Eventually Matt and Michelle were able to find their way out of the cave and a way to the front. They also found Ryan standing next to a bunch or reporters. They told Ryan what they saw happen to Alice, about the weird book he had found, and about the other book still in the cave. “I think I may know a way how to destroy it.” Matt says looking down at the book. “Get everyone you can to come with me, we will need some help.”

Michelle and Matt look at each other and both reluctantly agree. Neither of them wanted to even think of going back inside, but they knew how dangerous the cave was to everyone. Ryan calls Dan and Chris and tells them what had happened and asks them for help. Chris quickly agreed, but Dan didn’t agree until he heard that Michelle already decided she was going in again. They go home and get ready to go again. They plan to meet the next morning.

The five of them meet in front of the cave the next morning. Nobody brings anything with them except for Matt who brought the book. None of them are excited, but they know they must do this. They enter the cave. The lights are on and the entrance does not close. They wonder if the cave wants them to leave. They do not plan to leave either way. They head down the direction that Matt had discovered earlier.

The five continue down the narrow passage. Not all five could fit side by side, so they walk in rows of two. Michelle and Matt are in front, followed by Chris and Dan, and Ryan is by himself in the back.

The five can start to hear the river. The sides are a little wider than before. That means it is almost time to jump down. Michelle and Matt stop. They tell everyone that this is the way down. They don’t see a way to get back up, or a better way to go down.

Michelle stands to the left and Matt to the right. They make sure all of them jump safely. Chris jumps first followed by Dan. Matt and Michelle see the two are safe and were able to swim to land. They turn around and see Ryan. He looks nervous and is breathing heavily. They try to get him to jump.

“I am not a strong swimmer. Also, I’m afraid of heights.” Ryan says.

“We’ll be right here. We’ll make sure you make it down safely.” Matt says.

They convince him to jump, but only if they all jump at the same time. They all grab each other’s hands and plan to jump on three.

“One, two, thrrr…” Michelle says. She stumbles forward still holding Ryan’s hand. The three of them fall into the river. Above they can see the beast with blood on his blade. He stabbed her through the stomach.

Matt swims to the top and catches his breath. He looks around. The three of them got separated during the jump. He sees both Ryan and Michelle struggle to stay above water and trying to fight the current. Matt swims over to Michelle and brings her to land. He looks back to find Ryan but he disappeared. He turns to Chris and Dan who look shocked. Matt goes to jump back in but Dan stops him.

“You’ll never find him there. We have to continue on.” Dan says. Matt goes to help Michelle up, but she is bleeding badly.

“I will only slow you down if you bring me with you. Destroying the beast is our best chance. I’ll stay here.”

To Matt it looked like she would die even if they were able to make it out alive. Matt turns and leaves and Chris and Dan follow him. Matt turns back and sees the beast near her. He keeps walking. He finds the room with the bookcase and lets Chris and Dan go in first. Matt looks back and sees Michelle stabbed through the top of her head, stuck on the beast’s blade. Matt turns and walks inside the room. He sees three people. Dan and Chris look stunned and so does the bleeding woman. “Who are you?” Matt asks.

Alice was wondering the same thing. They introduce themselves to each other. Alice looks badly injured. Her neck is bleeding, her arms are bleeding, she looks like she hasn’t slept, and she looks dehydrated.

“I haven’t left this room since yesterday, when you two left here,” Alice says nodding to Matt. Matt is looking at the bookcase. “Where is the book that was here?” he asks.

Alice points to the room with all the corpses. “I threw the book at him hoping to hit him, but he just disappeared. He showed up there later.” She says.

Matt runs into the other room to find the book. He looks around and cannot find it. All he sees is the pile of bodies. He walks to the furthest wall and looks around. He can see the corner of the book sticking out from a pile of bodies. The rest of it was hidden beneath the pile. He picks up the book and runs out of the room. When he is out he turns around looking for the beast. He still does not see it. He wonders where it is.

“You told us if we helped you get down here you would know how to stop it,” Chris says.

“A book isn’t any good if I don’t read it.” Matt says. “ We should leave here and come back after we know what these books say. Then, I believe we will know how to stop it.”

“Not without destroying it.” Chris says. “Read it here.”

“It is in a different language. Anyways, what if the lights go out? We can all be killed.” Matt says.

Dan grabs Matt and goes toward the entrance to where they came in. “You want to leave, then leave.” Dan says shutting the door in Matt’s face.

“Let me back in! It’s dark out here.” He hears a noise far away. The lights go out in the room he was in. Dan, Chris, and Alice run out. “So which way is the exit again?” Chris asks.

Matt thought on commenting on how right he was, but he decided now might not be the best time.

The three follow Matt’s lead. “That’s the exit.” Matt says. They look back and see the beast near them. Again, the exit blocked off by the rocks. Dan, Chris, and Matt ram the rocks as hard as they could. The rocks scatter falling everywhere. The three run outside and look back. The beast caught Alice by her leg. She is lying on the ground kicking the beast trying to get away. Dan and Chris run back to help her.

Matt sees the rock pile rebuilding itself. Slowly, rock-by-rock, it is regaining its strength. The hole is too small for him to fit through by the time he notices it. He watches what happens to the other three who are now trapped inside. He hears Alice scream and he sees her head rolling toward the rock pile. The hole is too small for him to clearly see what is happening. He does see one of the two get stabbed through the chest. The beast lifts his sword with the person still stuck on the blade. Matt thinks he sees one man running away, but the final stone is placed before he can see what happens to him. He can no longer see into the cave.

He looks at both books that he is carrying. He decides that he will continue to try to destroy the cave, but he cannot do anything today. He walks out toward the front of the cave.

He gets to the front and sees a guy lying face first inside the cave. When he gets closer he recognizes it to be Dan. He runs to him screaming his name. It is not until he tries to help Dan up that he realizes that he has been killed. He goes to leave but the entrance is already closed. He goes to run but the beast is already there. He goes to scream but he is already dead.