Restless

Day On The River

When I woke up, the next morning, it was already 75 degrees and rising. Zach and Ben were already in their swimming trunks, waiting under the oak tree.

"Morning, sunshine." Zach said as I came out of my tent. He was wearing a pair of orange swim trunks. I thought it was ironic, that they matched his hair. Ben had a blue pair and I grabbed my green pair.

"You guys ready to go?" I asked them. They nodded and I led the way. There was an old trail at the back of the campsite that went straight to the river. It was covered in dead leaves and fallen branches. The woods were alive all around us. A gentle breeze passed through the air, cooling us off. Ben whistled like a bird singing and got a response from a little blue bird. He whistled again and the bird copied his song.

"I love nature." Ben sighed. He skipped ahead of us, like a little girl. We laughed at him and I looked back Zach, who was holding a basket in his hand. He has brought some chips, some towels, and my revolver. He seemed to really be absorbing the fresh air. It made me happy to know that he was enjoying the trip.

"Being out here makes you feel so free, you know." He said looking up through the trees, at the sky. I took a deep breath of air and sighed. The leaves crunched under our feet, every step we took. Ben was a far distance away from us now. He stopped and looked at something that was in front of him. Zach and I approached where he stood and glanced in the same place Ben was. The river flowed gently in the sun's rays. The water shimmered brightly. We started towards the river in a sprint, all at the same time. Zach set the basket down in the rocks and we removed our shirts. Ben was the first one to jump into the water. Water splashed on Zach and I before we leaped for the river. The water was strangely warm. I held my breath and went underwater. It cooled me completely and I resurfaced. Zach and Ben we're floating gracefully in the water beside me.

"This is great, guys." Zach laughed, splashing Ben. Ben wiped the water from his eyes, then splashed him back. I just watched, smiling. I glanced to the other side of the river and saw a small, poorly built shack. Zach and Ben stopped splashing and looked at the same shack.

"That wasn't here before." I said remembering the last time I swam in the river. Years in the past, there was nothing but empty space in the place of the shack. I started swimming across to the opposite shore, to investigate. Zach and Ben did the same. I rose from the water and shook the droplets of water from my hair, like a dog. I peered at the shack, observing the small window on the left side of it. It looked like it was made from wood. It looked abandoned. Zach walked past me and knocked on the door.

"Anybody home?" He called, pounding on the door.

"Knock it off, Zach." I commanded. He let his hand drop and he let me reach for the handle. I tried to pull it open, but it was locked. This was the only entrance inside the structure. The window wasn't big enough for us to fit in.

"Now what?" Ben asked. Zach chuckled.

"I got it." He said picking up an old can out of the rocks. It was a beer can that had been in the river for a long time. Zach bent the can until it's side split open. He tore off the top and bottom of the can and flattened the remaining aluminum into a point. He pushed past us and stuck the point into the crack of the door. After moving it around a bit, we heard a faint click. Zach turned the knob and pulled. The door creaked as it opened. Not afraid to show it, Zach turned to us and proudly smiled. "Voila"

"Nice job. Ladies first." I teased. Zach ignored my comment and stepped inside. The only light in the shack came from the tiny window. The light that shined through landed on a light switch.

"There's no way this place has electricity." Zach claimed as Ben flipped the switch. A single lightbulb flickered on above us and lit the inside. There was a desk in front of us that was covered in papers. A small chair stood under the desk. Besides the rug on the floor, these were the only things in the shack. I approached the desk and flipped through the papers. The papers were mostly nothing that interested me, but under them laid a blueprint.

"Look at this, guys." I said inspecting the page. It seemed to be the layout of a building. In the top left corner, was an "X". Beside it it read, "Entrance". There were several different rooms on the page and each of them were labeled. One room was labeled, "Lab", another was labeled "Bunker". The room that caught my attention was the one that was called "Ash".

"Where do you think this is?" Zach asked, over my shoulder. I shrugged and folded the paper in half. Whatever it was, it was important. Ben and Zach both exited the shack before me. When My foot left the ground, it caught the rug. I tripped forwards and caught myself in the doorway. Standing up, and regaining my balance, I looked back at the rug which had been moved by my foot. I noticed something under it that was shiny like metal. Pulling the rug the rest of the way off, I found myself looking at a circular, metal hatch. In the center of the hatch was a shape. I glanced down at it and discovered what the shape was. An X.

"Guys!!" I called but my friends were already looking at the hatch.

"Do you think that's the same "X" as the blueprint had?" Ben asked me. I placed my hand on the hatch and pulled at it. It opened, but not easily. The hatch was very heavy. Under the hatch, was a dark hole that went straight down.

"We should come back with a flashlight and our guns. Tomorrow. I don't know about you two, but I want to swim."Zach said. As much as I wanted to explore this secret tunnel, I knew Zach was right. We were supposed to be relaxing.

"Okay, we'll come back tomorrow. Let's go swimming."

"Race?" Ben asked as we stepped out of the shack, shutting it behind us.

"I don't know... GO!!!" Zach yelled. We darted towards the river. Zach was the first to the water, then Ben, then me. We laughed and played for an hour in the water. Every now and then, I would glance over at the shack, imagining the mysteries that lied within.