Down and Down

Part 1

“5...4...3...2...1. Ready or not! Here I come!” Alison yelled out, removing her hands from her face. She stood for a moment, picking where to look first. The woods behind her house were perfect for playing Hide and Seek. She mentally decided to look to the left first, the trees were more sparse that way. She ran over the dead, crunchy leaves, whipping her head around, looking for her friends. She ran in and around trees until she ran out of breath.

She stopped and doubled over. Her jean overalls had dirt on them and her cheap sneakers were pinching her toes. “Olly-Olly-Oxen-Free!” She yelled. She listened for a voice, or a noise to give away their place. She heard a faint crunching of leaves. She cocked her head and headed toward it. That couldn’t be Hannah, or Jaymie, or Sully. Wouldn’t a 8 year old make more noise than that? She thought. However she perused it anyway.

She heard it again. No, it was definitely an animal. But mommy says animals don’t come around here because we’re too loud. For the first time Alison felt scared. The sky was darkening, she was alone, and she couldn’t see the house from where she was standing. She stopped moving. She rubbed her arms feeling the goose bumps popping up.

“H-hello?” She said loudly, “Hannah? J-Jaymie? S-Sully? You g-guys out here?” She waited for a reply, hoping one would come. “It’s not funny!” She whined to the surrounding trees.

SNAP

At the sound of the twig breaking she bolted, her face twisted up in fear, in the direction of where she had started the game. Her legs hurt but her fear kept her going. Branches snapped at her arms and face, pulling at her like the hands of a stranger. She let out whimpers as she went, tears rolling down her face. The sunlight was almost gone.

She tripped. Her foot caught a root and she slammed onto the forest floor. Her face and hands stung. She didn’t get back up. She curled up against a tree and lay in a fetal position. Tears rolled down her face. Where was Sully? He was the one boy who came. Why wasn’t he here to help her? Her childish imagination thought of Sully coming out of the darkness, three feet taller than normal, fighting whatever was in the unknown and taking her home. He was one year older than her.

Why wasn’t he there? She then jealously imagined him sitting at home with Danni and Gail, eating cookies and laughing. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. She couldn’t see very far in front of herself, but she could see a dim in the distance. She hoped it was her house and reached out blindly in front of her. She crawled forward carefully, not wanting to run head on into a tree. She slowly made her way toward the light. The only noise she heard was her own heavy breathing and the crunch of leaves under her body.

The ground was slopping slightly. Then the next thing she knew was that her hand had not made contact with the ground. Then she felt weightless. No part of her body was touching ground and her body was flying through the air. She was falling. Down and down. She kicked out and flailed her arms, trying to grab something. She slowly lost energy. But she was continuing to fall. She couldn’t see a thing, nor feel. She smelled dirt, musty earth and could hear the air whistling. She had the comical thought that this hole was going to China, all the way through the earth.

Then, just as quickly as she had found herself falling, she found herself not. Yet she wasn’t touching anything still. She was floating. The sudden stop still jerked her and she rubbed her neck. What’s going on?

Then for the last time she fell, but only for a split second. She hit the hard ground with a THUMP. She winced and rubbed her butt. She tried to look at her surroundings, but found she could still see nothing. Where am I?

She though wildly of Alice In Wonderland, falling down a long hole. She loved the movie, but it wasn’t real. She reached out her arms as she had done above. She crawled slowly, trying to make out anything that might be in front of her. Then her hand hit soft ground, straight in front of her face. She stood on her knees and spread her arms out, she had found a wall. She stood to her feet and followed it all the way around. She could feel it moving in a large circle until her hand hit wood. Why is there wood down here?

It wasn’t bark, but refined wood. She felt the edges of the object, imbedded into the musty dirt wall. She explored to innards of the frame and found the carvings of the same sort of door that lead to her room. She again thought of Alice. No, it’s a story.

She moved her little hand to where she thought a handle should be and found cold metal. She shuddered and tried to open it. It was locked. She fruitlessly tried again and again. Rattling the knob, wishing it would open. She gave up after a few panicked moments. She turned her back to the door and slide down it, landing herself on the ground again. Then all of a sudden she heard whispering.

“The key.”

“Find the key.”

“Use the key.”

She pulled her legs to her chest. Who’s down here?

“Hello?” She called warily, not wanting to scare the other person. No answer came but the continued whispers of:

“The key.”

“Find the key.”

“Use the key.”

She attempted to make someone out. Why were they down here? What time was it? She silently begged God to make the sun rise so she could see something. Anything. The whispering continued.

“The key.”

“Find the key.”

“Use the key.”

She put her hands over her ears, trying to block it out. She rested her head on the ground and closed her eyes. Morning would come next time she opened her eyes. She would just rest. Yes, a nap….Just rest. She told herself.

“The key.”

“Find the key.”

“Use the key.”

The mysterious whispers went on.

~~~~~~~~

That's part one. :} Comment please!