Project Piper

PART THREE -INTO THE WOODS

Morning arrived as the wall clock alarm blared out. Me and Parker jumped awake. I was waiting for nurse Connie's thundering footsteps to come marching down the hall but I couldn't hear her. Nurse Connie is never late. I was so confused. So was Parker because Tyler isn't usually late either. Just then I heard the heavy door open with the same buzzing. Two guards dressed in white trotted down the hall to mine and Parker's rooms. "Where are our carers?" I asked, not really minding that Connie wasn't here for once. " They are waiting for you at your next test" spoke the guard as he unlocked our doors. "Wait, are me and Piper working together again?" asked Parker. I hoped we were for some reason. "Yes," replied the guard. This made both me and Parker smile. I'm not sure why but I felt safer when I worked with him.

The guards supervised us getting changed and eating our breakfast. After we had delayed for as long as possible, we had no choice but to go to the next test. One guard stood behind me, as the other stood behind Parker, as we all walked in an awkward silence while our synchronised footsteps echoed down the cold and empty halls. Eventually me and Parker approached an open door. I was scared of what they were gonna throw at us, especially after the last test, it could be anything.

Me and Parker entered the room and the guards locked the door behind us. Neither Connie or Tyler could be found. Me and Parker looked at each other incredibly confused. The room Was almost no bigger than mine and Parker's put together. Behind us, against one of the four dark green walls, was a small wooden table. It had a note and a key on it. The key was old fashioned and rather rusty. Parker was fascinated by the key, while I picked up the note to read it aloud.

Welcome to the next task. You have a simple objective. Rescue your value. You are not alone. How well do you really know each other? Good luck and trust your instincts.

"Could it get any more confusing?" asked Parker as he rolled his eyes. "I don't think it takes a genius to know where to use that key," I told Parker as I folded the note and put it in my pocket. I pointed to a black door with a keyhole opposite us. "Well here goes nothing" Parker said as he put the key into the door and turned it to a loud click. The door slowly opened by itself. All I could see was darkness. He grabbed my hand and we both stepped into the darkness.

Once we had entered the room, the door slammed shut behind us. All I could feel was Parker's hand slowly squeezing mine. Then out of nowhere the floor opened up and we dropped down. My stomach dropped as fast as I did. I heard parkers shouting slowly fade as I dropped out of the darkness and landed into a huge pile of leaves. As I submerged from the pile of leaves I realised that Parker was nowhere to be seen. I called out his name for a while but heard nothing. The leaves were wet and uncomfortable so I got up and looked at my surroundings. I appeared to be in some sort of forest. The trees were tall and twisty. I knew they were fake because it wasn't genuine wood. It was like yesterday. Except I pray we don't have to see another spider person. She still haunts me. A chill ran down my spine at the thought of seeing her again.

As I wandered around I noticed a distant sign, nailed to one of the fake trees. I ran up to it, hoping it would tell me where Parker was. Nothing was on it. It was just an oak orange arrow, pointing to the left. A huge sigh left my lungs. Since I had no clue what I was doing, I decided to follow the direction of the arrow. Funnily enough after a while it led to another arrow. This happened for a while until I reached a dead end. It was a huge cave. I saw nothing but darkness. After a lot of self doubt, I decided to enter. The cave was cold and silent. Lifeless. All I could hear was the echo of my footsteps. There were a few branches that brushed against the top of my shoulders, which made me jump a lot. After a lot of looking around I heard a voice. It sounded familiar. But what if it was another trick. The note said 'save your value'. Could that mean I had to save Parker? Maybe he was in this cave? A little more looking around and I heard someone whisper my name. They sounded right next to me. It scared me so much I fell over onto my face, barely stopping myself from breaking my nose, but scraping the palm of my hands on the stone floor. I heard the whisper again. I was terrified. "Piper it's me" I had no idea why I recognised this voice. "Do I know you?" I asked in hopes of an answer. "Yes. It's Cordelia" the voice whispered. I'm not sure who I expected but it was not her. "What on earth are you doing here??" I was very confused. "Untie me and I'll explain everything!" She replied louder. Her urgency echoed throughout the cave. I couldn't see anything. I had to untie the rope with my hands, guessing which way the loops went and try not to tighten them. I chipped my nail as I pulled but I felt the rope slip through my fingers and thud to the ground. "Thanks," Said Cordelia in a grateful tone.