Fates Fickle Ways

Chapter Two

Jake's POV

I promised Ella I'd get out. That we wouldn't be separated. I've got to find a way now. The ladder is a last resort, I don't know if it can handle another trip.

My time is limited. The ladder could fail upon another trip, the cover is definitely the quickest way but I may meet the FBI. If I get out only to be taken into custody, what good would that do anyone? I've got to get to Hannah and Richy. If I can get to them, they can go up the manhole, I'll find another way. They must be close to where I found the evidence earlier. I retrace my path back to the evidence we found at Michael Hanson's place. I know I'm taking a risk of running into him, however there's no longer a clear way out.

When I reach the room I realize that all of the evidence is now gone. This can't be! It was just here! I need to find Richy and get out. I've got a bad feeling. Walking down the corridor I hear a voice...Richy's voice. I can barely hear his voice reverberating on the mine's walls. There isn't another voice talking back with him, and I can't tell if he is in the room ahead of me or if I am hearing echoes. I crouch in the shadows, taking in every word that is being said. Richy? We never suspected him. How could he do this to his own friends? It takes everything in me not to run to him, to hurt him the same way he did all of them. I have to go back to the ladder. It's my only option to get out. Ella will need me now more than ever.

The words keep swirling in my mind. I did it. I did all of it. He was right in front of us this whole time, helping us get further and further away from the truth. Was any of it real? Was there anything I missed that would've pointed to him? How could I have missed anything that pointed his way? I realize that I'm lost in the mines now, my brain not being able to focus on anything other than the betrayal. My map is outdated, my phone has no signal, and everything I knew to be true is a lie.