Stephanie

"You're an idiot," I admonished the guard in front of me matter-of-factly.

"But, Miss Lishakov, he threw a rock at me! That classifies as a high-level threat!"

Mother of Pearl, I'm surrounded by idiots. "So you shot your gun."

"Yes, Miss Lishakov!"

"All right, which way did they go?"

"Which way did who go?"

"...The one with the little eyes and the one who threw a rock at you."

"Oh!" the guard exclaimed. "Them!"

I wanted to get to the nearest tree and bash my head against it.

"That way." He pointed towards a door to the manor.

I almost choked on air. 'Almost' being the key word. It wouldn't do to actually show emotion in front of my subjects, now would it?

THE FORBIDDEN HALL...

...read the big, flashing neon sign over the door.

"No! They can't have been so desperate or blind or MORONIC as to enter THAT door!" I tried to reassure myself. It didn't work. Such are the friends that I keep.

The guard looked nervous. "Miss Lishakov, perhaps we shouldn't follow them..."

"Shut up," I answered curtly, and headed into the house.

The Hall is not a hall. I wish I knew which of my ancestors made up the label so I can spurn them for it.

In fact, it is a natural crevasse cutting straight through my property as a result of glacial movement.

Only the most desperate or blind or moronic people can imagine it as a hallway. The ceiling is visible; the floor is not. It's a sheer 300-metre drop with a tiny rope bridge across to connect the West and North Wings of my manor.

"...That is one deep crevasse," said a male voice, just as I opened the door. Daniel, I thought.

"You keep speaking my thoughts out loud." That was another voice - I'd recall it anywhere. Jenny. Jenny Jiang.

I stood back a couple of feet to watch them. They didn't even notice. I hadn't seen my friends since summer began, and it felt nice just to be in their company. Not that I'd ever admit that out loud!

Daniel leaned over the edge of the cliff and repeated, "That is DEEP."

"DEEP.. deep..." the canyon echoed back, and Daniel's eyes widened.

He called back down into the crevasse, "HELLO!"

"Hello!...hello..."

"IS ANYONE DOWN THERE! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?"

"...all right... all right..."

"Okay, just checkin'!" he said, giving a thumbs up sign. Then he glanced over his shoulder at us. JJ was sitting on a rock, shaking her head back and forth in an 'I pity you' manner. It was almost fond.

"Hey! Stephanie!" cried Daniel.

JJ's eyes widened too. At least I thought they did. Maybe. It was hard to tell, as one can imagine.

"STEPHANIE!"

Then everything started rumbling, and it was not Daniel's stomach.