Isaac’s Adventures Underground: Chapter Three

Isaac reached the top of the basket and looked down.   The bark chips seemed to be a long way down. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to hide a spare key. Should he climb down the inside of the basket and look around anyway, or should he climb back down the outside of the basket and think of a new plan?

“What are you doing?” someone asked. Isaac spun around and nearly fell off the edge of the basket. He caught himself just in time.

He looked down and nearly fell off the basket again.   It was a giant spider. No, now that he was too small, it seemed like a giant spider. It was probably actually a normal spider. A normal spider that could talk.

“Hello,” Isaac said. “I didn’t know spiders could talk.”

“I didn’t know people could be so short,” the spider said. “So, why are you here?”

“I’m just looking for my way home,” Isaac said.

“What a coincidence,” the spider said. “I’ve been looking for a new home.”

“What happened to your old home?” Isaac asked.

“Too rainy. My web kept getting washed down the waterspout. I think next time I’m going to build with bricks. It’s much more sturdy,” the spider said. “What happened to your home?”

“It’s fine,” Isaac said. “I just lost my way.”

“How did you lose your way?” the spider asked.

“I fell down,” Isaac began.

“Did your way fall out of your pocket when you fell?” the spider interrupted. “It was careless of you to put something important like that in your pocket. You should tie it around your finger, like a promise. Then you’ll never forget it or lose it.”

“That’s not how I lost my way,” Isaac said. “It’s where it always was. I just can’t quite reach it right now.”

“Ah, you became separated. That’s what happens when you leave things out for too long,” the spider said. “You need to be careful to put things away. Still, it’s not too late. You’ll just need to give it a good shake the next time you have it,” the spider said.

“I don’t understand,” Isaac said.

“That’s too bad. I see that you’re one of those foolish people who learns by experience or not at all,” the spider said. He attached a fine, thin rope to the edge of the basket. “Well, I must continue my journey or it may cut itself short.”

“Wait,” Isaac said. “Can’t you tell me how to get out of this cave? I want to go home.”

But the spider was already using the rope to slowly glide down to the bark chips below. It looked a lot faster than climbing down the inside of the basket.   However, Isaac knew that he couldn’t just slide down the rope. That would hurt his hands. He had no idea how to rappel.   What if his arms weren’t strong enough and he let go? What if the rope wasn’t strong enough? He was a lot bigger than the spider, and probably heavier too.

Isaac sighed. It wasn’t that far down really. He’d just climb down the inside of the basket.

Climbing down was harder than climbing up, because he couldn’t see where he was going. Luckily, the weave of the basket was regular, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out.

He stepped down at the end of his climb and turned around. Instead of bark chips and fake plants, it looked like he was standing on the edge of a forest. When he looked up, he could see the white of the hotel wall over the edge of the wicker cliff.

Isaac turned around again. There was a path leading into the trees. The forest looked a little like the one next to Jimmy’s house. “Maybe I’ll find the same cave, and I can crawl inside and fall home,” Isaac said. “But what if I fall back into the same hotel lobby? How would I know if I was in a lobby inside the potted plant or just back to the first lobby?”

He looked back at the side of the basket, and then started walking into the forest.