The Legend of Hannah: The Pirate Caves - Part Four

     She wondered if there were any other pirates in the caves, and if so, where were they? She couldn't find the way she had entered the caves, mainly because she had gone such a long ways.

     She came to a stop to catch her breath. The map in her hand was no use to her at this point. Nothing looked the same as it did on the map so she tucked it away into her pocket. She leaned against the wall and took out the Mermaid's Tear. The shimmering gem was muddy and wet, and in the dim light, it looked gray.

     Suddenly she heard a small echo coming from one of the tunnels. It sounded like someone padding along on the ground. At first, she thought it was just the echo of her own feet that had been pattering against the rough ground but it soon got louder-and closer.

     Pirates! the word buzzed in Hannah's ears, as she could not imagine what else could be worse at this time. She started to run down the tunnel again, sometimes turning and changing directions.

     She glanced over her shoulder to see if the pirate had spotted her but there was no sign of him. Either way, she continued to run.

     After a minute or two, Hannah assumed she had lost the pirate, so she slowed down and walked. Soon, a wooden staircase came into view. She padded up to it and looked down the dark tunnel. The stairs looked secure enough for Hannah, but she dreaded even thinking about going down the steps. But what other choice did she have? It might be her only escape.

     She sighed and took one step down the stairs, which seemed to support her and she continued down. Her tail brushed against the wall, as the stairs started to curve. The light was soon completely gone and the only thing left was the light that perched on the Mermaid's Tear.

     She took one more step and the whole staircase seemed to collapse right under her feet. She squeezed her eyes tight and held onto the Mermaid's Tear as close to her body as she could, not risking everything she came here for.

     Wherever the stairs lead, she knew she would find out soon enough. She opened her eyes for a second to see the ground then everything went black.

     * * *

     Hannah woke up, her head aching from the fall. She sat up dizzily and put her hand on her head to seize the pain.

     She had ended up in a moist, wet room. The floor was covered in mud and the walls looked as if they had been drenched with water. She looked up at the ceiling, which had a large whole in it. The stairs had all been broken and had landed around her.

     She stood up and had to lean against the wall to catch her balance. Her skirt was muddy and wet and dangled along her ankles. She picked up the Mermaid's Tear, which was covered in mud and wiped it off.

     She trudged through the mud and grasped onto the firm ground, as she reached the end of the mud. She rang her skirt free of mud and started to walk down the next tunnel. Her footsteps echoed down the caves as she walked along.

     Hannah sat down after possibly a half-an-hour and gave her legs a rest. She stared down into the emerald's mud-covered coat and could not see her reflection in it as she used to, from the dirt.

     Suddenly, something rang into Hannah's ears. The sound of pirates. The same sound she had heard before the stairs had collapsed. She stood up instantly and looked down all of the tunnels near her. Nothing seemed to appear where she had heard it but she kept her ears up and continued down the tunnel.

     As she walked, she continued to hear the pattering of footsteps. The sound grew louder, as it once had. A latter came into view, melting away into the muddy walls, and she threw herself up and started to crawl up it. It led to nothing but a small dirt balcony and she stayed there, watching as the sounds grew louder.

     Only a few seconds later, a shadow started to appear down on of the tunnels. It wasn't a pirate. was all Hannah could think, staring at the strange shadow that had formed. It wasn't as large as a pirate was and it didn't sound like footsteps anymore. It sounded like flippers hitting the cold ground.

     A strange barking noise came from the tunnel. Hannah reassured herself that this was not a pirate. So she slid down the latter and carefully walked down the tunnel.

     The object that stood before her was nothing she had ever seen before. It looked like a small seal. Its front flippers had three black claws on them and it had two large fangs sticking out of its mouth. It was about as tall as a petpet, though in the dim light, she couldn't make out what it was.

     "Arroo arooo!" it barked in a strange voice. Then it backed away and whimpered.

     Hannah didn't know what to do at this reaction, so she backed off as well. But once it saw what Hannah had done, it stood up a little straighter and panted. It ran past Hannah and barked at her.

     Hannah stared at the strange creature and slowly padded over to it, at which it started to run again, and waited for Hannah to catch up.

     It brought her into another tunnel and continued to bark. The tunnel started to get smaller and smaller, as Hannah crept through it and soon had to crawl.

     Suddenly, the creature made a turn and disappeared into the wall. Hannah stopped at where it had vanished into the wall, but there was nothing there. She put her hand on the wall, and it slipped right through. The wall looked like a drop of water falling into a lake.

     Hannah sat there a moment, but soon she heard the bark of the petpet, calling her to go in. She sighed and put her body through the strange wall. She ended up on a platform with water rushing down the walls, every which way. She looked back and it was as if she had never gone through the secret entrance.

     The water that pored down the walls twisted at the bottom and ran down a black area like a funnel. The petpet sat on a rock, close to the black whole and barked, though its barking could barely be heard by the rush of the water.

     Hannah was about to jump into the funnel, but a latter caught her attention. It hung down, only a foot away from her and reached into the water. She hopped over to it and started to climb down it.

     A gush of water hit her and made her drop the Mermaid's Tear. "No!" she cried not knowing where the water would carry it. At the sound of her voice, the petpet jumped, head first, into the water and grasped the emerald with its teeth. It clawed its way onto a rock and shook its self free of water.

     Hannah sighed, seeing the creature hop onto the rock. She continued down the roped latter. But her foot slipped and she splashed into the deep water, sliding down into the dark gap. The Petpet; the Mermaid's Tear still in its mouth; also jumped in and slid down into the whole.

     * * *

     Hannah woke, suddenly, with the petpet barking and groaning at her. It had its fin on the Mermaid's Tear and rolled it over to her, once it was sure she was awake.

     "Another tunnel," Hannah said, dreadfully. "Do these caves never end?" The creature cocked its head and started to run down the tunnel. Hannah grabbed the emerald and stood up, following the strange petpet.

     How could I have gotten myself lost in these caves? Hannah wondered, almost loosing all hope of escape. I've been in here for days now. I don't even know how long anymore.

     The petpet growled at her and turned a corner. There was a crate sitting close to the creature. Hannah grasped the petpet and held it, not wanting it to set it off. It struggled in her arms a moment then settled down. She swiftly edged by it, not touching it and then set the creature down.

     It instantly ran back over to the crate and hit it with its claw, setting it off. "Sccrreeeeallll!" it hollered then tackled Hannah to the ground.

     "Hey!" Hannah shouted and pushed it off. The crate had around two-dozen arrows laying at the bottom of it that all shot up in an instant. They all hit a few boulders that tumbled down to the ground.

     The petpet barked at her and jumped onto the boulders, that had made a set of stairs. It climbed up them and hopped into another tunnel. Hannah followed, making sure she didn't lose her balance.

     In the next area, the creature wagged its tail fin a little and turned a corner. Hannah ran up to the little petpet and saw what she had thought what she had almost lost hope of.

     In the amazement, the petpet; which had turned out to be a screal; dove, head first into the muggy water.

     Hannah looked down at the Mermaid's Tear, which now glistened in the light. She looked back up at the bright light and the island she had grown up on.

     "I'm home!"

The End