Gwen Macy: Chapter Fifteen

 Chapter 15:

 There, right in front of their eyes, was a staircase. It looked ancient, spider webs on almost every square inch. 

 “Do you think we should go through?” Hannah asked anxiously.

 “Mm hmm,” replied Gwen. Her pulse was becoming rapidly faster with excitement. They threw the block of the wall on the ground.

 “I’ll go first,” volunteered Hannah bravely. She started down the seemingly eternal steps, testing each one with her purple heels before stepping onto each one. Gwen tagged along behind her, wishing to speed things up. Each of Hannah’s footsteps made a clip-clop sound like a horse.

 “Give me those!” Gwen said finally, exasperated. Hannah took off her shoes and handed them to her, a look of curiosity on her friendly face. She examined the shoes and finally came to a decision. She pulled on the heels, which gradually snapped off. Hannah gasped.

 “Here you go.”

 

Hannah now had a horrible time walking, but was grateful towards Gwen because of the dangerous staircase. Now they saw rats crawling along. But something else had caught Gwen’s attention. There were words etched and faded on one of the stairs. She put a hand in front of Hannah.

 “Look!” she cried out, pointing. They knelt down and read:

 Bravery and courage,

 Kindness and caring,

 Cleverness and loyalty,

 Strength and daring,

 These are all fine qualities,

 As everybody knows,

 But they are no match,

 For what lies beneath your toes.

 

This sent a shiver up Gwen’s spine, and she leapt to her feet.

 “Whoa,” shivered Hannah.

And that was that.

 

They continued walking, going a bit faster than normally. Suddenly they arrived at a large hole. It was clear blue, but it looked as if it hadn’t seen anyone for at least three hundred years. The girls stepped carefully closer, and poked their heads inside. It was dark, and all they could see was that it went on for a long time.

 “Let’s go.”

 “On three. One, two three!” And they grasped hand and slid themselves inside the long pipe, pushing off with their legs, and they were off, into the dark underground wonderland, slowly fading away from reality.