Madison leaned over the hole, peering into the dark chasm, while Cassie shrank behind a tree.
“Hello down there,” Madison’s voice echoed. On the last day of summer vacation, they went out exploring the woods. That’s when they found the tunnel: wide enough to swallow them both, its bottom lost in shadow. “What do you think’s down there?”
“Monsters,” Cassie whispered.
“Adventure!” Madison shouted and climbed in.
Cassie stayed behind. Her friend’s chatter echoed up for a while, then went silent. “Hello?” Cassie called.
“Are you coming?” a voice asked. It wasn’t Madison. “It’s safe now. I’m not hungry anymore.”
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Harbinger of Death by Jonathan L. Tolstedt"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Famine Man by Deborah Tapper"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="The Price of Belief by Andreas Flögel"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="The Abhartach's Thirst by Andrew Kurtz"
class="motion-reduce"
loading="lazy"
width="1200"
height="630"
>