“Marlee! Come look at this!” Morgan yelled behind him as he climbed over another rock.
“Morgan! Wait up! I can’t go that fast!”Marlee panted as she stopped to take a break. She looked behind her and could no longer see the entrance to the old cave she and Morgan were now exploring. Morgan tracked back a ways and held out his hand to his twin sister with a smile. “Sorry that I’m making you wait..”Marlee said as she took Morgan’s hand and held onto it tightly.
“It’s alright,”Morgan said as he turned forwards again and continued to walk with his sister close behind. The walls and floor were damp and cold and the cave was beginning to get darker and darker as they went further in. Marlee reached into her bag and pulled out a flashlight. She passed it forwards to Morgan who turned it on and shone the light on the path. Water was dripping down from the ceiling, making the floors sort of slippery and slimy. Marlee let go of Morgan’s hand and pulled her long auburn hair back into a high ponytail to prevent hair falling into her face when she was climbing. They made their way over some more rocks and Morgan looked back at Marlee with a big smile on his face.
“See? This is what I wanted to show you,”Morgan said as he pointed ahead of them to a large round part of the cave with some flat stone. In the middle of this part was a giant statue reaching from the floor to the ceiling and it was carved out to look like an angel. Marlee stared at it with wide eyes and she climbed over the last few stones and landed on the smooth surface underneath. She walked up to the angel-carved rock and a smile began to form on her face.
“It’s beautiful.”Marlee whispered as she continued to examine it. She looked over at Morgan who had just walked up and stood beside her. “I wonder who made it?”
“I’m not sure...”Morgan said as he ran his hand through his chin-length damp hair. Marlee nodded and looked towards the carving again. She reached out her hand to touch it but Morgan grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand back.
“What’s your problem? I was just going to touch it.”Marlee said looking at Morgan, a hint of anger in her voice.
“I don’t feel like it’s a good idea to touch it, Marlee. It might... Break or something. Maybe it’s cursed.”Morgan said looking at Marlee, trying to make her understand. He was getting a really bad feeling off of the rock standing in front of them and he didn’t want anything to happen to Marlee if she touched it. Marlee pulled her arm out of his grasp and looked at him angrily.
“You’re too overprotective of me, Morgan. Lighten up a bit. Besides, we don’t know if it’s cursed or not.”She said, the smile returning to her face. Morgan looked at her angrily and then turned and started walking towards the exit of the cave.
“Come on Marlee, Let’s go.” Morgan said in an annoyed tone as he continued to walk slowly with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Marlee rolled her eyes and looked back towards the statue. She reached out to touch it again but she hesitated for a moment, thinking of what Morgan said. She bit her lip lightly and looked back at her brother who was still walking away. She smiled and placed her hand on the statue. Morgan looked back and his eyes widened as he saw a giant shadow-like figure slowly appearing behind the statue towards his sister who seemed to be glued to the spot..
Light filtered into the musty cave, covering the dark rocks with a soft, golden glow. A cool, morning breeze drifted through the large chamber, blowing the dust and dirt off of Morgan's ebony hair. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He pushed himself up, small chunks of rock falling off of him as he did so, and sat on the damp rock. He placed a hand on his head and ran it through his hair, brushing the rest of the debris that had settled there. Blinking, he looking around the unfamiliar area, trying to adjust to the brightness of the sun. He slowly stood up, turning around to face the statue that he found the night before. Then it hit him. The terrifying reality dawned upon him. "Marlee..."He said to himself, his eyes widening. He dropped to his knees and started digging through the fallen rocks and debris that had fallen on them both. He eventually got to the foot of the statue, where Marlee had been trapped. There was nothing. Nothing to prove that his sister had been there before except a black and red handprint that seemed to be burned into the smooth stone. Morgan slowly reached out and traced his finger over the small print of Marlee's hand as a look of grief came upon his face. he put his hand over top of it and clenched his other hand into a tight fist, bringing it up and banging it hard once on the statue above his head. He pressed his forehead against the cool stone and closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself.
"Where are you, Marlee?" He asked the large empty room. he stayed like that for what seemed like hours but in reality was only a few minutes. Morgan finally pulled away from the statue and dragged himself up off the floor and onto his feet as he turned away from the statue, his emerald eyes flashing open. He quickly picked up his pack that he had found while digging in the debris and broke out into a run, dashing over the moss-covered rocks and heading towards the exit. He came to the mouth of the cave and came face to face with a boy around his age, standing in the middle of the exit with his arms stretched out at either side of him, blocking Morgan from getting out. His tattered long-sleeved grey shirt, brown shorts, and uneven honey-coloured hair gave Morgan the impression that this boy lived here, for whatever reason.
"You can't go out. It's not safe,"The boy said to Morgan in a serious tone as Morgan went to take another step towards the exit.
"And why not? I need to get out, my sister is lost in here somewhere and she might be hurt!"Morgan said frantically as he clenched his hand into a fist. The boy shook his head from side to side as Morgan spoke.
"Your sister is not in here. Your sister is now trapped inside that statue where you just came!"He said, pointing towards the dark tunnel behind Morgan. Morgan's eyes widened and a confused look spread across his face.
"No, That can't be right, how can she be 'trapped' inside the statue? And how do you even know what happened?! You weren't there! You don't-"Morgan started but got cut off by the boy yelling,
"I know because I was trapped in there before her!" Morgan's face drained of all colour as he stumbled backwards, his head slightly shaking from side to side. He fell to his knees once more, putting his hands on the ground infront of him.
"No.. No... It.. Can't be.."He muttered to himself over and over again as he felt tears start to stream down his face. He brought up one hand and furiously tried to wipe the tears away but they kept coming. The boy put his arms down and walked over to Morgan, looking down at him sadly. He waited until Morgan was done crying before he held out his hand to help him up.
"I can help you get her back. We can find a way,"He said kindly, a small smile coming onto his face as Morgan looked up at him."What's your name?"He asked. Morgan stared up at the boy for a moment before reaching out his hand and grasping onto his.
"My name is Morgan,"He replied as he pulled himself from the ground. The boy smiled cheerfully as he let go of Morgan's hand.
"It's nice to meet you Morgan, My name is Karlan."The boy said as he watched Morgan walk to the edge of the cave entrance. Karlan followed him and stood beside him as he looked up and watched some clouds pass overby and some raindrops start falling.
"I'm guessing this is going to be a long journey,"Morgan said before he stepped out of the cave, followed by Karlan.