The Journey The Only Survivors

Chapter XIX: Victory

The wall behind us collapsed as we fled.

"Did we get the dates wrong?" Bryan said as we ran. "It is the thirteenth, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that was an iceberg," Liam said.

"I think the wall collapsed because you hit it—maybe it's like the trick door that protects the secret passageway we found yesterday," I said.

We turned a corner and sprinted down the corridor, careful not to run into the walls. My eyes had adjusted enough to where I could see where I was running.

"I didn't think about that," Bryan said.

"We could have been killed!"

When we reached a door, we stopped for a quick breather, panting.

Bryan leaned against the wall. "Um, I think I just accidentally leaned against a lever of some sort." He pulled away from the wall and looked at it.

The same crackling noise we had just heard filled the corridor. We looked at each other, wondering if we should run again. Liam touched the wall and felt for something, but I didn't know what.

"Wait." I stepped in front of him and pushed him away from the wall. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"I'm trying to figure out what is going on." He raised his hand and lunged toward the wall. The crackling stopped, and a perfect line formed up and down the wall.

"It's like magic," Liam said. "In 1912." He approached the line and parted it like a curtain. It led to another long hallway. It was too dark to see where it led.

"Should we go down it? Or should we go back out and figure out another way to get Dad?" Bryan asked.

"Let's go down it. I have a good feeling," Liam said admittedly. I had a good feeling about going down that way as well. It just felt like a place we needed to be. And if my Rain Man skills were intact, then this would be near where Dad was being held. I had always been good with directions.

Bryan went first, followed by Bella. Liam was next, and I took up the rear.

"Where do you think we're going?" I asked Liam, catching up to him.

"I have no idea, but something in my gut is telling me that I'm going the right way," he said and shrugged.

"I'm with you on that."

"Whoa." Bryan looked up. Everyone stopped. "Look. The ceiling slants downward. The corridor becomes smaller."

"Let's go back," I said, all good feelings about this place had gone. My gut was wrong. Something about a wall becoming narrower or a ceiling slanting downward gave me the creeps. It must be one of my pet peeves—a very strong pet peeve.

"Let's keep going." Bryan motioned for us to follow him. I raised my eyebrows. I thought Bryan didn't like the slanted ceilings either.

"Liam and I are going back," I said, as if the words were forced out of my mouth. I took Liam's hand. "If you want to keep going and waste time, go ahead, but we're out of here."

"Go ahead," Bryan said. "But I really have a good feeling about this place." He walked onward, and I retreated a few steps back, feeling uneasy as I did.

"Well, you know me and my pet peeves. I can't go down there. I'm leaving this place and going to get out of this tunnel." I was beginning to feel more and more claustrophobic.

I clenched Liam's hand, and we turned and headed in the opposite direction. I was pretty angry with Bryan. We needed to stay together because we needed to get Dad out ASAP. With Bryan wasting time, we would just have less time to not only find Dad but also find the phone.