Dead Ringer *Watty 2016*

Cage

Once she was inside, the air was moist and cool, and the cavern was empty.  She reminded herself that they were supposed to be hidden in the caves, not out in plain sight.  Larkin walked more carefully this time, into the dark tunnel at the back of the cavern.

Darkness encircled her and she had to run her left hand along the cave wall to make sure that she didn't get turned around and bump into anything.  She kept waiting for her eyes to adjust but they never did.  The darkness had become unbearable when she saw it, a spark quite a ways off, most likely at the end of the tunnel.  Then it was out.

Still the spark gave her hope and she traveled towards it more quickly, keeping her hand on the cave wall as she went along.  The tunnel began to narrow until she felt it scrape along her shoulder.  She had to bite her tounge to keep from screaming out when the hard rock brushed her right arm.  Eventually she had to turn to her side and side step through the tunnel.  She was becoming more and more certain that she would be crushed when the roof began to lower.  She crouched low and squirmed her way through the narrow passage.  With one wrong step her foot became lodged in the wall, and her attempts to free it caught her off balance. Her momentum flung her forward and she rolled out into a large cavern.

When she sat up, confused by the light that had not been visable even seconds before, trying to allow her eyes to adjust to the brightness she heard a sigh.  Larkin looked up, petrified, to find the stranger looking down at her.  "Larkin," the stranger said coldly, shaking her head.

Then she gripped Larkin's arm in an unnaturally strong hold, pulling her too her feet.  "Its a shame you've been such trouble, we had high hopes for this experiment."

Larkin tried to squirm against her grasp but her efforts were futile.  "Now you are going to be locked up and your friends on the hillside have all been killed."

Larkin skillfully hid the panic from her face as she glared at the stranger.  "I came alone," she laughed.

The stranger's response was just as calculated, her face showed no reaction and all she said was "oops."  Then she let a smug smile crawl onto her face.  "Well I've already proven how easy to replace your kind are."

Then she was dragging Larkin down one corridor and through another, pulling her right and left.  Larkin tried to memorize the paths that they took but they were moving too fast and much of the cave routes looked the same to her.  Finally the seemed to reach the bottom as the path began to level out.  "I believe you two have met," the stranger said, leading Larkin to a cell in the center of the cavern.

Briar looked emaciated and weak.  There was dried blood coated on her face and arms, and she lay in the cell, barely looking up when she saw Larkin's face.  "Roommates once more," the stranger said before scanning her wrist to open the cage, and shoving Larkin inside.  The bars closed again, with no indication of where a door had been and the stranger walked away, proud.

"Briar," Larkin whispered to her collapsed friend.

Briar looked up but didn't offer a response.  "Its me, its Lark."  Larkin tried still not getting an answer.  "Briar do you remember the day in the train station when the boys couldn't make it, we were only 12s then, and I told you I just wanted to get the sustainment over because all of the waiting was making me sick.  You said that you didn't mind waiting, because you never wanted it to happen.  I shushed you because I was afraid.  Do you remember?"

A light of recognition lit up in Briar's eyes but she didn't answer so Larkin continued.  "What about when we met Wilder?  He was huge even as an 8.  You, Sanders, and I were building stone houses in the dirt and you told him he could only play if he was a giant that knocked things down so he cried.  Remember then Sanders gave in and let him be part of his house?"

Larkin could tell she was softening her resolve.  "What about the time when we were 13s when everyone had suitors so we made the boys pretend to be ours.  You got Sanders and I got Wilder, because I insisted.  I thought everyone would think I was cool but halfway through the week I wanted to trade because people kept flirting with Wilder and you told me I could have them both."

"He's dead."  Briar said with tears glistening in her eyes.

"I know but" Larkin leaned in close, "the rest of them are waiting out there for us."

"Sanders?" she questioned quietly and Larkin nodded.  Larkin felt Briar's hand grab her own.

"I missed you Lark," Briar whispered so quietly that Larkin had to strain to hear it.  Larkin pulled Briar into a hug.

"I missed you too Briar," Larkin said with a smiled, "but now we have to get out of here." She said even quieter.

"There's no way out."  Briar answered returning to her sad hopeless state, "maybe you're right, its better to die than to fight it and wait it out."

"I wasn't right," Larkin said, "if we die in here they die out there and we can't let them all die."

That seemed to be enough of an answer for Briar as she perked up, prepared to hear the plan that did not exist yet.  Larkin looked around trying to formulate any kind of escape in her mind but no matter which way she approached the problem her outcome looked bleak.  She slumped down to sit next to Briar, not trying to give up, but feeling as though she was ramming her mind against a brick wall.  "The only way out is through her," Briar said.

"The how do we get her back down here?"  Larkin asked.