The Cave at the Top of the Hill

Mason spreads the map out across the surface of the picnic table, using his binoculars and notebook to hold down the corners. “Alright, team, we’ve made it!”

The four other members of the newly established Westpeak High School Newspaper Team surround the table, each wrapped up in thick coats, hats, and scarves to protect them from the damp evening chill of late autumn, but not quite wearing the same look of enthusiasm on their faces as Mason, who’s eagerly scanning the hand-drawn map. Flora, a girl with long, blonde braids and glasses two sizes too big for her face, plonks herself down on the bench opposite him. “Ew! I just sat in bird poo!” she squeals, immediately jumping back up, frantically brushing her behind.

“Can’t we just make that the news story?” moans Gavin, a broad-shouldered young man who looks too old for high school, let alone Year 7, “‘Local school girl sits in doo-doo’. It’s bound to be more interesting than whatever nonsense Mason’s dragged us here for.”

Mason glares at him. “You won’t be saying that soon! We’re about to embark on an adventure worthy of not only the front page of Westpeak Weekly, but the front page of every newspaper in the country.” He turns to face the hill looming behind them, currently shaded in darkness as the sun sets behind it, “This is Printon Peak,” he announces officially, “Not only is it the tallest hill in all of the west, but it’s also said to be…” he pauses in an attempt for dramatic effect, but the moment is slightly ruined by Flora, who is now rubbing her backside across the floor like a dog with an awkward itch. 

“Haunted!”

Gavin stares back at him blankly, “Oooooh.” he says sarcastically, “So, as soon as we can get this thing debunked, we can go home? I’m missing the footy.”

“There’s nothing to debunk! It’s true!” Mason pleads, starting to get slightly desperate, and wishing he’d recruited a better team. “Now let’s get going! The first camping spot is on the other side of these woods.”

“We’re c-c-camping? Overn-n-night?” A trembling voice comes from under the table. Finley, the final member of their squad, is curled in a ball, clutching his torch, which shines brightly into his pale, freckly face. “You never said anything about c-c-camping!”

Mason ducks under the table to see his best friend. “We’re not staying overnight! They’re just rest stops so that Gavin can get his breath back.”

“Hey!” shouts Gavin from somewhere behind them.

“Oh… okay then…” mumbles Finley, slowly crawling out, “I’m not sure if my parents would have been happy about that.”

“Do our parents even know we’re here?” asks Flora, who’s settling down on a clean spot on the bench.

“Sure.” mutters Mason, avoiding her gaze, “Uh, my parents told them.”

“So, where is the so-called ghost?” asks Gavin, sitting next to Flora, directly on the bird poo, “Please say they fell and now haunt the bottom of the hill.”

“Actually, they’re said to haunt a cave at the very top.”

There’s a harmonious groan from him and Flora whilst Finley quietly begins to climb back under the table before Mason pulls him back by the hood. “Oh come on!” he says, “This will be fun! Imagine how cool it will be to get real footage of a real ghost!”

“I’m all for a good scoop, Mason, but ghosts don’t exist,” says Flora sympathetically, “but I’ll happily write an article about all the fascinating rocks found here.”

“Kill me.” mumbles Gavin.

“If you didn’t want to be here, then you shouldn’t have thrown those scissors in biology,” she snaps, “And besides, I’m quite frankly insulted that Mrs Mabel deems being part of the journalism club a punishment.”

“Flora, the reason no one reads our newspaper is because no one cares about rocks,” says Mason, “or the 31 species of earthworms, or the declining quality of paper in the school textbooks.” he could list more unimaginably boring articles written by Flora, but he holds himself back for her sake.

“I was rather proud of that one…” Flora says sadly.

“Just trust me, this will be a great story.”

“But, didn’t Mrs Mabel say we shouldn’t come here?” asks Finley, looking around warily at the dark hill towering behind them, “She said it’s dangerous to come here at night.”

“Yes, but she also said that if we don’t have enough people reading the school paper, then she’ll have to cut it down to… an email.”

Flora gives a horrified gasp and clutches her imaginary pearls. “Really? A measly email?”

“Heh, you’ll be spam.” sniggers Gavin.

Mason ignores him. “I see this as her setting us a challenge. It shows that we’re willing to put ourselves in danger for the survival of our newspaper!”

“You might be.” murmurs Finley.

“Now come on, team! Grab your bags and let’s go!” Mason rolls up the map and slides it into the side compartment of his rucksack as the others begrudgingly follow him to the looming trees on the edge of the hill. Over the sound of their boots on mushy leaves, Mason gives the rest of the group a rundown of the evening. “Have we all got our notebooks? Good. I want you all to write down anything unusual you see or hear.”

“Does your annoying little face count?” Gavin laughs. Mason continues to ignore.

“And Fin, don’t forget to take pictures of anything weird with that disposable camera.”

They’re meters within the woodland, and the ground has barely begun to slope, when Mason already begins to regret his plans.

Click

The group turns to Finley, who is lagging, the camera poised to his face. “What did you see?”

“That tree looks kinda spooky.” Finley points to a tree that, in all honesty, looks like nothing more than a tree.

“Yes, well. Let’s try to save the pictures for the more unusual things we see,” says Mason, continuing to stride ahead.

Click

“What did you see now?”

“There’s a big spider web on that tree stump.”

“What’s that got anything to do with ghosts?” Gavin growls.

“They’re spooky.”

Click

“Fin! We only have like 30 pictures we can take with that thing!”

“Sorry! My finger slipped.”

“Flora, you take the camera.” Mason snaps, snatching it from Finley’s hands and shoving it to Flora. “Good. NO! Don’t you dare take a picture of that rock.”

Before long, the ground beneath them begins to rise steadily, along with their breaths, as they struggle up a long trail of old, rotting wooden steps that swivel between the trees.

“So…” begins Flora between long breaths, “How… do you know… about this ghost? I’ve… never heard of it… before…”

“Mrs Mabel told my science class about it,” Mason begins as he reaches the last few steps. “She said people who used to… climb to the top of the hill would get pushed off, even though there was… no one there. Then in Maths, Mr Comrad said he’s seen a… black figure up there, too… when I asked him.”

“I’ve never seen reports of anyone getting pushed.” says Flora dismissively.

“There’ll… been a report tonight… if there’s nothing up there… after we’ve climbed all these… stupid steps!” growls Gavin, who, since taking up the rear of the group, arrives at the top of the steps thirty seconds after everyone else, who are either still getting their breath back or draining their water bottles.

“I told you we’d need a rest point.” Mason says to a double-over Gavin, “Look, it’s just up ahead.” He points to a small clearing in the woods, where large tree logs are lying on either side of a ‘Welcome to Printon Peak’ sign, which explains the history of the hill and the various types of wildlife that can be found there.

Flora is the first to arrive, dropping her bag off next to a log, and begins inspecting the sign. “There’s no mention of ghosts here.” She says.

Mason shrugs, “Why would they want to scare anyone away?” 

Finley, who has gone both quiet and rather pale since they’ve gotten deeper into the woods, lifts himself onto one of the logs, where he points his torch in every direction where there’s the slightest hint of sound. Gavin collapses next to him, lying atop the log with his arms and legs drooping on either side. “How much longer do we have?” he moans.

“We have one more rest stop, then we’re at the top,” Mason says as he checks his map. “We don’t have any more steps, but the next part is–”

“AARGH!”

Everyone’s head snaps to Finley, who’s stood on top of the trunk, gripping the torch with both hands and shining it into the thick foliage. “S-s-something moved over there!”

Mason rolls his eyes, “Calm down, Fin, we’re not even halfway there–”

“There it is!” Finley cries, turning his whole body to the left. This time, Gavin’s head also shoots up to look over his shoulder at the direction of the torchlight.

“It was probably a fox.” he says dismissively, although slightly higher-pitched.

Then they all see it, and it’s no fox. A dark figure glides through the shadowy tree trunks just beyond the clearing, getting closer and closer to the group.

Everyone’s eyes are glued to the dense forest, staring at the silhouette. Finley is shaking so hard that the spotlight he’s casting on the figure is dancing all over the place. Gavin, now sitting up straight and straddling the truck, is slowly shifting himself backwards. Flora, standing in the centre of the clearing, holds the camera ready, albeit slightly shaky, and Mason, pumped with adrenaline, stands frozen in place, the image of the front page clear in his head.

Finally, the figure bursts through the bushes and into the clearing. Finley lets out a scream and tosses the torch up into the air as Gavin falls backwards off the end of the trunk. And Flora, holding her breath, snaps a clear picture of the jogger elegantly striding by.

“Evening.” he says in a low voice through steady breaths, before disappearing as quickly as he appeared.

There’s silence for a moment as everyone processes the last minute of their lives. 

“He should really be wearing a fluorescent jacket.” mutters Flora, shoving the camera back into her pocket.

A wave of disappointment crashes over Mason. He lets out a long sigh, “Alright, false alarm.”

Gavin reappears from behind the log, leaves caught in his hood and behind his ears. “Ha! As if Finner’s got scared by a jogger!”

Finley’s face quickly goes from completely colourless to a deep shade of red. “Sorry, everyone.”

“It’s okay, Fin! Good to know you’re on high alert.” says Mason in a desperate attempt to save morale, “Let’s get going before it gets too dark.”

The others grab their belongings and continue on their trek uphill, past the sign and around the corner.

Finley remains lingering at the back of the group as they continue their journey uphill. As they stride on, the damp forest floor beneath them gradually becomes rockier, and before they know it, they’re emerging from the canopies of the trees and walking along the top of what feels like a huge cliff.

“Beautiful view!” says Mason, pointing out above the trees, where the group can see the silhouette of their hometown, backlit by the dimming maroon sky as the last hints of sunlight disappear beyond the horizon. Glowing yellow lights flick on and off in the houses, and red and yellow car lights can be seen dancing around the twisting roads and roundabouts.

When no one responds, he looks around to see all three of his gang desperately hugging the rocky wall behind them.

“I’ve never been good with heights…” trembles Flora.

“I just wanna be safe, y’know? You’d pay for it if I break my ankle before my big game next week,” says Gavin, clearly trying to swallow down his fear.

“What if the ghost pushes us off?” cries Finley, who’s pointing the torch directly at his feet, taking considerable care with each step.

Mason rolls his eyes and strides on. “Get over yourselves. The path is at least two meters wide,” he says, ignoring the moans behind him.

They climb in near-silence for a few minutes when they turn a corner, and Mason suddenly stops in his tracks. He stretches his arm out behind him, causing the others, who have unintentionally started huddling together behind him, to bump into each other one by one. 

Once they regain their balance, they peer over his shoulder to see a wide, boggy patch of mud stretching the entirety of the path, caused by a small trickle of water dribbling down the rocky wall to their left and continuing off the cliff edge to the forest below.

“How deep do you think it is?” asks Mason.

“Let’s dunk your head in and find out,” says Gavin.

“I don’t want to get my feet wet,” says Flora, crossing her arms. “I’m not walking all the way back down with cold toes.”

“Look,” says Mason, “There are some rocks in there. We can just use them to get across.”

“If I wanted to do parkour, then I would have become a delinquent,” says Flora, as she watches Mason test the first stone. When it doesn’t budge, he uses his tiptoes as he lifts himself off and swings his other leg across to the next stone, holding his arms out to keep his balance.

“Someone must have put these here to get across.” he says, reaching the last protruding rock. He grabs a root sticking out of the wall to give him some extra support to get to the other side.

Gavin nudges Flora out of the way and follows suit. When he makes it, they both turn to the others, who are standing frozen on the other side. “Piece of cake,” he gloats.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” says Flora, poking the first rock with her feet.

“It’s easy! Come on, we need to hurry before it gets too dark! Just remember to grab this root at the end.” says Mason, glancing warily at the darkening sky. Stars have started peaking through the clouds.

Flora reluctantly takes the first step, swinging her other leg around, just as Mason had. Everything is going to plan until she lands slightly wonky on the third rock. She gives a slight wobble, waving her arms about frantically. Everyone holds their breath as she rushes the last couple of stones to save herself from falling, grabbing the tree root, which snaps just as she pushes off the final rock, which dislodges with a muddy slurp and rolls off the side of the cliff.

They all watch the rock fall into the darkness below, then listen to its echoes as it crashes through the trees and bounces down the hill.

“What am I supposed to do now?” says Finley.

Mason looks around at his feet. “There aren’t any other rocks on this side. Can you find any over there?”

Finley uses his torch to scan the area. “There’s a big one here.” he says, sticking the torch in his mouth and hauling the rock up with both arms, he fumbles as he tries to stand up straight, almost falling backwards off the edge of the cliff, causing Flora to let out a small yelp.

“Do you think you can throw it across?” Mason asks as Finley regains his balance. Finely mumbles what sounds like “Yeah.”

He takes a moment to build the momentum, then, with a grunt, pushes the rock across the mud. It lands just shy of where the previous rock had been, splattering a wave of wet mud up into the faces of his friends.

Flora screams.

“Oops.” says Finely, a guilty look plastered across his face as he makes his way across the rocks, reaching the other side with considerably more ease than the rest of the group, “S-Sorry, guys.”

Mason wipes the mud from his eyes. “It’s fine, Fin. At least you made it across.”

Gavin spits mud out of his mouth and glares at Finley with pure fury. “There’s gonna be two ghosts haunting this hill after tonight.” he cracks his knuckles and darts for Finley, who yelps and hides behind Mason.

“Gavin! Stop it! It was an accident!”

But Gavin doesn’t stop; he shoves Mason to the side and grabs Finley by the collar. He lifts his fist and is about to take his first swing when suddenly, Finley’s body stiffens, his arms and legs snapping to his body, and his head flopping back, as his eyes roll to the back of his head.

“What the–” gasps Gavin, pushing him away. Finley wobbles in place for a second, then falls to the ground with a thud. His whole body begins to pulsate and contort. His mouth is wide open as he breathes heavy, ragged breaths.

Mason crouches down next to his friend, holding him by the shoulders. “Fin! Are you okay?”

“What’s happening?” says Flora, who can’t see from the mud splattered across her glasses. She takes them off and wipes them on her jacket. The colour drains from her face when she sees the scene before her.

Mason tries shaking Finley by the shoulders, but he starts kicking his legs and spinning around in circles on the ground, so that Mason has to jump back. High-pitched giggles spilling from his mouth. “Is he…?”

“It… It’s just an asthma attack!” shouts Flora, “Someone get his inhaler!”

“That’s no asthma attack! He’s freaking possessed!” yells Gavin, who has retreated to the rocky wall.

Finley abruptly sits up into a leapfrog position, scooping mud with his hands and splattering it onto his cheeks, humming a nursery rhyme maniacally, his head occasionally twitching from side to side. Eyes still rolled back.

“Flora! Take pictures!” commands Mason, not taking his eyes off of Finley. Flora whips out the camera and starts clicking. Meanwhile, Gavin is practically climbing up the side of the wall to create as much space between himself and the twitching boy on the floor.

All of a sudden, Finley takes a sudden, long, deep breath in, collapses onto his back, and is still. There’s silence as Mason and Flora edge closer to get a better look. He appears to be unconscious.

Before anyone can say anything, Finley finally releases his breath, his eyes opening with, thankfully, his pupils in their rightful place. “What happened?” he coughs.

The others stare at him. Mason tries to speak, but all that comes out is a jumble of about fifty questions as one. “Do… do you need your inhaler?” Flora asks, her voice still trembling.

“I don’t have an inhaler,” says Finley as he gets to his feet. “Where’s Gavin?”

They all look around. In the excitement of the moment, none of them noticed Gavin vanish. “He can’t have gone far,” says Mason, still keeping considerable distance from Finley, who appears to be completely normal as he wipes the dirt from his cheeks, confused.

There’s the sound of a twig snapping somewhere above them. The three look up to see Gavin, clutching onto a thin tree growing out of the side of the rocky wall, his knees practically knocking together with fear. “K-keep him away from me!” he yells, pointing at Finley with a quivering finger.

“What did I do?” he asks.

“Fin, do you really not remember?” Mason asks. Finley shakes his head. “It looked like you got… possessed…”

“What? No, not me! But why? Why would the ghost want to possess me?” Finley trembles, back to his normal self.

No one responds. There’s an awkward silence for a while until Gavin pipes up from above. “I’ve had enough of this! I’m getting out of here!” he yells, and frantically starts climbing up higher.

“Gavin! Stop!” shouts Flora, “You could fall!”

Mason begins to panic, thinking about how much trouble he could be in if any of his friends get hurt. Without another moment’s hesitation, he begins to climb after Gavin, grabbing any protruding rock or root he can to heave himself up.

“Leave me alone!” cries Gavin, “I don’t want to be possessed!”

“Mason! Get down here now! I’m not climbing up there! These are new tights!” calls Flora, but with no response, she rolls her eyes and turns to Finley, “I guess we’re taking a shortcut.”

Soon, all four of the gang are stumbling up the steep rocky hillside, using whatever footing they can to push and pull themselves up. Eventually, the ground evens out slightly, and Gavin, suddenly filled with much more energy than moments before, takes the advantage to get to his feet and make a run for it. “I’m going home!” he calls back.

“Gavin! Stop!” Mason pants, getting to his feet and running after him, “You’re going in the direction of–” 

But Mason doesn’t need to finish his sentence for Gavin to know what he’s found, because as Mason catches up to him, they both find themselves standing in front of the gaping mouth of a pitch black cave.

They both stand there side by side, staring into the darkness until Flora and Finley finally manage to join them, panting, sweating, behind them. All four of them now covered in mud, small scratches, and ripped clothes.

“I thought you said there was one more rest point!” says Finley in his familiar trembling voice.

“There was, it was just around the corner, then Gavin decided to take a shortcut to the top!” shouts Mason.

“Shush!” hushes Flora, eyes glued to the mouth of the cave.

“What? Suddenly, you believe in ghosts?” says Mason with a smirk, folding his arms.

“Did you not see what happened to Fin back there?” she hisses in response, “I want to get down.” They all turn to look down the route they all somehow achieved, a path of broken branches and slipping footprints leading down a very steep path. Mason dislodges a stone which bounces down, and down, and down.

“I’m not climbing down there.” he says, turning back to the cave entrance, “Come on, Flora, get a picture!”

Flora reluctantly pulls the camera out and snaps a picture, “I’ll admit, this will make a decent story, if people believe it.” She puts the camera back in her pocket and looks around, “Where’s Gavin run off to now?”

They look at each other, then at Finley, who is cowering so far back that he’s inches away from rolling off the side of the hill, “He-he ran in there,” he says, pointing his wobbling finger into the darkness of the cave.

“Well, come on!” says Mason at once, “It’s what we came here for after all!” With that, he storms into the cave with Flora and Finley hesitantly in his wake.

With the growing darkness outside, the cave is almost pitch black. It’s as if a door has been slammed shut behind the group as they tiptoe deeper into the unknown. The torch held by Finley proves to be little help due to his constant checking behind him, “C-Can we turn back now?” he whispers, his high-pitched voice bouncing off the damp walls in every direction. Flora hushes him, causing an even louder chorus of hissing echoes to engulf them, like the walls are made of snakes.

“Gavin?” calls Mason in the quietest voice he could muster. No response. A cold draft fills the cave, sending a unified shiver across the team. Maybe Mason’s imagining it, but it seems to be pushing him deeper into the darkness. “This way,” he beckons to the others.

Then he hears it, a voice, no, not a voice, a giggle? A woman’s giggle. It travels down the cave and surrounds them until there’s a choir of taunting laughter all around, causing Finley to completely break and collapse into a ball. His torch rolls towards Mason, who picks it up and points it in the direction of the laughter. “Come on,” he says to Flora, leaving Finley shaking on the floor. He doesn’t object.

They walk in silence, the walls of the cave getting narrower and the ceiling closing in on them. Suddenly, things feel rather claustrophobic. They edge ever closer, until another sound halts them in their tracks, and causes Flora to grab Mason’s arm, her eyes almost bulging out of her head in fear. It sounds like a growl, then a heavy whisper, but deeper than the giggle, more masculine. Mason breaks a sweat but is determined to keep moving. Now, having completely forgotten about the initial mission to find Gavin, he has his mind set solely on getting a glimpse of the ghost. He steps forward, practically dragging Flora with him, who is now gnawing at her hair.

The ceiling is now so low that they both almost have to duck, Mason can feel his hair brushing against the cold stone above him as they near a corner where, to their surprise, they see a faint yellow glow. They look at each other as Mason turns off his torch, the echoey click of the switch plunging them into almost complete darkness barring the ominous glow around the corner.

Once they reach the corner, Mason signals for Flora to get out the camera; she does so, albeit with quivering hands, and they both peek around the black stone.

The cave opens up into a surprisingly spacious room. In the middle of it sits a single lantern, casting a warm hue against the otherwise cold cave. Rocks of all sizes jut out from the walls and ceiling. Behind one of them, Mason notices, is a shadow, a figure. Twisting and turning in inhumane ways, the deep growl shakes the walls. Flora, who can hardly contain the whimpers, lifts the camera to her face and takes a snap.

The whole room lights up in a flash, blinding Mason and Flora, and causing the shadowy figure to make a sudden scream as it appears from behind the rocks. “Run!” shouts Mason, his eyes yet to adjust to get a good look. He and Flora turn on their heels and dart in the direction they came.

Bumping into each other and bouncing off the walls as they run, Mason checks around his shoulder to see the silhouette of the figure looming behind them, its long shadow growing under their feet, the growls and laughter now replaced with what sounds like crying moans and wails. Flora is almost in tears as they reach Finley, who they scoop up off the floor as they sprint for the mouth of the cave.

Gavin is waiting for them outside. “Where did you all run off to?” he asks angrily, “I needed the loo, then when I came back you’d all disappeared!”

But no one answers him; they all keep running until they reach the edge of the hill, Mason seriously considering making a leap of faith. He turns back to the cave to see the figure getting closer still. Gavin, who’s still trying to register what’s happening, turns in the direction of their terrified faces.

“Mrs Mabel?”

Their faces drop in unison as a rather flustered, rather sweaty Mrs Mabel emerges from the darkness of the cave, carrying her shoes in her hand and desperately searching for her glasses in her skirt pocket, fumbling as she slides them onto her red face. Lipstick is smeared across one of her cheeks. “What in the world! What are you kids doing here?”

There’s silence for a second as the four of them look at each other, then all at Mason, “We’re doing a ghost hunting story for the school paper! You know, to save it from becoming an email!”

Mrs Mabel puts her hands on her hips, the messy bun on top of her head wobbling as she shakes her head, “Oh, Mason. I thought I told you not to come up here! Especially at this time of night.”

But the kids have stopped listening. Another dark shadow emerges behind her, creeping closer and closer.

“It could be dangerous!” she continues.

“M–Mrs Mason!” shouts Finley, “B–behind you!”

Mrs Mason steps to the side to reveal the figure, who is inches behind her.

“Mr Comrad?” exclaims Flora, “What are you doing here?”

The maths teacher looks equally as disgruntled as Mrs Mablel, half of his shirt is untucked, his toupee is severely askew, and, to Mason’s surprise, he also appears to be wearing lipstick. “Oh, hello, kids.”

“Mr Comrad!” shouts Mrs Mabel, jumping back, almost cartoony, “What are you doing here!”

“Huh?” Oh! I, um, yes, well, I was just checking for any ghosts!” says the man, looking around with his hand shielding his eyes from the non-existent sun.

“You’ve been ghost hunting too?” asks Mason, pulling out his notebook, suddenly delighted to have some potential interviewees for his article, “Did you see anything?”

“Um, no, I’m afraid not, I don’t believe this hill is haunted after all,” says Mr Comrad, tucking his shirt back in and doing up his top three buttons, “And I’m fairly sure I told you to stay away from this hill, Mason.”

“Well, yes, but I wanted to surprise Mrs Mabel with a good story,” says Mason, feeling rather embarrassed.

Flora pipes up, “But Fin got possessed! We all saw it, and we got pictures!” she squeals, waving the camera.

“Well, about that,” starts Finley, “I may have overreacted a little bit when I thought Gavin was going to punch me in the face… so I pretended to get possessed to scare him off.”

“What?!” yells Gavin, his face turning purple with rage, “That was an act? You little…” he begins to make his way to Finley, who, again, hides behind Mason.

“That’s quite enough of that!” shouts Mrs Mabel, causing Gavin to stop in his tracks.

“Well… I did think he was milking it a bit.” he mumbles.

Mrs Mabel turns to Flora, “Flora, did you happen to take any other pictures with that camera? Anything inside the cave, perhaps?”

“Oh yes, I think I got a good one of whatever was causing those creepy giggles and moans behind that rock,” says Flora proudly.

The teachers look at each other, “Uh, well, may I take the camera?” says Mrs Mabel, “I think it’ll be a good idea to keep it at school. Don’t want you accidentally losing it over the weekend!”

Flora hands her the camera, “I’ll just pop it in my car now,” says the teacher.

“Your car?” asks Flora, “How did you get your car up here?”

“Oh, there’s a road right to the top, just around this corner.” Mrs Mabel leads the group around the side of the cave where, sure enough, there’s a straight, clear road, right to the bottom of the hill. Flora, Finley, and Gavin all turn to Mason, who’s chosen to be the one to lag behind.

“Did you know about this?” asks Flora sharply.

“It… it wouldn’t have been as much of an adventure if we didn’t take the scenic route!” he says, shuffling his feet on the floor guiltily, “We still had fun, didn’t we?”. Mrs Mabel gives him a sympathetically disappointing look.

“Would you kids like a ride back home?” asks Mr Comrad.

“Yes,” says Gavin at once, marching to the car and climbing into the front passenger seat. Flora and Finley follow, both climbing into the back seats. Flora gives Mason one last, disapproving glare before slamming the door.

Mrs Mabel approaches Mason and puts her hand on his shoulder, “How about we keep this little adventure a secret? Hm?”

“But what about the school paper!” pleads Mason.

“I’ll tell you what, if you and your friends keep this a secret, then you can stay in charge of the paper all year.”

Mason’s face lights up, “Thank you, Miss!”

“Just don’t do anything dangerous again. Okay? You could have gotten yourself or your friends in serious trouble.”

Mason nods as Mrs Mabel guides him to her car, Finley shuffles into the middle as Mason climbs in and clicks his seatbelt, feeling rather pleased with himself.