The rock

Laya and Arnov approached the crater hesitantly, already knowing what they would find inside of it. It was not the first time they had traversed the rock-ladden hillside to peer down into the massive hole that had been left there many years prior, looking to see what the hidden and protected mystery was, but it was the first time they were planning on entering the gaping wound in the ground. They had had enough of idly observing. They wanted to get close. To touch it. To feel it. To not only wonder, but to experience.

But that did not mean that they were about to throw themselves blindly into action. They had talked for sometime about how to go about it - when, how to enter and exit the hole, and what they would do once they had descended. They knew that during the day the area was patrolled, but at night the fences were simply shut down. Granted they were a solid fifteen feet tall, and the tops were barb wired, but with a little practice Laya and Arnov had managed to learn how to scale it without getting hurt.

They peered over the edge at the massive floating boulder in the crater, chained down by four chains, each with links as big as their bodies. The boulder itself was easily as large as their high school, and the chains were connected to a ring encompassing it tightly, as if holding a prisoner in his cell. In a way, that was what the rock looked like. A giant prisoner, caught in a freak accident that had brought it to the wrong place at the wrong time.

Tying the long rope they had brought with them around the base of a tree at the top of the hillside, the two descended into the crater, close enough to one of the chains that they could reach out and touch it. The metal was cold and dirty, but the dirt was only a thin layer on top of the steel. It seemed as though the chains were well cleaned most of the time, but the winds that had been blowing earlier that night had covered them with a thin veil.

They set foot down and made a beeline straight for the rock. Laya reached it first, placing a hand gingerly on the other side of it. The stone was warm, as though it were basking in the summer sun, despite the fact that it was not only night, but they were on the underside of it, where its own shadow would block the sun's rays.

"What do you think it is?" Arnov spoke aloud quietly as he placed his own hand on the rough surface. "What do you think it's here?"

"I think the real question is why is it chained up like this." Laya muttered in response.

Arnov nodded in agreement. "...What do you think would happen if we broke one of the chains?" he asked, almost moe to himself than to his friend.

Laya turned her head in shock to look at him. "Arnov!" she whisper-shouted. "We talked about that! We can't do any damage to anything here! No one can know we came in here! Can you imagine how much shit would go down if we were found in here? We'd get arrested! And you want to just go and break whatever the hell's going on?"

Arnov frowned and shook his head. "I know," he replied. "I know. I just... I can't help but wonder, you know?"

Laya looked back at the chains keeping the rock earthbound. On the other end, they were connected to thick metal poles lodged deep into the ground. She could only imagine how far down they must have gone.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I know."