By Morgan Hannah, Life & Style Editor
It feels like Iâm trapped in an earthquake, and this is the last place Iâd want to be if I am. The ground is shaking, the walls are shakingâeverything is moving altogether as one.
And when I think it might be over, I am wrong. Dead wrong. The mountain uproots itself and lifts up out of the sand. I know this because the entrance is now up much higher, and I can feel the sensation of my organs rising into my throat, like when on a ride at an amusement park. I just hope thereâs no drop later.
The scrabbling noise from further inside the mountain, and the darkness, doesnât stop but only quickens in pace. My heart is beating so hard, my ribcage stingsâI need to get out of here! It was a stupid idea to enter a breathing mountain!
Opening my eyes, I make for the exit. One foot after the other, itâs a struggle to move fast while shimmying sideways though the small space, and it doesnât help that the rocky surface all around me is damp and slipperyâin the dark itâs difficult to make out stable footing. My numb fingers push at the rock rather than grip it, and Iâm almost at the edge when behind me, thereâs movement.
âAaaahhhh!â They push, shove, claw, and jump around my body as if I am nothing more than a boulder in their path. My stomach is flat against the rockâitâs cool to the touchâand I look up just in time to see alien after green alien jumping, leaping, and catapulting out the entrance to the rock, all the while the shaking, earthquaking motion has not seized. In fact, it seems as though weâre moving forwards. My God! This is a giant creature of some kindâit must be!!
Getting to my feet, I follow after the creatures, pausing at the lip of the crack. The sun is blinding and hot, and I am up at least 15 feet. Thereâs a pile of green bumps and limbs squirming through the sand down below.
âWhy did they all jump?â I ask myself, and only the rumbling of the mountain answers.
Thereâs something else coming⌠The thought is dark and surprising, and I have to count to five before I dare turn around and stare into the darkness, just to make sure thereâs nothing behind me. Iâm alone. For now. But thereâs still one more question left to answer: Do I jump?
Continuation of this exciting adventure next week!
