The Reserve

3. The Divide

I descended down the metal ladder,clutching the metal bars with a tight grip. I couldn't believe that i had escaped,escaped narrowly. I was even on the verge of giving up!Beads of sweat was now forming down my face. Although I had managed to make it,that did not possibly mean that I could not be caught. I had to be very careful on this.

Eventually,I felt my foot splash on water to the ground,producing an echo which bounced further on the wall of the underground tunnel. The floor was covered with a pool of water. I used my flashlight to get a view. From the point that i stood,there were two tunnels to my left and right,one was leading further into the reserve while the other probably moved out of the reserve.

Luck had not run out on me yet!

I followed the tunnel which led out of the reserve. I couldn't believe that it actually led out of the reserve! I took step by step,splashing out the water,producing more echo.

Then suddenly.....

"WOOOOOEEEEEW!"

I listened closely. The sound was very low,coming out progressively.

THE ALARM!

The reserve alarms were on! They were so loud that I could hear them from bottom here.

"They have discovered that I have escaped!" I got rooted to the ground,shocked. But....but how?

No time for questions. I had to run for my life. Swiftly,I boosted in the tunnel. I was in the run again. Now,the echo was louder. Water splashed across where I stepped. The alarm still hauled loudly. I could now picture what was going on in the reserve. The muddles on the run up and down,probably most of the people awake,to try to get a glimpse of what has happened.

Or is it the boel?

It must be. No one saw me going into the forest or the lid,at least that's what I thought. And if they saw me,they would be right now hot on my heels in the tunnel.

But there was no sign of anyone in the tunnel,except me.

The boel had a tracker on it. Probably,after opening it,it sent a signal to the headquarters that it was opened. But why take a long time? Almost fifteen minutes. I really didn't know what was happening.

Or maybe,it wasn't me! Maybe another guy had been caught on another act and the alarm went off.

Or maybe,the alarm was pressed accidentally by a muddle in the headquarters.

But no matter how much I convinced myself,it couldn't be any of those ways. The last time the alarm went off was the day my dad escaped,and had never gone off before that. Why would someone press the button accidentally now? Now when I'm escaping? This must be me!

And I've been through so much. It just can't end now!

I pushed my way further deeper into the tunnel,looking for a ladder that led up to a lid. I must have ran for about 500 metres then i looked at my side and saw the ladder. I went to it,and steadily gripped the metal bars and climbed up. I had to move slowly,lest a muddle from outside decides to get into the tunnel in search of me via that lid I was desperately trying to reach. I moved up,my flashlight on my mouth,my trouser wet from the sewer water and sweat and my feet wearing out due to fatigue.

Then I slid!

My foot missed a metal bar and at the same time,my hand wet from sweat slid off. I almost fell. But my other hand came to my rescue,swiftly grabbing the metal,leaving me hanging down the ladder. I struggled as much as possible to hold on,then did my best to get my hand to the metal and my foot getting a grip.