Excerpt: Stuck!

They did not fall onto the ground, as they thought they would.

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The three teens awoke at about the same time. None of them opened their eyes, because they were unsure of what they might see. They stayed lying down for the same reason. Instead of moving or looking around, Jared said, “Clare?”

“Yeah?” Clare said.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you had an almost-bottomless pit in your cellar filled with hay?”

“Because I didn’t know it was there.”

“Oh.”

“Clare?” Ellie said.

“What?” Clare said back.

“If we’re in your cellar, why is there sunlight?” Ellie had just tried to open her eyes, but had to quickly shut them when she saw that wherever they were, they were surrounded by sunlight.

“What?” Clare said again, this time sitting up and opening her eyes. She saw that they were indeed all laying on a haystack, and that they were surrounded by sunlight. She rubbed her eyes, making sure that she was seeing clearly. She turned her head and looked in all directions, and came to the conclusion that it looked like they were in a barn. She took a deep breath, and when her nose was assaulted by the smell of manure, her conclusion was verified. She coughed a little, and poked Ellie.

Ellie quickly sat up and cautiously opened her eyes, and said, “Is it just me, or are we in a-”

“Barn?” Jared finished her sentence for her. He had opened his eyes too, and he was trying to figure out the best way to get off of the hay stack. He ended up just rolling off, landing with a dull thud on the dirt floor. He stood up, brushed off his pants and shirt, and then walked out into the main area of the barn, and when a cow mooed at him he jumped. Clare giggled, and then rolled off the haystack, and Ellie followed suit. Soon they were all standing upright, looking around the barn.

“Clare, you didn’t say that you had a barn in your cellar either,” Jared said.

“Um,” Ellie said. “I don’t think that we’re in her cellar anymore.”