Way Down We Go

Day three, I am seven days before the discovery is made.

The rain intensified as the morning had just begun. Water dripped from the leaves above me, onto my head, making me shiver from the bitter cold. I awoke with my arms curling around each other, keeping my torso warmer than the rest of my body. Clothes soaked, hair drenched, and a make-shift bed covered in water, I sat up and yawned.

The night before, the crew and I decided that it would be best if we stayed under a bush, surrounded by plants that would hide us well. This way, we couldn't be seen by any carnivorous predators and could have the rest we needed.

I stretched my lower back as I looked around to see Robert and some of the crew waking up. All tired and miserable, they started getting ready for today's adventure. I too began putting on my shoes and the jacket I tried to keep dry: it wasn't.

I then checked my wound to see if any infections came, but it was clean and seemed to be healing quite well. The cuts on my face from the furry black soul had now closed and began to scar. I didn't mind if it meant that I could live.

Robert walked over to my side of the bush and sat next to a pile of grass. "Hey, it's still raining," he said, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah...Y'think it'll ever stop?" I asked, hoping to cheer both of us up.

Robert chuckled and said: "I hope so,"

We both stared at the little sky we could see. Dark clouds surrounded this place and didn't seem to be in the mood to leave. "You think we'll be able to make it out? Like out of here?" Robert asked while moving his knees to his chest, holding them in place with his hands.

"I don' know, this place is cursed and we just walked in here like it was a park. I hope we do, but I know that the chances are slim," I said, finally turning my head to him.

"Well, if we do die, at least we died for a cause,"

We both sat there as the rest of the crew woke up. They stretched their limbs and gathered in the center of our camp-site, waiting for our leader, Henry, to discuss the plan of action. He entered the middle section, looking tired like everyone else.

"Hey, Gregory! How's the ol' leg doin?" asked Henry, trying to lighten the room.

"Oh, you know, as good as it ever will be," I said with a chuckle.

As the crew finally got assembled in the middle of the bush, one of them brought a lamp, so we could have some light on the item in front of us. It was a map, that showed every inch of the Devil's Playground. The good and the bad. The dangerous, and the peaceful.

"Okay, so we are here," said Henry, pointing with his hand to a spot on the map. It was near the front, but not too far from the middle of the jungle. We were about twenty miles from the destination, so we had a lot of walking to do.

"And we have to get all the way over here," added Henry, pointing to a spot that was halfway between our location and the center.

"In one day? That's impossible!" said a crewman, raising his voice in disbelief.

"Obviously not in one day, but over the next three days, we shall make the distance, understood?" said Henry, staring at the crew.

"So, we must stay tight together, and watch our surroundings carefully to make sure nothing is going to attack us,"

"I will be in the front, followed by the wounded, so that way the rest of the crew can watch them and make sure they keep up. Everyone got it?" stated Henry, waiting for a reply.

"Yes sir!" shouted the men as we all parted to our make-shift beds to pack the rest of our things.

As I was about to place my backpack on my shoulders, Robert interrupted me. "Hey, you're going to need this," he said, holding an axe in his palm. It was small but definitely packed a punch.

"What for?" I asked whilst having a distraught expression.

"For protection. You never know when an axe can save your life," he added, making sure I placed the weapon in my bag.

I was still puzzled why he would give it to me. I knew that protection was important, but an axe? I didn't think I needed it but I did as Robert said, and placed it in my backpack. I threw the bag over my shoulders, and grasped the top of my walking stick with my hand, and set out to the starting point, where the rest of the crew was going.

We began our adventure, soaked and tired. Walking at a slow pace, I hung in the front with Herny and Robert. My wood stick splashed in the puddles of water that formed along the bumpy trail we had taken. Thunder came and went as the hours had gone by.

As I kept my head down, staring at the raindrops that fell, Henry approached. His hat pouring water off to the sides he said: "Hey Greg, I need some advice,"

"What kind?" I asked, with an intrigued tone.

"Well, you see, the path we are following will eventually lead to a cliff, in which we need to descend off of. So, I know that most of the crew will not take it well, so...what I'm asking is, how do I break the news?" said Henry, hoping that I knew what to do.

"Hmm, I think that if you don't tell them, and wait for them to ask, is better," I said, hoping that my advice was helpful.

"How?"

"Well, if you were to tell them now, then most of the crew would leave and decide to fend for themselves. But, if you wait to tell them, then they will most likely just accept it because we have gone too far to just go back," I said, adding to my thought.

"Hm, I guess you're right. Thanks!" said Henry, nodding in agreement.

"Any-" I was cut off by the sudden shake.

"What was that?" asked a crewman, as the shaking continued.

"It's an earthquake! Everyone get low to the ground so you don't fall!" shouted Henry, kneeling close to ground to avoid falling.

We all got low to the ground as Henry said. The shaking intensified and cracks started to form along the path. The lines thickened as my walking stick rolled away from my aid. Eventually, the cracks became so big that we all had to jump on one so that we didn't get divided.

"Gregory?" said Robert, with a concerned look as the ground between me and some crewmen separated from him, Henry, and a few other team members. A separate group broke off of Henry's as the floor continued to break apart.

I was going to jump but an object was blocking me; it was one of the crewmen. "You're not going to make it," he said, pulling me away from the edge.

The section with only three team members had collapsed and fell into the earth, causing an even larger separation between my group and Henry's. The two sections of ground parted ways as trees and large boulders fell deep beneath us.

One of the crewmen that were on my side, began slipping off right before his mate caught him. Eventually, the shifting in angles made us fall to the pits below, dooming me and my crew for an eternity. Waving my arms and legs, my body descended into the darkness. I closed my eyes, hoping that the drop would be less painful and that death would have mercy on my soul.

I kept falling until finally a sudden feeling of freedom came upon me. I didn't know what happened but the only question I had was: Am I dead?