Edit: 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 cavity, whose perimeter was an hour's hike, 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 were tired of idly observing. They wanted to get close. To touch it. To feel it. To not only wonder, but to experience. Whatever exactly it was.

But that didn't mean that they were about to throw themselves blindly into action. They had talked for sometime about how to go about it - when to do it, 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 locked up tight and the patrols were sent home. Granted the fences were a solid fifteen feet tall, and the tops and random inner fencings were barb wired, but with a little practice Laya and Arnov had managed to learn how to scale it without getting hurt. They had had to do it in the late night, so as not to be seen, which had lead to a number of cuts and infections, some of which were now scars. But now they could do it blindfolded. They'd just never dared to go much further than that.

They peered over the edge at the immense floating boulder in its crater, held 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 how the rock appeared. 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 kept well cleaned most of the time, perhaps to prevent rust, but the winds that had been blowing earlier that night had covered them with a thin veil.

They set foot down at the bottom of the hole and made a beeline straight for the rock. Laya reached it first, placing a hand gingerly on one side of it. The stone was warm, as though it were basking in the summer sun, despite the fact that, not only was it night, but they were on the underside of it, where its own shadow would block the sun's rays. The spot where her hand rested had likely not felt the sun's warmth since before it had arrived in its new home.

"What do you think it is?" Arnov asked quietly as he placed his own hand on the rough surface. "Why 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 after a long pause, almost more 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. We can barely afford to touch anything in here. No one can know we were 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 they've built to see what would happen?"

Arnov frowned and shook his head. "I know," he replied, taking a deep breath. "I know. I'm not saying we should. Especially not right now. I just... I can't help but wonder, you know?"

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

"Yeah," she muttered reluctantly. "I know."