Chapter 3 Black Sand

Child Hood Crush

Ding Dong! Dereck looked through the peephole and then opened the door. I thought it was going to be another one of Dereck’s girls. 

Sam said, “Hey, Dereck! Hey, Taylor!” 

“Hey, Sam,” I replied. “What are you up to? 

“Nothing much,” she said. “Hey, Dereck, can I talk to you in private?” 

“Sure, Taylor. Can you give Sam and me some privacy?” 

“Yea, no problem.” I went upstairs to my bedroom. 

“So, Dereck, I want to tell you something.” 

“Okay… What is it?” 

“Dereck, I have always had a crush on you since we were little. Now we are 18, and in high school, so I finally decided to get the courage to tell you.” 

“Wow, Sam, I never knew that. I’m shocked.” 

“Aaah,” came a muffled sound from upstairs.

“Did you hear that, Sam?” 

“Hear what?” 

“I’m going to go check on Taylor. I’ll be back, Sam.” 

“Taylor! Taylor, where are you?” I shouted. I sprinted up the stairs to Taylor’s room.

Unknown Passageway

He wasn’t in bed. His light was on in the closet. He wasn’t there. I clicked the light switch off, but I saw a dim light peeking through his clothes. When sliding back Taylor’s clothes, I could see what appeared to be a door leading to something. As soon as I opened the door, I could see gravel reflecting the ominous, dancing torches on the wall. The crackling flames were swaying back and forth in a pattern. I started walking down the narrow passageway. 

The gravel was crunching underneath my feet. Every time I took a step, the flame cast a shadow. I kept walking. I can touch both sides of the walls. Its texture was roughly mixed with rocks. The passageway gave off a mysterious odor. I could see a door in my line of vision. I was about to open it, but my body suddenly froze, and I felt rooted in fear. I saw a shadow on the ceiling that revealed something approaching me from behind. I heard the gravel popping again as my heart started to race. The shadow loomed closer and closer. There was nowhere for me to run or hide. As I turned around, I felt a gentle touch on my back. It was Sam. “What the hell? You scared the shit out of me, Sam.”

Where Is Taylor?

“I’m sorry I was worried about you,” Sam stammered. “What’s going on, Dereck? Where is Taylor?” 

“I honestly don’t know,” I whispered, “I’m trying to figure it out.” 

I then twisted the doorknob and cautiously pulled. No longer held back by the door, the foul odor enveloped me. I wanted to throw up. I looked around my new surroundings. It was a vast room. The walls looked the same as the ones in the passageway. Torches burned around the room.

The ground appeared to be sand. Not normal sand, but unusual black sand. 

“Taylor, Taylor! Bro, where are you?” I shouted.  “Hey, Sam! We should split up and look for Taylor,” I continued. I turned around, but Sam wasn’t behind me anymore. The torches blew out. I started to walk forward in the darkness. The torches came back on, flickering back and forth. A shadow appeared, but I couldn’t tell if it was Taylor or Sam. As I continued forward, I stumbled on the lumpy, uneven ground.

“Taylor!!! Where are you?” I repeated.

“Right here, Dereck,” said a familiar voice. I knew it was Taylor.

“Right where?” I asked, stepping towards the shadow.

The shadow responded, “Step forward, Dereck. Just a little closer.” Hands motioned me forward. This is unlike Taylor. Why was he acting like that? 

As Taylor’s form materialized from the shadows, he said, “Dereck, just a few more steps. I will tell you when to stop.” 

“Okay,” I replied cautiously. I started counting the steps I took: one, two, three, four, five. 

“Stop, Dereck. That’s good enough.” 

“Taylor, tell me, what’s going on? What’s with black sand?” 

Memories

“Dereck, remember when we used to go to the beach? We had so much fun feeling the ocean breeze flowing through the air.” 

“I sure do. You always liked to bury things in the sand for me to find, but Taylor….” 

 “It was just you and me, the sand and my little toy shovel. Dereck, I buried my little toy blocks for you to dig for and bring back to me so I can do it all over again.” 

“That’s right, Taylor. You asked me one day if you could bury me, and I said yes.” 

“It’s funny that you say that, Dereck. I buried some stuff in the sand for you to find and bring back to me. I want you to call out what you find.”

Where To Run

“Okay, Taylor,” I replied. “Well, that explains the bumps in the sand.” I started to dig and feel around in the sand. Something poked me; I pulled it out. It was an earring. “Hey Taylor, I found an earring.” But it wasn’t just an ordinary earring; it had a feather attached to it. It was a feminine earring.

 The shadows dancing in the firelight added to my uneasiness as the crunch of gravel alerted me to his next step forward. I noticed another shadow peeking around a corner as if it was a peeping Tom with the shadow making a baleful laugh. My body started to tighten up with my legs ready to run.