When I woke next, it felt like someone had kicked me in the head several times. Blinking many times to get my eyes to focus, I noticed that I was surrounded by bars. After a bit, it became clear that I was stuck inside of a cage. Instinctively I tried to escape the cage, only to realize that it was padlocked shut.

“I wouldn’t do that, dear. You see, if you escaped, I might be inclined to shoot you.” came a man’s voice from in the shadows. I heard footsteps, and the thing I knew, I was staring at an old man in a white lab coat. I guessed that this was the doc.

“What have you done with my friends?”

“Oh, you mean the boy who looks like a demon and the girl with a spiders’ body? Well, why don’t you look below you,” he stated before gesturing to the floor; looking down, I saw them both. It looked like they were sleeping.

“So, here is how it is going to go. I am going to conduct experiments on you, and in return, I will not kill you. You are going to help me find a way to cure every one of you, or….well, let’s just say, it would be a mercy to end your life here.” He said as he laughed and walked off.

Looking down at the two lying on the floor below me, the reality of what I had done finally kicked in. I was a prisoner of my own making. Sitting at the edge of the cage, began to cry. This was my new fate, to be some scientists’ lab rat. I cannot even defend myself.

“Hey, don’t cry, Ashley, it will be alright.” I heard Esme say as her fingers came through the bars and wiped the tears off my cheek. Anyone watching would have thought it was a sight to see because her fingers were almost the size of my face.

“I was so scared when I saw how the library looked. I thought something bad happened to you. I mean, besides being captured.” I said, unable to hide my feelings. She looked at me and smiled

“aww, no need to worry your pretty little head. These people are not going to hurt us. They need us.”

“And besides, we don’t plan on being here for very long,” Arron said as he sat up. “Now, let me get you out of that cage.” He said before cupping his hands around the lock and heating it until it melted.

“There now, why don’t you come to sit on my… butt?” Esme said, giggling as she patted her thorax. It was a weird request, but I did not want to have to sit on the cold floor with nothing on under my dress, so I flew down and sat in the middle of her thorax. It was strangely warm.

“How do you plan on getting out of here?” I asked, wondering what they had up their sleeves.

“Well, the way I see it, we will have to fight our way out of here. Between sis and me, we should be able to. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” Arron said with a smirk. I did not like the sound of that. I did not want to see anyone get hurt, even if it was the people who kidnapped us.

“I see the worry in your eyes. I promise that we will only do what is necessary to get out of here.” Esme said. She sounded so grown up for how young she looked.  I nodded, though I was skeptical that we would get out of here without hurting people in the process.

It seemed like hours that we sat there talking before someone came by. One of the security guards came to the glass of the room we were in.

Time to eat. You will need your strength.” The guard said as he opened a hatch and shoved 2 plates through a small bowl of what looked like yogurt. “Sorry, little fairy, but they didn’t have much in the way of food small enough for you to eat.” He said. He did not seem threatening. Probably took the job for his family or something like that.

“Thank you, sir, it looks good,” I said, doing my best to smile. Arron went over and got our food and brought it to the white table that was placed here. The guard nodded his head and walked away.

“At least they have the decency to feed us, though I know it’s just so we are strong enough for them to experiment on us,” Arron said as he took a bite of the burger on his tray. Esme nodded and began eating as well.

“Well…this is going to be hard. I do not know how I am supposed to eat this without a spoon. I mean, I don’t want to get my hair in it trying to eat like a dog.” I said as I looked at the bowl. I dipped my finger in the contents and tasted it, and sure enough, it was yogurt.

Reaching into his pocket, Arron pulled out a gum wrapper. He then began shaping into a makeshift spoon before placing it on the table. It would not be the sturdiest thing, but it would probably work with my size and all.

After we were finished eating, Arron placed the trays back near the hatch before coming back over to us and sitting back down. Yawning, I rubbed my eyes and laid back on Esme’s’ thorax. As I lay there, I almost jumped when I felt Esme’s finger lightly brush against my hair.

“You seem exhausted. It must be easy for you to get warn out given your size.” She said as she brushed against my hair again. I could not answer with how good it felt, so instead, I nodded. She smiled as I listened to the sound of her heartbeat.

While Arron and Esme talked, I thought about my sister. I thought about how close we used to be and how stupid I had acted when I was around the people I called my friends. But other than Erin, I did not really have any friends. I guess you could say that Erin saw through my façade.

I closed my eyes with nothing else to do and continued to listen to the sound of Esme's heartbeat. The sound of Esme and Arron slowly began to fade as my body slowly drifted to the edge of sleep. The last thing I remember was the feeling of Esme moving.