"BARBIE! You have to climb up!" Julia shouted, her voice cracking.
"Julia, you need to let go!" He sounded desperate.
"No, I can hold you!" She lost Peter, she couldn't lose Barbie too.
"Julia, I can't hold the rope." Rebecca said, her voice stranded.
From the depths of the cavern, Barbie pulled off his gloves, took out his Swiss Army knife, and cut the rope. And fell.
"NO! BARBIE, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SAY SOMETHING! BARBIE, NO!" She was screaming, crying, pulling her fingers through her hair. She was dimly aware of Rebecca pulling her up and guiding her past the tunnel and back into the school. She vaguely remembered her back hitting a couch and then passing out.
Julia walked in a daze behind Joe and Norrie. As the drone descended down and then lost its signal, Julia's heart dropped along with the drone. She felt like crying and screaming all over again. How would they find out what was down there, if there was a way out?
An hour later, when Junior and Melanie showed up, and the mini-dome started glowing a bright purple, then expanding the light and throwing dots around the cavern, showing the obilisk and then the rest of Zenith, Julia realized something.
Maybe, just maybe Barbie was alive.
And that was enough for her, for now.