The Cave

“Are you ready yet?” Amelia asked me.

“Give me a moment; I’m almost done with my sunscreen.”

“Fineee, but hurry up!”

It was the first week of summer vacation. Having finished our junior year of high school, Amelia and I set out to explore the surrounding woods in our hometown. We had been best friends ever since kindergarten. Since then, we’ve stuck together like two peas in a pod. Of course, it wasn’t perfect at times, especially given our differences.

“Charlotte, what’s taking you so long? You’ve been in that bathroom for like thirty minutes!” Amelia complained while knocking.

Finishing up, I opened the door to find her with her arms crossed as she shifted weight from side to side.

“Yeesh! Took you long enough!”

“Sorry, I wanted to make sure that I’m protected from the sun.”

“From the sun? Aw, you worry too much about your skin. You’re pale enough as is; a tan won’t kill you!”

“Let’s just move on. Besides, I thought you were going to wait at the kitchen table while my mom cooked us breakfast.”

“About that; I helped her with the cooking. Everything’s already finished, so let’s eat now!”

“You can cook?” I said as I scratched my head. “Since when?”

“Since last month, to be exact! Do let me know what you think about it.”

“That isn’t really ‘exact’, but sure, I’ll let you know.”

A handful of minutes later, we were enjoying a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, sausages, and a heaping of fruit. While the eggs were a tad bit overdone, they were still delicious and well-seasoned with a hint of spice.

“How are you feeling, Charlotte? Are you excited to go outside?” Mom asked me.

“I guess…”

“Well, it’s better than staying in your room all day long playing video games.”

“Mom, I don’t just play games; I also read books and write.”

“Oh? What do you write then? Care to share with me?”

“N—Never mind! Amelia, let’s go now. Bye Mom!”

“Goodbye and have fun, you two! Make sure to come back before it gets dark, and if you need anything, give me a call.”

Wolfing down the last of my meal, I stepped outside before Amelia joined me shortly thereafter with a smirk on her face.

“Did you find it funny?” I questioned Amelia as I readied one of my family’s cars.

“Not in the way you think. It was a cute conversation between you two. That’s all.”

“Cute?”

She nodded, then motioned for me to follow her to the side of the house. Parked on the grass adjacent to the fencing was her bicycle.

“There’s no way I’m getting on with you. I mean, you don’t even have a spare helmet for me. Let’s just take my car instead.”

“Nope, you gotta connect with nature! All you have to do is hold on and carry our bags. Even for someone like you, that shouldn’t be too difficult, no?”

“Fine… We’ll have it your way.”

With a smile, Amelia pedaled us away.

* * *

After arriving at the Grand Ledge Park, we began our trip with casual walks through the designated trails. While I was more than content with this, there was a spark in Amelia’s eye, one that I knew all too well.

“Do you see that path through the trees on our left? There’s an old cave that I’ve been meaning to explore. If we take the path and go past the cliffs and rock edges, we’ll stumble upon it in no time at all!”

“Isn’t that dangerous? What if we get lost or if an animal attacks us?” I mumbled before taking a sip of water to clear my throat.

“Pfft, relax, Charlotte! Most animals are more scared of humans than we are of them, and yes, that applies to the black bears here. Plus, I know this area like the back of my hand, so we aren’t ever getting lost.”

“Ok, we can do it then.”

Putting aside my worries, I followed Amelia through her secret path. Everything seemed normal until we were past the cliffs she mentioned. Once we crossed the boundary, a sensation hit my head, causing me to lose my footing and nearly trip over a tree root.

“What is this feeling?” I grumbled, turning to face Amelia.

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s what drew me to the cave in the first place. I say it’s worth investigating, but if you aren’t feeling well, then we can take a break.”

“I think I’ll be alright. Just a minor headache.”

We carried on, my symptoms gradually improving the longer we were in the area. It was another fifteen minutes or so before we located the cave. At first glance, nothing stood out, save for the thick layer of vegetation that obscured the entrance. Working together, we cleared it before shouting to test how far our voices went inside.

“Hello!” we yelled together.

Following this, we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Only to never receive an echo.

“Huh, that’s strange. Surely we should have heard our voices echo back by now, don’t you agree?” I asked Amelia.

Ignoring my question, Amelia stepped forward into the cave. “That just makes it all the more interesting. Let’s get to the bottom of this!”

“W—What?”

Before I knew it, Amelia dragged me along by the hand. In an instant, the sky disappeared behind us, its presence replaced by a cavernous roof of earth and stone. A few seconds later, we were walking blindly in the dark.

“Amelia! We need to turn around, now!”

Suddenly, a beam of light struck my face, momentarily blinding me.

“Gotcha!” Amelia chuckled, waving her phone’s flashlight around. “I thought you said yes to exploring the cave with me.”

“No, no, I planned to only accompany you to the cave, not that I would go inside with you.”

Thankfully, she seemed to have understood as she led me back out without question. Just as we were about to step outside, however, she stopped in her tracks and turned around.

A devious grin streaked across her face.

“It can’t hurt to spend five minutes in there, can it?”

“Five minutes? Sorry, but I’ll pass,” I replied in a firm voice. Alas, she brushed aside my defiance and went right back in, alone. Thinking she would only stay inside for a handful of minutes, I sat outside on a nearby rock, chewing on a bag of trail mix. Fruits, nuts, granola, and some chocolate—the blend was perfect, so much so that I finished half the bag before noticing how long it was since Amelia left.

“Amelia? Are you still there?”

There was no response. Mustering what courage I had in me, I delved inside. As I did, the sounds of the cave came to life, be it the dripping of water from the ceiling or the occasional creak or two. With each footstep, the sounds intensified as did the darkness, so I took out my phone to use the flashlight function.

“This isn’t funny. If you’re lying in wait to scare me, then it’s not going to work.”

Minutes ticked by.

“Amelia? You are in here, right?”

A loud thud echoed from within the cave.

“Hello!? Was that you?”

The sound from before echoed once more, this time accompanied by a rumble.

“Amelia!?”

I ran forward on pure instinct. But before I could even make five steps, something collided with me, knocking my phone to the ground.

“Charlotte, what are you doing here?” Amelia asked, faintly lit by my flashlight pointing at the ceiling. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, but what do you mean? You went in and didn’t come out for a while, so I went to check up on you.”

“Hm? I was only in there for a minute. Timed it on my phone and everything.”

“But didn’t you hear me calling out for you or my light?”

“Nope, I heard and saw nothing. Weirdly enough though, my phone’s flashlight stopped working.” Amelia said before taking her device out to show me. I examined it for any possible explanation but turned up empty-handed.

Whatever the cause was for everything, we couldn’t dwell on it, for the cave resumed rumbling, this time violently, causing the walls and ceiling to begin collapsing.

“Run!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

We made a mad dash for the exit—

Screaming, suffocating,

But we were too late.

The entire ground collapsed beneath us, sending us tumbling into an abyss of darkness…