Crossing Problems | Teen Ink

Crossing Problems

November 1, 2016
By Anonymous

It was another boring Saturday school stuck with 3 [a]other people In the dull, cinderblock, class. It was me, Mary, Noah, and Caleb. Caleb was the type of person to get Saturday school by accidentally disrespecting his teacher. He was average height wore a blue, white, and black striped  jacket, and had dark hair and eyes.[b] One thing that really defined him was a scar that stretched out as long as a bird's wing span on his arm. I met Mary’s gaze and new  it was time to break out of this morbid cinderblock cell they call a “class room”. However, as soon as I got up Noah, started yelling about something arrow shaped flashing outside. This and I ran to the dirty small window to see a metallic black object that was triangle shaped and had a two split ends[c] making it look like an arrow. That was the last thing I saw before everything turned black. It felt like I was floating in water all senses deprived I could hear nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing. The only thing I could do was smell, It smelled like salt and bleacher[d]. Then all of a sudden I fell.
I stood up and the last thing I remember was seeing the mysterious floating object and yelling at the others to come look. As I look around I see huge stone walls with vines growing around them in each and every direction. It smells as If everything was bleached. The smell reminded me of the hospital. The day everything spoiled including me.[e] I would escape this game. I ran through the first door way then as I walked I realized what this was. It was a maze. I looked for signs of anyone that was in the class at the time Mary, Thia, and Caleb was nowhere to be found. “I need a good vantage point”, I said talking to myself. I climbed the vines and looked around there it was the center. Left, left, right, left, right, right. Was the pattern to get to the center. As I reached the center There was one other person it was mary. “Took you long enough”, she said[f]. “Is anyone else coming?” right as I spoke the middle of the floor opened and there was a walkway of metal into a light source.
“What are we doing here?”, I asked the pessimist that called herself mary. She had light brown hair and constantly wore leather. I noticed for once I wasn't wearing my jacket. We were both wearing cargo pants and shiny white shirts that has barcodes on them.”how am I supposed to know, do I look like the kind of person to know a kidnapper's motives?”. Yes, “of course not I’m just asking because,  you might have gathered more information from the situation than I have.”
        “Well I didn’t”.
        “Then we have a big problem.”
        “What's that?”
        “We’re about to have to swim.”
        “Oooo scary a pool.”
        “I'm thinking more of an ocean, with sharks and volcanoes.”
        “Alright what book are you on about now.”[g]
        “Hopefully the one where the main characters aren't eaten alive by sharks.”
She finally looked up and gasped at what was in front of us. It was a ledge that was leading to shark infested waters.
“Maybe we don't need to swim?”
“Hmmmm let me think… THERES DIVING EQUIPMENT!”
“They might have just forgotten it here last time they were feeding them.”
“A, not likely and B, let's hope they feed them regularly”
I can't believe I was stuck with goody goody. I think that if the sharks don't kill us I might die of annoyance.
“Welp i'm not dying from staying in a room I’d rather take my chances with the sharks when I have enough energy then when we’re forced to by starvation.”
“That's cool I’ll be right behind you, ladies first right.”
“Then why don't you go first.”
We put on the diving equipment and did pencil dives into the water. We were halfway through when a shark came charging at caleb. I couldn’t let the kid die so I kicked up the sand and made a huge underwater cloud I grabbed caleb's wrist and made him swim away while we still could. I  came to a sudden stop  because, I could see a dark vent that led I figured that was our only chance of getting out of this so, I pointed to it to signal where I was going and started swimming.
“Great really what's going to happen next”,
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”
“What is that?”
“It sounds like people screaming”
“Obviously But, who?”
        All of a sudden two people dropped from the ceiling. 
“Mary?”
“Thia?”
“Caleb?”
“Noah?”
        As soon as they landed smoke started filling the room. In a panic we were looking for a way out but I good feel myself losing consciousness. It was a weird sensation being knocked out like that I could hear my surroundings and feel the cold granite ground but, I couldn’t move. It was like being partially paralyzed.  When I woke I was in front of a  waterfall on the other side was Noah nocked way out. On my right was a glass wall Mary standing in front of a waterfall that looks the same. There was a bright white light half on my side and half on mary’s the rest of the room were mirrors that reflected the light into the water making the water look like it was glowing. All of a sudden a deep voice filled the room and me and mary looked at each other  wondering whether we were going insane.
“Welcome to the falls, As you can see someone is across from you, the person you completed the puzzle with. You need to cross the water to get to your partner. However,”
“Of course there's a however.”
“You need an emotional connection to the person to cross the water, if you don't have one you will die in a painful fashion. It will feel as if you are burning from  water, which is quite ironic. Anyway, the question you must be asking yourselves is how do I know if I have an emotional connection?
well … you don’t and either way both you will die of natural causes. So, might  as well take a chance.”
For the first time I was speechless I didn't know what to say all I knew was I needed to wake up Noah or we’d be stuck here forever.
“NOAH… WAKE UP!”
It was no use he was knocked out until I crossed. I looked around the room for anything I could poke him with but, they were smart enough to give us no choice but, to cross. I started to yell at mary “what are we going to do?!”
        “I think we need to cross!”
        “On three?”
        “Ok!”
        “1… 2… 3…. GO”
We jumped through the falls and surprisingly it felt like I was surrounded in melting honey that was clear. As soon as I was through to the other side I saw mary on the other side panting from holding her breath too long. I grabbed Noah’s hand and pulled but, he was unresponsive. So I started to shake him and finally he started coughing as though he was drowning and someone pulled him out of the water before he passed out. Caleb was doing the same however, he was giving mary a look of awe as though he didn't believe it was really her. There were tunnels leading from the waterfalls to a singular room. We walked in when, “stop” said mary
        “Whats up?”
        “Why are we letting these exterrestrial freaks decide where we go?”
        “Cause, unless you're ready to jump off this spaceship and let your head implode then, I think we should keep walking.”
        “No we should keep crawling.”
        “I think I know a way to get back



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