The hot sun of summer had relented for weeks now, slowly giving way to a more bearable coolness, a coolness the citizens of Lumina recognized as Autumn. The lower temperature and humidity weren’t as stark as in winter, but were appreciated none-the-less.

But today wasn’t just a random Fall day, it was Hallow Eve, a day to ward off any lingering spirits with ill-intentions. Kids would dress up as all sorts of monsters.

“What are you dressing up as for Halloween?” Luke asked his bashful friend, wondering if she would even attempt to brave the holiday night.

“Oh, I’m not going to go out for Halloween.”

“What are you, chicken?” The pair turned to see Maple snickering.

“Me and few others are going to look for the old prison” David spoke up.

“The old prison?” Luke looked at the pair in confusion before turning around to an excited Connor.

“Rumor has it that there’s an old prison somewhere underground. They say it was originally a normal prison, but an earthquake caused it to fall underground, and now the prisoners haunt the place.”

“W-why you want to go there?” Julia was clenching Luke’s arm, shaking as if she were freezing to death.

“They want to tell everyone how brave they are. I’m coming because I’ve got nothing better to do.” A lethargic redhead approached the group.

“Why would we want to go?”

“Well, if you join us Luke, no one would ever look down on you for not having mana.”

The boy contemplated for a moment, stopping himself from jumping at the opportunity.

“I would, but I don’t want to leave Julia by herself.”

“Well that’s the thing: we don’t…have a light. All the light, fire, and electric users chickened out or were supposedly busy, so we figured we’d ask her, but we’d need to bring you too.”

“And if she comes, people will stop thinking she’s a chicken.”

Luke glared at Maple before turning back to his friend.

“You in?”

The girl stared at him for a moment before sighing to herself and nodding her head.

“Alright then! Meet us near the northwest elementary school. Don’t chicken out or else everyone will know.”

With his words finished, the kids parted ways, leaving Luke and Julia to themselves until school was over.

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“Matt, what’s a prison for?”

“Uh, why do you ask? I mean I guess you should know, but still.”

“Just wondering. Some kids were talking about it.”

“Well, a prison is where people go when they break the law. The law being things like, ‘don’t steal’, ‘don’t hurt someone for no reason’, and ‘don’t enter areas that you are not allowed’.”

Luke began to worry when Matt brought up the last point.

“What do you mean areas I’m not allowed?”

“Some places are off limits to the public for their safety. Old buildings that no one uses, people’s homes, and schools late at night.”

“What happens to people who go to jail?”

“Well, they sit in a cell, basically a concrete box, for like five to ten years.”

“five to ten years?!”

“Less if they’re good. Most people who go to prison aren’t good, and some never become good. Don’t be a bad person Luke, it’s not worth it.”

When the younger brother walked away, he only just realized his palms were sweating.

“By the way” Matthew watched his brother stop dead, “you’re going with just your friend, right?”

Luke sighed to himself before facing his brother.

“Me and Julia are going with some of the kids.” Realizing he was already too far gone, he continued. “Those kids promised not to bother us anymore if we prove we’re brave.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Luke.” Matthew crossed his arms, looking at his brother with concern. “They might not keep their promise, they might just be getting you into trouble. Does your friend even know about this?”

“Yeah. She agreed to go with me.”

“But does she want to?”

Luke paused before he answered, thinking on his answer.

“You should consider her feelings above those other kids. If she doesn’t want to go through with plan for any reason, you shouldn’t force her to.”

“But if we do this, she won’t get bullied either.”

“Maybe she doesn’t mind it as much as you. Maybe she’s doing this for you. I’m just saying, be careful that you don’t mistreat a good friend.”

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“Okay.”

With a heavy heart, Luke departed to his room, retrieving the costumer his brother crafted for him.

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“Julia, is that you?”

Luke had approached a girl in a cat costume. The girl wore a gray, fluffy hoodie with cat ears, gray pants, and slippers that resembled paws.

“Luke! I told my aunt and uncle I would be going out. They got me this costume, isn’t it cute?”

“Adorable. My brother got me some old armor, and the spear I use for sparring.”

The girl admired the metal armor and spear, her mouth forming an ‘o’ and her eyes going wide as she inspected the weapon.

“Hey, you two came after all!” Connor had floated toward the duo, his legs hovering above the ground. “I’m a dragoon. Are you also a dragoon Luke?”

“No, just a knight with a spear.”

“And what’s she supposed to be? A cat?! That’s not a baby costume!” Behind the dressed dragoon was Maple in a pointed hat and worn black dress.

“I’m a witch, but I wouldn’t want that” the girl pointed at Julia, “to be my cat. Well, unless she can prove herself tonight.”

“Boo.” A girl with a white sheet shoved the brunette witch aside. “I’m the ghost of Susan.”

“That’s your costume?” Luke was confused at the low quality of the costume compared to everyone else.

“A real costume would take effort. Bite me.”

Luke and Julia chuckled to each other, both over the costume and how Maple was struggling not to fall over.

“Okay everyone, it’s time we go down this prison!” David was dressed as a knight: a one-handed sword in his left hand, a shield in his right, with a helmet and chainmail. “I’ll take the lead until go underground.”

The blonde had lead the group away from the empty street of the middle ring, moving toward the lowest ring. Luke couldn’t tell if the group was heading north or south, but he began to fear that he already landed himself in trouble. Eventually, the boy stopped near a concrete building, the structure having no visible entrance in the front side. Leading them between the ally of the building and a similarly abandoned pink building next to it, the group was shocked to see a crack at the back of the building.

“My friend told me about this place. They originally sealed this place, but he could get through this crack, and so can we.”

As if on que, all eyes moved to Julia, except for Luke, who had to follow the everyone else’s line of sight. With a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Luke, Julia went ahead, creating a ball of fire as she crouched down to walk through the short crack in the wall. Luke followed behind swiftly, having to crawl to avoid hitting his head.

Scanning the environment as best they could, the pair could only see tile floors with all manners of cracks, plain walls caked with dust, and metal polls blocking entrance to several house-sized boxes.

“Is this what prison is like?”

“No, prisons are normally bigger, at least that’s what my dad says” the blonde answered, the others staying close behind. “My friend said there was a staircase leading down- there it is!”

Julia had turned around to see David pointing toward a wall. There were no rails or indication of the stairs, they had seamlessly blended into the surrounding floor where tiles were upheaved, leaving only fragments behind. Peering down the stairs, the only thing Julia and Luke could see were more stairs and a vast expanse of darkness.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Luke wanted to tell off the brunette, but his mind immediately snapped back to his friend. The girl leading the pack was shaking, her eyes glued to the first step leading downward, but her body was as stiff as a rock.

“It’s going to be okay Julia. I got your back.”

Luke’s reassurance was enough to tear the girl from her fear, but not before turning back to face with fear and concern. As the girl descended the stairs, the color began to match the wall, melting into in a surreal fashion that made it near impossible to distinguish the two.

Descending further and further down, each step the girl made echoed louder and louder, the cold air grew colder, and the intentions of the cavern began to feel ever more insidious. Once the girl stopped, Luke had checked the ground to see they had hit the bottom of the stairs, only vast expanses of dirt walls laid onward and even from behind where the stairs were.

“Uh, guys?” Luke paused when he heard his voice travel down the cave. “Where’s this prison supposed to be?”

“My friend says he can’t remember. We’ll just have to search.”

With those words, Julia continued forward, the group cluttering behind her as to not be swallowed by the darkness of the underground. Before long, a terrible scent had ambushed the group.

“Uh, what is that smell?”

Before anyone could answer, the echo of a guttural roar had rushed down the hole, causing not only Julia, but everyone else to freeze up. Losing concentration, the flame in Julia’s hand went out, lowering the group’s only defense against total blindness.

Despite how terrified everyone was, no one dared make a peep, until Julia let out a large scream. Everyone else except for Luke joined in the screaming creating a chaotic cacophony. Shortly after, the screams had tore apart, most heading back to the stairs, but Luke could tell someone had headed forward, deeper into the cave.

The boy wanted to join the group that had headed back, no doubt escaping toward home without a second thought, but Luke feared that the person who fled deeper was Julia. He wanted to leave, but he couldn’t abandon her; if his parents found out…well, he didn’t want to imagine a worse living condition.

He couldn’t simply run back to get his brother, as there was possibly a dangerous creature that roamed the cave. Luke then argued with himself when he realized that a dangerous creature would simply kill them both. Stepping back on his courageous side, he figured if he could get to Julia soon, they could run from the monster.

Taking a deep breath, Luke walked forward, hoping the cavern wouldn’t twist or turn. The scent from earlier was growing unbearable, but the screaming he had heard seconds before was now a faint crying. The distance sound of a girl in tears grew more defined as the boy fought the shroud; the sound halted instantly.

“Luke, is that you?” Julia’s voice managed to squeak out.

“Julia!”

The girl lit up the cavern around them with her flame, revealing she was laying against a wall; this wall, as Luke quickly realized, was not made of the same rock and dirt the rest of the cave consisted of. To the left the wall ended, but when Luke’s gaze shifted to his right, Julia following, their hearts stopped.

Behind steel bars was a body. The skin was black and crinkly, the jaw hung open, no eyes, bone exposed. Only now did Luke realize the smell originated from the body.

Slowly making his way over to Julia, he grabbed her instinctually, pulling her up and slowly walking off. Julia and Luke both kept their eyes on the corpse, Julia making sure to stay behind Luke and keep the fire lit. When the darkness enclosed the unground jail, the pair began to run until they reached the stairs, Luke letting Julia take the lead.

Once they reached the outside of the building, they both took in the humid night air of the city. In the next moment, Julia latched on to Luke, squeezing him as if trying to crush him via hugging.

“Julia” Luke spoke out, gathering his breath through the constriction, “I’m sorry. I should have listened to my brother. I never should have brought you here.”

“I’m sorry I ran off Luke,” the girl finally released the boy, no longer crying, though her eyes were still watery. “I thought something grabbed me, so I ran off. I don’t why I ran further in.”

“It’s okay Julia. You’re safe now. Let’s go home.”

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“Hey, you guys got out alright!”

The day Luke and Julia returned to school, their group had grown fearful about the faith the pair suffered. No one had seen them prior to fleeing the tunnel.

“I guess you're brave” Maple pouted.

“Did you see anything down there, besides dirt?” Susan seemed vaguely intrigued in the answer, the others changing their expressions to astronomical levels of curiosity.

“We found a dead guy. Smelled pretty bad, looked even uglier. I guess that was the underground jail.”

“Wow, you saw the underground jail. Maybe tonight we can check it out for real.”

The pair simply looked at David, before answering in unison.

“NO!”