“Tunnels, Traps, and Trouble”
501 Words
Liora, Arin, Jace, Nova, and Xaden huddled in the abandoned maintenance room behind the library.
Xaden crossed his arms, glaring at the wall as if it had personally offended him.
“This is where the first clue lies,” he said.
“Clue? Or trap?” Arin whispered.
“Both,” Xaden replied, eyes cold. “And probably a curse. Maybe a ghost.”
Liora rolled her eyes. “You’re making this sound like a horror game. I thought we were in school, not a haunted escape room.”
Jace, juggling a bag of chips, gasped.
“No haunted rooms! Not again! I’m allergic to ghosts!”
Nova pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Please stop talking. You’re making it harder to focus.”
Xaden crouched and pointed at a small, half-hidden panel in the floor.
“Here,” he said. “The tunnels start here. Only one person goes in at a time.”
Arin’s eyes widened. “I’m not going first. Nope. No way. My mother would cry.”
Jace stepped forward bravely — then tripped on his own shoelaces.
“Bravery! Totally heroic!” he yelled from the floor.
Liora smacked her forehead. “Fine. I’ll go. But if we die, it’s on Xaden. And possibly the sandwich.”
Xaden rolled his eyes. “I’m not dying. You might be.”
Liora knelt, opened the panel, and saw a dark spiral staircase leading underground. The faint smell of damp stone and mystery wafted up.
Nova handed her a flashlight.
“Take this. And whatever you do, don’t touch the walls. They’re… special.”
“Special how?” Liora asked, suspicious.
“Electrified, magical, cursed… or maybe just really gross,” Nova said dryly.
Arin gagged. “I’m just saying… you could die. Or get zapped. Or both.”
Xaden pushed forward first. “We’ll take it slow.”
“Slow?” Liora muttered. “You call this slow?”
One step down, two steps down, and suddenly — a loud click echoed through the staircase.
Liora froze.
Jace screamed from above.
Arin whispered, “Did someone just… trap her?”
Nova narrowed her eyes. “It’s a trap. Definitely a trap.”
Xaden frowned. “Stay calm. Watch your step. Nothing kills faster than panic.”
The steps ended in a narrow, twisting tunnel. Shadows danced on the walls — real shadows, not from the flashlight. The air smelled of metal and… something sweet.
Liora swallowed hard. “Okay. This is creepy. I hate creepy.”
“Welcome to the first level of Crescent High’s secret underworld,” Xaden said, voice low.
“And welcome to the Shadow’s playground,” Nova added.
Jace whispered from behind, shaking violently. “I knew I should’ve stayed in the cafeteria. WITH SANDWICHES.”
But Liora couldn’t turn back now.
Not with the missing student’s message echoing in her mind:
“Find Liora Mavens. She knows the truth.”
Somewhere deep underground, danger waited.
And she was running straight toward it.
- Writer
