World 101
A Short Story By: Jennie Bean
-continued-
Chapter 6 - How Deep Is It?
As this question slips out of my mouth, I vaguely remember something from my childhood that involved wondering how deep a pool of water was.
"Only one way to find out, Ruby," Tuck says with a smile. We continue to dig down until the blue arrow levels off so it is straight ahead. We plow through at lightning speed and break through the last wall revealing a scene similar to the 'hell' level. It is eerily quiet.
I walk towards the edge of the lava pool in front of us and notice markings on the side of the rock. It reads: '2 ft.' There is another island a stone’s throw away. I take some material from my heavy bag and throw it into the hot lava. Luckily, it does not melt the rock, and I am able to make a bridge across.
"Smart. I'm glad I'm not doing this alone!" Tuck remarks. He undoes the tie on his knee and reinforces the knot. I am beginning to think that Tuck has changed since I first got him out of the andesite. I think I finally found my courage, but I couldn't have done this without him either.
"I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you, Tuck."
We walk across the bridge, and I look around, hoping to not find any spiders here. There is a huge hill in front of us. "Let's see the view!" I say.
As we walk up to the peak, a house made out of gold comes into view to our left. It is a magnificent sight and glows so brightly I can barely look at it after coming from all the darkness in the caves.
To our right, a set of strings attach themselves to rocks all the way up to the ceiling of the cave. This huge web has a few broken weapons attached to it. With my jaw open in shock, I tap incessantly on Tuck’s arm. A gigantic spider sneaks out from behind some red oval shapes. Oh crap.
“It’s the mother trying to shield her eggs,” Tuck realizes. There is a huge pile of red spider eggs, and our blue brochure sits nicely on top. We stare at it in disbelief.
Now would be a good time for the purple glow stone. “Come on!” I say as I throw my stone down and grab Tuck’s hand. We transport off to the surface to my home base. It is so good to see daylight again.
I run to the computer to figure out a way to blast them away. “TNT!”
“Yes, shatter them to pieces!” Tuck exclaims, “Try C-4 instead. We may get a better result.”
I sell the heavy material from my bag and buy a C-4 explosive. I wonder how I can light it, and remember a torch where Tuck was first found. I scrunch my face and look at Tuck.
“I’ve got matches,” he says knowingly and pats his shirt pocket.
I hold onto the C-4, semi-afraid it will detonate in my hands somehow. I’ve never held a firework before. We hop on the purple glow stone, and it takes us right back to the hill. The spider is now closer and half on top of her eggs. We need to place the C-4 right near the eggs, but blow up the mother spider as well.
"Let's come up from below. If we just run over there, we'll be eaten right away," I suggest.
"Okay," Tucks agrees. We hack away at the hill and make headway on a passage below the surface of this hell, part two. 'Clink!' Tuck's axe hits something hard.
Music fills our passageway: 'In the town of Bedrock...' We've hit rock bottom! We both burst out into laughter.
We turn in the direction of the mother spider and her eggs. We estimate where they would be and start digging upwards. I still have a few ladders left over, and we use them to climb up. The last of the marble-like rock breaks free and leaves a small opening. I poke my head out and see the back of the mother spider and the eggs within a small distance. Perfect!
"I'm going to slide the C-4 out. Throw your match and then run!" I whisper looking down at Tuck. I slowly slide the C-4 out towards the eggs. I worry I will startle the mother spider, but she doesn't stir. I creep down the ladders and watch Tuck go up. He looks at me and gives a nod. I dash down the passageway towards the hill. I am making my way up the hilltop as I feel the rumble. There is a huge explosion and debris falls down the hatch. I cover myself with my bag until it quiets.
"Tuck?" I call.
"Yes," he answers calmly looking up at me.
"You made it out okay! I wasn't sure with your leg and all," I said shyly.
We both make our way to the top of the hill and peek our heads out. Broken egg shells are everywhere. The mother spider is wounded and motionless near the lava pool. The blue brochure sits on the ground, looking untouched, where the tower of red eggs used to stand. Tuck and I look at each other for a second, and then race down the hill to the blue brochure. We both open it on the ground. There is nothing written in it, but a gold key is taped to the inside.
“The gold house key!” we exclaim. We walk over to the house, and smiling, Tuck hands me the key. I open it right up. From inside the gold house, there is a yellow slip on the floor. It reads:
'Wisdom: You are the survivor!'
“Ruby, I knew you could do it. You really are a leader!” he says. I smile so big, and I cannot contain my excitement. I hug Tuck and kiss him on the cheek.
“Jem! Jem!” a voice comes from afar, and I find myself being shaken.
“Jem, you did it! You beat the game!” my boyfriend, bright-eyed and grinning, sits next to me on the couch.
Reality returns to me in an instant. I look up and see a tiny spider on the living room wall. Heh.
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Thank you to Total Miner for being the inspiration to my story. Thank you to the bf and friends, who motivate me to actually do things.
Let me know your thoughts on my story! Good or bad reviews appreciated.
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