I'm finally back from the dead! And before you all murder me for not updating sooner, I want to go ahead and say thank you for all of your patience! Writing this chapter has led to more than one sleepless night for me because I wanted it to be prefect! I am hoping and praying that you all think so! Enjoy!

"I've been running through the jungle

I've been running with wolves

I've been down the darkest alleys

Saw the dark side of the moon

"...To get to you"

-Lyrics by Selena Gomez

It is already dark outside, the street dotted with dim lights all the way down the block. The dark gray clouds curtaining the sky foreshadowed another downpour later this evening. But I could care less about the impending storm or the distant crackling of thunder, and more about how ridiculously out of shape I am. I have to sprint as hard as I possibly can just to keep a small blur of glowing blue light in my sights down the sidewalk.

Let's hope no one gets too curious when they see a girl chasing after a trail of blue light flying down the streets.

"Banter, please slow down! I can't fly you dumdum!"

Without warning and disregarding any risk of being seen, Banter flies right out of the house. I barely have time to sling my backpack onto my shoulder and follow him before he is completely out of sight.

A tiny raindrop falls on my cheek. Then another. And another, but it is the least of my concerns. It would be raining like crazy soon, but I'll finally figure out what it is that Banter wants me to see. Hopefully, it will help me figure out where Eli went.

Whatever it is that Banter is looking for must be important. I've never seen him so excited. But...this whole thing may not have anything to with Eli, or where he is. But the way he reacted when I showed him the photo and the way he immediately flew out of the house in such a hurry? He was so happy.

But it could be nothing. Why give this a second thought? I could very well be running towards a dead end, just like all the other times I ever tried to figure out where he went. Maybe he never left a trace of where he went because he didn't want me to find him. The thought had crossed my mind before, but I refused to believe that our friendship really didn't mean anything to him. It must have meant something to him.

The possibility still stands. I could just be kidding myself over a broken heart and a lost friendship.

I can see the streetlight in front of Eli's house through the mist just up ahead.

I have to see for myself, if this is real or not. If there is even a chance...I. Will. Take. It.

"So, how was siminar?"

"Eh, not really the kind of collaborative activity that I typically enjoy."

"Well, what kind do you enjoy?"

"Preferably, I would choose projects that would involve partnerships. You know, if they are good partners that don't shove all the work on you. It's just easier to divide up the work that way and you don't exactly have to be put on the spot all alone when you present it."

The smirk Eli flashes in my way hints that he is thinking about something devious.

I punch him in the arm. "Oh, wipe that stupid grin off your face Eli!"

"Oww. Take it easy, Spitfire," He says with a wounded look, rubbing his shoulder.

"Eli?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Spitfire?" He looks at me almost dumbfounded. "Because you don't let me get away with anything. And you don't resist biting my head off whenever I provoke you? If nothing else, your fists pack a punch and I've got the bruises to prove it."

"I'm glad you noticed," I smiled proudly, "Since I hadn't been doing so well in gym first semester, I've been running through a series of drills with the punching bag since the beginning of second semester, so how could I not get stronger? As a bonus, I'll be prepared if Lindsey or her minions decide to get violent."

"Nice job." Eli grinned again, actually looking at me like he was impressed. I can feel the heat rising into my cheeks, and I look away from him. Eli is really the only boy that I know of that could make me blush. Rarely have I heard compliments from him that didn't sound exaggerated, like he was joking with me.

"You really think so?"

"Sure. Besides I was starting to get a little bored overlapping you over and over."

And just like that, he opens his mouth and soils the moment!

"Shut up Eli."

"Hey wait up Kida."

I run around the side of the house and climb in through the regularly cracked window, just as a boom of thunder shakes the ground. It is so pitch black inside, I could hardly find the latch to lock the window. I plop backwards onto couch, out of breath from running all the way here.

The rain has already started, pelting the windows and clattering onto the roof.

If Banter stranded me in Eli's house in this rain and gets me yelled out by my parents for disappearing in the middle of a storm for a dead end, I will have words for that little slug.

"Banter?" I whisper.

No answer.

If I yell, I am bound to attract too much attention to a house that is supposed to be abandoned. Not that anyone could really hear me over the rain outside. Still, I should keep my voice down.

"Banter?" After checking to make sure the window behind me is closed, I try again a little louder. "Where did you go?"

I almost jump at the familiar distant sound of Banter's chirp upstairs. Even though I know that it is Eli's house, the dark and the outside lights casting shadows on the walls sombined with the acoustics made the whole atmosphere emit a rather eerie aura. The rain falls rather dramatically outside, and the rumble of lightening and thunder only adds to the creepiness. I guess it serves me right for reading so many Stephen King novels.

I hurry up the stairs. Banter sits right in front of Eli's bedroom door, smiling and zipping around with his glowing wings when he sees me coming up the stairs.

"Geez, Banter! You don't think you could slow down just a little bit?"

He squeaks rather playfully like he enjoyed irritating me, before crawling under the door.

Of all the rooms in the house, I could never bring myself to go into his room. It seemed rather inappropriate and just brought back sad memories. Besides, it just felt wrong—like desecrating a grave.

My stuffed backpack slides off my shoulders. I know the door isn't locked because I tried to open it once before. It opened easily on squeaky hinges.

Everything was exactly the same as before, and coated in a thick layer of dust. But my attention was on the rug in front of the door that was moving around.

"Banter," I demanded, "if you dragged me here in the middle of the night for nothing-"

Banter squealed impatiently as he peeked out from under the rug. I turned the rug over, feeling around the space beneath it. My phone gave off a dim blue glow, but enough for me to see...cracks?

I feel along the floor with my fingers, tracing straight cracks in the floor in a rectangular shape with the inside lower than the floor on the outside. Feeling all around the surface, my forefinger touches a small fissure running along the bottom on the inside of the cracks.

Instantly, the board rolls away, revealing a white box with a star-shaped "S" symbol on the cover.

"For the 'S' in 'Shane,' I guess?"

Pulling both sides of the box apart, inside was a folded up piece of paper.

A letter.

"What's up Kida?" Eli says, jogging to my side with his normal cheery smile and offers me his usual fist bump. I shrug as I hug my books tighter to my chest so I do not drop them.

"Hey Eli. Not much here, just finished Creative Writing. Though I really wanted to tell you that I aced my descriptive writing assignment."

"Well of course you did." Eli chortled as he hopped on top of one of the small brick walls and swung around the trunk of a tree inside the planter. "That's no shocker, you were made for that class."

I give him my best confident pose. "What can I say? I've got the chops for it."

Six years ago, this kind of jubilant behavior would have annoyed me to no end. Mostly because it was the common kind of behavior that the queen bees who dominated the social food chain would often use to get attention But it was an annoyance I had all but completely forgotten about since I became friends with Eli. It felt so strange at first, having someone to talk to after being locked away behind my own walls for so long. I don't feel awkward or snubbed when I'm with him. It's never a dull moment. I actually look forward to school now instead of dreading it.

It is such an amazing feeling, to not feel so alone anymore. I don't know what I would do it I went back to being that way again.

"Did you get my message that I left for you? It didn't fall off and end up in the pine needles again, did it?"

"Yeah, I didn't have much time to read it though. Sadly, um..." Eli mumbled looking at the ground, a rarity to be seen unless the topic of conversation was about his parents or something else especially personal. Almost in an instant, my heart dropped to rock bottom. "I've got some bad news. I'll be out of town on a trip next week and won't be able to come to the party. It was planned about 3 years in advance."

All of the sudden, my stomach feels like someone is squeezing it like a stress ball. My own breathing starts feels somewhat labored. He did plan this way ahead of time for his birthday. It isn't like he intentionally planned it when I would be celebrating my birthday. And as if I haven't proven enough about how much of a wuss I am, I couldn't even muster the gall to ask him to come myself. Before I can process what is happening, I can already feel tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. Like a slap in the face, I feel the fierce urge to get away to somewhere where he can't see me crying. I sniffed them back and put my best fake smile. "Oh no, that's alright, I understand," is all I can get out!

As I turn to leave, a hand firmly grips my shoulder.I want to wrench away from him and run away. That's what the old me would have done. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how much more stronger he had gotten since we became friends.

His grip slightly tightens on my shoulder, as if he anticipated my actions. "Hey wait, Kida? Please don't run away. I know you're sad, but please hear me out."

All my emotionally walls instantly close up around me. All my insides feel like someone punched me in the gut. "It's alright Eli. I'm okay."

"No you're not. I know you too well to not tell that you're upset. You don't have to be ashamed of admitting how you really feel Kida."

The old me would turn and run at the first sign of confrontation. Why doesn't he just let me go? Why does this matter so him so much? If he thinks that he's going to manipulate me into forgiving him, he can forget it. "I'm fine," I hiss through my teeth.

His concerned expression turns to a stern frown as his free hand grabs my other shoulder, blocking any means of escaping him. "You're upset. Tell me that you are upset."

Disappointment and embarrassment gnaw at my insides and I can't bring myself to look him in the face. I shake my head and turn away. "Fine. Maybe I'm disappointed. I was hoping you would come. There, I said it. Happy now?"

His fingers grip the shoulder part of my sweater and I can feel him lean closer to me. I can see the corners of his mouth are turned up in a half-smile, but I avert my eyes from his. I am so afraid of what will happen next, but my feet feel glued to the ground. My hands fly up to my face to cover my eyes and hide a few tears that managed to escape my eyes.

"How hard was that? Do you still not trust me enough to tell me how you're feeling Kida?"

I still don't say anything.

"Please Kida, look at me."

I turn my face towards him, my eyes shut tightly. If I open them, the tears will start and I won't be able to stop them. "I do trust you Eli. It's because I trust you and because you are my friend that I don't want you to know my feelings. They're my burden to bear, not yours."

"But isn't that what that makes you human?"

"What?"

"Listen to me. I understand. I understand why you act like this and box yourself in your own shell. You feel like if you show weakness, people will take advantage of you. But you aren't made of stone, no matter how much you pretend that you are. Am I still that shallow boy you thought would embarrass and ridicule you, and then betray you at the earliest opportunity?"

"You idiot," I scoff, and draw deep breath, "No, you're not."

Both of his hands are on my shoulders. "Kida, look at me...please?"

Eli is the first boy to really look me in the eyes when he is talking to me. He doesn't take advantage of me and enjoys my company, no matter how much of a pain I am towards him. Eli actually likes me for me. He doesn't take advantage of me or embarrass me, and I know in my heart that he values our friendship. He genuinely cares for me.

My eyes sluggishly open, and true to form, tears begin to fall from my eyes and start streaming down my cheeks. I cannot tell if this sense of warmth is from his hand or just embarrassment from letting him see me like this.

His expression softens. Dad-gum, that smile of his!

He raises his hand up to the side of my face and wipes my stray tears away with his thumb. My heart is pounding so fast, why the heck do I feel this way?

"Come on Kida, don't cry, please?"

His grip on my shirt loosens with a deep sigh. Without any warning, they snake around my shoulders and back, pulling me towards him.

I'm completely breathless.

What is he doing? This is the first time that Eli has ever hugged me like this before. He's wrapped his arm over my shoulders before in a friendly fashion a few times before, but I've never been this close to him before. It is such foreign in feeling, but not an unwelcome one.

"Eli," I whisper, "What are you doing?"

"Betraying one another is not what real friends do. We're friends, aren't we Kida?"

Is he joking with me? "What kind of a question is that? Of course we are."

"Friends share each others burdens, no matter how difficult they are. You don't have to hide your feelings from me. If your sad, just say it."

Why do I feel this way? If I'm going to be honest, I'm so tired of hiding behind walls and secluding myself in a box to keep my feelings and emotions locked away. This whole friend thing is so new to me. If I keep this whole charade up, then I may miss the opportunities to meet other friends. Friends like Eli.

Determined to hide my face and feel a little less awkward, my hands slide up around his back and my head presses against his chest.

I notice a small tear sliding down the side of my face. But I'm not sad. I'm so happy!

"Jerk," I mutter, my voice muffled in the crook of his jacket.

I can tell he's smiling. He pulls me even closer, tucking my head under his chin.

"There's my Spitfire."

I'm not sure how long it was that we stayed like that and I can tell that there were a few stares on us, but for once I really didn't care. I want have stay this way a little longer, but the school bell just HAS to intervene.

Eli pulls away from me and slides his book bag off his shoulder. "Well, now that we finally got that out of the way, I can finally give you this."

He hurriedly fumbles through his book bag and pulls out a small box. "Since I won't be able to come to your birthday, I thought that I would go ahead and give it to you."

He actually got me a gift! "Thank you Eli. Thank you so much."

"Go ahead and open it before you die of excitement." He almost seems more excited than I am!

In the middle of the box is a necklace with the letter K and two small charms: a silver roller blade and an open book with a green cover.

"I love it Eli! Thank you!" I throw my arms around his neck. It was so sweet of him to go out of his way to get me something so original and so unique.

"I'm so glad you like it."

Then I remember that the bell rang just a minute ago. "Come on. We're going to be late to physics."

In the dim light, it reads...

Dear Eli,

If you're reading this, it means I've fallen protecting Slugterra. It's one of the risks of being a Shane, a risk you'll one day face yourself if you decide to follow in my footsteps. A long line of Shanes has made the trip down to Slugterra. If you do choose to go, remember our deal. Not until you're fifteen, son.

This was written by Eli's dad! He never really mentioned that much about his dad. He would go for hours about his mother, but I rarely I've heard even a remote mention of his father. I wonder how young Eli was when he heard about...

"But, this doesn't make any sense. The writing looks like Eli's handwriting. He never wrote so….formally. At least, not that I ever saw the entire time I knew him."

So Eli's father was the protector of this Slugterra place, and probably every other one of his ancestors. Sure seems like an enormous privilege to be a 'Shane.'

"Banter, is that where you came from? Slugterra? Is that your home?"

Banter fluttered from his place on the floor by the opening and alighted on top of my knee. Even though he cannot directly answer me in english, I can tell when he looks at me and understands what I am saying. His head sags and he gives me two slow nods, gravity evident in his face. It is probably the first time that I've ever seen him really look sad after I first found him. I can only assume that he's telling me that really misses his home, which makes me wonder how long he's been here in Eli's house hiding from hungry rats and waiting to go home.

I've told you a lot about my adventures in Slugterra, and you'll have plenty of your own. Getting down there is the easy part, but getting back will be a lot harder for you. If you choose to go, it will be a one way trip before you learn the secret of how to get back home. I know we always talked about making your first trip on the ground together, but you'll have to do this one on your own. I know I've told you a lot about Slugterra, but it only scratches the surface of what you'll see. You'll be traveling over one hundred miles beneath the surface of the earth to place that only a handful of topsiders have ever seen.

Wow, so this where you've been Eli.

But this doesn't make any sense.

If this is Eli's handwriting, then why was this written to Eli from his father? The paper isn't even that old. If this was written for Eli, long before he turned fifteen, it would me musty, old, or even be slightly crumpled at the edges. This message is written on plain white notebook paper, and it...really looks fairly new.

If I were Eli with a list of important directions from my father, wouldn't I have taken this with me? Everytime Eli ever had a list for anything, he would keep it with him at all times.

I pull out my phone, and have to squint when the blinding light stings my eyes. Shining the light on the paper to look closer at it, there is something scribbled on the very bottom right hand corner of the page.

When you reach Slugterra, there will be a Shane hide-out a few hundred yards from the Drop. Inside you'll find all the gear you'll need to keep the peace. Your own Mecca beast will be waiting for you in the service bay. Happy Birthday son!

Is that….is this really?

In the bottom corner of the letter is a sketch...a sketch of a necklace with a "K" charm.

I can feel my tears falling soundlessly and soaking into my jeans. Banter chirps and I notice that he is looking up at me with a face full of concern. I start sniveling and drawing deep breaths.

I offer him a small smile. In a little flicker of light, Banter flitters onto my shoulder and nestles into the crook of my neck, cooing softly.

Eli really did intend for me to find this letter, without a doubt. I feel a little closer to him, having found the means to find him. I have to find him, and take Banter home!

"I'm alright Banter," I say wiping my eyes on my sleeve,"In fact, I'm better than alright! Enough moping around. Let's go find Eli."

Banter flutters into the air with a happy chirp, swooping downwards and grabbing the letter out of my hands before he zips out of sight!

I take the stairs two at the time! Banter flies erratically around the unlocked window with the folded letter between his teeth. The downpour has now quieted to a steady shower, the remains of the storm flowing in large streams and making ankle-deep puddles alongside the road.

I shove my hood over my head and the light rain beats against my back as I follow Banter through the shower.

He stops short in the middle of the street, above a manhole cover.

"Figures. If it's near the center of the earth, the only way to get there is down."

My fingers hook into the groves of the cover and slowly but carefully, I lift the cover off. Surprisingly it's lighter than I thought. A wave of the sewer stench wafts past my nose and my nostrils voluntarily close. Once inside, I break out my flashlight. I'm praying that 'Slugterra' won't smell like this nasewer water.

I can easily see Banter hovering in the air a few feet away from me, his flapping blue wings illuminating a very bright green glow in the pitch dark tunnel ahead and making eerie shadows dance wildly on the sewer walls. His adorable little chirp echoes loudly in the Right as I catch up to him, he flies further into the tunnel.

I can easily get lost down here. Hopefully, Banter knows the right way. He certainly has a better idea than me. Yet, I can't help but think he's just having fun running away from me while I chase him.

Before Banter can disappear, I follow him down the tunnel to the right. His light glows brighter, making it hard to lose track of him.

"You sure are demanding. Once we knock out this section, we'll call is quits for a while. Sound good?"

Banter glances behind at me as he speeds up, fluttering into the tunnel to the left. Then again, he may just be very excited about finally go home.

"Good luck in First Period. Stay out of trouble Spitfire."

He feels so close! It may just be my own excitement, but I almost feel like he is right around the corner.

Down another row of corridors.

"You're going to stand there and tell me honestly that that wasn't fun?"

Into the right hallway.

"I'm so glad you like it."

"Banter, slow down." I finally catch up to him, a little embarrassed that I was already trying to catch my breath after a very short sprint," Aghh. If Eli was here right now, he would be laughing his head off after all that big talk I gave him about how much more practice I'd been doing in gym."

Finally, the other tunnels come to a stop. The walls are solid slabs of concrete on all sides of the corridor. Shining the flashlight onto the stone face, the faint light illuminates a black button on the stone coated in dust.

"The same symbol on the case that letter was in! You did it Banter! Good job!"

He pipes happily and perched on my shoulder, his light glowing brighter than ever! He hops up and down, fluttering his little wings like he can't stand to wait any longer!

An assortment of whirls and whizzes come from the other side of the wall as it splits in two, revealing an empty room aside from a large hole in the ground.

I examine the hole, and I can almost guess that there is something that used to be on top of it, which Eli must have used to make the trip down.

Eli is just minutes away, but I've hit another snag!

"Banter, this makes no sense. How am I supposed to get down there?"

Banter trills and hovers above the opening.

"I mean besides jumping Banter! I'm not jumping down a hole that I am almost positive is bottomless."

He squeals irritably, gesturing to the large hole in the floor. He zips around me and then hovers over the opening again, holding something in his mouth. When I feel around in the pockets of my jacket, I realize what I am missing.

"Banter! Give that back!"

I am panicking! The photo hangs tediously from the mischievous slug's teeth, poised to drop the only reminder of my parents I have into the abyss right below him! He squints at me in the

"Banter, please don't! That picture is as precious to me as your wings. Please give it back. Please?"

Banter, crooning softly, alights on the very edge of the hole and lays the picture down beside him.

If Eli really sent Banter here to find me and bring me to Slugterra, he must have put his trust into him that he would find me. I'll just have to trust him.

I draw deep breaths before joining him, kneeling down to eye level with him. "Alright Banter, but are you sure this is the only way down?"

He gives me an "obvious" look.

"Just checking. I guess the only way is down," I say, staring down the hole which looked totally bottomless, "I'm not going to get there by just staring at it. Guess there is no turning back."

There are few things that I have down that are totally crazy, but I think this one tops all of them.

Enough hesitating.

With one last silent prayer that I wasn't falling to my death, I lean forward into a free fall

I know you guys must hate for taking so longer to update...and once again ending with yet another cliffhanger! But I promise ya'll that I am not trolling you! I wanted to show a little more of Kida's background show through before she dives into the World Beneath Our Feet. College has started again and will require most of my attention. However, I will use whatever time I have to pour into this story! A HUGE Kudos to all you guys again for being so patient! A special thank you to my readers...

Alexandriasutherland98

Devildog452

LegionnaireBlaze

Miraculous Pink Ninja

And last but not least…Jinxx M.

Another Adventure awaits in the World Beneath Our Feet next chapter! See you guys soon!