Escape

Chapter 7

Rinco

I was wary. I did not know what was happening. Right before my eyes, standing there, was Eryn. This must be one of our obstacles. I unleashed my sword, ready for this fake Eryn to kill me. But I will kill her first.
"Put it down. You won't be able to kill me. I am Eryn, the real one. Hear me out, Rinco." she said.
How did they make this Eryn? They must have stolen her genes somehow. But her voice, her smile, it was just so real. It was the real Eryn, I just knew it.
The thing was, she was supposed to be at the front porch, doing whatever those creators were telling her to. How did she get inside?
The answer came straight from Ryn's mouth.
"The system." she panted, "I hacked it. Coco, I need to tell you something."
Coco. She stopped calling me that when I turned thirteen. It must have been serious if she was doing it now. This was the real Eryn. The one I trust.
Eryn asked us all to sit. I figured that this would be quite a long story and we needed to get comfortable.
"Okay... where should I start?"
Eryn
"Yessssss." I squealed, punching my fists in the air. I clamped my hand on my mouth immediately, hoping that nobody heard me.
I did not think they would anyway. It was the dead of the night, everyone was sleeping, even the coaches.
From the time I was here, I found that this was not the front porch. In fact, it was somewhere totally different. The simulations leaked into somewhere Rinco was. Rinco and the others were undergoing some form of trial, because they were also possible candidates for the Missle Training.
Everything was still a mystery, but it would do for now. When I get to Rinco, we would finally solve the mystery together.
I attached the wires to the two sides of my head, like we had always done during the simulations. I closed my eyes and stepped into the place where I would find Rinco.
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I did not need to find her, because she was already there. I knew I had to persuade her to trust me. From what I knew, I killed one of her friends during that twisted simulation. She was already pointing her sword at me, ready to kill me.
I had to reach her somehow, in some way. Something that was close to her, so she knew it was me.
Coco. I had called her that until she turned thirteen and wanted something more, I dunno, mature? Maybe I could use that again.
So I did.
She decided to listen
I told her and her friends, whether I trusted them or not, about everything. From the time I got into the training camp, to what I had discovered. The simulations, everything.
I kept my eyes focused on Rinco but as I turned my head around, I screamed.
ERNEST?
I thought he was dead. Gone. He was missing for so long, I accepted the fact that we might never get him back again.But he was here and it was all that mattered.
I hugged him tightly, tears streaming down my cheeks. I ruffled his brown hair and he did the same to me.
"I missed you." I whispered, burying my head in his arms.
"Me too." Ernest whispered back and we had one of those sibling moments.
When we finally broke apart, Rinco started telling us her story. I listened intently, taking in everything that she said, hoping that I would find an answer. This puzzle could be pieced together, once Rinco and I met.
And this was the moment.
Rinco
I opened up to Eryn, I told her everything. That was when I saw Eryn flickering a little. Once second she was there, another, she was not.
"Um, Ryn?" I mumbled, gesturing at her. Something must have went wrong with her hacking, for sure. This whole random simulation theory.
Eryn gave a look of alarm.
"What is happening, Coco?" She asked me.
"I dunno, Ryn, you seem like you are disappearing." I told Eryn, worry lines forming on my temples.
"Disappearing?" Eryn eyes widened. She stared at her palm, clenching and unclenching her fists.
"Nonononono....." She muttered and started flickering more.
"What's wrong?" Ernest asked her.
"They're here. They found me," Eryn cried, "Nuu, I am gonna be in so much trouble."
Eryn flickered a few more times before disappearing entirely. She never came back. Her Trainers must have discovered her. Yep, Ryn was in so big trouble.
Jonathan stood up, rubbing his forehead. He paced around, deep in thought.
"How do we continue, after knowing everything?" Wyatt asked nervously.
I felt kind of relieved, to be honest. Relieved that Eryn was safe. Her life was not in peril, in fact, they were trained for something big. All the other questers should be too.
But it was true. We were being watched for all we knew. We had too little people with us right now. What we had to do now, is to find Reagan and the others.
But where?
We could be in two different places. They might still be in the top floor. Maybe they had reached the bottom. I did not know.
Just as I was thinking, the unthinkable happened. Four figures rushed out of a door, sweaty and panting. They looked as happy to see us.
"Looks like we are reunited." Emmiera said. Something was different about her, though. She seemed.... humbled.
Reagan was chatting with Ernest. He turned to address us.
"Tell us everything." He said.
And we repeated everything we had told Eryn, they told theirs. The lives that had been lost. In fact, they lost two.
Bernice and Ken, you will be remembered.
We had a moment of silence to remember those who were lost.
This was pure evil, whoever was running the Missle.
Question. What does missle even stand for?
Yep. Throw twelve kids who have no inkling of what on earth was happening into an obstacle maze. Well done, Missle, really well done. Applaud, applaud.
WOULD YOU TELL US WTH IS HAPPENING SO WE CAN GET OUT OF HERE?
I'm sorry.
Or am I?