After we jumped down the gloomy cavern, our eyes adjusted to the darkness. We grabbed
the air, until I felt a limb prevent us from plunging down into the river. The water was an
endless, mysterious pool of blackness. We seemed to be stable at the moment but that could
change instantly. Our situation was dire.
Suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath us. As we fell, I lost my grip on Toby and went
under the pitch black water. When I finally resurfaced for air, I looked around and called out for
Toby and Zee.
“TOBY? ZEE? WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!?”
There were a few minutes of silence before I finally heard a response.
“Alex, over here! I found some solid land. Can you try and swim towards me?" I yell.
I was so relieved to hear a voice - I knew someone was alive. I could see Zee standing on
the riverbank holding his hand out towards me. I started to swim towards him. Towards safety.
Once I got to Zee, I grabbed his hand and he pulled me to the surface where, in between
breaths, I gasped “Hey, it's good to see ya!”
I looked around and realized Toby was nowhere to be seen.
“Where's Toby?” I asked.
Zee was looking at me with a solemn expression. I understood instantly. I thought to myself,
‘I've lost too many friends because of this damn prison!’
I couldn’t believe Toby didn’t make it.
We took inventory of our supplies for the rest of the way. We needed to move quickly.
Blacksuits were going to be after us soon. The other thing that worried me was that Gary was
probably already ahead of us further down the tunnel. Was Gary going to trigger the explosives
we set before we got through or was he just going to leave us behind? It would only matter once
we get further down the tunnel.
After a few hours of walking, I felt a sudden breeze - refreshing, clean air.
Zee asks “Hey Alex? How's the taste of knowing that we beat the Furnace?”
I started to smile but quickly stopped. I remembered what happened to Toby, Donovan and
Monty.
Monty said earlier, “if they catch you, don’t forget your name.”
Whatever they did to him, will happen to us if we get caught.
“We should probably get going. We don’t want to be here too long since Gary left us behind.
He might already be captured and ratting us out.” Zee and I hoped that this path was our way
out of the Furnace, but after a few hours, our hope dwindled. This path was gonna lead us
nowhere. But I had to keep going. I made a promise to Donovan and I intend to keep it.
As we headed up the path, our exhaustion quickly caught up to us. I stopped and suggested
that we rest. Zee nodded in agreement. We turned off our headlamps and set down our
equipment in order to rest. Along the path, we found some rocks to sit down on. The break was
much needed.
Shortly after resting, I started to hear noises from the path along the cliffside we came from.
I thought it was the river, until I heard a blood curdling scream.
Gary.
It was then that Zee and I saw lights and heard gunfire. I jumped up and ran at Zee, yelling,
“RUN ! They’re here!”
We ran as fast as we could, only to find ourselves at a dead end. Behind us, the Warden’s
cane was tapping on the rock path as his men loaded their rifles.
We stood still, facing the wall until we heard the Warden yell “Turn around!”.
We turned around to see all the Blacksuits aiming their weapons at us.
The warden started to walk towards us, “Well, what a surprise. You two started a lot of
trouble, blowing up the prison tunnel, killing Moleface and attempting to escape. I had to chase
you down!” Two Blacksuits circle behind us, binding our hands before we start towards the
Furnace.
As we got closer to the tunnel, I eyed a Blacksuit’s rifle. I looked around to see if anyone
was noticing the escape plan conjuring in my mind. I look at Zee and he notices my scheming
and mouths ``No”. I ignore his warning and run towards the rifle. As I run towards the rifle, the
warden notices and uses the top of his cane to knock me out.
When I wake up, we are back in the Prison. Damned Furnace. However, we aren’t in a
cell. We are in the hole that Donovan had spoken of. A sudden clunk at the top draws both of
our attention.
“Welcome to the Hole, gentlemen. Oh, and if you try to escape again, I won't be so
forgiving. Next time, you will leave in a body bag. So, enjoy your stay.” he chuckles as the hatch
closes, leaving us trapped in the dark pit. The only sound we could hear was the warden’s
wicked laughter echoing throughout the walls…