Three days earlier when Nick heard Judys voice over the phone, it was almost unbearable for him. Jeremiah hung up and placed the phone on the table just a few feet away, knowing that Nick couldn't reach it even if he tried. Both of his hands were cuffed to different pipes and was hanging there for the longest time, but now he was almost strong enough to stand. "So, Nickolas. What shall I do with you?" Jeremiah said with curiosity.
"I suppose letting me go is out of the question?" Nick answered knowing that it was.
"You know, Nickolas. You remind me much of myself in a way. Smart, sly, and scarred!" Jeremiah said as he began to slither in a circle around him. Nick looked at Jeremiah once he said that.
"What do you mean?" Nick demanded, his eyes glued to Jeremiah.
"Why, Nickolas. You may have told Judy about your past as a boy scout.....but have you told her about what happened brother and parents?" Jeremiah said cruelly.
"Shut up! You leave my past out of this!" Nick shouted, and began to struggle in his restraints.
"Have you told her about how your brother went into the military, and almost eight months later him and his squad were ambushed and none survived?" Jeremiah said, knowing that the best kind of torture is mental torture. Having the subject relive past traumatic events that they tried to bury, the scarring that was buried so far down inside so it would never see the light again. Hoping to forget everything, but they never do. Only to have it brought up in anger and frustration, just enough to make them go almost, savage!
"Shut up!" Nick yelled, but Jeremiah went on.
"And when your parents found out, your mother was never the same, like a part of her was missing or dead. Your father almost drank himself to death every night, and would come home angry and beat your mother. He didn't know any better, because he was drunk and had no control over his actions. And one night you hid under the table and watched your mother get beaten by your father. Over and over he swung, she was so close to death before he stopped, and saw everything he had done. He grabbed his gun and....."
"Enough!" Nick screamed, interrupting Jeremiah.
"It must have been so hard for you to watch your mother in the hospital with all those injuries, and couldn't take care of you. The 'Child Protective Agencies' took you away from her and put you in the system, but you escaped and found Finnick, who took care of you. Taught you how to con people, while you looked for you mother and couldn't find her." When Jeremiah finished, he watched and saw what he had wrot. Nicks head lay low and tears flowed down his face.
"I have never told anyone about this.....*sniff.....how.....how do you know?" Nick asked, limp and in pain from reliving the painful memories of his past.
"Before I lived here, I lived underground. Beneath where everyone walked, where everyone went, and everything went." Jeremiah explained as he continued to move around the room. "I know because I would look up at the world above to see what it was like. I know because I watched as a poor fox lost his brother in war, his father to himself, and his mother because of the system. I know because I too lost....." he stopped speaking suddenly. Nick raised his head to see him stopped moving altogether, and saw pain inside this snake, inside Jeremiah. "It's a story for another time." Jeremiah said, and began to move towards Nick, who looked back at the floor. But Jeremiah grabbed Nicks chin with the end of his tail and raised him up, so he could look him in the eyes. "Don't you worry, Nickolas. There's so much more that I wish to talk to you about." Jeremiah said as he released his chin. "In the meantime, my boys will give you a different kind of torture, and is much more different than mental torture.....what is it called again? It seemed to have slipped my mind.....oh yes, now I remember.....physical torture! Boys, bring out the equipment!" he said and began to slither out of the room. His henchmen rolled in another table with a cloth, covering whatever lay underneath it, and a creature with almost identical skin like Jeremiahs came in. "This is professor Iguana, Iggy for short. He is in charge of removing that bullet from your arm, stitching you up, and keeping you alive while my boys keep you company. I will talk with my partner-in-crime about what else we can do with you." He said darkly, and slithered out of the doorway as his men threw the cloth off Iggy's tools and torturing equipment, and began their work.
Jeremiah was down the hall and waited for the elevator door to open, and went inside. As the doors began to close, he heard the screams of terror and agony from Nickolas, and gave a cruel grin as the doors shut.
Judy put the car in park and walked towards the marked spot on her GPS, and found that it was a mine. "This is the spot." She thought to herself with concern. It was an old mine, the wood that was holding the entrance open was rotten and the nails were rusted. It had been condemned for a few years due to it being so fragile, and could collapse at any moment. Judy grabbed some metal steaks and some string, and began her decent into the mouth of the cavern. Once inside, it was almost going back into time when workers would go down here and look for precious stones and gold, and would take them days to weeks to find what they were looking for. "I only have four days until times up." She thought to herself.
Judy had been walking for almost an hour now, before the string ran out and she had to use spray-paint to mark the rest of the way. It was dark and cold, but she kept pressing forward, and got out her phone to check something. "Just as I thought, no service." She said, shivering in the dark and gloomy mine. Suddenly, she stopped and listened! She heard a noise behind her getting closer and closer. Knowing not to take the risk of waiting to see who was behind her, especially standing out in the open, and quickened her pace a little and kept her hand on the gun just in case. When she thought it couldn't get any worse, the path split into two, which should she enter? Dark path number one or dark path number two? But she then got an idea. Before proceeding, she marked the path on the right and hid into the left path, and turned her flashlight off. She waited to see who this mysterious person was and why they were following her. The sound was getting closer and closer with each passing moment, and as a shadow appeared on the wall from a light it was carrying, and drew her weapon as the shadow grew closer.
Once the light came out into the open, she saw it was only a gopher wearing prospectors' cloths, holding a lantern as he walked.
"It's all right, missy. I don't bite." He said, as he tilted his hat upward at the direction Judy was in. He was an old gopher, carrying a pickaxe, but talked in a soft voice. Judy came out cautiously, still holding her weapon.
"Who are you, and why are you following me?" she asked as she raised her weapon.
"My names Digger, Jimmy Digger. I'm just an old gopher living in these tunnels and what not. I noticed that you were going into my tunnel without an escort, it's just too darn dangerous for a pretty lass like yourself going into these tunnels all by herself, and who am I to not escort any lady to her destination?" he said with a smile on his face, he was a sweet old gopher just trying to help her out.
"Thanks, but I think I can find my way around." Judy said not wanting to feel like a bother or intruder.
"I know my way around these here tunnels better than anyone else here. I can help you, like be your guide." Jimmy wasn't going to take no, no matter how nicely she could say it, and decided that it would be best to have company, and someone to talk to down in this lonely tunnel, and he led her down the right path.
After a few minutes of walking, it felt a little awkward with nothing but silence as they walked, and decided to break the ice. "So, what's a nice old gopher doing down here in an abandoned mine?" she asked kindly.
"Well, it's kind of a long story, but down here is where I live, this is my home. There's no cars, no trains, no planes, and no noise. It's peaceful and quiet down here, and I just kind of moved in here to get away from all the hustle and bustle." He explained, it was pretty peaceful down here, but no less cold. "What about you, missy?" he asked suddenly, as they walked.
"I'm on a case and am looking for something that has this symbol on It." she said pulling out the picture and showing it to him. Adjusting his spectacles and stared for a short time.
"I know where this thing is!" he said with excitement, almost as if something clicked. "Follow me." He said, and began walking faster.
"Wow! This gophers pretty spry for being old." Judy thought with amazement, and followed closely.
They had been walking for almost three hours now before they stopped for a water break, Judy pulled out the water bottle that she had in the backpack, and found that it was frozen solid. "Oh, here you go, missy." Jimmy said as he handed her the canteen he carried. Judy took a sip before almost spitting it out.
"Ugh! It tastes salty!" she said with surprise.
"That's so it won't freeze before you drink it." Jimmy said, almost laughing. "I'm sorry, I should've warned you before you drank." He apologized. Judy had the most surprising expression on her face.
"Why didn't I think of that?" she thought to herself and drank a little more.
"Don't you worry, missy. We're almost there." He said. Judy handed him the canteen when she was done, and he took a drink before putting it back in his satchel, and they pushed forward towards her unknown destination.
"Is that what you're looking for?" he asked, pointing out of the tunnel and into an open room. A waterfall and a river could be heard from inside. Judy looked and saw a beautiful waterfall with crystal clear water flowing down stream, then she looked into the direction he was pointing towards.
"Yes! That's it!" she exclaimed. Positioned in between a stalactite and a stalagmite, was a small box exactly like the one she found, and began walking towards it. Suddenly, Jimmy grabbed her arm and began pulling her away! "What are you doing?" she asked sounding startled as she struggled to get away from his grip.
"Saving your life! You almost walked onto 'Dead Mammals Bridge'." He said and pointed what she almost walked onto, and stopped struggling. "That bridge has been down here for centuries and could collapse at any time. It is very dangerous." He said, releasing his grip on her arm. Judy looked and saw that the bridge was rotten, and had a lot of termite damage, but the only way to get that box was by walking halfway onto that bridge.
"But, I have to get It." she replied, with concern.
"Okay, but you have to tie this rope around your waist, in case you fall." He said, handing her one end of the rope. She began walking towards the box. The bridge creaked and groaned underneath her feet, every step she took felt like the board was going to break, but she kept on going, and was almost there. Judy began reaching for the box when suddenly, the board she was standing on gave way and she fell through!