The Diversity Story

Chapter 16: Tunnel Travel

In the cellar, Mr. Fletcher was finishing up on fixing the electric chair. Just as he flipped the switch, the chair sparked until it was fully activated. The doors opened to reveal Mrs. Fletcher, accompanied by a flash of lightning. She walked down with a cold grimace on her face and her whip at her side.

"Get the niggers," she hissed.

"Which ones?" His wife snatched the remote from his hand and increased the voltage on the chair.

"All of them!"

Back in the bedroom, the black orphans were preparing for their escape. Charlie and Mary helped the others pack the rest of their items. Cato and Leon moved the bed from the planks and towards the door. Charlie, Nick, and Joseph used the axes to remove the planks.

Mr. Fletcher made his way into the building and towards the bedroom. He tried to open the door, but it was stuck. He begins to ram the door in with his shoulder. Inside, the door was bolted with the planks and barricaded with the beds. The kids were finishing up packing when they heard the noise.

"That's our cue," warned Cato. "Come on! Let's move!"

"Alright! Let's go! Nick! Joseph! You guys go first! Help carry that chest!"

"Come on, lad."

Nick and Joseph jumped down the hole. Mary and Regina used rope to tie the chest and lower it into the ground. The boys caught it and began to carry it through the tunnel. Cato jumped down to helped the orphans climbed down with their stuff as Mr. Fletcher continued to ram the door. Mary saw one of the planks fall.

"Come on, guys! Faster!"

"Move! Let's go! Move!"

Leon helped Akela climb down the hole, and he followed her. Regina went down as well, followed by Jaliya and Violet. Underground, Cato was handing out flashlights and lighting lanterns for the kids as they ran down the tunnel. Meanwhile, Mr. Fletcher managed to ram down the second plank and was halfway into the room.

Once everyone was in the tunnel, Mary grabbed the last lantern on her nightstand and went over to Charlie. He smiled at her and jumped down the hole. Before Mary could follow him, she felt someone grabbing her arm. She turned around and panicked when it was none other than Mr. Fletcher.

"Gotcha!" The man laughed wickedly. He then pulls her away from the hole and begins to drag her halfway towards the door until she hit him in the face with the lantern. This causes him to stumble back and fall into the pile of beds. While he was down, Mary ran over to the hole.

"Come on, Mary!" Regina yelled.

"Not yet."

"What?!"

"Hand me some matches!" Regina did as she was told and handed her a box of matches.

"Mary, what are you doing??" asked Charlie.

"You guys follow Cato and make sure you get to the train in time."

"What about you?"

"I have to settle something first."

"Mary-"

"Charlie...trust me."

Charlie was worried, but he just nodded his head, picked up a sack, and went on with the others. Mary grabbed the matchbox and held up the lantern as Mr. Fletcher rose up. He had blood coming from his forehead.

"Lucky hit...gotta hand you that." Mary just glared at him. "You know something...you have a lot of spunk. And your mother...she had it, too. Lots of it. I guess it's hereditary for you blacks." Mary's glare morphed into a sneer. She did not want him to bring up her mother. "So much that...she wanted to escape, too. Too bad I had to squeeze that spunk out of her. You want proof...I'm looking at it."