This Broken City Sky

Stephanie's point of view.

I don't know how much more of this I can take. I have cuts and bruises all over my body, especially my hands and arms. I winced as i rolled over on the always hard floor, trying to find some form of comfort. But I knew I wouldn't find one.

I closed my eyes and the first thing I saw was Michael's smiling face. It was the first day we met, when he helped me pick up my books. I remember that yes, I did have a bit of a crush on Gerard, but after a while, I realized i was liking the wrong brother.

Gerard is awesome, don't get me wrong, but Michael is unlike anyone I've met before. I can't explain it. I looked up from the spot I was lying in to see that I was in another room. Man, how big is this place? I was confused to see two holes in the wall.

They were perfectly circular shaped and looked just big enough for me to fit through them. I also observed that they were blocked by metal gates. I got up slowly and trudged over to them. I wrapped my fingers through the square hols in one of the gates and peered in. All I could see was darkness.

A crackling sound came from above my head. "Hello Stephanie. Ready for your next task?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, father."

He ignored that last part. "This one is one of my favorites. Obviously you see the two holes in the wall. You choose one. Crawl through it, and get to the other side."

"That's too easy. What's the catch?"

"The catch is that only one of the holes are the right one. The other one will lead you to a dead end. And when you get to that dead end, the tunnel will fill with fire, and you will burn to death. But, even if you choose the correct hole, there is still a time limit. If you do not exit the tunnel before the time runs out, the other end will be sealed shut, and this tunnel will also be filled with fire. So pick carefully, and be quick. Not that it makes any difference to me."

"Wait! How much time do I have?"

He ignored the question and said, "Pick one, and climb in."

I looked back and forth between the two before randomly choosing the one on the left. I climbed in and the gate dropped quickly behind me. "Your time starts now."

As soon as I heard the go, I was off, as fast as I could with a ripped up hand and two aching arms.

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After what seemed like ten minutes, I could see a faint light from up ahead. Not knowing how much time I had left, I booked it. When I was about two yards away, the gate started to close. My breath caught in my throat.

Go faster Stephanie!, I yelled at myself inside my head. When I got to the gate, it was half closed. I squeezed myself through. I could feel it closing on my stomach. I wriggled myself through and let myself drop. I guess it was farther than i thought though because my foot got caught and I didn't even touch the ground. I screamed out. I heard a snap and realized the force of me falling must have broken my ankle.

Even though it hurt like a bitch, I jerked my foot free and fell the rest of the way to the ground. I looked up and saw it was at least a seven foot drop. I got to my feet, well, foot, and stood up on my one leg. I heard a rumbling noise coming from the tunnel. I backed up so i could see inside it better and saw a light coming my way. And in a few mere seconds, the whole tunnel was filled with blazing fire that i could even feel from five feet away.

I almost passed out just thinking about the fact that I could have been in there by the time the fire spread everywhere. I then passed out.