Third Watch: The Cave - Hayden and Jennifer

Posted on Mon Aug 3rd, 2026 @ 8:53am by Narrator & Hayden Davis & Jennifer Bryant

1,204 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 8: Shadows Over Avalon
Location: Avalon
Timeline: March 27, 1992

As Drew and Maeve's watch at the cave mouth came to an end, Jennifer and Hayden quietly took over the final shift of the night. The fire had burned down to a bed of glowing embers, casting long, flickering shadows across the rocky entrance. Beyond the circle of light, the cave remained an impenetrable void, its depths silent and unknowable as the pair settled into the uneasy task of keeping watch until dawn.

Hayden placed a couple more logs on the fire, trying not to send sparks flying. She sat down but didn't quite settle. Not yet and probably not until she was back home. If that ever happened. The cave opened in a permanent yawn like the maw of a giant beast.

She rubbed her arms and shivered. "So, other than being trapped in a legend, how's things?"

Jennifer crouched down near Hayden. She looked at the sleeping forms of the others. She looked back to Hayden. "Other than that, great," she said, with a wry smile.

"Well, I guess that's pretty good. Unless you're being sarcastic," she said with a smirk. "Either way...you think we'll find those kids soon? This place gives me the creeps."

"A little," Jennifer said. "I mean, I really am doing great otherwise, but this kind of overshadows other stuff. Though out lives are not normal."

"I guess that's good, the little thing matter too." Hayden said in agreeance as they sat down and got comfortable for their shift of watching the cave.

The intervening silences never seemed to stay silent for long. There was the sounds of the creek that flowed into the cave. Then, from somewhere deep within its darkness came the slow, irregular drip of water, each drop echoing just a little too far before fading into nothing. Every so often, there was another sound. So soft that it might have been slate sliding across slate. Or maybe the distant scrape of something dragging across rock. But whenever Hayden tried to focus on the sound, it stopped.

A faint draft breathed up from the depths, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and old stone. It wasn't especially cold, yet it crept beneath her skin all the same. Goosebumps rose along her arms as if the air itself had fingers that gently caressed her.

The fire crackled behind her as the logs she'd put on began to catch. But its warmth never seemed to make it all the way to them. It was like the surrounding darkness swallowed every bit of light and warmth after only a few feet. It felt less like looking into a cave and more like staring into something that was quietly staring back.

Hayden rubbed her arms again, unable to shake the feeling that if she looked away for too long, she'd hear footsteps where there shouldn't be any.

"Damn. Why do I feel like we're in Dolly Dearest or The Final Nightmare?" she said, looking at Jennifer. "I hate this place."

"You were right before," Jennifer acknowledged. "It's creepy." She looked around and frowned. "I can't tell if there's something somewhere or these are just the natural sounds of the cave. Should one of us explore deeper while the other stays guard at the fire?"

"I mean, I don't know how dark and brooding would feel about that," said Hayden. "Maybe if you stayed within eyesight and just inched a little closer? Or better, get a rope from the supplies and we can tie one end around you and the other around a log. And there's the creek, so I have plenty of water for whatever."

"I can stay visible in the dark," Jennifer pointed out, sparking a little. She kept it small. Not wanting to wake the others.

"Well yeah," she said, "your sparks. But I was talking about you, yourself. I still think tethering you to something is the best idea."

"Ok," Jennifer said. "Let's do it. Do we have anything we could use?"

"Let's see, I bet Casey would've packed some rope somewhere in one of those bags. He seems like a pretty resourceful guy," said Hayden. She rummaged through a couple of the closest packs and found some. "It's not very long, but I guess it'll work. Won't get too far into the cave." She shrugged. "Eh, safety first. But I can't tie that great of a knot. You?"

"We'll have to make do," Jennifer said. She lifted her arms to let Hayden help her with it. "I don't like the idea that something unknown is in here. Takes the whole point out of seeking shelter."

Jennifer and Hayden retrieved a length of rope, cinching one end securely around Jennifer's waist while Hayden fastened the other to an old tree stump just beyond the cave's mouth. With electricity crackling at her fingertips, Jennifer stepped into the darkness, determined to discover what lurked within.

The entrance was slick with moisture, every careful step accompanied by the steady drip of water echoing through the cavern in an eerie, unbroken rhythm. The farther she ventured, the colder the air became. Dampness seeped into her clothes, settling deep in her bones until an involuntary shiver ran through her. The flickering glow of her electricity threw restless shadows across the jagged stone walls, making the cave seem alive as light and darkness danced together. More than once, Jennifer found herself glancing over her shoulder. She couldn't shake the overwhelming sensation that unseen eyes were following her every movement, though nothing ever revealed itself.

When the rope finally went taut, she found the first clue. A shattered S.H.I.E.L.D. helmet lay discarded on the cave floor, its metal crushed inward by a blow of unimaginable force. Heart pounding, Jennifer followed the trail deeper into the cavern.

Then she screamed.

Curled against the stone was the withered corpse of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as little more than a desiccated husk. His skin had shrunk tightly over his skull, his eyes gone, his lips drawn back to expose teeth frozen in a silent cry. Every limb had been twisted inward, his body contorted into a compact knot as though he had died bound and helpless while something fed upon him.

Outside, Hayden reacted instantly, hauling on the rope with all his strength. The sharp tug snapped Jennifer out of her horror, and she stumbled back toward the entrance without another glance behind her.

Breathless and pale, the pair recounted what Jennifer had seen. At least one mystery had been solved. The missing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had never escaped the cave because they had become prey for whatever made its home in the darkness. If that creature had spared the X-Men, it wasn't because it lacked the means to kill them. It was simply because it hadn't been hungry.

Neither of them dared test whether that mercy would last.

They settled at the cave's mouth for the remainder of the night saying little as they stared into the impenetrable black beyond the threshold. Neither was willing to look away for long, haunted by the fear that at any moment, something might decide to emerge from the darkness and stare back.

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