The Identical

Chapter 4-Happy Birthday Alara

7 months later

Alara
They walk us through hallways. My legs hurt. I don't know where we're going. It's taking a long time. I should be eating right now. I hear Selena's stomach rumble from behind me. Finally they come to a stop, it feels like we've been walking for miles. Miles is an imperial unit of measurement. We learnt that in class with sir. Crimsyn forgot that yesterday though, and sir hit her with a big stick. He hates Crimsyn. She almost cried because it hurt so much. Crimsyn never cries. Not even when we're alone in our room. I don't think she likes crying. I look past the guards legs to the door. The door is a different colour metal to all the other ones, I like it. It's pretty. But pretty things aren't good here. I look at Crimsyn, she looks worried as well. We haven't been here before.

Crimsyn
I don't like this hallway. It feels weird. And now there's a funny coloured door. I don't like different. It usually means something bad is going to happen. And this door is different. The bad men knock three times. One. Two. Three. Mama said to be brave. And  I'm going to be brave for Mama. The door opens by itself. I go in first. I always go in first. I want to make sure Alara is okay. I can tell Alara is scared, I have to be brave for Alara as well. She's my only friend here. I don't want her to be scared. The room is different. I don't like different. It's nice. I don't like nice things here. It has a rug, and bookshelves and loads of things. There's a big wooden desk. Like the one Papa had in his office. And there's two armchairs. The bad men tell us to go sit in the armchairs. So we do. I don't want to, but I do. They'll hurt us otherwise. The chair is comfy. I don't like comfy. Comfy means bad. The bad men leave the room. We don't move or speak though. We're too scared. We sit quietly. The bad men like quiet. It's rule number 1. No speaking unless spoken to. I used to like speaking. Especially to my friends. I used to have lots of friends. They'd come round all the time. I don't like speaking anymore. Speaking gets me hurt. I hear the door open behind me. I don't look up. Looking gets me hurt to. I stare at my lap. And think of Mama and Papa.

Alara
I don't look up when the man comes in. Not even when he walks past and sits down in the chair. Crimsyn doesn't either. The scary man begins to speak.
"It's your birthday Alara."
It is? I didn't know that. I lost track ages ago. That means Crimsyn is 4 as well. 4. I was going to have a pirate party this year and sister was going to make seashell cupcakes. Sister makes really nice cakes. I don't move.
"We have a special treat for you, now that you're both 4."
I see Crimsyn tense and I know something must be wrong. They never give us treats here. They never give us anything.
"Look at me", the man says. We don't.
"Look at me", he growls. I look up. His lip curls and he slaps my face. I want Mummy. And Daddy. They always missed work on my birthday and we'd have cake. And they never hit me. He speaks into something.
"Take then to the chamber."
I don't know what a chamber is, I hate not knowing stuff. All I know is that it can't be a good thing. I grab on to Crimsyn's hand in fright. We're not supposed to. But I'm scared. Mummy always used to hold my hand when I was scared. Crimsyn holds my hand tight.

Crimsyn
Two of the bad men come in and grab us. They carry us through the halls but we never let each other go. They take us through halls we've never been through before. Alara is crying. I don't. Mama told me to be brave and I'm going to be brave for Mama. The bad men stop in front of a door. It's not a different colour this time. But I don't trust it. The man holding Alara puts her down, I can see she wants to run. But she doesn't. Good. The bad men would punish her. I don't like it when they punish Alara. She's my only friend here. One of the guard swipes a card and opens the door. He takes us through and into the room. I don't like the room we're in. It's small and bright. So very bright. Everything is white. And there are two big chairs with straps on them. The chairs don't look nice. I want to run. But they'd catch me. The bad men are very fast. The bad men put us in the chairs, then they strap our hands and feet in place. Alara starts crying, but the bad men don't hit her. I'm scared. I try wiggling my body free. I can't get out. They leave me and Alara alone in the room. Me and Alara never talk outside the room, but I turn to her.
"It's going to be fine", I say. She turns to look at me.
"No it's not", she says. Suddenly the big, horrible chairs start to move by themselves, backward and backwards until I'm lying down. I don't like it. I try to wiggle free again but the straps are tight. They rub against my skin. It hurts. I don't know what to do. I don't know what's going to happen. Mama told me to be brave but I can't, not here. I turn to Alara.

Alara
Crimsyn turns to me. I grab her hand. I'm scared. I want mummy and daddy. We're going to die. They're going to kill us like they did to our family. Mummy said I'd go to heaven if I died. I don't want to go to heaven. What if Crimsyn isn't there? I look at her. I have to remember her face if I'm going to find her in heaven. Heaven is probably really, really big. Daddy said I have a good memory. I'm going to remember Crimsyn's face. She has blonde hair and blue eyes. I always wanted blonde hair. She has lots and lots of freckles. I like freckles to. She is very tanned. She must have gone on holiday a lot. Mummy and Daddy only take us to cold places on holiday, like Russia and that other place with the nice food. Something starts beeping and I jump in fright, Crimsyn does to. She looks scared. Crimsyn is never scared and that makes me even more afraid. I hold her hand and squeeze it as tight as I can. I look into her eyes, they're big and  pretty and the same colour as the sea. Suddenly everything goes white. It's like staring in to a massive torch. I shut my eyes. They feel like they're on fire. I keep hold of Crimsyn's hand. It's so hot. Tears run down from my face. I'm going to die here. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.
"Mummy!" I scream. "Mummy!"