It was just an adventure
Guys, over here! I think I found something!" Nina called out.
The others rushed toward her. On the drugged up ground lay an unusual skeleton—its bones worn and rusted with age.
"I think I'll need to take a picture of this," Deuce said, pulling out his phone.
"This must be really old, judging by how rusty these bones look," Kyle added, casually nudging one of the bones aside.
"Probably even older than human evolution itself," Nina said, half-joking, half-serious.
Gavin crouched down to examine it more closely. "It's a human skeleton… but it has fangs and unusually long nails," he said slowly, confusion in his voice.
"Obviously, from digging things up with her 'expert detector,'" Claire said mockingly.
"Hey, at least it proved useful this time," Nina shot back.
The two were just about to argue when Deuce suddenly interrupted.
"Guys… what's that?"
They turned to where he was pointing. Lying near the skeleton was a strange metal amulet. It was surrounded by transparent crystals that seemed to glow faintly, forming a perfect circle around it.
"That wasn't there before… or was it?" Claire asked uneasily.
"I'm not entirely sure… but I don't think it was," Gavin replied, still staring at it.
"Well, what did we expect from wandering into a long-forgotten and sealed forest?" Deuce said, stepping closer.
He knelt beside the skeleton and reached for the amulet.
"I don't know about you, but I feel like that's a bad idea," Kyle warned.
But Deuce ignored him and tried to force the amulet loose.
"I don't know about you but—"
Before he could finish, the ground began to shake violently beneath them, like an earthquake tearing through the earth and revealing an underground cave"I think from here, we should go back," Claire muttered nervously. But her friends ignored her.
"Hey! I'm not scared," she quickly added, trying to sound brave.
"Then lead the way," one of them teased.
The others exchanged glances and smirked. Claire sighed. "Why don't you guys ever listen to me? I really don't want to go into a place covered with total darkness," she said shakily.
"That's why we brought a flashlight… or did you forget yours?" Kyle asked, staring at her.
"Come on, Claire, you're not the only one who's scared. I mean, we all are—but we'll face it together," he added, handing her a flashlight.
Claire took it slowly and stared at the cave below. Darkness seemed to swirl around it, creeping outward like it was alive. Her eyes widened as the faint light from their flashlights reflected back strangely, as if something was watching them.
As they stepped through the gate, a strange sound echoed around them—low and eerie, like a whisper carried by the wind. It felt as though the walls themselves were warning them not to enter.
But they kept walking.
The deeper they went, the darker it became. The shadows thickened, almost swallowing the light from their flashlights.
"Why does it feel like we're walking into an endless void?" Nina asked, her voice trembling.
Almost immediately, an old lantern—one that looked ancient—flickered to life in the distance, glowing faintly in the darkness.
They all froze.
"Did… did you see that?" Claire whispered, her voice barely audible.