So Many Miles Between Us

5. The Frozen World (Octavia)

     I paused about twenty feet from outside the door. I looked around, viewing my surroundings. I seemed to be in a long, somewhat narrow corridor. It wasn't very bright but at least some torches, along the two walls on either side of me, gave off enough light so that I was able to see where the hallway led to. I turned around one last time, seeing part of Atohl's jacket. It looked to me that he was now standing. With that, I turned around and ran down the corridor. The corridor was made of stone, and held prison cells but none of them seemed to be occupied. It was hard to tell, though, since the doors were solid with no way of seeing in and they were all locked. The hallway was quiet and lonely, with no life to it. I reached what I suspected to be the exit, at the end of the hallway, in about twenty seconds. Every muscle and bone in my body ached, my ankle throbbed and stung, and I was already so exhausted. 

     There was a wooden door in front of me. I could easily tell it was old, and it was covered in scratch marks and dirt. The door was smaller than the prison cell doors, and I could easily tell it was the exit since it had a small window right above it. However, the window was too smudged and there was too much mud on it for me to actually see outside. There were also two small torches on either side of the door. I shuddered. This whole place was terrifying. I put my hand on the door and attempted to open it. Nothing happened. I kept violently pulling on the door and eventually panicked to the point where I began beating the door with my fist. I stopped after about a minute, my hand throbbing. It was no use. The door was locked and it was going to stay that way until somebody came and unlocked it. I looked around the narrow corridor, trying to see if there were any other ways to escape. Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a small hole in the ceiling. Even though it was small, it was still big enough so that I would just be able to squeeze through. There was only one problem: I had no way of actually getting up there. The ceiling was short but not short enough to the point where I'd be able to just pull myself up. I scanned the corridor, hearing footsteps and doors opening and closing. Atohl. He's looking for me, I thought to myself.

     I had to figure out my plan quickly. Just when I was about to lose hope of ever escaping, I spotted a small, sqaure object about five feet away from me. I went to it and noticed it was a large piece of stone, probably used for some kind of building material. It looked to be about two feet high, and that would be just high enough to allow me to pull myself up and through the hole. I started trying to push the block to where I needed it to go. There was another problem: It wouldn't even budge. I'm exhausted as it is, and there's no way I'm going to be able to move this on my own. 

     Another sound shook me from my thoughts. It was Atohl again. This time, though, he sounded closer. A lot closer. I shut my eyes and slowly inhaled. I have to do this. I have to make it home. For them, I encouraged myself. 

     With the threat of Atohl reaching me and the thought of my people back home, I managed to start moving it. It wasn't an easy task. My muscles went from stinging to burning, screaming in protest for me to stop, to let go, to give up. There was no way I would do that, though. Not a chance. My lungs burned and demanded air, as I held my breath the whole time I pushed the block. It wasn't until the block was right where I needed it to be that I exhaled, nearly falling over in fatigue. I stood still for a few seconds, catching my breath, before I climbed up onto the block. I gave the corridor one last glance before tightly gripping each side of the hole. I inhaled and exhaled once more before pulling myself through the hole.

     Just as I was almost fully through the opening, a hand gripped my bad ankle. I yelped in pain and surprise. I turned my head around to spot Atohl trying to pull me down. With my good foot, I kicked him hard in the face. I heard him scream in pain and fall backwards. I hurried through the hole before he could manage to stand up again. Once free from the corridor, I looked at my shoe. It was dotted with blood. I ran for ten minutes straight before stopping once again.