I found a boy in a cave.

He told me his name was Joey.

I like to explore caves and was doing so at a Nation Park not far from my home.

I had found an opening in a rocky incline that opened into a wide caveren. There were several perches in the rock several feet off the ground, On one of them the boy sat.

He told me his sister had put him up there but that he didn’t remember her being so tall.

There were a handful of passages in the cavern and I heard a wet, guttural whine from one of them. I helped the boy down and we left. I had to carry him.

He kept saying we had to wait for his sister.

Once we were outside I ran as if the boy weighed nothing in my arms. He continued to tell me to wait but I held him tightly.

I crest an incline and followed a path west through the trees I had followed an hour earlier to get to the cave.

I called the Police once I had reception, then called the Park Ranger. He arrived first and introduced himself as Nathan.

They questioned the boy and found out his name, Joseph Braxton. His family was called. He told them that his sister had led him off the trail and to the cave where I had found him.

The police questioned me while we waited for the boys parents to arrive. After six hours a green Station Wagon sped up the dirt road and skid to a stop in the carpark.

When they arrived they called out his name and ran towards us. His sister shouted his name the loudest, and ran the fastest.

Only Joey had ever been missing.

Once his family and a few Police Officers left, I led the remaining Officers and the Ranger to the cave. The only thing we found were a few torn up childs T-shirts. They were covered in soil and moss.

The boy was asked if they were his and he said no. He asked if he could keep one with a cartoon T-rex on it, he threw a tantrum when he was told no.

I don’t go cave diving anymore.

I went back a few times afterwards, to a part of the park opposite the steep rocky area, but it wasn’t the usual adrenaline rush I enjoyed. I was scared.

Noises echoing off the cave walls weren’t innocent drops of moisture or a small animal scuttering about. They were footsteps. Sometimes I thought I could hear something else breathing behind me.

Two months ago was when I stopped.

I had found another larger cavern with stalagmites that sparkled in the light of my torch. I had placed my light on the ground behind me to try and break one off to take home. I could see my shadow on the wall.

I broke the stalagmite free and noticed there was another shadow behind me.

It was the shape of a human, a child with long legs.

It was walking slowly. I couldn’t even hear it. I held the broken stalagmite in both hands and turned around, I swung the piece of stone as hard as I could and almost stumbled over when I met nothing.

The cavern was empty except for a pair of blue childs sneakers now a foot behind where I was standing.