us.