THE HISTORY REPEATS

THE DOORWAY TO SUBTERRA

Key woke to find Jake standing in the corner of the room, and his heart raced with fear.

Jake spoke, "Were you possessed by a ghost or something?"

"What are you talking about?" Said Key as he held his head in his hands sleepily.

"You were talking about strange things like 'Dad, come back. Mom never let me talk about you?Where's your dad?" said Jake.

"I...my dad..." Key coughed. "He's in Ireland. He scarcely visits once a year," said Key hesitantly.

"I see. You gave me quite a fright, bro," said Jake, breathing a sigh of relief.

Key didn't say anything.

"Anyway, get ready. We're heading to DARLA's forest in an hour, and breakfast is ready," said Jake.

Key got up and headed to the bathroom. He looked back towards Jake and said, "Umm, can you please keep this a secret, like the sleep talk thing, please? My friends are going to ridicule me."

"Sure, bro. Now hurry. I'm going downstairs. You come down too," said Jake and went down. Key went to get ready

Key walked downstairs in dinning room to have breakfast. As he entered, he saw Nat, Cally, and Mends devouring the food as if they had not eaten for days. They waved at Key, but didn't say good morning or anything . Key didn't mind and put a sandwich on his plate as he wasn't very hungry.

"Hey man, what's going on? Are you feeling okay?" Mends inquired.

"I'm okay," Key replied. "Just not feeling very hungry this morning."

"Really? You barely touched your food," Cally said.

"Maybe you're coming down with something. You look a little pale," Nat added.

"I don't know, maybe," Key said. "I just don't feel like eating much."

After breakfast, Professor Yun convened the students in the main hall and imparted the details of their upcoming five-day excursion. "Students, as you are aware, the impetus for this trip is Ms. Kara, who has generously offered to underwrite the expenses. Our itinerary for today entails a visit to Darla's forest, which is approximately an hour's drive from here. Now you all may get your stuff and go to the bus." The pupils erupted in a chorus of jubilation.

"It's famous about Darla's forest that it was once a part of underground hidden world".Cally whispered as people around him rushed to get their stuff for the trip.

Key choked hard on his saliva. "That's preposterous," Mends interjected,while patting on the his back.

"Do you really believe that an underground world is implausible?" Key retorted.

Mends shook her head. "No—" she replied, but was cut off by Professor Yun's acerbic quip. "You four may continue your conversation if you are disinclined to join us," Professor Yun remarked sardonically.

As they arrived at Darla's forest, an overwhelming sense of anticipation grew within them. They felt as though something momentous was about to occur. All of the students had been instructed to take note of any information they gleaned about the historical Darla's forest, and each had been provided with a map to ensure they did not become lost in the dense foliage.

Throughout the forest, they encountered giant statues of strange-looking individuals. According to the information board, these statues were intended to represent the appearance of underground people, and had been constructed by the underground people themselves.

"Yo, those are straight-up ugly," Nat said.

"Ugly ain't the word for it! Those statues are whack and huge," Mends replied, making a face.

"I gotta disagree with you, man," Key said, taking it personally since he's from Subterra, the underground world. "I don't think they'd be that busted in real life."

"Why should we even care if they're busted or not? They ain't even real, bro," Cally said, jotting down everything from the information board on his notebook.

As they ventured further along, they were met with an awe-inspiring sight of cascading waterfalls, and Key's eyes were immediately drawn to the source of the falls. It was an intricately-designed rock formation that resembled a dragon's eye, through which the waterfall was flowing. Key moved closer to the lake to get a better view of it. That's when he realized that this was the very place where the gate to Subterra was located. He recalled the memory from ten years back when he and his mother Mia  were expelled from Subterra through that very gate. Key's mind was flooded with flashbacks of the dream he had about conversing with his father and the unjust accusation of theft of the "Sword of Honour" that led to his family's banishment from Subterra. He was surprised to find himself standing in the same spot again, after having forgotten where it was.

Suddenly, Jake and his boys splashed water on Key's face while they were swimming in the lake. "Man, you're way too hyped about those weird rocks," Jake said, laughing.

Key laughed too and joked, "What can I say? I'm just impressed by the way those rocks are shaped."

Throughout their five-day excursion, they explored numerous  sites, yet Key's thoughts remained steadfastly fixated on Darla's forest. He was consumed with a desire to return to Subterra and free his father, but was left feeling helpless and uncertain due to his exile. Despite his predicament, he clung to his father's words, which echoed in his mind: "That's where hope comes in, Key. Hope is the magic that will guide you through the darkness. You must never give up on it, no matter how impossible things may seem. There is always a way, and you will find it."

As Key recollected his father's words, a smile crept across his face. He knew that he had to devise a plan to rescue his father and find a way to return to Subterra. He was determined to take action.