East winds lifted the burning embers, carrying them like dandelion seeds. Once they settled on the rubble, new flames were born. Adding to the smoke was a scent I knew all too well. Death. With the sun long gone, I looked up hoping the heavens could tell us the way to depart, but the stars would not give their light. Instead a thick gloom choked the heavens. Beside me Romeos' countenance was crumbling at the sight of his belongings acting as food to the flames.
"Why?" he muttered. The older man, who was down to the last few items to hurl, hesitated before throwing the final scroll. His wary gaze watched the flames engulf the pile of furnishings. I nudged Romeos, but I was afraid the man who appeared to be a guard already heard him. It was no use clamping his mouth shut. I motioned with my hands to duck low to the ground. He held out his torch in our direction. We crawled backwards, making our way inside an overturned chariot.
Sweat doused my friend's brow. His breath heavy and ragged. "We have to get out of here!" he whispered.
"I know. But we have to stay here." I whispered back. The sound of crunching grew louder than the crackling flames. He was closing in. We sat huddled, praying he would pass.
"I thought I heard someone here," the man muttered under his breath. He aimed his torch by one of the small openings in the overturned chariot.
"Anyone in there!" he shouted. He kicked the side where Romeos was crouched by. I held my breath, hoping he would keep quiet. The man shoved the wagon, causing it to rattle violently. My beating heart pounded into my ears, threatening to drive me mad. As the wagon slowly lifted to one side, it suddenly slammed back down on the pile of rocks it sat on. His last words were, "Let them die there."
Then the footsteps resumed to a steady stomp until that too grew faint. While Romeos was busy swooning, I noticed the crackling was growing louder. The building heat sent my skin crawling with sweat. We had hot days this summer but I was beginning to feel like we stepped into a hearth! Then I realized why when my eyes stung from the billowing smoke. Both of us dove to the opening between the chariot and the earth, only to ram our elbows into each other.
"Aw, my leg!" Romeos hissed. I looked back and saw that his leg was pinned when the man rattled the chariot. "You go first, Troy. Save yourself."
"I am not leaving you!" I exclaimed. Romeos tried to scrunch his body back inside the fuming wagon, allowing me to wiggle free. Ignoring the flames that surrounded the chariot, I dove in, prying away the stones before lifting the wheel. Romeos slithered out the chariot, gagging. I reached in to lift him from the rubble. The safest place was the hills. Romeos gritted his teeth as he limped the whole way to the hillside. Just as I set foot on a stump—
"Agh!" I squealed. I cupped my ankle where a spindly twig jabbed me. Blood quickly filled the wound.
"What happened?" Romeos exclaimed. Now both of would be limping.
"A stupid twig got me," I muttered. I tore off a small fringe from the cloak. Memories of Cornelia gently wrapping my self-inflicted wound resurfaced, guiding my fingers as they tightened the jagged strip of cloth. Romeos urged me to hurry. We had to make the climb uphill before the guard found us. There was no telling what he would do to us.
We trudged up the sparsely covered hill. With each step it seemed the hill only got steeper. I forced myself to climb with my hands and feet. I gripped the earth only for the clods of dirt crumble in my grasp. I rested on a flatter plane before continuing the arduous trek. Romeos struggled to keep up to my pace. But he continued without complaining although the strained look on his face told me the pain was catching up to him.
I was almost to the top ledge, when my foot slipped on the loose gravel. Romeos who snuck ahead of me offered a hand. "I thought you might need a little lift," he said with a weak smile.
"Thanks," I said, latching on tight. Once we made it to the top we both collapsed on our backs. Romeos crouched low in the shrubs on the tips of his toes. His pained smile assured me it was safe to proceed. Surprisingly the horse was still tied to the tree.
I helped Romeos onto the horse while he offered his hand when it was my turn. We turned from the edge and headed in the direction of the seaside where the tree coverage would conceal us.
I looked into the darkening skies. "We need somewhere to lay our heads soon."
"Maybe we can camp out over there," he said pointing to what looked like a beach through the forest canopy. "Ooh there is a path leading down this hill," Romeos exclaimed. The narrow dirt path cut through the dense foliage of the untamed forest. I ducked, careful to avoid the spindly branches that swayed to the evening breeze. Then a hooting sound sent my head spinning to find the source of the call. Romeos laughed at my reaction before explaining it was an owl. I scoped out the hanging branches looking for our hidden observer that blended with the trees.
The branches seem to bow before us, allowing us to pass unscathed to the cliff. To our right was a sharp drop off to the sea. To the left were shrubs. We forced the horse to follow the narrow path that wound through the shrubs and stones. The horse narrowly squeezed through the sloped pass, before its hooves sunk into the sand. In front of us a protruding rock face towered over the other boulders.
Suddenly we heard a splash.
I looked below to find the horse wading in a small tide pool around the rock face, which marked the invisible line between sand and sea. Several feet north along the coast, a cliff jutted out into sea breaking the uniform tide line. Curious we both decided to guide the horse towards the cliff.
The dark frothy waves washed against the horse's knees. "I think we should find a place to set up camp first," I suggested.
"All right then," Romeos grumbled as he pulled the reins, jolting the horse to retreat to the shallow beach. Once I dismounted the horse, Romeos dropped the cloak for me to catch.
I looked up at Romeos. "Are you coming down?" I asked.
"I am coming. I just wanted to check out the shoreline. In the meantime, you can collect some firewood so we can keep ourselves warm from the cool sea breeze and to cook whatever fish we might catch. I did not realize how long this plan would take. But if it gets too late to depart back, then at least we can hide out here for now," he said. Sounded sensible enough.
I slushed through the shore picking up fallen twigs from trees hovering above the hill side. As I saw a piece of driftwood float towards the shore, my initial smile quickly turned into a frown. There was no way on earth we could get it to set on fire.
"Ah!" Romeos exclaimed.
"What now? Did you see something?" I asked. I ran back to the direction of the cliff. I climbed over a pile stones and pebbles only for me to miss my step and fall into ankle-deep water. My ankle throbbed, forcing me to stagger just shy of the opening. I stared into the hollow darkness inside the cliff. Romeos could easily hide here and I would spend forever trying to find him in this black void that taunted me.
"Romeos," I uttered. The only reply was my echo that bounced off the concave walls. A soft neigh ushered a wave of relief. I looked behind, catching a ray of moonlight in my eyes. I could see Romeos and the horse more clearly in the night sky. "Right behind you," Romeos answered before climbing off the horse. We both turned to face the sea that ebbed into the cave. The moonlight illuminated his growing smile.
"We are inside of an underwater cave," Romeos said. His voice oozed with excitement. For that moment, I forgot the fear I had of almost falling off the horse, almost getting caught by authorities, escaping a burning chariot, and now almost losing my friend. I realized in this one day, I learned more about myself than when I first woke up. That I could be brave even when the odds were mounted against me.
"I never dreamt in a million years to be inside a cave. Not even in my wildest dreams," I said as I gazed all around at the statuesque pillars that rose alongside the stream of water that flowed through the middle. "This is what it must feel like to be a kid," I uttered softly.
"I thought you would be scared of the dark," Romeos chuckled.
"Well we might still need some light at least, but after everything we have been through in this short time, I am not so scared anymore of the unknown." We softly talked amongst ourselves as we led the horse by rope, deeper and deeper inside the cave. When we crossed over to the far left, where the water did not reach, it grew even darker. I nearly bumped into Romeos, almost causing him to lose his footing.
"We need a torch," Romeos snickered.
"Of course, that was a silly idea of me to mention that when we were back there," I said.
"Do you have any wood you collected in that sling you are carrying?" Romeos asked, turning serious.
"Just a few twigs I picked up. I do not know if they are dry enough."
"It will do," Romeos responded as he snatched them out my hands.
"You could say thanks," I said flatly.
"I am so terribly sorry. Where are my manners? Thanks." Although it was hard to read his face, I assumed the words were in jest in the spirit of Romeos. My friend blindly knelt down to find pieces of flint. After running his hands through some pebbles—
"Ouch!" he exclaimed. "I think we found our instrument," he muttered. He held up two pieces of what I assumed to be flint. I held the thickest stick towards him while he struck the two pieces of flint together. After several attempts, sparks began flying. I backed away, trying to avoid them from hitting my eyes. Finally I watched in amazement as one of the sparks finally landed on the tip of the twig. Fire was born and with it came light that would guide us. As we ventured deeper into the cave, the ceiling grew too low for the horse to proceed. It was time to leave the horse behind, as the two of us finished the remainder of the journey.
At the end of the tunnel were two orange glowing lights. We were intrigued as to its source. Quietly we continued but this time I lowered the torch so that we could see our steps. Was there someone else here? All that could be heard was the sound of our shoes squeaking against the dry slab of stone and dripping water. There posted on the wall were two burning torches on opposite sides of the cave walls. The cave's riverbed was mostly dry now. Ahead were stone steps leading to a door. We had reached the end of the tunnel.
On the door was a wooden plaque nailed to the door. The letters all in Greek. I could only make out 'you arrived...dead.'
"What is it saying?" I asked. I was relearning how to read and write with my tutor whose native tongue was Greek. I though, still felt like a beginner, when most peers my age were already well-versed in a language I had lost the ability to speak.
"It says: 'You have arrived at the dead end.' That was not very helpful," Romeos snorted. My heart raced inside, as I realized this could only mean one thing. "Do you have the key, Troy? The door is locked."
"Do you even know where we are?" I questioned. Romeos turned the torch in my direction to note my solemn expression.
"I am not quite sure but I want to find out. We made it this far. Might as well as go all the way," he said with a shrug.
"Here is the key, or better yet I will open it for you since you are holding the torch. I would hate for you to drop it."
"That would be horrible," Romeos responded with a dry laugh. As he watched me test out the different keys, Romeos tapped his foot.
"Are you certain you even grabbed the right keys?" Just as he was chattering away, I pulled out the last key. It slid right into the lock and with one turn, clicked open. The sound was loud enough to silence him as I swung the door open. A brief scene of the guard dogs barking madly at the inmates filled my head. I pushed the thought aside. I wanted to be brave for Romeos, to show him I was not the same timid boy who was afraid of taking chances, afraid of the unknown...afraid of living. I was braver or so I thought. I held my breath as we both walked inside. We found ourselves in a curved hallway, with the only light being torches fastened to the stone walls.
Romeos voice lowered to whisper. "This is no cave. It looks like a dungeon..." Once the words left his mouth, we both realized where we were. Behind us the door closed shut. Footsteps echoed through the corridor. Which way should we go? The Hole was uncharted territory built into a cavern. I looked around the corridor, trying to orient myself in the dim light.
"We are in so much trouble," I muttered under my breath.
"Not if we can outmaneuver them," Romeos muttered. I placed my ear against the wall.
"There is someone coming from the left," I whispered. I motioned for Romeos to follow me in the opposite direction as we scampered down the corridor. Another pair of steps from the opposite direction was approaching. We looked around to find a cracked door. After peeking inside we discovered the room was empty. We tiptoed inside.
"My father has to be here somewhere," Romeos whispered. Staring at us were hooks nailed to the walls. Guard uniforms hung from each one.
Romeos smirked at me. "You know what I am thinking?" Romeos asked.
We shared a smirk. "I know exactly what you are thinking."
******
"This uniform looks too big on me," I laughed, as I pulled down the breastplate over my head.
"Nobody will care in the Hole. As long as you can move in it that is what matters," Romeos said cracking a grin.
"You are just saying that because you are my friend. A mischievous one but good nonetheless," I added.
"And you are one loyal friend. No matter what happens you will always have my support," Romeos said trying to sound all serious. Then we heard more footsteps are way. We took turns peeking out the door. The real guards were out; two to be exact. As they chatted amongst themselves several feet from the door, we quietly snuck out the door, leaving our small torch behind to hang on one of the room's empty hooks. Just as Romeos was ahead of me, I realized that the chain of keys I had may not work. We would need their keys. I brushed past one guard, and quickly snatched the key that dangled from his loins. I clutched the key, careful not to make a sound. Just then the guard turned around in my direction. Romeos, who was halfway down the hallway, motioned for me to make a run for it. Instead, I politely smiled at the guard, who eyed me up and down before whispering to his partner.
Once we were far from plain sight, Romeos patted me on the back.
"That was close, Troy. That was really bold of you. I am surprised he did not get suspicious," Romeos said in a mere whisper. Running would have made it worse but still I was rather lucky.
"I am surprised too," I said shrugging my shoulder. We both strolled through the corridor and up the next flight of stairs. As we walked up the narrow staircase, there was a weird stench in the air I could not quite make out. As we approached the last step in what appeared to be an endless array of steps, we had reached the prison cells. We now were in the heart of theHole. Prison cells lined every side of the walls. It was almost how I had imagined the Hole to be and more. As we walked along reading off the plaques nailed above the bars, some of the prisoners who were still awake eyed our every step, while some muttered curses under their breath.
I whispered to Romeos, "Let us keep circling around. Your father must be here somewhere." Romeos nodded. I forced myself not to look at the prisoners, but I could not help but catch glimpses of their faces, hoping that one of them was Diodecios. One skinny prisoner with a shorn head clung to the bars as we neared his cell.
"You bastards!" he mouthed. "I wish you die a terrible death."
"You need to be quiet," Romeos warned under his breath.
"Make me! I am used to the beatings. All you can do is kill me. I just want to die already!" he whined. The words stabbed me in the heart. I had the power in my hand to release someone. Only one could be chosen to be released. While one man triumphed in the opportunity for freedom, many more perished, forgotten and unloved.
"Romeos, is that you?" We both stopped to behold Diodecios in the cell across from the embittered prisoner.
Romeos clung to the bars. His lips quivered in the stale air. "Father," he mouthed. Between the bars that divided them their hands met. Romeos bit down on his lip, trying to suppress a sob. He cleared his throat. I almost could not recognize the father. With his shaven head and dull gray tunic that grazed his knees, he looked like a different person.
"You should not be here son." He looked past Romeos. "Neither should you, Troy for that matter," he said shaking his head. "I appreciate you coming to see me but..."
"I missed you," Romeos blurted. "I do not care if I go one day, three days, a week, a month, a year even without you. I still miss you. You do not belong here."
"We came to free you. You deserve at least a fair trial," I added.
"Thanks for believing in me. Both of you. Even when the world turned its back on me, you never doubted me, so I thank both of you for risking your own necks for me." He faltered before continuing. "But you do realize the consequences if you let me go, and I get caught," his father sighed. Just as I was fiddling with the keys to see which one would work, the same old bitter voice interrupted the reunion.
"Why not release me? I have been in this dungeon for fifteen miserable years. Tell me if that sounds fair!" he snapped. We ignored him as I kept testing the keys out. As I tried the 2nd to the last key, the bone key finally seemed to fit...
"You men are not real guards to let that prisoner go like that," the inmate hissed.
Romeos shushed the man. As the lock clicked open—
"They are releasing a prisoner!" the man shouted. Just then a rush of steps thundered around the corner.
"Hurry!" Romeos muttered.
"I cannot move," the father moaned. His ankles were shackled to the floor. I scrambled to my knees, trying out any key to unlock him.
"Which one is it?" I grumbled.
"They are coming!" Romeos hissed. I fumbled with the keys. I drew a hot breath when the last two keys did not fit. Without thinking, I dropped the keys at the sight of the first burly guard.
"Forget it!" I snapped. Romeos stole one last glance at his father before following suit.
"What is going on?" the guard shouted, his voice bellowing through the hallway. "This prisoner is not set to be released. Who are you men?" We took off running.
The inmate laughed scornfully. "They are not real guards."
"Get those imposters!" The first guard snapped.
"If it was not for that idiot, we could have finally freed my father from this torture chamber!" Romeos snapped. "I hate leaving him here."
In a breathy voice I replied, "We had no choice." Renewed vigor filled me, making me forget the pain of my scratched flesh. We dashed to the stairwell, not bothering to see how far the guards were.
"Who do you dogs think you are?" one of them taunted. I ignored the biting remark as I neared the last ten steps. As a hand reached out to grab me, I jumped, propelling myself into the air. My feet landed hard against the stone floor as Romeos landed right beside me. We are almost close to the exit, I told myself as we dashed to the corridor. The uniform walls and torches blurred past me. Where exactly was the exit again? The bravery I had disintegrated into panic.
"Over here!" Romeos exclaimed. The guard saw Romeos shadow as he turned the corner, starting up the chase again. Down the hall was a familiar door. The exit.
I looked behind my shoulder to find the guard closing in. In the last stretch my ankle was throbbing but I had to keep going. I skidded to the door. To my horror the door was locked! I had only one set of keys left, and I could not tell if they were the ones I brought or the ones from the guards. There was no time to stop and think. Romeos kicked the door while I shoved the bone-shaped keys into the hole. Just when I forced the next key in, a hand gripped my shoulder.
"Brace yourself, Troy," Romeos said grimly. I closed my eyes as I was spun around. I could not bear to watch them strip my dignity.