Four of a Kind

Uncomfortable Caverns

“That’s not how hooks work.” I told Red for the twelfth time ever since we got suspended mid-air.

I looked around. It seemed like a underground cave that had one cheap light to illuminate the dusky cave. I could barely make out who was Maqius and who was Andrew. But Red was obvious with his big build.

“How does this even work?” Andrew asked while trying to get the iron clasps on his ankle undone.

“Up there’s a pile of sand. How come we fell in but not the sand?” he asked.

“Now that is a interesting question. But I’ve already figured it out. Do you all care to listen to my deductions?” Glasses asked.

“We got nothing better to do Sherlock. Might as well entertain us.” I said.

“Well,” he said pushing his glasses back up his nose. “If you look beneath us we all have a fair bit of sand below us. I think the ground above has vertical tunnels that opens a trapdoor to here which is connected with some rope to something that automatically clasps our legs and open the trapdoor if we step on the pressure sensitive side of said something.”

It was a bit confusing but I got the gist of it. At least it made how we ended up here rational as much.

“And when that sensor got activated, they let gravity do the work.” Glasses finished.

“They? Whose they exactly?” Red asked trying to sound perceptive.

“Whoever made these traps obviously.” Glasses answered. “It couldn’t have been a one man job.”

“Why not?” Red shot back. I mean it could’ve been done by a loner who obviously has a lot of time on his or her hands.”

“Fine! It cant also be set up by a single dude. You happy?”

“Not when I’m dangling upside down in a cave stuck talking to you.” Red bickered on.

“Guys can we do this somewhere less upside-down?”  Andrew butted in. “Whoever set these traps are gonna be here anytime.”

“What are we gonna do? Actually this is a good time for you to update us on our status Glasses, and Andrew. Where exactly are we and what time is it?” I asked them both.

“Well, after you passed out in the back, me and Red took us outta town after that we got pulled over by a cop. I panicked and made Red switched seats with me in time. And he told them that we were lost and on our way to the beach. The officer smiled told us to keep to keep moving forward. Now that could’ve meant another thing but I had no idea where to go and seeing that we ditched school and our daily life cycle is broken. I panicked and kept going till we reached this damn city. I don’t know if it was because of the sound the car started making after going past 70 kmph overnight but when we arrived everyone seemed to be afraid of us. So Red told us to stop at the beach to eat the snacks we bought a while back at the gas station. Oh and that’s also when we let Maqqy out.” Andrew concluded.

 “Wait so I passed out for a whole day?” I asked bewildered.

“Seems like it. I mean you had a adrenaline rush.” Glasses told me.

“Why was Andy able to pull a all-nighter to drive then?” I asked feeling undermined.

“Cause he bitched out and ditched us?” Glasses offered.

“Enough with the insults, You!” Red burst. He was clearly annoyed being hung upside down and was, out of the four of us, trying the most to get the iron clasps off.

“Red, let it go.” I said. “Just wait for whoever set these traps to come. These things are thick and unless we have a vial…”

I looked down at the ground where the sand the fell from above along with us was. There was our car keys, smashed and cracked vials. My expandable spear, glimmering uniform shiny objects what I presume is Maqius’s knives. Andrew’s revolver and Red’s big sword.

How the f**k did everything fall to earth when we got hooked?” I exclaimed.

“It’s probably a Synedrate magnetic field… I have a idea.” Glasses said.

“Is it to get out?” Red asked.

“Yes…” Maq said deep in thought.

“Really?” Andrew interrupted.

“Andrew is it? Can you reach that weak link in your chain up there?” He asked. Pointing to a weak link in his chain.

“Sure but why?” he asked.

“I have a Magswitch I use for thievery and whatnot. It’s inside my pocket and I have thankfully not turned it on. You see, it has a very strong strap made of titanium and you can adjust the level of magnetic force. I added a bit of Synedrate to it and it works wonders. If you can hook it to that rusty link in your chain maybe you can get free?” He proposed.

“Great idea! Let’s do it!” he said with energy.

“Red give this to him.” He said passing a black object to him.

Andrew got it and up he went like a monkey. I forgot Andrew had a gift for climbing up things like a acrobat. His hands were really rough for a boy his age due to all the climbing he did on trees.

He hooked it just like Glasses said and it looked like the link was straining to keep itself intact despite the force of the Synedrate magnet. Andy climbed back down and turn to view the world upside down once more before falling down to it.

“DARRAGH!!!” He screamed. We looked down. it seems he hurt his leg falling down on our weapons. I hope he wasn’t too hurt to move. Thankfully he wasted no time in reaching for his gun and aiming it at his leg, then Red’s, then mines and finally Glasses’.

We salvaged what we could. My spear. Red’s sword, Glasses knives and Andy’s gun. Some vials were broken. But most were okay. We gave them to Maq to put in his jacket. He gave a yellow vial to Andy for his leg and just like that the four of us were ready to go.

And that’s when we heard footsteps. Stunned by them we didn’t even move. It got closer and closer. Even in the dimly lit room it was hard to not make out three big buff men coming out of where our exit should be.

They had knee, elbow, ankle pads and really weird shoes and gloves that seemed to have small lights flashing every once in a while. That’s when I realized.

They were Gladiators, just like Red.

There was no doubt. It was pretty obvious that they were here to hurt us. But if they were gladiators, who was their player?

I spoke first to break stunned silence that fell when we thought our fates were sealed. “Where’s your boss?” I asked them. They didnt answer. I guess the only way we could get out of here was to fight these guys. Which didn’t seem like a good idea.

They got closer to us and further from the entrance. They barely looked any different so I guess they were triplets. They each held a baton but it was their Synedrate enhancements I was more afraid of.

Then suddenly each of their free hands burst into flames. I knew what their buffs were and I knew we had to do something before they would. Without thinking I pointed my spear in portable form and clicked it at them. The Synedrate inside it glowed as it enlarged and the tip pierced one of the brother’s eye.

“RUN!” I said and the four of us took off. Maqius unsheathed one of his knives and threw it right past my ear. It flew across the cave and out the exit. When finally a thud indicated it had hit it’s mark. Glasses’ forearm had something glow and as soon as he touched his forearm he disappeared in a glimpse.

“What the? How the hell did he learn to teleport!? He didn’t teach me when I taught him the art of misdirection!” Andrew raged all the while running for his life from the two gladiators whilst the third screamed in agony. We got out the exit and kept running until we reached a pitchfork. Red and Andy split to go left while I went into the middle one. We didn’t even pay attention to the fact we were splitting up. The path I took led into another cave which seemed to be a dead end. I panicked and turned back. But I realized if one of those two did come after me there’d be nothing for me to do but run back here and be cornered. So I decided to hide. I looked around. There were crates, and empty oil drums. But they would be too uncomfortable for my tall lanky build. I kept searching till I found a old water tank that was enough to fit all four of us. I jumped inside immediately I saw a flash of silver.

“You? What are you doing here?” Glasses asked me.

“I could ask you the same thing.” I replied.

“Hiding?”

“How’d you do that? The disappearing thingy?” I asked him looking at the knives he was wielding.

“That. Is what I’ve been trying to tell you. You can do the same thing with your spear since we both use weapons the draw power from the same form of Synedrate.” He said standing up and checking if the coast is clear.

“And what form is that?”

“Mechanic!” he answered impatiently and sitting back down as the coast was clear.

“Oh how am I supposed to remember it?”

“You want in this game you better read the rule book.”

“You shouldn’t have ditched us like that. I thought you’d at least have some decency despite being an ass like me.”

“Fair point but really? What use can you guys be of to me? I told you that we’re with the same goals aren’t we? You want to take down Redhood under the pretense you want to help the big guy, but really you just want out the daily routine of your boring life. I want to take down Redhood so that I can get the location on my mom-” He stopped himself.

This conversation seems to have reached a stale point. I coughed and looked back up and just in time to catch the silhouette of two people one scrawny and another brawny bound and gagged judging from how they were walking and the weapons they were being poked with to move forwards by the two brothers. The one I poked in the eye seems in grief, tending to his eye with a handkerchief.

 “You better tell me where the other two is before you die.” One of them spoke stiffly.

“You know, if you want us to tell you something against our will, at least tell us the benefit rather than giving us our demise.” Andy’s voice echoed.

“Bob! Stop whining and check that cave and make it quick. We gotta get them to the boss.” One of the three brothers said.

The one weeping must’ve been Bob, seeing he stopped and turn back round to get in the cave we were in. I looked at Maq and I knew we were both thinking the same thing. We were gonna have to silently kill this guy.

He began lifting open crates and was slowly getting nearer and nearer. I aimed my spear in potable form ready to spring it open the minute he poked him head inside to check us. Glasses was holding his knives ready to stab the man. We heard his footsteps. This was it. I could feel his presence as he close to us. I saw his ugly face peeking in and right before he reacted with noise my spear sprang into action. Stabbing his throat and lower jaw. Blood spewed in front of me I quickly got back before more of it got on me. But he wasn’t dead. I pulled back my spear for another stab when Glasses decapitated him with his knives.

Great, now we had a beheaded corpse.

“Now what?” I asked Glasses as we got out the tank and left the body in there.

“We go after your friends. Then we get out. I have money we can stay overnight at a inn nearby. I know this place.”

“If you know this place, then do you mind telling me why they seemed scared of us the second we got into town?” I asked casually while following the trail to Red and Andy.

Glasses looked at me. “It’s obvious, this boss guy is running the town with his three-no-two body guards. They are obviously scared to fight back or even call for help.”

“Why?” I asked perplexed. It’s 2020, if cops don’t work then surely military or something would’ve come by now. Hell, it’d even be on the news.”

“We’ll see. Like I said this world is kept hidden from the mass by really clever ways. People can use Synedrate to power drones so tiny it can go into your brain and mind-control you. Taking a town hostage without any outsiders knowing seems like a cinch.” He said.

We reached the end of the seemingly endless tunnel. The entrance to a new cave seemed to be warm with a fluorescent glow. Chicken and other hot veggies were being pressure cooked from the smell of it. Our stomachs grumbled. We looked at each other. It seems we haven’t had a hot meal in a while.

We tried peeking into the cave.  We saw Red and Andy shackled to a chair and in front of him appears to be a girl barely any older than us nitpicking with Andy’s gun and Red’s big sword. Apparently she knows how those things work judging by the way she was inspecting them was not of a bumpkin but of a real mechanic.

“Synedrate powered weapons… right?” he surprisingly childish voice said. I leaned a little closer she was wearing a tank top that was slightly big for her. She had a once again surprisingly clean, well-groomed hair that she kept a band on. and to top it off she was wearing a thick apron that I thought might look sexy if that was the only thing she wore. The two brothers seem to be uneasy constantly looking our way to see if their brother is back. They must be really dumb to not notice us.

“Hey! Give it back please! That gun belongs to me!” Andy yelled while shaking the chair he was tied to. Red seems to be knocked out cold. From the looks of it he might’ve tried to escape but with the power in numbers and whatever vials they had it seemed to be too much for even him to handle. Props to him though, one of the brothers had a really black eye while the other had a cut lip.

“Does it? I mean it looks stolen. The gun still has the bar code stuck on it. Usually when you buy a Synedrate powered gun they scan item to be it valid. My scanner says otherwise. Care to tell me why?” she asked.

But before he could answer, which I was thankful he didn’t seeing he might say something stupid, the girl melted Red’s sword with some special furnace and ripped of the upper portion of Andy’s gun.