Contents
Book Four: The Trap — 16.
Overview
Colin staggers back to the bridge, fakes tears with Visine, and claims the cave mission went wrong. He tells Robin that he tried to save Arthur but failed, urging her to call emergency services and cave rescue. By seizing the narrative, Colin conceals the truth of Arthur’s fate and his choices underground.
Summary
Approaching the bridge from the briars, Colin uses Visine to redden his eyes and streak his cheeks, discarding the bottle to hide the ruse. Scratched, muddied, and limping on a genuinely injured knee, he staggers into the moonlight where Robin is already searching for him.
Robin rushes down the embankment, calling for Colin and asking after Stu Finger and Arthur. Colin collapses into the mud and lets out an unfeigned cry of pain, reinforcing the appearance of catastrophe.
Clinging to Robin, Colin declares that everything in the caves went wrong and that he tried but could not save Arthur. He urges Robin to call emergency services and cave rescue, framing events as a tragic failure. Robin, moved to tears, embraces him and tells him not to blame himself, accepting Colin’s version of what happened underground.
Who Appears
- ColinReturns from the caves, fakes tears, claims the mission failed, urges rescue, and shapes Robin’s understanding.
- RobinFinds Colin under the bridge, comforts him, accepts his account, and is prompted to seek emergency help.