Ocarina of Time

Chapter Seven: The Bottom of the Well

"How can she be gone again?! We were all here!" Naomi paces around the grass of Kakariko Village, trying to wrap her head around everything that has happened in the past few days. First, her best friend is trapped in Dodongo's Cavern, then the boy she met outside Hyrule Castle is the one to save her, and now she's missing again! This time, however, it's weird and confusing. No one saw any signs of Peyton leaving or anyone entering the village to take her at all last night. It's almost as if she was a ghost that vanished completely.

Peyton's parents aren't taking it very well either. Naomi believes it's the stress of losing their daughter twice in two days, but this time it's different. They have shut themselves in their house, refusing to go outside. Naomi has a feeling that they know what happened, and they are fearful of it.

Malon doesn't know what to do, but does the best she can to keep everyone from feeling hopeless. "It's okay, Naomi. We will find her."

"This doesn't make any sense! As Naomi said, we were all here last night. Three of you even slept in her house!" Carol starts to get frustrated and tears line the bottom of her eyes. She hates it when she can't find the answer to something, and it's even worse now that one of her friends is potentially in danger.

"But, we didn't see anything. The night was so peaceful." Link rubs his forehead and crosses his legs. He didn't wake up during his sleep. No loud noises disturbed him, although he is a heavy sleeper.

"Valerie, you've been a bit quiet. Something on your mind?" Malon leans over and sees the bushy haired girl standing still, her eyes fixed on something.

The other kids turn toward the young blacksmith in hopes for her to say something useful. However, Valerie doesn't say anything at first. She takes a step forward and follows her line of sight until she reaches a stone water well. After a moment, she turns back to the others and fearfully says, "I think I know what happened."

"You do? How?!" Naomi knows that Valerie is usually right when solving complex problems, but this situation is too risky to believe something based on speculation alone.

"It's hard to explain, but I..." Valerie fidgets and instinctively grabs her necklace. "The truth is... don't you remember the dark tale that has to do with this well?"

"Oh, I know. I read about it the first time I visited here." Carol smiles softly, wiping her eyes and trying to think straight. "There was a man who created this thing called the Lens of Truth. It's a device that can help you see through illusions. His house was said to be here where the well is, and... that's all I really remember."

"Right. He created the Lens of Truth for protection against a monster or something. What if the legends were true, and there is a monster inside the well?" Valerie suggests.

Link leans his head on his palm and sighs. "That's the first theory you come up with?"

"What, you think I'm lying!?" Valerie crosses her arms and glares at Link, making the boy stand up and try to defend himself.

"No, that's not it! It's just, how do you know it's the truth?" At Link's question, Valerie stutters and can't seem to make any words form.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to because the ground shakes, making everyone who's standing up fall back down. Out of the well, a giant hand raises. It looks like a shadow that was able to take form. Before anyone can react, the hand reaches down and snatches Carol off the grass. The blonde in aqua screams as she's dragged into the water and down the well.

Valerie quickly stands up and takes a knife out, the first ever weapon she forged. She takes a step back as the hand raises up once again. She slashes at it, but it doesn't seem to have any effect at all. The hand grabs her around the neck and shoulders, lifting her up, and pulling her down the well after Carol.