The Crystal Code

Chapter 14

The Gila River rushed away on the burning desert. The edges of the river where it would usually be moist sand, the sun scorched. Every drop that slash on the sand rose up in smoke. Logan and Chris down the river on the right were blurry in my vision due to the heat.

"Honestly, what are we doing here? Like you just pointed to the map and decided that its here?" Emma pointed out. She folded her arms across her black tank top. She wore sneakers, and a ripped jean shorts. She also had her bright, curly, red hair braided down her back and a pack swung on her shoulder filled with water bottles and snacks for their search.

Bethany had on a white, flowy, sleeveless crop top with dark blue jean shorts. She had worn her Jesus sandals, which her instantly regretted with the sand whipping at us and getting her feet all sandy. She had pulled her hair up into a pony tail once she saw the wind kicking up sand in her hair.

I wore dark blue jean shorts that I had purposely splattered with bleach to give it a cool effect. I had a green, sleeveless shirt which my pendant rested on. My hair was up in a messy bun with a white bandana.

The wind kicked and made our outfits and hair swirl in the wind. Bethany wasn't the least bit pleased.

"Well, I just knew okay. At least we had a lead, where were you thinking of going, huh?" Bethany spat. Not even in a desert could they just act like good, normal friends. But then again, fighting is a way of showing you're best friends with someone, right?

"Guys only another fifteen minutes and we'll be going back to the spaceship. Jeez..." I said walking away to go to the rivers edge. Once again I bent down and placed my hands in the water, searching for some type of passage way under the water. All that cane into mind was that the water came from a natural spring inside of an underwater cave and that the river emptied into a small lake. The lake wouldn't get any larger because twenty percent of it everyday evaporated and was carried quickly away by the strong, sandy winds, making it so it barely ever rained.

"Nothing here." I stepped up where Bethany was once again cleaning her feet in the water and Emma cuped some in her hand to splash her face with the cool, fresh water.

"Any luck?" Chris asked creeping up behind me with Logan.

"Nope." I said. "All I know is that down the river about five miles to the right, the river comes from a spring, a natural underwater cave. The river leads to a little lake, but I don't think it would be there." I crossed my arm and glanced at the helicopter, floating in mid air because sand wasn't a very good ground to land a helicopter. It looked blurry through the sandy mist that blew across the desert. In the distance behind the helicopter, the Phoenix skyline stood there as the only civilization that I could see.

"We haven't gone to the spring yet, why don't we go there. There could be a cavern or entrance there. Let's get to the helicopter."

Emma and Bethany, who overheard the conversation, already headed towards the helicopter. There was no needing to tell them twice.

...

The river lead to a small canyons. In one of the large rocks. We hid the helicopter behind a canyon and put it in camo mode. The river ran into it, making sparkles dance on the walls of the cave from the reflection of the sun against the water. Only the water could pass through, there was no way around it on the side because the river its self carved the hole. I placed my hands in the water and parted the water making a circle big enough for all five of us to jump in, we walked along the bottom of the river with the cave entrance over head. The power I used was draining my energy and the fence of water around us closed in more.

"Just a bit more, Persia." Chris said behind me, he had been the first to step in the water with her when she had created the bubble-like fence around them. I concentrated on the water when warm hand touched my back, it was Chris. Inside the cave, it was cool and surprisingly damp and humid, the opposite from outside. It was like we passed through a portal to another world. Even with the circumstances, I still sweat like I was outside standing in the desert sun. The river broke out into a large cavern and ahead, the depth of the water sloped, then plunged down into a cave. I hurried to the side of the cave where there was a small walk way that lead to a bigger one if you walked around the small pond.