Read Online Escape (Chronicles of Hart) by Kat Murray - Free Book Online

seemed he and Walt were going to be stuck together for now.
    Walt huffed as he turned and began trudging back through the tunnel towards the stone wall. He was so sick of this job and the strain it caused his real life, the one outside the church walls. Besides, his wife was going to kill him if he missed another dinner. The hours here were atrocious; but his boss was really going to kill him if he didn’t bring Grace back in one piece. He trudged on bitterly wishing he had finished college and gotten a real job like everyone had told him to.
    The ground was thick with sludge; it clung to their boots like a paste and smelled of clay and mould. Evenly spaced were the wooden pillars that appeared to keep the decaying walls from crashing down. Walt could see the beams rotting though in damper sections, giving way to the acrid smell of the underground prison that Hart had condemned them to.
    Footprints sunk deep in the hill of muck, clearly marking the path of the runaways and their own previous attempt at catching up to them. Steve shone a light at the wall tracing the lines left by Grace’s hand as she had followed along. She had left a line of scratches in the pliable surface of the rotting clay wall.
    The two guards moved like snakes on their second run through the tunnel, sliding in silent unison through the thick damp tunnel with a prey and a purpose. 
    ***
    Grace and Ethan had searched every inch of the four walls surrounding them. Ethan now sat pouring over the map with the dim light while Grace paced about the room in a panic, searching every wall over and over again, hoping to find the thing they had missed. She timed her pace by the dripping of water from the ceiling. Slow and calculated, each drop landed with a resonating ping quickly seeping into the floor and disappearing. She hadn`t found a puddle yet, nor had she found the dial.
    “Grace, hey...” Ethan started, breaking the silence.
    “Did you find it?”
    “It’s not a dial, only the first three were.”
    “Well, what is it then?” Grace whispered angrily. Growling with agitation she scoured the room again briefly, looking for something that was not a dial.
    “I don`t know. But it`s not a dial.”
    “Great .” Grace mumbled resuming her pacing as her words echoed back across the alcove.
    A loud click sounded as Grace changed her course. She paused, startled by the sudden noise and the stream of water that came from the ceiling, splashing loudly against the stonework. It smelled of decaying fish carcases. She jumped back from the sound, landing on Ethan as she tripped over his foot. They sat for a moment in a pile on the floor startled at the rush of water, worried that they had fallen into another trap.
    “Try that again.” Ethan suggested after a moment. Helping Grace up, he stood, walking towards the dripping water excitedly. He glanced around to see if anything had changed, hoping for an exit door to magically appear. Flashing the light around the room expectantly he came up with nothing.
    Grace re-traced her steps with no success. She tried again and again, and then click, water rushed from the ceiling in a cascade of decaying stench. She held her foot still although startled by the sudden rush. She looked down and realised the stone her foot landed on was the trigger. Pressing down harder, she listened as a grinding sound began above. The waterfall grew thicker, filling the room up before it could drain back out. Water crept up to her knees as the smell suffocated them. Ethan trained their light towards the ceiling as a pane of tile slid away revealing a hole through which the torrential amount of water was seeping. The water level rose quickly reaching their knees as the clicking grew louder. A metal ladder slowly lowered from the hole. Grace kept the pressure steady on the stone, even as her foot began cramping from the awkward pose. The water swam around her waist rising in waves as it bounced against the walls and back. The ladder halted