The Last Winter

Saturday: Divided (12)

Maggie
wwwwwwwww

We descended a rusty ladder into the murky depths of the sewers. It reeks of sulfur down here. The walls are covered in grime, and our boots splash into dirty water.

It doesn't take long before Senpai and Mini Bites slow the rest of us down.

"Guys, stop," Oreo Senpai whispers.

I halt, lowering my trusty bat.

"What? They're getting away! Keep moving!" Michal says.

"No--stop!" Senpai repeats. "I, uh...you can't even hear her anymore. We don't know where we're going. We should head back before we get lost."

"Senpai!" I gasp, eyes going wide. "This is Izzy we're talking about! Della too! They both got kidnapped. It's up to us to save them! No one else is gonna do it. By the time we can ever get a hold of 9-1-1, it--" I hesitate, diverting my eyes to my shoes. "It will probably be too late."

"Yeah," Mini Bites chides in with a scoff. "If only. No one has called 9-1-1. No help is coming, and no help will ever come."

"We're doomed!" Vena moans.

A flash of cell phone light blinds me as Nolan checks his device. "It's 2 AM," he announces softly.

Vena groans. "Ugh, I should be in bed right now sleeping."

I shoot her a glare. "Shut up, Vena."

"Wait, I saw something while we were about to ski," Michal tells us slowly. He looks at Oreo Senpai. "It was some kind of lookout tower."

"Oh yeah, the one behind the cable car station?" Nolan joins in, nodding. "I saw it too. It looked far away, though."

Michal shrugs. "If you want to look for help, you might want to start there," he tells Oreo sincerely. "If it's an actual lookout tower, then it must have a radio." He looks back at me. "I actually think that's a great idea. We should go check out that tower."

"Izzy is down here," I say quietly, looking from one face to the next. "She's down here somewhere! I know it! We can't just abandon her!"

"And Della too," Nolan adds.

I gesture toward him with the tip of my bat. "Thank you! At least someone cares."

"I do care, Maggie!" Oreo Senpai says. "I just don't think it's a good idea to run around in creepy dark sewers by ourselves. We need to figure out a way to get help."

"Wait wait wait," Nolan says thoughtfully, bringing up his hands to quiet us. "What if the person who took Isabella isn't down here anymore?" When he sees the confused look on our faces, he shrugs. "I mean, if I was a crazy psychotic killer, I would lure everyone down into a creepy dark basement to look for their kidnapped friend. Meanwhile, I'd sneak back upstairs and lock them inside so they can't escape."

Vena looks like she's going to be sick.

"If that's true--" Oreo begins, "and I mean IF--what are the chances that he took Isabella and Della back upstairs too?"

Nolan shrugs again.

"I think it's worth checking out," Michal says.

I let my bat hang at my side as I peer back down the tunnel ahead of us. We had passed by many forks along the way, so it was definitely possible for someone to slip around us using the intricate maze of tunnels.

I sigh. "But what if they're still down here?"

They glance back at me, and I know I'm right. We can't rule out the possibility. We can't rule out either one of the possibilities.