10 years ago

The cool autumn air blew a soft scent through the forest trail, marking the beginning of fall. Bora swiftly jumped over the tree roots with the agility of a fox, with Siyeon following behind, trying to move her legs as fast as possible, laughing. With a burst of speed, Bora took off towards a pile of rocks, extending her hands to touch it.

"Hahaha, I'm still faster! I knew I'd beat you to this stone pile!" Bora laughed, catching her breath in the windy air.

"I'll beat you next time, I swear," Siyeon countered, out of breath. Her long black hair was tangled in the wind, but still flowing freely.

Bora smiled at the thought. She knew her friend never beat her in a race before, and wouldn't the next time. "You say that every time, but you never do. Guess I'm still the winner here!"

They both stepped to the large pile of rocks built into a hillside, hoping to find something interesting. The seemingly ordinary display seemed to hum with life, inviting them closer.

"There's a bit of loose rock here, and—Oh! It's an entrance!" Siyeon exclaimed, shifting small rocks around with her hands. She gestured towards a small empty space, just small enough for them to crawl through.

With cautious steps, Bora trailed after Siyeon as they crawled into the narrow crevice, fingers grazing the rough surface of the stone walls. The temperature dropped with every step they took, accompanied by an increase in humidity that sent shivers running down their spines. The only sounds that broke the eerie silence were the soft crunch of fallen leaves underfoot and the distant dripping of water. Upon entering, they noticed that the cave was huge.

Siyeon stopped. "Are you sure we should continue?" she asked, her voice barely a murmur in the dense air, her earlier determination cut short.

Bora pressed on, her determination unwavering. "Absolutely. We're merely exploring, remember? Besides, who knows what treasures await us at the end of this tunnel?"

They continued their gradual descent, each step a testament to their shared sense of adventure. As the passage narrowed, they were forced to walk in single file, a palpable unease settling over them, constricting their chests like invisible bands.

Suddenly, a thunderous rumble reverberated through the tunnel, causing the girls to freeze in their tracks. The ground shook beneath them, dislodging small rocks from the walls and sending them raining down in a shower of dust.

"What in the world was that?" Siyeon exclaimed, her eyes wide with apprehension.

Bora's heart raced, but she maintained a semblance of composure. "It appears to be a cave-in. We must continue moving forward, or we risk becoming trapped here."

With a newfound sense of urgency, they quickened their pace, their breaths coming in ragged gasps. The rumbling intensified, growing louder and more frequent, as if the very foundations of the tunnel were being shaken. Their progress became a race against time, every step fraught with peril.

A giant cloud of dust blew through the cave, ensnarling them in its grasp. The dust covered the air, making them not know where they were going anymore.

"Bora! Where are you?" Siyeon screamed, voice muffled by the wind. She felt suffocated to her core with the dust tightening her every second. The proximity of the dust was a bit too close to her comfort, and she clenched her fists, trying to overcome the feeling.

"I should be right next to you..." Bora whispered, regretting her decision. The dust was slowly eroding her senses, creating an eerie sense of isolation and disorientation. It was as if she was trapped in an endless void, devoid of any familiar landmarks or points of reference.

In the midst of the tumultuous dust storm, Siyeon's voice echoed something uncomprehendable through the air, muffled by the relentless wind. She felt true fear and the feeling of wanting to break out.

Bora's voice, a soft whisper carried by the wind, replied, "After the wind stops, we should be able to crawl back out." As the dust continued to swirl around her, Bora felt a primal fear grip her heart. It was a fear that slithered up her body like a thousand tiny snakes, constricting her limbs and leaving her paralyzed. Never before had she experienced such raw and unadulterated terror, a fear that threatened to consume her whole being.

"The dust's not stopping! We haven't gone that far, turn back and start slowly walking. Here, grab my hand," Siyeon strategized, holding her hand out. Her mind was racing with ways to get out immediately, so many different plans that wouldn't work.

Bora reached out and found her friend's hand in the midst of the dust storm. With each deliberate step, they gradually made their way towards what they believed to be the direction of what they thought was where the exit was. The atmosphere lomed over them like a shadow, their hearts beating in sync with the echoes of their own footsteps.

"Wait!" Siyeon called out as she used her arm to just barely stop herself from banging into a wall. "What if we just walk along the wall and make our way to the exit?"

"Good idea," Bora said, running out of solutions, fear eating at her braincells. Together they held on to one another and slowly made their way along the cave, navigating through the rough edges of the walls.

After endless walking, they still couldn't reach the exit, and the dust only seemed to get worse. Swirling shades of brown and orange blew around them in the cave, and even worse, they started to hear loose rocks falling off the cave walls.

"Get off the walls! Loose rocks are falling!" Bora commanded. They both started running away from the walls, not knowing what was in front of them. Bora tripped and fell over a loose rock on the ground, the one of many threatening to trip them.

"Bora! Where'd you go?" Siyeon called out after she felt her friend's hand slip out of hers.

"I'm fine, right here," Bora responded, standing up quickly and brushing herself off. Her voice echoed in the cave.

"Let's keep going, I think the dust levels are starting to drop," Siyeon said as she managed to pick out a tiny piece of outside light in her view.

They blindly walked to the light, which only seemed to get brighter as they got close. The light got more and more visible, and adrenaline surged through their veins as they broke into a sprint, crawling back out into the autumn air.

"Come on! We're almost there!" Siyeon exclaimed, glad to be out.

Beside her, Bora breathed heavily. "I'm never doing that again."

They both collapsed onto the soft grass, their chests heaving as they struggled to catch their breath. They had made it out alive, but not without new fears that would stay with them.

Siyeon laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "We both know you'll definitely go exploring again." She lay down on the soft grass, staring up at the darkening sky.

Bora looked around. "Hey, this isn't where we've come from!" she exclaimed, noticing the colors were a bit too vibrant and reality seemed off. She looked back.

"Where's the cave?" Siyeon asked as if reading her friend's mind.

The answer came to Bora in a shock of realization. "We're stuck in the dream world. But since we're here, let's explore, I guess."