Zee saw us approaching and shuffled along the bench to make room. He smiled at Donovan, but did a double take when he saw me. I'd washed off all the blood in the showers, but I was guessing my face was pretty pale.
"Where'd you find Casper the Friendly Ghost?" Zee asked Donovan as we sat down.
"Haunting Room Two," he replied softly.
"No way," said Zee, his eyes like pickled eggs. "You didn't?"
"Got busted too, the fool."
Zee's eyes bulged even farther from his face. I thought they were going to pop.
"I wasn't busted," I explained. "But it was close."
"You looked like someone had shot you in the face," Donovan said, his brow creased. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, I kinda had myself to blame for that," I muttered sheepishly. "I ran into a wall when I heard the growling."
"Growling?" Donovan asked, but Zee held up his hands and started waving.
"Whoa, whoa," he said. "Start from the beginning."
So I did. In hushed tones I told them how I'd got through the wooden boards into the room, how I'd felt the blast of cold air, and how it had been pitch-black-a revelation that got a laugh from both boys. I told them about the hum that I thought had been a growl. Lastly, I filled them in on my near escape from Moleface.
"You know he'd have probably shot you on the spot if he'd seen you climbing out from under those boards," Donovan said when I stopped talking. "I'm telling you, it's just too damn dangerous."
"So what was the noise? That hum?" Zee asked, ignoring the comments.
"I have no idea," I replied. "I couldn't place it. I know now that it couldn't have been a dog. I mean, I'm still alive, aren't I?"
"Something electrical maybe?" Zee asked. "The prison generator?"
Donovan shook his head.
"Nope, there's no way the generator would be through there. That room was carved from scratch by the inmates."
"Air vents?" Zee asked. "Maybe it was the sound of wind in the pipes. That might be where the draft came from too."
"What did I just say?" said Donovan. "There isn't anything in there. No wires, no pipes, no vents. Nada."
"No, you might be right," I said to Zee, trying to recall the sound in my head. "What if it was wind? I mean wind from the surface. Maybe the cave-in cracked open a rift in the rock. If fresh air is getting in, then we can get out."
"You're a little more substantial than thin air," Zee replied. "Besides, like I've said before a million times, if there was a route to the surface, then don't you think they'd have sealed it off with something more secure than a few planks?"
I ground my teeth together, exasperated.
"Well, I sure as hell didn't imagine it," I hissed after a moment's silence. "I heard something in that room, something big enough to make a roar or a growl or whatever. I'll figure it out."
Donovan snorted and rose to go get some food. After scanning the trough room, however, he collapsed back down onto the bench.
"Incoming," he whispered.
I glanced up to see that Gary and his henchmen were making their way across the room toward the exit to the yard. The inmates were scampering out of his way with a deference that they'd never shown toward Kevin. The former Skull leader had been violent, yes, but there was something different about Gary. Kevin had tortured and killed to prove something, because he knew that life was valuable, something precious to take away. But Gary lashed out and killed as if life was nothing, meaningless, like he was crushing a bug.
"Don't look at him," Zee whispered, and I lowered my eyes to the table. When I raised them again, however, I found myself staring right into Gary's face. He was standing on the other side of the table, behind Zee, eyeballing me like I'd just killed his dog.
"I hear you've got a problem with the Skulls," he said in a voice that turned my bones to water. "Picking fights you got no business picking."
My tongue had turned to sandpaper, my limbs to lead.
"Well come on, then," Gary challenged, raising his hands. His knuckles were swollen and bloody. "You think you're so tough, then why don't you step up and take a crack at me?"
He pushed Zee out of the way and leaned on the table. This close I could see a line of blond hair on his top lip, like a tiny wig over his cracked and yellow teeth. I thought for a moment that I was going to puke again. At least I'd humiliate him before I was shanked. I swallowed hard and stared at the table.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," he spat, grabbing my chin and wrenching it up. His fingers were rough against my skin. "I'm telling you to come on, let's see what you've got."
"Not enough," I breathed.
"What?"
"I'm sorry," I said, louder this time, then added "sir" for good measure.
"Too late." He pushed my head back so hard that I felt something pop in my neck. Then he slammed his hand on the table, sending Zee's food and drink flying. "You're marked. You're mine. You'll get your fight, little man."
And with that he turned and pushed through the Skulls, making his way toward the exit. I lowered my head and winced as pain cut through the tendons. Rubbing my neck, I saw Donovan and Zee staring sheepishly at the table.
"You okay?" asked Zee, not looking up.
"Oh yeah, that was fine," I replied, doing my best to hold back the tears that were building up behind my eyes. "No problem."
I put my elbows on the table and cupped my head in my hands so that nobody would see my glassy eyes. But I couldn't stop the floodgates from bursting. I blinked, and a tear dropped from my face to the plastic surface, winding its way gently toward the other side of the table. It wasn't alone, merging with the trail of water that had spilled from Zee's plastic cup. I watched the little stream meander through the piles of brown slush, flowing inexorably toward the edge.
And then it hit me, a revelation so bright and wonderful that it was as if the lights in the room had doubled in strength. I sat bolt upright, so quickly that Zee and Donovan both flinched.
"The noise. I know what it is."
They looked at me as if I'd gone mad.
"It's water," I said, pointing at the mess on the table. "It's an underground river."
THE RETURN
WE ARGUED ABOUT MY revelation through practically the whole of trough time, Donovan scoffing at the idea with his usual disdain. As soon as we'd sat down with our trays of mush, he began listing the reasons why it was impossible.
"They didn't just pick a spot in the gorge and plonk the prison down inside it," he ranted between, and often during, mouthfuls. "I mean think about it, they must have done a hundred checks first, a million. Rock samples, scans of the tunnels, analysis of the caves already here, probably even psychological tests on the bugs that live underground. They'd have seen a river if there was one."
I poked my plastic food with my plastic fork and mulled over what he was saying.
"And if the cave-in had breached the river, then surely we'd all be floating by now," he went on.
"Not if it's beneath us," added Zee, using his fork to steal some of my mush. The idea of escape seemed to have finally filtered through his skepticism, and he was at last taking my side. "I mean, the cave-in could have opened up a rift that went down, not up."
"So what use is that?" Donovan asked. "Burrow even deeper into your own prison, head farther underground. Great idea."
"Well, that water's got to go somewhere," I said.
"So you think you'll just pop up in the girls' showers at the local gym, then," Donovan hounded. " 'Hello, ladies, don't mind us, we're just escaping from jail. By the way, you've missed a spot, allow me.' "
We all laughed at the idea.
"Okay, it probably won't end up there," I said. "But what if it goes up top?"