River's Run(5)

River woke disoriented. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Taking a drink, she rubbed her eyes trying to get them to focus. She wasn’t far from the first row of cells. She figured she would leave her duffle bag here and check out each cell through the vent until she hopefully found Jo and Star. Shrugging the bag off her back, she checked to make sure all her knives were securely fastened so she didn’t make any noise. Standing up she moved to the first cell. Peering through she saw it was empty. Moving to the next one she found the same. On her third cell she saw a familiar pink and white comforter lying across what looked like some type of bed. Peeking around the room River waited a good five minutes listening.



“Jo, I’m scared.” Star whispered. “Do you think they are going to hurt us?”



“I don’t know, baby.” Jo replied softly. “I hope not.”



“Psst. Jo, Star.” River called out softly.



“River?” Star whispered excitedly.



River pulled the vent grill up. Man, whoever designed these cells must have been thinking whatever was going to be in them would be too big to fit through the opening. It was a perfect fit for River, Jo, and Star’s petite figures.



“You alone?” River asked quietly.



“Yes. They only come by once a day. They bring us something to eat and drink, then don’t come back again until the same time the next day.” Jo replied.



River was surprised. She didn’t realize they had already been in here that long. She had fallen asleep earlier in the ventilation system but hadn’t thought so much time had passed. She felt guilty at having slept so long.



“When will they be back?” River asked huskily.



“Not for another eight hours by my calculations.” Jo said.



River laughed softly. Jo was always the level headed one of the three of them. River slowly lowered herself through the vent opening and dropped lightly to her feet. Star rushed off the bed and wrapped her arms around River tightly.



“Oh River, you shouldn’t be here.” Star cried softly.



“Oh? And where else do you think I should be?” River teased softly pushing Star’s hair back. “Whatever adventure we go on, we go together.” River said softly repeating a Muttra they had said since they had become friends.



Jo smiled through her tears. “Yeah, but even we aren’t stupid enough to have invited you on this one.”



“Well, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else without you.” River said. “Now, we need to think about how we are going to get out of here and back home.”



“What do you suggest? If we are on a space ship and I have to believe we are, God only knows where we are. Even if we were able to get off where would we go? It’s not like any of us know how to fly one of these things.” Jo said sadly sinking down onto the bed.



“Can you understand anything the creatures are saying?” River asked trying to think of ways to get the girls in a fighting back mood. Usually it was Jo who was the one shaking everyone up out of the dull-drums. This was a new experience for River.



“Yes. They gave us some type of translator to wear.” Star said pulling her hair back to reveal a device that looked almost like a small hearing aid.



“I need one. I‘ve been scouting the ship. If worse comes to worst, we can disappear into the ventilation system until we can figure out a way to get off this boat.” River said holding out her hand.



Star handed her translator to River. “What should I tell them when they discover it missing?”



“Tell them it fell in the toilet.” River grinned. “I bet they’ve dropped stuff down it before.”



Jo laughed. “You are so bad.” Sighing, she couldn’t help but admit, “I’m glad you’re here, River.”



River smiled softly, “Me, too. If I am going to be hanging out here some I need to use your bathroom. I left my duffle bag up in the vents a few cells down. I figured I could spend part of the day with you and the other part doing recognizance. I need you two to stay here just in case someone decides to put in a surprise visit. I’ll leave you some of my knives just in case you need them. Whatever happens, don’t be afraid to use them.” River added seriously.



Jo and Star nodded as they took the knives River handed them from her boots. They knew this was for real and wouldn’t get a second chance if they hesitated. River used the bathroom to freshen up and refilled her water bottle. The three of them talked for the next few hours planning different strategies. River had Jo copy the map she had of the ship and they made plans on where to meet if they had to disappear into the ventilation system. They had three places they set where they would meet in order if they should get separated from each other. Jo insisted River get a couple hours sleep and she would wake her an hour before their next schedule visit so she could hide. River was going to stay close to make sure the translator worked before she would explore more.