The Windy Channel river was more profound than they had imagined, and the three survived the impact. However, the current whisked Tommy, Maggie, and Antonio away as the three struggled to keep afloat.

The current took them into a large dark cavern covered in mist. Once inside the caverns, Tommy noticed some small ledges they could climb onto and reached safety. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel showcasing the water going downwards. A large lump formed in his throat. Not a waterfall!

He motioned for Antonio to come toward the ledges. They moved over to the ridges and pulled themselves up out of the water. Maggie had a hard time reaching the land and swam against the current. She could hear the boys yelling at her to swim harder, but her arms were about to give out. The sounds of the upcoming waterfall became deafening.

There’s no way I'll survive this! I’m going to die!

Tommy and Antonio linked their arms to reach out and grab her by the hand. Maggie mustered up the last of her energy and reached toward the outstretched arms.

They pulled her out of the waters just before the drop. The three laid on their backs on the hard cavern floor, panting with exhaustion from their most recent escape of death.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Thanks for the save.” Maggie sighed, trying to catch her breath.

“No problem.” Tommy and Antonio said in unison.

“Ugh, are we seriously in another cave?” Maggie complained as she rubbed her eyes and got up. “I can’t even see much because of all this fog.”

“That sign over there says Misty Cavern. That would explain it.” Antonio mentioned. “Besides, would you rather be over there by that waterfall? The Crimson Rapids, it says.”

“What? Waterfall?” Maggie questioned, quickly glancing at the end of the tunnel.

Her heart dropped as she turned to find the waterfall near the exit.

“I think that was where we were all going to end up had we not gone off to the ground...” Antonio pointed.

“Uh... point taken,” Maggie murmured, lowering her head. She closed her eyes to try to calm down and let the nausea that’s now overtaken her disappear.

“My point exactly.” Antonio continued.

“Yea, but we shouldn’t stay here...” Tommy said, twiddling his fingers.

“Agreed, let’s find a way back before nightfall,” Antonio replied, scratching his head.

“I hope we get out of here before night,” Tommy whined.

“Did you hear something?” Maggie inquired, sitting upright, having forgotten all about her nausea.

“No, why do you ask?” Antonio questioned.

“I thought I heard screeching sounds...”

“I hear it now!” Tommy exclaimed.

Tommy, Antonio, and Maggie all looked up toward the source of the sound, and some bats hung from the ceiling. No sooner did Tommy motion his hand upwards, did the bats spread their wings, and take flight, circling all around the cave. The three covered their heads, ran out of the cave, and stumbled into another part of the land.