Sometimes, everyone you know is wrong.

And the days are short while the nights are long

Because you're just trying to sing your song

But the interruptions are making you strong

Though you don't know the difference.

Sometimes, everything you do seems wrong.

And the present is here but the past is gone

Because you're just trying to go along

But all the pain is making you strong

Though you can't tell what's happening.

Some people are totally blind;

Some have pretty good vision.

Some see only black and white,

But most are somewhere in between.

And none of us fully understand

What it means to truly see.

Nine

Galvin

“That’s it,” Galvin panted, before stopping himself from going any further. “Mostyn, we have to rest!” He closed his heavy eyelids as he let himself slide to the floor in drowsiness. “I’m dead on my feet,” he added wearily.

Mostyn patted his back. “Okay then, little guy,” he said. “We can’t stay here very long, though.”

Galvin could feel himself falling asleep, and he shook himself in order to stay awake. A few minutes went by, and then Becca asked, “Do you guys hear that?”

Galvin sat up straight and listened. Somewhere off in the distance, he could hear voices. Grown-up voices. All his exhaustion dripped away as he rose to his feet.

The idea of going to see what was happening was tossed around while Mostyn thought about their safety. If they stayed where they were, obviously they wouldn’t get anywhere. If they went, the people would help them or hurt them. Mostyn gave the ultimatum momentarily: they would go check things out.

Noiselessly they crept down the tunnel in the direction of the voices. Galvin almost cried out when he saw yellow lights up ahead. Mostyn didn’t seem even a bit surprised at the luminescent glow, however, so Galvin kept his mouth shut. By now, the voices had stopped, and the sound of someone drawing near could be heard. A shape emerged from behind the corner before them, and Galvin saw that it was a woman. Her gray eyes narrowed when she saw them, and a black lady came out after her.

“Are you alone?” questioned the one with bright red hair and light gray eyes.

“It’s just the three of us,” explained Mostyn nervously.

The black woman rubbed her temples. “Beth,” she said, turning to her friend, “Go and see if you can find Cabella and Liv. I’ll take care of this.”

Beth nodded. She brushed past them, casting the children a suspicious glance as she went. Galvin wondered who Cabella and Liv were, and how he, Mostyn, and Becca were supposed to be “taken care of.”

“Come with me.” The black woman spoke sharply. She gestured with one hand for them to follow her, then spun around and swam down the passageway.

Becca put her arm around Galvin’s shoulders and gave him an encouraging squeeze, and this time Galvin did not push her away.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Mostyn remarked icily, but paddled after Brownie (that was what Galvin had decided to call her) with cold remorse.

Eight

 Jaquelle

Jaquelle stood stock still, straining her ears so she could hear better. They hadn’t heard the scratching noise in about ten minutes, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. No matter how hard she listened, though, she heard nothing but the water making its water-y sounds.

“I think we’re good,” Dyre announced. “We should be on our way.”

“I’m afraid we can’t allow that,” A voice from ahead of them said. It startled Jaquelle so badly that she yelled; she had not been expecting that.

“And who are you that you are so free to decide such things?” Dyre challenged hotly. Jaq knew he was just covering up his shock with anger.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” The person said. Jaquelle could tell that it was an adult female. “Now, we can do this easily or it can be a challenge. But either way, you three are coming with us.”

Jaquelle felt someone swimming through the water until they were stationed just behind her, and then their hands were on her shoulders. “Let’s move,” bossed a voice that Jaquelle hadn’t heard before, and the person began propelling her in some direction. Jaq was unsure whether or not to feel scared. She had no idea that others still lived in Forthatia, and honestly she was more thankful than afraid. Besides, maybe these people were just trying to help them. But on the other hand, they might want to hurt you, whispered something deep inside her head.

Jaquelle let out a long breath, and concentrated on kicking her feet and moving her arms.

Time passed. Once, Klarissa asked the weird people where they were headed. The person behind Jaquelle answered, “You’ll find out.”

It was probably the middle of the night, but since she was in darkness all the time in that cave, Jaquelle didn’t really know how late it was. She only understood how tired she was, and how her legs and arms longed to cease swimming and collapse. Eventually, though, Jaq could see dim lights ahead. They were yellow and stationed on each sides of the cave walls. Jaquelle got a glimpse of the leader, the one who had first spoken. It was indeed an adult female, with long brown hair that reached her waist. Jaquelle was able to tell that she had dark skin. She was not very tall, but she was slender, and moved with poise and grace. Jaq couldn’t see her face, as her back was to the captives.

Only moments after the lights first appeared, they all found themselves in an area of the cave that opened up into a wide, cylindrical-shaped room. There were several holes in the clearing that must have been separate tunnels leading elsewhere, and all but one were lined with the odd yellow lights. In the middle of the open space, Jaquelle saw three people, not unlike the ones who had captured the children. Two of them were males, and the other was a woman. Their heads were bent closely together, as if they were discussing something very important, but one of the men looked up when he heard invaders.

“Nicely done, Abrada and Bethelina,” he congratulated the two women.

The one in front, whom Jaquelle thought to be Abrada, dipped her head, letting her long brown hair fall into her face. “There are still three others in Hider’s Passageway,” she warned the man.

“I know.” The guy swam towards them until he was almost touching Abrada. Then he examined all of the children thoroughly, his hazel eyes deep and scorching, his mouth pointing downwards slightly. “I think that Cabella and Liveya can handle them, though.”

“Of course, Reyton.” Abrada dipped her head again.

The other two adults in the room also approached them, stopping just behind Reyton. The female had very defined features, with a slim nose and curved, impressive lips. Her eyes were the color of ice, ringed with dark blue, and they were piercing. She had blond hair, which she wore in a ponytail. She held herself powerfully, as she was standing so straight with her shoulders thrown back. The man’s black hair was cut crisply, and his dark brown eyes were disapproving. “What will we do with them, Reyton?” he snarled.

Reyton clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the other man, seeming indifferent. “Put them with the others, of course.”

“You should have known that, Talak.” The female with the blond hair snapped at her companion. “How else would we take care of them?” Her voice sounded like it should belong to a gentler person.

“I just thought we might do something special with this lot,” Talak shot back. “You know how quickly I get bored, Melodyn.”

“That’s just another one of your flaws.” Melodyn folded her arms over her chest.

“Enough of this,” Reyton barked at the quarrelers. “We’ll act in good time,” he comforted Talak. “For now, though, you must be patient. I want all of them to see each other one more time before we end it.”

Jaquelle gulped. She did not like the way these people were discussing her, Dyre and Klarissa. They made it sound as if the children were meat about to be fed to hungry animals. Maybe these people weren’t good news after all.

Klarissa made a small noise in her throat, and hung onto her sister’s arm.

“Take them to the pit,” Reyton ordered Abrada and Bethelina. The women obeyed, and the three Tunnel Kids were hauled towards one of the holes in the opening, the one with no lights. Jaq knew it was no use fighting, so, exhausted, she let Bethelina shove her into the tunnel.

There was no floor, and Jaquelle fell quite a ways before she reached the bottom. On the way down, she heard Reyton tell Abrada and Bethelina to “go and fetch the other two.” Did he mean Adir and Christal?

When Jaquelle hit the bottom, she called, “Dyre? Klarissa?”

“We’re here,” Dyre replied.

“Jaquelle?” peeped a small, familiar voice from somewhere in the pit.

Jaquelle gasped in surprise. “Halina?”

Seven

Cabella

The two emandol-cavedwellers followed the one called Mostyn and his group down Watcher’s Passageway very suspiciously. Who were these forthatians? What business did they have in the cave? How were they even alive?

Cabella was one of seven emandol-cavedwellers, and at the moment she was with Liveya, her best friend. Abrada and Bethelina had left in pursuit of the children that were in Hider’s Passageway, while Reyton and Talak were in the main headquarters. As far as Cabella knew, they were ignorant of the mysterious children, but she wasn’t exactly sure. Melodyn was most likely with the two males, but she couldn’t be certain of that either.

“I think they’re looking for someone,” Liveya noted, so softly that even Cabella’s sharp ears had a hard time picking up her words.

“Yes, you might be right,” she said just as quietly. “Do you suppose they’re trying to find that girl? The one that wandered in here earlier?” It was indeed a possibility. When the girl had first arrived, Cabella and company had been shocked. They’d thought that no one had survived the Moving, this strange child at the least.

“Maybe,” Liveya was thoughtful. “If they are, they’re definitely going the wrong way.”

Cabella brought her fingers down Liveya’s arm, signaling her to stop moving. “Should we take them to Reyton now?” she asked seriously. “If they somehow bump into him, and he finds out later that we didn’t bring them to him straightaway . . .” The Watcher’s Passageway led to their leader’s living area.

Liveya shuddered. “You’re right,” her friend agreed. “That would be pretty bad. But I think we should leave them alone for now, and if we sense any trouble up ahead, we’ll interfere. Alright?”

The water swished coldly around them as Cabella tapped the palm of her hand on her thigh while she thought. “By then it might be too late, though,” she argued persuasively. “If we’re going to capture them, it’s now or never.”

Liv sighed. “I guess you have a point,” she acknowledged. “Okay. Come on, let’s go.” But before they could go anywhere, Liveya froze. “There’s someone behind us,” she said icily. “I can feel his presence.”

Cabella moaned. “Is it another one of those pesky kids?” she grumbled, then spun around and began backtracking, towards the unidentified mass in the water. It didn’t appear to be one of her kind.

“Who – who’s there?” the voice spluttered. The speaker sounded very young and immature, so Cabella knew it had to be one of the adventurous children. She herself was a little over 200 years old, and Liveya was a few years older than that.

“It’s alright,” Cabella told him reasonably. “We’re . . . friends. Are you lost?” She had hesitated at the word “friends” because that was exactly the opposite of what she and her troupe were.

“Yeah! I can’t find the others!” the child cried, choked. “I thought I heard something, so I came back here to investigate, and now they’re all gone!”

Cabella grinned menacingly. This little guy = easy prey.

“I’m Trazen. Who are you guys?” their discovery queried. He seemed more cautious now, more guarded, than afraid. He must have gotten over his fear.

“We live here,” Cabella avoided answering him directly. She didn’t want to give anything away that made her and Liveya seem evil, period.

“Okay,” he said, sounding content with her response. “Can you take me back to Mostyn and Galvin? I miss ‘em.”

Liveya smiled. The child couldn’t see it, but Cabella felt it. “Right away,” Liv said, a hint of threat in her voice. Cabella picked the kid up and immediately felt him struggle, so she threw a hand over his mouth and refused to let one sound escape his surprised lips.

“You’ll see your friends again, but not all of them might be alive,” she promised darkly. The boy squirmed, horrified, so Cabella squeezed him even tighter.

Six

 Galvin

Galvin swam tiredly beside Trazen when their group had been separated from Dyre’s. They were both uneasy because they did not wish to be in Mariana’s Cave, but they wanted to find Halina. Galvin was very afraid, yet full of the hope of meeting his sister, and that is what pushed him forward.

The water was heavy, so heavy, and freezing cold. Galvin was totally blind, like he had been for the past ten minutes, and on top of that he was shivering and felt as if he was suffocating.

All at once, he noticed something. Mostyn and Becca were swimming up ahead, talking to each other in low tones, and Trazen was paddling at his left side, so what was behind them? Galvin could just pick out a steady, deep sound that seemed to be the inhaling and exhaling of breath.

Before he knew it, he had shot ahead of Trazen and was tugging on Mostyn’s arm. “Mostyn, there’s something behind us!” he whispered urgently.

Mostyn whipped around. “What?” he hissed.

“I can hear something back there!” Galvin pressed.

Mostyn was extremely rigid; Galvin could feel it. He was quiet. Pondering. Considering.

“Are you sure you aren’t making things up?” Becca asked, and took up her hand in his.

“No, no, no!” Galvin tore himself away from her. “I am not!”

“We’ll just have to move faster if you think you heard something,” That was Mostyn this time. “You never know – it could be a lonely fish.”

Galvin was quite impatient. “It was not a fish!” he insisted bitterly. “Fish don’t make breathing noises!”

Mostyn sounded alarmed when he spoke again. “Well, we can’t turn back. So we really WILL have to swim quicker. Trazen? Come on! We’re going to pick up the pace!”

Galvin reached out his hand so he could touch his friend, comfort him. But his fingers brushed against nothing, and Trazen, wherever he was, failed to reply to Mostyn. “Great,” Galvin’s voice shook as he said this. His heart ached for the loss of his friend, and he was scared stiff.

“I’m so sorry,” Becca patted his head.

Their now group of three rushed through the water, and since they didn’t even bother to hide their pain, they cried. Every once in a while, Galvin would cup his hands to his mouth and scream, “HALINA! TRAZEN!” But always, always there was no answer.

Often Galvin could hear voices, hushed and shy as they were. Sometimes he could even pick out words: children, other, lost, her, never, find, Reyton. He could piece the other words together easily enough, but who was Reyton? He did not tell Becca or Mostyn about the voices, because he thought he was going insane. After all, losing your best friend and your sister in one day was enough to drive you mad.

So as you guys now know, I am NOT Leah Elizabeth.

I made her up.

My full name is Heather Renee Rice and I used to be a member here about five months ago. I deleted my account because something went wrong and freaked me out. I wrote poems on here that I didn't want people I knew to see, including very close friends. I hadn't put up anything bad about them; on the contrary, I wrote some really nice stuff about my best friend. Nonetheless, I was embarrassed. So I deactivated my account - desperate times call for desperate measures, and it really was desperate for me. Mostly I didn't want my best friend, Hannah, to worry about me.

Writing is my passion. I plan to be a writer someday and I'm going to eventually become a book editor. I've been making up stories ever since I learned how to read and write. I'm going to do it for the rest of my life and I love it more than I love doing anything else, so hey, why not get paid for it? :D

That's why I was a little skeptical about wiping all of my songs and poems off of here, but I knew that they had all helped me to grow stronger. Since I had already written them down, I wouldn't need to read them again in order to become a better writer. Looking at all my old work is mainly for my amusement, anyways.

I'm fourteen years old and I have a younger brother and sister. They both drive me insane but I gotta love them. I have a dog who is going to be 13 this October, 2010, and my rabbit is also bound to die any time now... /:  My best friend's name is Hannah and she IS the BEST friend I could EVER ask for. She has gotten me through so much and I'm really thankful for her. I love her more than she'll ever know. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, so that's why some of my poetry and songs are about Jesus. I'm a really strong Christian and I love talking about God. He is my life and I would be toast without Him.

Now, you know a little bit more about me, and I hope I've cleared up your confusion about this whole thing. :D

Wind and the waves in my face

Trying to beat it, but my life's a disgrace

My limbs are exhausted and I'm losing the fight

Starting to drown now and I can't see the light

They're pulling me under but I thought they were right

The salt is killing me so please tell me how

I ended up in here with no way out

I just need someone to come rescue me

Before I die in this misery sea.

I shouldn't have left Him so I could be "free"

Look how far that's gotten me...

I cry out to Jesus in pain and in fear

And that's when I notice how long He's been here

I take his hand and He smiles at me

Then I get out of that misery sea.

Beautiful is a state of mind;

Not just a pretty face.

When will they realize that?

There's more to life than girls,

And parties on Friday nights.

But it's all just a game

In the heart of a typical teenage boy.