I'm too busy listening to Harper and worrying about the end of the world to notice that we've stopped. In front of us is a totally different sight.

There's a large horizontal gap in the floor, which beyond that is made of different colors of stained glass with empty pedestals in random spots on the floor.  Fake torches provide light at the sides and glass lights are attached to the brightly colored ceiling. At the end is another large wall that looks just like the cave, except there is a pair of rusty but strong looking doors.

"Wow, Harper, this is-"

"-my haven," she finishes quietly for me through a sigh of relief, walking over to some of the pedestals, in which I soon notice have more details than I had caught on. "Long time no see."

Her voice is still in a bare whisper, so I can hardly make out what she's saying. But fortunately for me, she doesn't say anymore, letting me admire her building in amazement. I am absolutely stunned, and for a moment, I forget about the world, keeping my eyes on the stained glass, dusty but still shining. The elegant glass lights hanging from the top, they're uplifting. And I can't help but feel hopeful.

Something clicks, and I am drawn out of my temporary fantasy, eyeing Harper as she pulls down a wooden lever, making some of the stained glass spots press downwards into the ground, and something looking like cauldrons rise.

"Can you do me a favor and that bucket from Ron-uh, I mean, that green colored pedestal? You just have to slide it open."

Taking a moment to process her words, I nod, suddenly catching Ivor still gazing at the place in awe. I nudge him on my way over to the pedestal, which has a small, green, face made of pixels.

"Ron?" I call out bluntly, as if I'm expecting anything to happen.

"Hello Harper. It is happy to see you, my friend." I shouldn't have opened my big mouth. I nearly lose my shit-ahem, my composure, as I gape open my mouth.

"Hey, don't judge me," her voice is slightly amused, as if she enjoys my endearing surprise, "being alone gets lonely."

Ivor just grunts, gesturing me to continue. I do a quick skim, top to bottom, and slide the square in the middle to the right, revealing an empty, rusty bucket. Before I can even touch it, however, a little hose comes out from the top of the compartment and releases water until it fills it to the top. I watch with a slight grin on my face.

"Uh, thanks?" I take the bucket out.

"Happy to be of service."

Ivor follows me as I hand over the filled bucket to Harper. She thanks us, examines the bucket, and pours about a third of the water into the cauldron. The ground shakes a bit, and the sound of roaring water plummets down into the horizontal gap in the floor, only a portion though.

"Woah!" I cry out, amazed, as the mist of the water reaches my nose, reminding me how cold I still am from being drenched, making me shiver.

Harper gives me a glance, a second too long, before turning back to the remaining two cauldrons.

"I needed a way to confuse PAMA, that's why everything is more complicated than it needs to be." She explains, finishing pouring the remnants inside the bucket, and making more water rush out from the ceiling of the cave and into the gap.

It's a waterfall.

"It sounds like you knew this was going to happen." I half-tease. Harper shrugs.

"Nah, I just liked the idea. This is right near the lake, after all. I was just being creative."

The sound of the waterfall comforts me. PAMA shouldn't be able to get through, Harper's underneath lake cavern is perfect for this situation. Not that the situation is good, but you know what I mean.

"You, are an amazing builder." Ivor exclaims, out of breath.

"Don't drool on my floor now." She replies with a laugh.

The three of us stare at the rushing water, letting it ring in our ears. The stained glass glints in the light, the fake torches going out so the lighting is almost perfect. Ivor sighs in admiration. With this, you could almost forget what's going on.

But now, the fear is nonexistent. And I'm taking it in. Even if it's the tiniest moment, I'm taking this moment of hope.

The giant, rusty double doors at the end creak open.

"Ah, finally." Harper murmurs. "Come on you two, we've got a world to save."

Ivor follows her inside, but I stay a minute. I take a step closer to the waterfall, so close that if I leaned in my head would be underneath. The spray tickles my just-dried skin. My heart is beating hard, as if I'm nervous.

I picture my own reflection. A girl who's a literal mess, but she's got good intentions, I hope. I try and picture myself.

And then, I picture them. They reach for me, arms outstretched and hands ready to take. Petra winks at me while Lukas gives a wave. I laugh, shaking my head.

"Don't worry, I'm going to save you. I promise."

"Jesse, you coming?" Harper's voice echoes throughout the cave.

"Yeah, wait up!" I run through the double doors, leaving them and my doubt behind.

I was looking at previous chapters and I realized that I started this almost a year ago, in February. Crazy, right? It's really been that long.

I also realized there are only fourteen chapters in this book (yeaaah, not good) but there are over 4K views! Wth?!! Literally, wow

Thank you for everyone who's still reading, and continuing to support me despite my irregular posting schedules. I appreciate each and every one of you!