[Warning! This is darker than my usual fare. Beware.]
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"Soooo, all I have to do is swing to the other side?" The red head looks from face to face hoping that all of this is a joke. The old factory is a joke. The dangling chain over the hemisphere is a joke. The one piece bathing suit that she is wearing is a joke. That all of this is just a test of courage. That if she just stays here a moment longer they will all crack a smile and start laughing and tell her it is all just a joke.
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The three women around her do not smile or start laughing. The middle one, the leader of the trio, the one who called her here and asked her to wear this, she nods her head, "That's correct. If you do that, you'll join the sorority. And each member gets one of our specialty pets."
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The one to the left, she thinks her name is Jennie, also nods, "Yeah, all of us go through it. Think of it as an initiation, without all the hazing and stuff."
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Then the group goes quiet waiting for the initiate to make her move. She tucks her bangs behind her ear as she looks at the chain and follows it up into the rafters. It wraps on a rusty gear covered in cobwebs and goes out of sight. She reaches for it. It's too far away. "You got this, Robin," cheers the one on the right.
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Encouraged, Robin turns to the side, lifts her leg to the trio and extends her arm out to reach. She gets closer. Her fingers almost brush it. She returns to balance, removes her tennis shoe, and uses that to bat the chain. It works.
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The chain swings away and comes back. She hits it again. It travels further. That's all she needs. She starts giving it more and more momentum as she stands at the edge. She's ready to swing on it now.
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Robin gives one last glance at her soon to be sorority sisters. The middle one is a little interested. The other two are smiling. Encouraged, she grabs the chain, then she turns back to her challenge and looks down. It's dark. She can't see the bottom.
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She braces herself and then steps off the edge.
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Clink The chain lowers a link. It's surprising, and Robin almost loses her grip. Wanting her own pet causes her to hold the chain even tighter. CREeeeeeak, Clinkityclink Something rusty begins to turn. Robin looks up but it is dark up there, too. It probably moved.
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Looking back, she sees she is swinging away from the side she needs to get off on. Robin analyses the situation she's in. I did not get close enough to the other edge. I need to pump to get high enough to hop off. She throws her body backward Clinkityclink then forward as she approaches her stop. Clinkityclink Her eyes widen as she realizes that rim is at her eye level. What do I do?
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Her opportunity escapes. Clinkityclinkclink Robin swings back to start, still pumping. The chain continues to loosen under her weight. Their feet are above her head. Last chance! She pushes off the wall. Her foot slips but she gets enough traction to send herself back across. Clinkityclinkclink Upon reaching her destination side, the edge she needs is up above her hands.
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"No." I have to climb but I have no way to get up. Clinkityclinkclink "Help me up."
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Laughter echos down to Robin. Not kind chuckles but mocking ridicule. "Ha HA! She took the bait!" Robin thinks that voice belongs to Jennie.
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"You'll be a valuable member of our sorority," calls another, maybe the one on the right. One by one the seemingly broken spotlights turn on illuminating down below.
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After a pause, the middle one speaks up, "Well, Robin, you wanted to see where our pets come from. You are going to learn firsthand where they come from. You see, that slime down there will absorb you into itself. It will dissolve all that makes you, you. And when it is done with you, a small, pink, round slime will exit, slide down a pipe into a cage, to be a pet for our sorority.”
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The chain continues to rattle its way lowering Robin ever closer to the blob at the bottom. She tries to pull herself up, but she has no strength left from hanging so long.
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Jennie calls down to her, “Don’t worry. I’ll treat you well.”