Chapter 5

I stood staring at the abandoned construction site, it was quite a sight. It looked like they were trying to make an apartment building, but they dropped it half-way through, though the reason why wasn't apparent. I would bet money that I would find out soon enough.

The entrance was only part way finished. The cement made the walls strong and durable, but it looked like they hadn't gotten to laying down the wood or roof. I looked up at the six floors, which like I had thought; was missing a roof. I walk up the dusty pathway in the field of tall grass, up to the looming entrance. Liam, who looked a bit edgy held back a tiny bit.

"You coming Liam?" I ask.

"Yeah yeah it's just a bit creepy."

I could tell what he meant by creepy. In the shadows of the clouds, the cement took a dark grey and what wood that was there was already rotting. Leaving it with a haunted house feel, especially with all the dark shadows in corners of rooms that were in view.

I walk in and take out my phone and turn on the light, Liam does the same a few seconds later. The first room was a large lobby, confirming my suspicion that it was a condo or hotel of some sort. I could see partly finished stairwells and mangled pieces of rotting wood on the floor all over.

I kicked a piece of wood in my way as I barged in, kicking dust up into the air. I coughed it out and covered my eyes, god there was a ton of dust.

"Dude what the hell," complained Liam, rubbing his eyes. He hadn't had time to cover them when the storm of dust erupted from the ground.

"Sorry, I'll be more careful."

Liam just grumbled and trudged off to the left to inspect another room. None of the rooms had doors and that just added to the creepiness somehow. Careful not to step on anything else I make my way straight, just looking for anything. It wasn't like they were looking for something in particular, they were just exploring.

I continue further into the building into the room behind the lobby, yet again it was an empty room aside from a few piles of rotting wood and rocks. I realize strangely that there was a door on my right, not that it was a strange door, it was just the first door in the building, almost as if it was hiding something.

I walk up to it try opening it to no avail. It was locked. Then I realize what I was doing. I was trying to open a locked rotting door that was left there in the dust and termites for years. God I was dumb.

I step back and kick as hard as I can, surprisingly, the door didn't budge. As if it had been freshly installed recently. Confused I inspect the door more closely and I realize I was right. The door was new, there was hardly any dust or damage done to the door, aside from my lousy kick. For some reason somebody doesn't want people snooping inside. Maybe something on the other side was even responsible for the abandoning of the site.

I walk away to explore the rest of the building ignoring the door for now, it was probably nothing anyways and I wasn't about to waste time kicking a door like a lunatic in a creepy abandoned construction site.

I walk around and eventually turn my phone light off, because some of the cracked walls let sun rays file through like blades. It helped me feel a bit safer wandering alone in the cold dusty place and I realized splitting up was a terrible idea. In a place like this it could be the perfect place for a horror movie where someone comes and kills us both. The worst part about it is about how I wouldn't be able to have chocolate ever again. That is truly, truly depressing. Oh yeah and dying would suck too.

I come into a separate room that's nearly pitch black. It was one of the newer rooms, not that there was less dust or debris, but less cracks in the walls and less chance of stepping on a nail. I put my flash light on again and turn and look at the wall where it has been ravaged by spray paint. Vandalism, nice.

I try to make sense of any of it, but so many people had added their own things that it was impossible to make out any of it. Well, not counting the more recent obvious ones which were the dicks. Quite a popular topic for vandalism I see.

Before I turn I notice a small trail of red paint going up to the celling, like it was dripping down the wall, I see it had also dripped onto the floor where I stand. I look up and flash my phone light and see in big red on the ceiling someone had written; RUN NOW.

I really would love to but I'm a bit busy at the moment.

I ignore the ominous message that so clearly states my death is soon and imminent and head to the main lobby to find my dear friend Liam who hopefully isn't dead. I find him waiting holding his hand to his chest.

He confessed, "I cut myself."

I reply "That's nice."

"It really hurt."

"I'm sure it did, you're so brave."

Liam scowled, "you don't even care do you."

"Not one bit. Find anything interesting or secretive where we can hide away like children and use magical powers we don't even understand?"

"Don't talk about it like that and no, I did not. You?"

"Not really, I found a door."

"Wow you're special."

"Thank you, anyways its back here."

I lead him into the back and show him the door. He tries to open it.

"It's locked." He frowned.

"No way really? Let me try, I didn't realize the first time." I say sarcastically.

He sighed, and stepped back. He cracked his knuckles and kicked out at the door. Nothing happened.

"You know I already tried that right? Oh never mind, how do you want to get it open?" I ask him.

Liam shrugged, "how would I know, I can hardly lift water into the air, I doubt I could do something to break it down. Would there be a key somewhere?"

"I doubt it, unless they left it under a rock or something nearby, sort of like what people do with doormats."

I lean on the wall puzzled, the door had us at checkmate. Which was fairly good for an inanimate object. Suddenly my foot drops from beneath me, like the floor broke under my weight. But that is exactly what happened. I tumbled through the floor and hit the hard cement floor below. It hurt quite a lot.

"Finn! Are you okay! Talk to me!" Yelled Liam from the hole entrance a few meters above me.

"Yeah I'm fine, where am I anyway?"

I looked around and realized I was in an underground parking lot- or a nearly finished one. It was pitch black but I could see the support columns and the openness that would soon become one if the place had not been abandoned.

"It's a parking lot! Dude, Liam get down here, but don't hurt yourself doing it."

"OK I'll try my best" he called down. I hear him do the exact opposite and jump down the hole behind me and hit the floor.

"That hurt," he mumbled.

"You had one job Liam."

I look around and suddenly stagger backwards, away from the edge of a giant sink hole. How had I not seen it earlier? I knew my vision was worse then a blind mole rat, but I would of thought I could see a giant gaping hole next to me. I realize how close I could have been to falling down into it from the floor above. It gave me shivers.

"I think we found out why the place was abandoned, I think the ground was unstable and it wasn't safe to work here anymore, and this is exactly why. And that door up there is probably to stop people from falling into the sink hole. If the floor broke then there could be a disaster, especially without the support of the broken columns caused by the hole." I say.

"Yup," said Liam, un-successfully trying to seem smart as well.

I pick my phone up from the ground which luckily landed front up and didn't crack the screen, raising it and walking forward into the darkness to see just how big this parking lot really was, maybe they would actually have a place to go for Liam to practice his magic. And myself hopefully, of course.

Despite the large hole there was nothing else special in the parking lot, just a large empty space that was dark, cold and dusty.

It was perfect.

"One problem," said Liam, "if I'm going to be practicing here how am I going to get water? I can't do much with just spit you do realize."

"We can just bring it, we can bring some water, some lights so we can see, some food if we get hungry and maybe some other things to make it comfortable."

"You make it sound like were making a fort." Liam said.

"Well that's literally my intention." I said

"Good god."

"Why? Do you not want to build a fort?" I inquired, regarding him suspiciously.

"Well, forts are sort of childish, we're hardly kids anymore."

"But it's a fort."

"Yes I know that Finn, I'll only do it if you really intend to do it."

I stare at him for a moment, I blink. "You really want to build this fort don't you?"

Liam gives in, "hell yeah I'll get the pillows and can snag a carpet." He laughed, and grinned at me. "We're such losers aren't we."

"Quite indeed," I agreed with him, after all it was true. I was mainly popular at school cause I'm funny and very random at times.

"Well anyways, how do you suggest we get out of here? It's getting fairly late and I doubt there's gonna be anything else down here. Well, there might be something in the sink hole, but it'll probably just be a leprechaun and they're very annoying."

I was about to make a comment about how leprechauns aren't real and if they were they TOTALLY would be at a bowling alley wearing funny hats, but suddenly that's when my phone light died. Immediately the room got darker, the only available light now was Liam's phone.

"Don't worry my phone still has some battery left." Liam reassured me.

Liam's phone abruptly died as well.

"I was lying." He confessed.

But that's when I realized that the room wasn't pitch black, there was a glow coming from a corner in the room, over behind the sink hole. Unfortunately, the sink hole was also in the corner, blocking them off from what seemed to be a hole in the ceiling where the light was infiltrating.

In the darkness I could make out the thin ledge of the floor jutting out of the wall. Of course if I were to slip off this ledge I would fall down the sink hole, and most likely definitely die. Positive thoughts, Finn, positive thoughts.

Liam was looking at the light as well, and then glanced down at the sink hole, and instantly back away. "Oh hell no, there is no way that I'm crossing that."

I shrug, "get ready cause it's the only way out. I think, I would be pretty upset if we died when there could be a stairwell over there in the darkness."

"Is there a stairwell?" Liam asked hopefully.

"Probably not." I say.

"Oh." he says as he sags to the ground.

I walk over and pat him on the back. Well, I patted his face in the dark, and he didn't complain so I'm sure he found it very encouraging.

"Follow my lead," I say as I walk over to where the ledge is. Fear bit in the back of my throat, my stomach flip flopped like a pancake and my legs started to get numb.

Gathering my courage, I take a step on the edge, it holds my foot, I take another step. I was now on the ledge, if something happened now it was all over. I slowly started edging my way over, careful not to put all my weight on any one foot. The ground could still be unstable.

Time seems to go by slowly as inch by inch I cross the two meter gap. I look down to to see how far I am, I mistakenly look a bit beyond only to see the gaping darkness below. My heart beats so loud I wonder if Liam can hear it. I freeze in fear and my palms begin to sweat.

I try to grab at the wall for any sort of edge but it was smooth as stone. I start to tilt towards the sink hole, I start to panic. What do I do! I look around the room to find Liam but strangely he's no where to be seen. I look to see how far I am across the ledge. I was nearly there! If only I could jump-

The ledge starts to groan, the noise started small, just a few light scratches within the old concretes surface. Then the first cracks appeared. Small at first, light little webs spreading quickly over the grey face. I start to move a little faster, and faster and faster.

But the webs were catching up, they had started on the far side where I had begun and were coming fast. I had to think quick, turning my feet I prepare to jump. It wasn't that far at all. Just a meter- but a meter in the dark didn't give me too much confidence, which was why I didn't dare try to jump it in the first place. Not to mention that the ground below him could break as I launched myself.

I crouch down to get as much air as possible, which was a big mistake I realize too late. My butt bounces off the wall pushing me forward off the edge. I reach out to grab anything at all, but there was nothing to latch onto. My arms pinwheel and I start to fall, I hold my breath reflexively and push off the ledge, shattering it as I did so.

I shoot my right arm out and grab the furthest ledge on the edge of the sinkhole. I hung by one arm, I glance down to see nothing but darkness. Paranoia bites me in the back, as if someone or something would come out of the pit and grab me, pulling me in to seal my fate.

Ignoring this, I pull my other arm up and hoist myself up the edge. Good thing I was fit, I always new working out would safe my life from a random sinkhole one day. Now on the far side, I turn to tell Liam it was his turn, and that he would probably have to jump it cause there was no more ledge to shuffle across. But Liam was no where to be seen.

No wonder he didn't say anything or lend a hand when I was in trouble. "Liam, I nearly just died and I'm not in the mood for hide and seek." Liam didn't come out of the darkness, or reveal himself from whatever hiding spot he was hiding in.

I sigh, "well, you can do it on your own." If he was gonna let me die I would let him die, cause what else are friends for?

I turn to where the light was originating from. I was right, there was a small hole where the light was breaking through. It was up in the corner of the wall, and it seemed as if an animal has dug a hole but was met with the concrete of the underground parking lot, and then out of anger dug through the concrete as well. Animals are funny that way.

It was big enough to fit me so I went ahead and grabbed the bottom of the hole and pulled myself up and into it, I grasped at the dirt, eventually finding a rock and used it to pull myself through the hole into the light of the sun.

I noticed Liam was there waiting for me. I stare him cold daggers.

"There was a stairwell." He explained promptly.

"I hate you."


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