Trenton

I swam for an hour before the idea came to me. I stopped and caught my breath while treading water. At least the water was slightly warm. I searched with my mind, until I found what I was looking for. I called to it, and a minute later I saw a fin coming up out of the water. It was a dolphin! It swam towards me and circled around me once before coming to my side. I grabbed onto its fin and commanded it to go forward. It swam a lot quicker than I could and before I knew it, I could see the mainland. We finally got close enough to shore that I let go and swam the rest of the way. I dragged myself onto the beach and lay in the warm sand. It was late morning and the sun was shining. I stood up and walked towards the city. I dried off as I walked and asked around. I was in St. James City. I found a dock and a boat company. I asked the captain if he could go to the island and get the other. I gave him a wad of money that he couldn’t refuse. He eyed it, then agreed. I continued walking until I found a side road. It split off into a jungle. I continued walking and found a faded sign. I tried to read what it said, but it was too faded and torn up. I continued walking and it got hotter and muggier. I was sweating heavily as I walked up a hill. Trees around me provided some shade, but when I got to the top, I was out of breath and sticky with sweat. I slid my shirt off and wiped my face and body with it. I stuffed it in my backpack and kept walking. I walked through some bushes and finally reached my destination. Before me loomed a giant stone pyramid. It was build like one of the Aztecs, not the Egyptians. A ziggurat. I approached it with caution. Another sign, not quite as faded as the first one, read “Ancient Pyramid: Unknown Origin” and under that was another smaller plank of wood nailed to it reading “DO NOT APPROACH”. So naturally the thing I do is approach it. I walked around the base of it for a while, looking for a way in. After circling it for half an hour, I find no entrance. I keep walking around, looking intensely at each stone. I finally find one that has a small figure inscribed in it. It looks like the slenderman. It’s in a small circle, so I press it, and I hear a grating noise. I look to my right and a segment of the wall has opened up. I walk over to it and peer into it. A long, dark passageway lies before me. I pull out my tiny flashlight and walk into it. It’s about six feet tall and three feet wide. My head brushes the ceiling as I walk. I flick on my flashlight and right in front of me is a giant spider web. It spans across the whole corridor, side to side, top to bottom. I exit and grab a large stick and walk back. I wave my stick through it and the passage clears. I continue walking, avoiding cobwebs as I walk, and eventually come to a fork. I decide to go left and walk. I decide to start running so I could get this over with quickly. I came to another fork, and went right. I came to one with three splits and I took the right one again. This kept happening over and over again, and I would make split second decisions, not knowing where I was. I kept running and eventually became tired. I took a rest and sat on the ground and drank some water. After ten minutes, I stood and continued running. I kept running into these forks, but nothing changed. I was getting nowhere. As I came to a T-shaped fork, I tripped and fell on my knees. I could feel warm blood running down my leg, and I sat against the wall trying to stem the flow with my shirt. I put my head in my hands and fell into a state of despair. I had come all this way for nothing. And now I was probably never going to get out of here. All of it, this whole journey, was my fault. I was selfish and needed people with me because I was scared. I needed to feel important. And look at where it got me. I should just turn back now. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. If I treated this fork like a dead end, maybe it would be different. The blood on my knees had dried, and I stood up shakily. I turned and started jogging in the other direction. This time, it felt different. It was a gut feeling, but I knew I was getting somewhere. Finally, ahead of me, I saw a staircase. At the top was a bright light. I started climbing up the stairs, but when I went to step, the stairs vanished. I fell straight through. I kept falling and falling for an endless amount of time. I knew for sure I was going to hit ground eventually and would die. I searched with my mind to find Kylie, miles away still on the island.

“Kylie.”

“Trenton! Where are you? What’s going on? Are you okay?” she replied worriedly.

“I’m sorry, I-“ my voice wavered. “I won’t be able to come back. Tell Serena I’m sorry.” She started freaking out, but I got her to stay quiet.

“I’m so sorry. I got a bit too arrogant. I’m very sorry.” Tears started flying out of my eyes as I was falling.

“Trenton. Where are you?” she asked quietly.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be dead in a moment. Good-bye. I love you.” With that, I severed the connection and got ready to hit the ground.