Chapter 224

Amara had just taken a couple of steps forward when she heard a sudden

crackling sound. Startled, she looked down to find a fissure opening right in front of her toes.

In that moment, her heart leapt into her throat. Without a second thought, she turned to run back. But it was too late. The path she had just walked on was also splitting open, revealing a dark, seemingly bottomless chasm, as if a giant hand from the depths was reaching up to pull her in.

Amara was so terrified she wanted to scream, but before she could make a sound, rocks began to tumble down. The ground gave way beneath her, and she plunged into the darkness.

Later, whenever Amara recalled that terrifying moment, her heart would still race from the memory of the danger she was in.

But right now, she couldn’t afford to dwell on it. All she knew was that as she walked, the ground suddenly split open, and she fell through.

Then she landed with a painful thud on her backside, feeling like it was going to split in two, but the pain reassured her that she had landed safely and hadn’t met the grim end she’d feared. Trying to get ahold of herself, she opened her eyes to assess her surroundings.

Everything around her was pitch black. She couldn’t see a thing, except for a sliver of light from the crack above, about a foot wide and six to nine feet long.

She reached out to touch the ground, finding only loose dirt and rubble. She knocked on the ground with her fist a couple of times, and the lack of a hollow echo reassured her that it was solid and she wouldn’t be falling any deeper.

Feeling a bit more secure, she stood up, looking around at the inky darkness with utter dread. She had no idea where she was. Was it a basement that had been dug out and then filled in? Or a naturally formed cave?

The darkness was so oppressive that she was terrified to explore the

expansion of this “basement p>

fearing that if she reached out, something might bite her hand. swnovel

She fumbled for her phone, relieved to find it hadn’t shattered. She immediately thought to call for help.

But when she glanced at the battery, her eyes widened in disbelief. She had only 1% left.

In a flash, she remembered sulking all day after an argument with Keith. Her mood had been so low that she hadn’t bothered to do a thing, even charging her phone.

So here she was, out on her own with a nearly dead phone. For a moment, Amara could have kicked herself for being so careless. How could she be so foolish?

Suddenly her phone buzzed with an incoming call from Finnian, making her eyes widen in surprise.

Why was Finnian calling her now? There was no time to ponder this She didn’t know how long her last 1% would last. The phone might die as soon as she pressed the answer button, or even before. swnovel

Luckily, a shred of rationality kept her from wasting any more time. She hit the answer button and shouted into the phone, “I’m at Mystic Rock Garden! Help me p>

“What?” Finnian’s voice was barely audible, probably due to the poor signal.

Amara took a deep breath, trying to speak as loudly and clearly as she

could. I’m at Mystic Rock Garden!

There’s a big crack, and I’m at the bottom of it. Please, help.. swnovel