Mars Argo & the Silver Wolf [original]

chapter four.

CHAPTER FOUR.
the silver wolf.

     THEY HAD BEEN WANDERING THE CAVE FOR AROUND TEN MORE MINUTES before they came across a big opening at what they believed to be the end of the cave. They were still lacking in light, but, by now, they were able to see decently in the dark, and Mars didn't see anything in the opening.

      " It's not here. " KP said, sounding more disappointed than she expected him to, but Mars was more optimistic.

      " Maybe there's a secret button to like, activate it, or something? Maybe it has an invisibility tarp over it. " Mars tried, and KP only gave her a dry look that she managed to decipher as 'points for creativity, but no'. " Just feel around, okay? "

       He did as she said, and the two of them spent nearly two minutes feeling along the walls and even the ground for some sort of secret button or door. As Mars glided her fingers over some scattered pebbles on the rough, sand-like ground, she felt something particularly smooth. Squinting her eyes to try and make it look clearer, she saw that the surface was smooth, and it was a distinctively lighter color from the rocks. Without so much as a second thought, she pushed down on it with two fingers.

      She waited for a moment, then she heard it: a small, nearly imperceptible clicking noise. Mars rose to her feet, hearing the clanking grow louder as the ground began to gently shake. KP glanced over at her with a wide eyed look on his face, to which she gave him a cocky expression even though she knew he probably couldn't see it.

     " Found it. " She gloated, and he walked over to her as they stood and watched as a discolored panel in the ground began to split and open. It pulled apart, revealing a secret door as it came apart, even more blackness underneath it.

      They took a step back together, feeling the shaking intensify as a whirring noise occurred. Suddenly, something started rising out of the ground. Mars instinctively grabbed at her necklace, remembering the burning it caused when near the map. Slowly but surely, the top came into view, and soon the entire mechanical wolf was sitting in front of them. It was still dark, so they could only see the outline of the warship, but it stood nearly forty feet tall, just barely hitting its head on the roof of the cave.

    " Okay, " KP was the first to speak as the both stood in silence, not exactly knowing what to do next. " Any ideas as to how we turn it on? "

    " No, not really. " Mars insisted, not wanting to admit that she hadn't thought this far into the plan; however, it didn't take long for their solution to appear.

    The silver band hanging from Mars' necklace began to faintly glow again, but this time it didn't burn the tips of her fingers as they held it away from her chest. She quickly pulled the chain over her head, holding it out towards the machine. KP watched, eyes going between the Silver Wolf and Mars, waiting for something to happen. Mars approached it, the ring providing a bit more light than the small flame from earlier had. She could see some rust on the mouth, it's silver exterior still shined, though.

    When nothing else happened, Mars turned her head to look at KP with a pointed look. He shrugged a bit dramatically before suggesting, " Try talking to it. "

    " Talk to it? " She repeated, her warm brown eyes narrowed as she stared at him, dumbfounded, " You want me to talk to the mechanical wolf? "

    " It might work, plus, it's not like we have anything else to go off of. " He pointed out, and Mars exhaled lowly, turning her attention back to the Silver Wolf.