As I was playing with my little brother Ryan one Saturday afternoon, the streetlights flashed on the nearby street. “Quick! We should head home before Mom gets angry!” I thought. I beckoned my brother Ryan to follow, as I sprinted through the uneven terrain in the forest outside of my house. Suddenly, the ground disappeared from under me, and I didn’t realize I was falling until it was too late.
I rushed through the air and heard my brother scream. “There must be a way out of here,” I thought as the wind whirled around me. I tried to latch onto the wall of the sinkhole. But it felt weirdly smooth, and I couldn’t hold on. Then, I landed. I expected to be hurt, but as if I was in a fairy tale, I was not injured. At least I wasn’t until my brother’s foot hit my head.
As we both got up, I was surprised to see other people down here. The place seemed to be a bustling city, but the architecture seemed alien to me. There was only one street running through the city and all the houses were connected and made of dried mud. The people here were human, but I doubted they spoke any human language. So, I strolled down the street with my brother tailing behind me. “What is this place?” Ryan asked. “Why do you think I know?” I responded. Then he went silent.
I walked along the road to find out more. I could hear human language, but I couldn’t understand what it meant. I realized that someone was speaking Spanish, then I heard someone speaking French. I started to hear more languages as I picked out German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Swahili. I was good at identifying languages, but not so great at writing or speaking them. I then approached the nearest English speaker and asked where we were. He looked confused but then empathetic. “You must be new here” he replied “I’m Connor and this is Althusia”
I then asked how he got here, and he told me he was born here. “Every couple of years though, someone falls into Althusia, we had to put some mattresses beneath the hole, so people don’t die from the fall” he explained, “Everyone is trapped here, and every time we try to escape, something horrible happens.”
I grabbed my brother to stop him from wandering away. He looked scared and probably wanted to go home. “What happened when you guys tried to escape?” I asked. “Well, last time we built a wooden ladder and it collapsed, sadly the people on the ladder fell to their deaths.”
After realizing I may be stuck here, I approached Connor and asked him to give my brother and me a tour around Althusia. Connor agreed and showed us the Mayor’s Office, his neighborhood where everyone spoke English, the farm, and the Underground Forest
While touring the Underground Forest, I noticed that one area of the wall was not as sturdy as the others. It was on soft soil which was powderier and easier to dig on. Then, I had an idea.
“Why don’t you guys dig out?” I suggested. “Wait, that’s actually a good idea!” said Connor. So, we went to the mayor’s office and explained my idea. Soon everyone in town was digging through the dirt wall. After weeks of hard work, we eventually broke the surface! Afterward, we walked home. We expected Mother to be distraught since we were gone so long, but when we got home, she just smiled and said, “Wow, you’re early!”
I rushed through the air and heard my brother scream. “There must be a way out of here,” I thought as the wind whirled around me. I tried to latch onto the wall of the sinkhole. But it felt weirdly smooth, and I couldn’t hold on. Then, I landed. I expected to be hurt, but as if I was in a fairy tale, I was not injured. At least I wasn’t until my brother’s foot hit my head.
As we both got up, I was surprised to see other people down here. The place seemed to be a bustling city, but the architecture seemed alien to me. There was only one street running through the city and all the houses were connected and made of dried mud. The people here were human, but I doubted they spoke any human language. So, I strolled down the street with my brother tailing behind me. “What is this place?” Ryan asked. “Why do you think I know?” I responded. Then he went silent.
I walked along the road to find out more. I could hear human language, but I couldn’t understand what it meant. I realized that someone was speaking Spanish, then I heard someone speaking French. I started to hear more languages as I picked out German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Swahili. I was good at identifying languages, but not so great at writing or speaking them. I then approached the nearest English speaker and asked where we were. He looked confused but then empathetic. “You must be new here” he replied “I’m Connor and this is Althusia”
I then asked how he got here, and he told me he was born here. “Every couple of years though, someone falls into Althusia, we had to put some mattresses beneath the hole, so people don’t die from the fall” he explained, “Everyone is trapped here, and every time we try to escape, something horrible happens.”
I grabbed my brother to stop him from wandering away. He looked scared and probably wanted to go home. “What happened when you guys tried to escape?” I asked. “Well, last time we built a wooden ladder and it collapsed, sadly the people on the ladder fell to their deaths.”
After realizing I may be stuck here, I approached Connor and asked him to give my brother and me a tour around Althusia. Connor agreed and showed us the Mayor’s Office, his neighborhood where everyone spoke English, the farm, and the Underground Forest
While touring the Underground Forest, I noticed that one area of the wall was not as sturdy as the others. It was on soft soil which was powderier and easier to dig on. Then, I had an idea.
“Why don’t you guys dig out?” I suggested. “Wait, that’s actually a good idea!” said Connor. So, we went to the mayor’s office and explained my idea. Soon everyone in town was digging through the dirt wall. After weeks of hard work, we eventually broke the surface! Afterward, we walked home. We expected Mother to be distraught since we were gone so long, but when we got home, she just smiled and said, “Wow, you’re early!”