Here is the next chapter! Sorry it took so long.

EMMA

The last test had left everyone silent and shaken. None of us shared the experience we each individually endured, but merely continued walking down the tunnel avoiding eye contact. I glanced at Anik who was once again in tiger form and wondered his question was – and more importantly what his answer had been. I knew that once having found the prophecy and leaving the cave we would talk about it. Just not here.

Suddenly I caught Edison looking at me and I gave him a half smile. His green eyes sparked before turning away. Yes! Progress! He had actually looked at me, and somewhat acknowledged I existed. Feeling slightly cheerier, I followed the two tigers further and further down the tunnel, becoming more and more apprehensive about the next test. We had crossed off intelligence and honesty, which meant we had courage, selflessness, trust and –

There was a deep rumble that echoed throughout the tunnel and I froze, waiting for something to happen. I glanced up and noticed a thin crack forming in the ceiling. I narrowed my eyes, staring at it quizzically. Anik followed my gaze and had enough time to yell 'RUN!' before many more cracks appeared – forming a spider web – and the roof of the tunnel collapsed.

I dived to the side, narrowly avoiding a massive chunk of rock that smashed to the ground. Dust and dirt arose into the air and I coughed, squeezing my eyes shut as I curled into a ball.

I waited for about thirty seconds before opening my eyes to see the dust had settled and an immense pile of rock and rubble blocked the path that led to further into the tunnel. That was when I realised that I couldn't see Anik and Edison.

'Hey!' I yelled frantically, grabbing large pieces of rock and tossing them to the side. 'Anik! Can you hear me? Edison!'

'Emma?' I heard faintly. It was Anik. 'Are you all right?' I breathed a sigh of relief.

'Yeah. Is Edison with you?' There was a small silence.

'I have no idea,' Anik replied, coughing a little. 'It is pitch black. I can't see a thing. Do you have the torch?'

I blinked. I hadn't even thought of why I could see. The source of my light was coming from my right, under a small pile of rocks. I pushed them aside and grabbed the torch that had fallen out of my hands when the ceiling had collapsed.

'Yeah,' I replied, holding the torch up to further inspect the pile of rubble. 'What do we do now?'

'I guess we just start shifting the rocks – Hey! I found Edison! - I just stepped on him. I – I think he is unconscious.' There was a pause. 'He is breathing fine and doesn't seem to be injured.' I could hear the relief in Anik's voice, and I relaxed as well. 'I'm going to start clearing this rubble. I don't want to be separated if this is part of another test,' Anik added. I nodded and hefted another big rock in the pile and shoved it to one side. That was when I noticed a silver object out of the corner of my eye. Frowning, I stood up and moved over to my left, where a small dagger lay abandoned in the dirt. I picked it up and examined it closely. How did a knife –

Suddenly I stiffened and spun around. Footsteps. I could hear footsteps. I swung my torch around blindly, shining it into the darkness of the tunnel where we had come from. The footsteps were getting closer, but they appeared light, as if the person was small.

'Hey Anik?' I called uneasily. 'I think-'

Then someone stepped into the torch light, making the blood drain from my face. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the approaching figure.

'A-Alyss? How-?' I didn't stop to think how impossible it was that my little sister was standing in front of me. She was supposed to be thousands of miles away in Oregon, not India - let alone this cave. But I didn't think this because I was so overwhelmed with how much I had missed her. My eyes started filling with tears and I was so happy to see my little sister that I didn't even realise she was holding a dagger until it was pressed to my throat.

'Ally? Alyss what are you doing?' Suddenly the impossibility of the situation crashed on me. How was she here? Why was she here? And why was she holding a knife to my throat? I stepped back and Alyss pressed forward, the knife-point resting on my clavicle.

'Wow. Hey, hey, Alyss it's me,' I insisted. 'Your sister. Emma. Just – just put the knife down, okay?' My shoe hit a rock and my backpack that was still fastened on my shoulders hit the pile of rubble behind me. I saw Alyss' clenched jaw and blank expression and was utterly confused. But I couldn't afford to figure this out now. My little sister was about to kill me.

I leapt to the side and brandished my similar dagger, waving it in front of me. Alyss didn't back down. She advanced slowly, her own weapon raised. It just looked so wrong. My innocent, smiling sister, now with a knife in her hand. She was so much smaller than me; she barely came up to mu elbows. I knew I could overpower her quickly, but I couldn't. There was no way I would harm her.

Alyss lunged and I stumbled backwards in surprise. Her dagger missed my chest by inches. She turned to face me again, striking forward. I dodged the knife again, and attempted to make a run for it back down the tunnel, but Alyss stepped in my way.

'Listen,' I pleaded. 'You don't know what you are doing!' Alyss lunged again and continued to attack me. I raised my own weapon in defence, attempting to strike the dagger from her hands. Alyss seemed to know that she wasn't getting anywhere. Instead of lashing out with her knife she charged at me, knocking me off my feet so I crashed into the rubble. I groaned and suddenly she was on top of me, her knife once again resting on my throat. I widened my eyes and bucked, throwing her small frame off me. I scrambled to me feet, grabbed my own dagger and reversed the previous position. Now I was leaning over her, my knife at her throat. We were both breathing hard, and I gazed into her hazel-coloured eyes I had seen so many times before. I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew it was either her, or me. And I was not going to kill my sister.

I let my knife drop from Alyss' throat, surrendering. I would rather die than harm her. I barely saw the flash of steel before pain erupted from my stomach. I glanced down and saw blood quickly seeping through my clothes, Alyss' dagger protruding from my torso.

ANIK

I opened my eyes to nothing but darkness. I could hear smaller rocks tumble down the pile of dirt and rubble. I breathed deeply and instantly began coughing as I inhaled the falling dust.

'Alyss?' I croaked, scrambling to my feet. I reached out and touched a crumbling piece of rock. A cave-in. Great.

'Hey!' I heard faintly. It was Emma. I breathed a sigh of relief. 'Anik!' She yelled. 'Can you hear me? Edison!'

'Emma?' I replied, feeling a sense of dread when I realised she was on the other side of the cave-in. 'Are you alright?'

'Yeah,' came the reply and I immediately relaxed. 'Is Edison with you?'

'I have no idea,' I answered, still coughing. 'It is pitch black. I can't see a thing. Do you have the torch?' There was a slight pause.

'Yeah. What do we do now?'

I had been blindly searching the ground for any sign of Edison, but I realised that if this was another test, then finding Emma was the most important thing. 'I guess we just start shifting the rocks-' I stepped on something that gave a loud crack. I bent down and grabbed it, at the same time realising it was Edison's arm. 'Hey! I found Edison! - I just stepped on him. I – I think he is unconscious.' In the dark I felt up his arm to his neck, where I checked his pulse. It was strong and steady. Sighing in relief I bent my head over his mouth and tilted my head, listening for his breath. It was slightly raspy, but otherwise normal. 'He is breathing fine and doesn't seem to be injured.' I grabbed Edison's arm and dragged him away from the pile of rubble so I wouldn't dump a rock on him accidentally.

'I'm going to start clearing this rubble.' I called out to Emma and lifted a big rock, placing it somewhere to my right. 'I don't want to be separated if this is part of another test.' I began the slow and tedious process of lifting rock after rock, gradually clearing the mass of rock and rubble. I heard Emma's faint voice, and paused, not understanding what she was saying.

'…Don't know what you're doing!' I heard and frowned.

'Emma? Are you okay?' I asked, confused. There was no reply and I began to shove the rocks away faster. Had Emma encountered someone on the other side of the cave-in? Was this part of the third test?

'Emma!' I yelled, but there was no reply. I anxiously tore through the rubble, but I seemed to be getting nowhere. If only I had a torch. After a few moments of desperate heaving and shoving, I saw a faint light. I breathed a sigh of relief, and with renewed energy continued to make the gap bigger until it was wide enough for me to crawl through. When I emerged on the other side of the cave-in I yelled in horror; I had just come through to see a small figure drive a dagger into Emma's stomach.

'NOOOOO!' I shouted and tumbled out of the gap in the rubble. I charged at the person who let go of the knife's handle as Emma slumped backwards. I crashed into the stranger whom I absently realised was a young girl, sending her sprawling to the ground. 'What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!' I faced the attacker, my voice thunderous and livid. She turned to face me and my jaw slackened. Alyss, Emma's younger sister stood in front of me. 'Impossible,' I breathed and before my eyes, Alyss seemed to fade. I lunged forward but my hands touched nothing but air.

'Anik,' came a raspy voice. I spun around to see Emma lying limply on the ground, her bloody hand wrapped around her wound. I rushed to her side, my heart slowly shattering into a thousand pieces.

'No no no no no no,' I muttered, gazing helplessly at the mess before me. There was blood seeping from the wound, the dagger still embedded in her body. I suddenly noticed Emma was still wearing her backpack.

'Okay,' I murmured, gently brushing hair out of Emma's face. 'There is first-aid in the backpack, but you're going to have to sit up.' Emma grimaced but nodded bravely. I slipped my arm around her shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position.

Emma screamed in pain.

I gritted my teeth and removed the backpack from her shoulders before laying her back down on the hard floor. Emma let out a hiss and groaned.

'I know, I know I'm sorry,' I muttered, hastily ripping open the zippers and tugging out the first-aid kit. I pulled out a heap of bandages, a needle and thread.

'Emma,' I asked, staring into her eyes that were spilling tears. 'Do you trust me?' She did not hesitate before nodding her head. 'You know I want to be a doctor and know what I am doing, right?' She nodded again. I exhaled a deep breath and locked my jaw. 'Good,' I said grimly. 'Because I am going to have to give you stitches.'

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