The Year 3000

Chapter 6: The Camp

Scarlett's POV

Previously:

"You go next. I'll talk you through. There's a ladder going down as soon as you climb in. Just follow Calum," Luke ordered, his hand on my back as he urged me forward. With only slight hesitation, I clambered through the dark hole, finding my footing on the metal ladder's rungs after a few seconds. I blindly began climbing down, one foot after the other.

Luke soon followed, securely shutting the hatch behind him and engulfing us all in complete darkness. Then all that could be heard was our breaths and the soft clanging of our feet and hands on the ladder rungs.

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It took us less than ten minutes to climb down to the bottom of the hole, which opened up into a larger space we could all three stand in.

"I'm turning on a flashlight," Calum warned us, and suddenly a yellow glow filled the small passageway. I could now see that the walls and ceiling were dirt, covered with wooden support beams.

"The Rebellion really built this?" I asked in wonder. Luke and Calum both nodded.

"It took over twenty years, but we managed," Calum explained, a muted sense of pride emanating from each of them, "Come on, let's get going."

I nodded and began following along, watching my steps along the uneven ground. We followed the path for what seemed like hours in the never ending silence. There were so many curves and twists, if it weren't for the fact that there were no other paths connected to this one, I would've gotten lost.

"Where are we?" My voice echoed throughout the passageway, breaking the silence. Luke paused.

"We've been following the passage for-" He looked at his watch. "-almost two hours. So, we're definitely under the woods by now," Luke replied and Calum nodded in agreement.

I felt my mouth go dry, my stomach erupting in fireworks. I couldn't speak over the lump in my throat. I was free. I was free. I was free. I was free. I was free.

Luke smiled at my astonished face.

"We're out of there, and you never have to go back," he spoke kindly, and I was so happy that I didn't think, I just leaped towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Tears pricked my eyes as I fought the urge to cry. I hadn't realized how much I had truly come to believe that I was going to live the rest of my life at the Palace until then. Luke seemed a bit stunned at first, but he soon put his arms around me.

"Thank you," I breathed, "so much."

I pulled away, quickly wiping up any stray tears that had fallen. "I'm being silly. I wasn't even there for that long. It's just-" My voice caught, "You have no idea what it was like in there, with-with Him," I choked up, shaking my head. I couldn't even say his name. I was a coward.

"Shh." Luke enveloped me in his arms again, rubbing my back as I caught my breath. "You're safe now."

I nodded and pulled back gently, putting myself together. "We should keep going," I spoke gruffly, turning to Calum a few paces ahead, who nodded in agreement. He continued on with Luke and me following closely behind.

Twenty minutes later, we reached the end of the path. There was a metal door up ahead. It was almost like my camp's exit, only this one was like a door, built right into the earth wall.

"Ladies first." Calum smiled and gestured to the door. My eyes slightly widened, but Calum just laughed. "That means you, Luke."

Luke rolled his eyes and hastily punched in a code on the metal door. It swung open seconds later, and light immediately flooded the tunnel, momentarily blinding me. Calum gestured for me to go next, and so I did, thoughts running rapidly through my head. I wasn't sure if Harry would come looking for me, or if Ashton would make it out. There was one thing I knew for sure though, and that was if Ashton got caught, then Harry would definitely take his anger out on him.