The Second Clue

"Stacey. Come on. Don't flip out. It's just a creepy ghost guy who's trapped you on this island. No biggie!" I whimpered to myself. I sighed deeply and continued through the dense foliage of the jungle. I thought about how the past couple of hours had unfolded. A quick scroll through of a holiday website that was untrustworthy because who would rent you a small island on the Caribbean for such a low price? An overexcited phone call and a flight booked within the hour then arriving to the island and seeing an impeccable view of the island, only to find that it was all an illusion, and The Ghost Thief, as everyone called him, had trapped me on this island with no food or water and I had to escape by successfully cracking the clues to get out. I had cracked the first clue, but what others were awaiting me? I still had to finish the first test.

"Aah!" I yelled as I flew over the tree stump and badly skinned my knee on the gravel. Breathing heavily, I stood up and inspected my knee. It wasn't too bad, but it stung like crazy, so I wrapped my jumper around it to stop the bleeding. After I had gotten through the mirror clue it directed me to the woods through arrows drawn in the dirt. I hobbled passed another arrow, careful not to injure my knee and entered a jungle. The leaves were dark green, light green and in many shapes and sizes. The branches stretched over me, and twigs crunched under my sneakers. A log lay a few metres from where I stood, and I squinted at it. Something was a bit odd about the log. It wasn't covered in moss like normal logs would be but in perfect condition. It looked a little like plastic when I stared at it harder. I cautiously approached it and reached my hand out to touch it. It was plastic! I ran my hand up and down the log barely breathing. This was my key out! The clue was inside this log! But how would I find it?

After countless efforts, I gave up and slumped against the rock. It was impossible! Just as I was about to stand up, my back hit a small bump and I recoiled, wincing at the pain. This island would give me a lot of injuries before I got out of here! I turned around to look at the bump in the flawless plastic wood. It was a strange shape and had grooves ink it rather like a fingerprint. I rubbed my fingers together and pressed my thumb on the bump in the log. Suddenly, the log seemed to shrink and peel. I widened my eyes, but the log had regained its normal shape as quickly as it had started peeling. I sighed. Just because I had pressed my thumb on the log didn't mean I would get the clue out of it. A realisation dawned upon me. I scrambled to the end of the log and thrust my hand inside it. A piece of paper fluttered at my fingertips, and I snatched it up. I unfolded the parchment and, my breath catching in my throat, I started to read.

"I have many holes, but I am as strong as steel. What am I?" I chanted again and again. Like the last riddle I had to find what was the object in these surrounding. These branches and leaves were so thick I could barely see a metre in front of me! I ducked to avoid a low hanging branch and a ringing sound echoed out beneath me. I found myself standing on an array of metal objects and I scooped them up into my arms eager to find the next clue.

I tramped through the foliage and crashed into a thick wall of vines. They were different sizes and colours, some of them thick and dark and some of them thin and lightly coloured. An engraving of a circle was carved in the middle of the vines and when I reached out to touch them, it sizzled my fingers. I blowed feverishly on them and waved my hand around to ease the pain. That's why there were metal objects lying around! So that the object wouldn't melt. I concentrated my hardest on the first bit of the riddle. What has many holes? I picked out the objects which had holes in them. There was a key with a gaping hole at the base, a chain, and a strange metal ring that looked as if it would snap in two any second. I focused on the second part of the riddle. What is as strong as steel? It certainly wouldn't be the metal ring. And the key unlocks doors, but the chain was strong, and could be winded up in a circle! I tucked the ring and the key into my jeans pocket and wound up the chain in a circle. After I had pressed the chain into the wall of vines, I knew that I had completed the clue. And I had embarked on an entire new adventure. The next test.