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墨書 Inktalez
"Don't look back, run!" Zhou Jing pulled me as we continued to sprint forward. Behind us came the sound of breaking wood, followed by a few screams; clearly, someone had fallen into the bone pit.
"Damn it!" Zhang Shou's curses echoed, "Surround them! Don't let them escape!"
The passage was getting narrower, and the air was becoming thinner. The children were panting heavily, and Zhou Ming even started to cough.
"There's light ahead!" someone suddenly shouted.
Indeed, a faint glow appeared at the end of the passage. Strangely, the light wasn't coming from above but rather from below.
As we got closer, we realized it was a vertical shaft resembling a well, about two meters in diameter and seemingly bottomless. Iron rungs were embedded in the walls, with the uppermost ones severely rusted.
"Where does this lead?" I asked.
"A cave," Zhou Jing gasped. "There's an underground river down there, and the cave exit is on the other side."
"But the children—"
"No time to hesitate!" Zhou Jing urged as she helped the smallest girl climb down. They would be on us any moment!
I let Zhou Ming and A Xiu go first while I stayed behind. The iron rungs were slippery, and I had to be extra careful with each step down. Just then, I heard A Hu's voice from above:
"They're here! They’re right here!"
I looked up to see several torches' light shining into the shaft. Before they could react, I grabbed a rusty rung and threw it upwards. There was a loud thud; it seemed to hit someone, followed by a scream.
"Be careful!" Zhang Shou's voice warned. "These guys are insane!"
After climbing down about ten meters, my foot suddenly slipped—the iron rung broke! I grabbed onto a protrusion on the wall just in time to avoid falling.
"Jump!" Zhou Jing shouted from below. "There's water!"
I saw her standing on a ledge with the children. Taking a deep breath, I let go and plunged into the icy water below.
The current was swift, almost sweeping me away. I struggled to swim to the edge where Zhou Jing pulled me up.
"Over there!" she pointed to the right front where there was a faint light.
"Trying to escape?" Zhang Shou's sinister laughter echoed from above. "You can't get away!"
With a loud crash, a torch was thrown down, illuminating the entire space. It was a massive underground cavern filled with jagged rocks. The water's surface was littered with twigs and leaves, along with some unidentifiable objects.
"That’s..." Zhou Ming pointed at the surface, his voice trembling.
By the torchlight, I could see that those floating objects were bodies of children! Some had been bloated from being submerged for too long, while others had only recently passed away.
"Oh my God!" Zhou Jing covered his mouth. How many children had they killed over the years?
"Don't let them see the exit!" Zhang Shou shouted from above. "Quick, lower the rope!"
We moved quickly among the rocks with the children. These rocks seemed to have been artificially carved, forming a concealed passage.
"Be careful!" Zhou Jing suddenly pulled me back.
In front of us was a deep ravine, water rushing through it to an unknown destination. The exit was on the opposite side, with no way to cross in between.
I couldn't jump across; I estimated the distance—it was too wide.
"Over there!" A Xiu pointed to the left, where a thick water pipe lay horizontally, resembling some sort of drainage facility.
"We can get across from there," Zhou Jing said.
Before she could finish her sentence, someone above began to climb down the rope.
"Make a decision fast!" I glanced at the water pipe. Although rusty, it seemed sturdy enough. I decided to go first and test it out.
Climbing onto the pipe, I used both hands and feet to move forward. The pipe was slippery, and one misstep could send me tumbling into the raging waters below. Fortunately, the distance wasn't too far, and I quickly reached the other side.
"Come on!" I waved them over.
Zhou Jing helped each child climb up onto the pipe. Just as the last child was about to make it across, a sharp sound echoed from above—someone was shooting at the pipe with a shotgun!
"Hurry!" I shouted to Zhou Ming, who was still on the pipe.
With a loud bang, a section of the pipe broke off! The entire structure began to sway, and Zhou Ming was frozen in fear on top of it.
"Trust me," Zhou Jing urged her brother. "Jump over! I'll catch you!"
Zhou Ming took a deep breath and leaped just as the pipe was about to snap. Zhou Jing caught his hand!
I quickly helped pull him up. The pipe crashed into the ravine with a thunderous roar, sending up a massive splash of water.
"Go!" I urged everyone as we ran toward the exit. Behind us came Zhang Shou's frantic shout:
"Chase them! Don't let them get away with this!"
As we burst out of the cave, the moonlight outside felt exceptionally bright. I turned back for one last look; in the flickering firelight at the cave's mouth, it seemed like those bronze masks were silently sneering at us.
In the distance, church bells rang out again—one chime, two chimes, three chimes—it was midnight.
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