Behind The Bars [Short Story] ✅

Part 2

It is not as simple as I had expected it to be; having to crawl through the hole on the wall. The boy has gone in effortlessly and quietly that he reminded me of a rat scuttling back into its own hideaway. But it has taken me at least a minute - which is the longest - to fit myself in, careful not to leave gashes on my robes. Not that I care what happens to my clothes, but the mere thought of seeing anyone's reaction towards my shredded robes is enough to make me be more cautious.

I hadn't thought about how dark it will be once we are in there. So I keep a close distance between the boy and myself while he leads the way, being the more experienced one. He crawls deeper, and it gets darker, and I start imagining things that might be lurking around the corners. But soon, I feel the ground beneath me tip downwards slightly at an angle, forming a slope, and I know we're crawling at an incline. I can only rely on the sounds of his palms slapping on the cold, stone floor and his knees shuffling along. I can't help but look back at the entrance hole, afraid that anyone might catch us. He's done it before, I tell myself. We should be okay.

My eyes start to adjust around the darkness, and I can at least make out his silhouette in front of me. The tunnel we have been crawling on seems to expand, and I can now breathe easier. We have no source of light, and we are already far from the way we entered. Yet, I can still see the outlines of the rocks above our heads, know exactly where to place my palms so they don't get injured from sharp-edged rocks, and even see a few metres ahead as if the area is illuminated by a soft, faint glow. My eyes begin to dart everywhere around the narrow tunnel to see whether there is anything that gives out light sources. Upon observing this, however, I notice how every now and then the somewhat possible glow will flicker and return. Anyone paying close attention will notice rather bizarre occurrence.

After another few minutes, the boy in front of me slows down. He sits back, brings two hands on the jagged ceiling above and pushes them upwards. I quickly cover my mouth and nose as dust particles begin falling, sitting back on my heels and closing my eyes. I hear the heavy scrap of rock against rock. When I open my eyes, the boy has already lifted himself up onto the now new hole above, where he's removed part of the ceiling. Gradually, I follow suit.

Neither of us have interacted during this entire time. I am quite glad to see that the ceiling is at least a foot higher than our heads this time, so I don't have to duck or bend down, which will only damage my posture. The tunnel is wider now, and I can extend my arms to stretch myself. We take our times just stretching our limbs and twisting around because if we don't, we'll have to go back down that damned tunnel and crawl all the way up to our cell. I still have many questions, but I put them aside. I can ask him any time.

"We're almost there," the boy says to me for the first time since we'd entered. He is looking at me when he says it, and now I realize where that mysterious faint glow that has been the only source of light to guide us is coming from.

Because if I hadn't noticed his green eyes earlier, I can see them now. I can see the details of his bright green irises, faintly spotted with ruby that seems to increase the intensity. They damn well glow! For a moment, I am awestruck. If this boy is a wizard - just like me - then he's a specialized one, because I have never met any witch or wizard whose eyes glow in the dark.

We walk for another few minutes before he stops at a corner. He stoops and, knowing exactly from past experience where to place his hands, heaves open a rock from the wall. Golden light quickly streams in through the gap, falling on the pebbly floor and making a long streak of ragged, golden light. My heart sort of stops beating when I hear voices on the other side of ... what, an exit? But then he ducks under the small hole and helps himself out. Whoever is out there, though, they seem excited to see him.