Marry Me For Money

"I don't think this is a good idea..." I trailed as I attempted to catch up to the fast pace my friends were walking at.

"Come on." Ava dragged, "Don't be a wuss. We didn't come all this way just to turn back at the front entrance.

She playfully rolled her eyes as she sauntered to the cave's entrance, motioning me over in the process. My feet hesitantly moved to her, unsure of the horror that may reside in that cave. I still can't believe she made me do this, even after all the stories we've heard of the cave.

"What do you say?" She bounced on my bed as she slid the article she read aloud moments before.

" You got me fifty shades of fucked up if you think I'm going there with you."

I threw her phone onto the empty spot on my bed before walking over to my bathroom to start my morning routine. I was awoken by my best friend, my only friend, Ava Maxwell. She watched some videos regarding the 'muerte' just on the outskirts of our small town. It's a spot frequently visited by adventure-seeking teenagers with nothing to do but skip school, party, and yell at their parents.

Not in that order.

Those that enter the cave don't usually make it all the way to the end of it, some barely making it out of their alive. While others are not so lucky. You would think they would up the security around it but the small is already small as it is with the police force being a small group of fifty and my father as the sheriff. The police needed as many people on patrol seeing as there's been a spike in criminal activities for the last couple of months, with rumors of animal attacks occurring on popular camping spots.

With that being said, my point of not wanting to go to the cave that literally translates to death is being emphasized. We're not leaving the unscathed and she knows it. But she is such an adrenaline-drunkie that when she learns of a new location with mysterious happenings, which is a lot of spots in our little town, she can't help but want to explore. I love her like the sister I've never wanted, but she always drags me along with her. We usually don't get harmed in any way from past escapades but there's a first for everything.

This could be our first.

"Come on, Myra. It's a spooky cave! Aren't you even a little intrigued?" She asked.

"Of course, I'm intrigued! Hell, I might've gone there already if I hadn't feared for my life." I threw my hands up as I searched my closet for a suitable outfit for this ruined Saturday morning. I decided on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts, combined with a pair of black converse, skipping the makeup process for today since I didn't plan on going anywhere today.

"Nothings gonna happen. Those are just stories parents tell kids to teach them not to sneak off to remote locations with their secret boyfriend or girlfriend." She chuckled.

"And you know this because you didn't just read about it a couple of hours ago," I replied sarcastically.

"Touché," she looked to her lap in thought before an excited expression reclaimed its place on her features, "But what's the worst that could happen?"

"Usually when people say that, something bad happens," I countered blankly.

"You got me again." She smiled as she pulled her set of flashlights from her backpack.

"We should get going, it's almost two o'clock in the afternoon. We wouldn't want to be there when it gets dark." She brushed off her pink leggings before repositioning her tank top, forcefully putting a flashlight in my hand.

"I never agreed to go."

"Are you hungry?" She didn't give me the chance to respond," Of course, you are. You just woke up. We'll pick you something up on the way there."

"What the f-"

"Andale! We don't have much time." She was out the door before I could blink, racing down the stairs. I huffed as I followed behind, knowing she'll ignore me for the next couple of weeks if I don't comply as she's done in the past. Although, I don't feel like that's such a bad idea at this very moment. The sound of a car horn honking echoed throughout the neighborhood, causing a cringe to arise as the sound brought with it a nasty headache. This brings us to where we currently stood at the mouth of the cave. 

She released a frustrated sigh before grabbing onto my hand and dragging me into the cave. I stumbled for a bit before I regained my balance, yanking my hand out of hers. I muttered a small curse word at her, the sound being not so quiet as I heard my own voice repeat my words, bringing a sheepish smile to my face. Ava rolled her eyes before waking deeper into the dark cave, lit only by the flashlights we held in front of us.

"What if there's a bear?"

"There aren't any bears." She commented.

"But there could be."

"What has made you so scared all of a sudden? You use to be the one leading the exploit-"

"-after you force me-" I interjected.

"-and be the one to reassure me whenever I want to back out. What wrong?"

I sighed as I turned my attention away from her curious eyes before looking ahead, listening to the sound of our footsteps and the noises that could be heard from within the muerte.

"This place just doesn't sit right with me... I can feel something bad about to happen." I tried to explain the thoughts that I'd been having since the moment she entered my room unannounced earlier.

She nodded in understanding and hooked her elbow with my own, "Don't you worry. You're in good hands."

That's reassuring.

Note the sarcasm.

I moved my flashlights to the sides to examine the walls. Markings were covering every square inch of it, the name of past visitors, lewd comments and drawings, and other warnings to turn back. Not paying attention to the ground my feet were walking on, the clattering of something hollow sounded before I stumbled forward, Ava quickly holding me up from falling flat on my face.

"Careful! That could've been a bad spill for both of us. What did you trip over?" Ava asked.

I turned the flashlight to the back of me, observing the floor I just walked on. A gasp escaped Ava's lips as the beam of light illuminated a pile of bones fixed on the floor, covered partially by a leather jacket and some blue jeans. I calmly turned around, unable to react to the remains as Ava did because I'd seen worse. Sad to say. I prompted her forward as we made our way deeper into the cave where a howl of the wind echoed with the cave, the natural light from the mouth of the cave a five-minute walk behind us. A shiver ran up my spine as I heard the sound of a third pair of footsteps. "Do you hear that?" I questioned.

"Hear what?"

I shook my head as I convinced myself that my paranoid self-conscious was warning me to turn back, causing me to hear things. I let out a sigh to calm my nerves as I  continued deeper into the cave before a low growl was heard from behind us.

"Did you hear that!?!" I whisper-yelled as I gripped Ava's hand.

"Definitely!" She whisper-yelled back.

I turned my head to hear as she did me, before nodding my head, silently praying that she knew what I was about to do and to follow my lead. When she nodded back in confirmation, I quickly put my brave plan into action.

I broke the record of the fastest runner on earth.

Beads of sweat gathered over my eyebrows as the sound of Ava panting loudly traveled to my ears. The growl of the animal that was chasing us echoed loudly within the cave as pieces of stone tumbled from the walls of the cave as we ran deeper. The aching in my feet took my mind off the impending danger as I attempted to concentrate on my breathing, my lungs constricting as I do so. Soon enough, I was met with the ending wall of the cave, running face-first into it. I stumbled backward as I was nurturing my possibly bleeding nose when a chilling breeze passed me, silence circulating the atmosphere.

I released a sigh as I realize the beast was no longer chasing us, probably thinking that it had us trapped within these walls. I slid down the dead-end and sat on the floor, trying to regain my breath while the soreness in my throat began to lessen as I gulped.

"What are we gonna do now? We're trapped." I asked Ava.

No reply.

I scampered around in search of my flashlight only to come up empty-handed. I must've dropped it while fleeing for my life. Great.

"Ava!" I whisper-yelled in case the beast was nearby.

No reply.

My heart rate quickened as I flew to my feet, straining my ears to listen for any sign of life around me as I squinted through the darkness. No sound. Nothing. I reached out to the wall I was seated against and felt my way around, my hand coming into contact with a hole in the wall and a small lever hidden inside of it. I carefully pulled the lever down, a loud clicking sound resonating within my eardrums before I stepped back. I watched as part of the wall creaked open, revealing a small room lit by the torches attached to the walls. Convincing myself that Ava was not eaten by whatever resided in this cave and that she somehow found her way out of here through a second entrance, I made my way into the room.

What I saw took my breath away.

A large pond, surrounded by lush grass and vines grew wildly around the room. The pond was covered with lilies and other greeneries with the most picturesque waterfall splashing onto the rocks at its base. A circular structure stood amidst the pond, holding something I'm not sure I could properly explain. Some may call it a rift, a tear in the very fabric of the universe. Others would call it the after-effects of doing drugs. 

But I'm too sober to make this up.

I slipped out of my converse, dipping my feet into the water to test the temperature before fully submerging them into the liquid blue. The moment the water touched me I immediately felt my tensed muscles relax, something that frequently occurred when I was in the water. I made my way to the stairs of the structure, examining the rift closely while struggling to put my shoes back on. All that was seen through the rift were dense trees. I circled the tear, studying it from all angles before gathering the courage to approach it. I stuck my hand through it, feeling the soft surface of a leaf caress my palm before bringing my hand back to my chest.

I shook my head as I readied myself to go into the rift. I took in a large breath before walking backward, deciding that a running headstart would be best to get rid of the nerves. So that's what I did, feeling tiny bolts of electricity as I pass through the tear. I hadn't realized just how close that tree was because once again I ran face-first onto another hard surface.

Why am I so clumsy?

I rubbed my forehead as I contemplated whether or not I was getting a concussion but didn't have to long to ponder over this. Looking back through the rift, I stared into the golden eyes of a black beast, covered in fur with teeth sharper than any knife I've ever seen.