EdgeWaters

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

 

Sabrina

    Blackness.

    I slowly opened my eyes, taking in all the details of the scene.

    We had fallen. How? Did anyone see us collapse into the ground?

    As I got up, I saw Charlie's body laying on the floor, motionless. I sat up, crawled toward her and shook her.

    No response. She was unconscious.

    I sat there for about five minutes inspecting the room. The room, however, was just like any old basement, but there seemed to be no natural lighting as there were no windows. In fact, I had to squint my eyes to be able to see in the complete darkness, it was difficult, but not impossible. After a while, my eyes became strained, I reached for my satchel that luckily still remained on my neck, and grabbed my phone to use as a flashlight. Turning on the flashlight, my eyes shut tight, hurt from the sudden light as if I had just awoke. I checked the time, I had been unconscious for probably around only one to two minutes. Not long.

    Once again, I crawled over to Charlie, this time, a little more smart, I checked her pulse. It was decent. Desperate, I stood up and began to survey the basement while on my feet.

    This was my worst nightmare.

    I had always been afraid of the dark, ever since I was little when I played a mystery game on the computer with my mom. I remember seeing a pair of glowing red eyes in one of the windows, which scared me greatly, and I ran to my room to check if the two eyes were in my window. I was a kid, please remember. Since then, darkness has been my eternal fear. When I walk through my dark hallway in the middle of the night I always run, with the thought of some monster chasing me. It confuses me, still, as to why I don't just turn on the light. Or if I am asked to go down to the basement, now that, that is my all time biggest fear. Walking down into the basement, the only light all the way at the bottom of the stairs, makes it extremely difficult for my anxious mind. Especially, walking up the stairs. I run as fast as I possibly can as if I'm being chased by a demon. I'm an easily frightened child.

    Back to the story.

    I could feel my heart beating in my chest, sending the sound up to my ear drums. My hands were shaky and frozen. It seemed like the temperature was well below freezing. I did as best as I could to ignore the creaking noises of what sounded like distant footsteps or the completely horror movie like scenery.

    I shined my phone flashlight around until I caught a glimpse of a shadow. I silently screamed and began to heavily pant like a dog who had just finished running a marathon. Again, I put my phone flashlight to the same spot, realizing the shadow did whatever I did, I classified the shadow to be mine. How silly.

    A groan of pain could be heard behind me and I whipped my head to find Charlie who was now sitting up and staring at me with complete confusion. Accidentally, I shined the bright light in her eyes and, without saying a word or groaning, she put her hand in front of her eyes and stood up. It was like we both couldn't speak. We weren't sure what to do or say as we had both just..fallen through the ground. You don't have that happen to you on a daily basis, now do you? I thought not.

    Still without any form of communication, Charlie got the same idea as me, we both investigated the room with our phone flashlights until she, still without words, poked me and pointed to the center of her flashlight's light.

    There was a note, how surprising? Just the one hundredth one we had found that week.

    I motioned for her to pick it up and she did without hesitation. Picking up the note she read aloud, breaking the silence.