The Cursed Cave

Warning: This book contains classified information on the events of Mission 2315.

THE CURSED CAVE
E.J. Rowe
To Owens Class of 2024, you inspired me to write this.
To Ask Castledown staff in 2024, you helped me so much when it comes to what I do today.

Chapter 1- The Crash
Colossal waves had been hitting the coast of Hastings for months. Shops had been abandoned and now lay water-logged with no one going near them. Pavements were filled with potholes and people now resided on West and East Hill in buildings either already inhabited by families or schools out of use. Food was running low and everyone was hungry but not willing to go near the seafront. Only 6 people: Victor, Tommy, Beau, Eryn, Zoe and Lilly were willing to investigate and set up a team to do so safely. They were going to travel into the ocean under mission command of Kelsey, Caleb, Jade and Araz. They called it Mission 2315.

In the ocean, the disturbances were getting worse- the submarine kept crashing into injured sea creatures fleeing for their lives. Everything seemed to have been warped, obliterated by these god-like waves. They seemed like they were sent by Poseidon. It wasn't suprising, as it has built up over months. At the moment, it was at the base of West Hill. The sea bed had been scattered and the coral (previously embedded in the depths of the ocean) was being shoved towards the shore. However, there was something still buried deep within the ocean floor and when Victor was it, he screamed "MUMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!!!" . The boys all looked out the window and started to freak out. They hid behind the girls: Tommy behind Eryn, Victor behind Zoe and Beau behind Lilly. A voice came through the radio, "Oi, Beau, Victor," It was Kelsey. " They're taken. " The girls let out a sigh.
"Honestly, do you ever read the reports from missions?" Eryn questioned. "Mission 2303, Amber, Penelope, Jake and Martin were sent out to investigate. On the next mission, Summer reported seeing their corpses in this exact area. These are their corpses. " The boys were shocked. Why were they so stupid? But also, could that happen to them?

As they travelled further through the water, Victor started to notice shadows swimming frantically through the ocean. They seemed to be watching them, spying on them. But why? What was so special about them? He decided to further investigate. After discussing it with the others, it was definite he was going to be researching these shadows' appearance. It was tough to lure them out, however they eventually
found one of them. Their eyes widened and they blinked as if it was a dream. Terrell stood in front of them, his eyes glistening with mallace. The same Terrell they went to primary with, the same Terrell that had been missing for the past 9 years. Shocked to be found, Terrell went on a frenzy. He started dismantling functions on the submarine, making everyone go into a panicked state. As for Victor, he slices the tube feeding him oxygen. Everyone was saying their last goodbyes, thinking about their imminent death. "Eryn, if I don't survive this..." Tommy told Eryn, " Tell Sophie that I-I love her. "


Chapter 2- The Missing
Their eyes opened to damp surroundings. As their eyes adjusted, they saw Lilly crying, seemingly grieving beside numb, cold bodies. As Beau, Tommy, Zoe and Eryn approached, they recognised the still bodies of Kelsey, Caleb, Victor, Jade and Araz. Eryn bent down, no warm breath heated her face. She checked their pulses, there wasn't one for any of them. "They're dead. " she blurted out. Lilly let out a wail. Beau's eyes widened and he seemed to go numb. Zoe sobbed and fell to her knees. Eryn stood in shock and put her head in her hands. Beau went over to comfort Lilly, while Eryn stayed back to comfort Zoe. Tommy just stood there, unflinching. Sure, his friends' deaths were sad, but more important things were on his mind. Who was causing this. Surely all this damage wasn't only caused by Terrell. No, he must have had help. But from who? Why was he acting so differently? He had clearly recognised his old friends, so why did he attack them? What did this have to do with the Missing Incident? After all, Terrell went missing and he is here.

Through a camera, E could see her pathetic victims. She had to reveal herself soon, according to her boss, ------. She decided now was the time. She turned on her microphone and voice changer. Her voice, deep and soothing, boomed around the cave. "Well, well, well... if it isn't my old friends. " They all turned their heads towards the microphone. As soon as she had their attention, she decided to scare them, show them her power, make them quiver. The ground began to shake and the floor beneath them split with a massive CRACK! They looked down. A huge river had formed; their submarine drowning in it. "No! "they screamed, drowning in misery with it. E giggled to herself, 'How pathetic of them. '

In the midst of the defeat he felt, Tommy felt a spark of hope as an idea came into mind. He ran alongside the river, urging the others to follow. Before he could go far, a wail and a groan sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw Lilly standing tere, eyes wide as blood oozed from a black hole where her heart was. She fell to the ground, her eyes clouding as she did so. A shriek came from Beau, "NOOOOO-" and was promptly cut off as a knife slashed down his back an blood drpped onto the floor. Tommy was astonished. He glanced behind them. The familiar shape of Terrell along with another recognisable shape stood there, grinning. 'Eleni!' Tommy thought to himself. As Terrell readied his knife, Tommy realised what they were doing. "Run! " he shouted at the girls.

Chapter 3- Terrell
As he ran, his heart beating in his throat, Tommy began to grasp an idea of what happened. There were few ideas about what happened and very little evidence for his claims.

In his memory, Tommy was walking out of primary school for the last time, when he saw a ginormous, get black van with four people inside it: Eleni, Maia, Neem and someone who he didn't recognise. A man was standing outside the van, and as soon as he saw us, he reached for Terrell. He thrust him in the van, and drove away. None of them were seen again until today

after being taken, they must have come here. Around that time, there were signs of radioctivity in the sea, so a team went to investigate. 'Makes sense they never came back. ' Tommy thought to himself. The radioactivity must have come from them, genetically mutating their selves. After all, how else could they breathe underwater? The radioactivity must have caused the waves to become that destructive, combined with the effects of pollution and climate change. But there was still one thing that didn't make sense. Motive. After all, they did recognise them, judging by the fact Eleni said 'old friends'. After all, Terrell was his best friend. He wouldn't do that to him, right? Eryn's voice broke into his thoughts, "Tommy, stop comtemplating and keep running. "Before he could quicken his pace, he heard footsters...

Terrell's footsteps...

"I knew you couldn't hide. "he sniggered. "I know you recognise us, Terrell, so why are you doing this? You just murdered Beau, our friend. Victor is dead too. Is this what you want? To lose all your friends and family? " Tommy gave Terrell a hard glare. Everything he said was true, if only a bit exaggerated to scare him. But it seemed Terrell took this very seriously. His eyes seemed to flash with a mix of guilt and sadness, but then solidified into anger. "How dare you act like you know anything about friendship? You abandoned me, left me to die along with several of our friends because you were too cowardly to do anything. "Terrell accused. "I was trying to find help but there wasn't anyone there. I still regret that day. "Tommy responded, hot anger bubbling up inside him. They continued arguing until Eryn raised her voice over them. "Enough! Terrell, just because you feel wronged by what Tommy did, it doesn't give you the right to massacure the population of Hastings. "The hint of red faded from Terrell's eyes, replaced by a glint of panic. He searched the area briefly, before turning around to face them. "You need to leave now. "Terrell whispered.
"Why should we trust you? "Tommy huffed.
Eryn ignored him. "Is something going to happen that could cause great destruction? "
"Yes, "he reponded. "Be careful who you trust. "
"What is going to happen? Who shouldn't we trust?"Zoe panickedly questioned. Terrell opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Instead, his eyes clouded and rolled to the back of his head. Blood dripped from them, and he collapsed to the ground. Spasms echoed through his body. Each finger was crooked, twisted the wrong way, as if he had arthritis. You could see each organ as his skin stretched thinner and thinner. Zoe ran to his side, screaming in terror. The other 2 held back, their hearts racing and eyes widening. It was something never seen before. Behind them, a shadow slunk by, unnoticed thanks to the distraction. Suddenly, everything went black.