Mind Control

Hieroglyphics

"Lydia!" yells a familiar voice. "Wake the hell up!"

I stir in my semiconscious state, to find myself half naked. My shirt is removed and I'm sitting in my ripped up pants and bra.

"What the hell?" I grumble, hitting the person in front of me. "Why am I naked?"

"You were shot," William says flatly. "You've probably been out for twenty minutes or so. Don't yell, dammit. Drew I are the only ones here,"

I turn my gaze to see the gauze wrapped around my bloody shoulder. I run my hands along the floor, noticing that it's still lit up from a light source seemingly underneath.

"Oh," I breathe. "What's going on here?"

"I don't know. I found you passed out on the floor of a glowing cave. You tell me,"

"There was a metal ball that fell from up there," I pointed to the top of the cave. "It exploded and the cave started glowing,"

"Get up," William sighs, looking frustrated.

"What's this?" Drew calls out. I follow him to where he is. "They look like hieroglyphics,"

"They are," I reply, running my hand over them. "'Those seeking control must surrender control first. Those worthy of control will already have it,'"

"You read hieroglyphics?" William scoffs.

"I do," I glare. "And I'm positive that's what it says,"

Drew mumbles something incoherently before jumping in the air. "Lydia! The dance!"

"What?" I look at him incredulously. This is hardly the time to bring up a dance.

"The campfire dance. You must've done it! I'm guessing on the left side cause we always did it on the right," he explains.

I widen my eyes. Dad and I used to do a silly dance on the left side of the cave, stepping on certain rocks and making funny faces. If Drew and I were to do it at the same time...

"What are we waiting for!" I practically yell, dragging the two of them out of the cave.

Looking over at Drew, I nod. I put my right foot on the first crack in the rock, seeing Drew emulate in a mirrored formation. Spinning on my heel, I hop onto the next crack with my left foot three times, before dropping to all fours. We continued the dance, save for the silly faces, until we got to the end of the cave. Looking back, every crack we touched was lit slightly brighter than the rest of the cave. William tried stepping inside, but was repelled immediately by some sort of invisible field.

We placed our hands on the cave wall, feeling the vibrations from deep within the mountain. Slowly, the cave floor behind us opened up to what looked like a laboratory. Two ladders on either side led down.

"Can you pass a flashlight?" I yell over to William.

"I already tried throwing stuff at it. It always just bounces back. You're going to have to use Drew's!" he shouts.

Drew and I descend the ladders, with him holding the flashlight. The room is mostly dark, except for light blue lines outlining the floors and counters. The clear moonlight so visible outside did little to illuminate the room.

"What is this place?" I breathe. There is laboratory equipment everywhere, from Bunsen burners to graduated cylinders.

"Famous last words," Drew mutters, chuckling.

"This seems to be a regular lab. Except you know, it's hidden under a cave," I muse.

"That fact in itself makes this place irregular. But there is literally nothing down here,"

Those who seek control must surrender control first...

Those who are worthy of control already have it.

Must surrender control first...

"Drew! We need to get out of here!" I say frantically.

"What?" he stares at me. "Why?"

"The formula is hidden somewhere here. I'm sure of it. But those who seek control must surrender control first? I'm pretty sure we'll lose our lives down here if we stay too long," I explain, dragging him back to the base of the ladder.

"That's ridiculous, Lydia. Nothing is going to happen," he pulls his arm back from my grasp and heads back inside.

"Why would the warning be there in hieroglyphics, Drew? Who the hell reads hieroglyphics besides us?"

"If no one else reads it, I'm assuming our parents trusted us in enough to not put life threatening traps here," he speaks to me as if I'm a child.

"Do what you want. I'm going up," I say stubbornly, climbing up the ladder. I can't seem to shake the feeling of uneasiness overwhelming my senses. Just as I'm about to reach the top rung, the ceiling, or rather cave floor, begins to close from my side. I'm forced to come back down.

"Lydia!" Drew yells. "Stay where you are, I'm coming!"

"I told you so," I say breathlessly when he comes into view.

"Not the time," he pauses. "We're already down here and I don't see a way of getting back up. I say we search for the formula,"

"Are you insane? Those who deserve the formula would've had the self control to stay out of this room! Those looking for the formula have to surrender control! Can we focus on getting out of here instead of getting ourselves killed?!" I ramble.

"Alright, alright," he mumbles, shining the light on the room once more.

We walk through the room once, twice, but to no avail. There are no hidden doors or ladders, and there certainly is no way out.

Oooon that note. Do you think Lydia should be with William or Drew? I'm honestly conflicted here.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT friends. <3