Zipped

5: The Search

Molly

When my eyes opened the next morning, or whatever time it actually was, I was looking straight at a brown dirt ceiling. For a second, I was surprised, and a little nervous. While I had been asleep, I forgot what my brother and I had done. I forgot that we had jumped down into this pit universe and found Elsie alive and well.

Then it hit me. I remembered everything and jumped out of bed, my head barely missing the top of the cavern. I pushed aside the blanket posing as my door and ran into the middle of the hall. I scanned the doors, looking for the blanket that covered her door. When I finally spotted it, I hurried over and pushed the curtain aside.

Elsie wasn’t there.

I was immediately filled with worry. I wanted to be able to spend some time with my sister. I knew she had to be fairly safe, but after what had happened, I wasn’t going to be too careful.

“Looking for the little one?” a male voice called from behind me. I didn’t recognize the tone, so I didn’t respond at first. “Er, sorry,” the voice then said. “I mean, looking for Elsie?”

“Yes, actually. Where is she?” I asked him quietly, turning around.

A boy with dark hair and a dirty, torn t-shirt stood there by the wall, his arms crossed. He had a crooked grin on his face, and looked a bit more fun loving than Neil did. “She’s with Shailene. She’s been helping her find something to do while she’s down here. You know what the first thing she asked for was?”

“What?” I asked as I closed the curtain behind me.

“She asked if there were any good books down here. She said that she wanted to read while she fell and was sad when she didn’t have her favorite picture books,” the boy said, a smirk playing on his lips. “That little girl is adorable. How old is she anyway?”

“Seven,” I answered. “She’s seven years old, and the best little sister a girl could ask for.”

“She’s your sister?” The boy looked a bit surprised, yet curious at the same time. “Really? You two look nothing alike.”

“What? Just because she and I have different hair colors? Mom’s got dark hair and Dad’s got blonde. Easy enough to explain. I’m her older sister, Molly. Thomas, her brother, is somewhere around here,” I told him, glancing around after I said the last sentence. Where could he be anyway?

“Does he like sleeping?” The boy laughed a bit at his suggestion, but it actually was a pretty decent one anyway. Thomas did like to sleep, after all, and I knew it.

“Honestly, that’s probably where he is actually,” I smiled a bit. “Anyway, what’s your name?” I said. “I don’t think you told me.”

“I’m Ethan. Nice to meet you Molly,” he said with a smile. “So, how’d you get down here?”