Her companion chose this moment to make his entrance back to the world of consciousness. "Ugh, keep the noise down!" He glared disdainfully at the everyone. Joe rolled his eyes, and Biff snorted derisively. Chet ignored everyone else whilst he busily devoured a candy bar. "Wonder if they'll give us anything to eat?"

Biff laughed at that. "Only you would think of eating at a time like this, when you should be trying to figure a way out of this place."

Chet jumped to his feet and glared at the rest of the group. "The only way out of here is through this door." He jabbed his thumb at it as he walked over to Biff. "I thought that was readily apparent."

Biff bowed solemnly to the chunky lad. "Yes Oh Thou Great Master of the Mind..."

"Stomach you mean!" Joe interrupted, and was dutifully ignored by Biff who resumed his spiel as if Joe didn't exist. "Teach us more of your wisdom. We humbly prostrate ourselves on the ground before you. How pray tell, do you propose that we should get through the door?" Joe by this time was rolling on the floor, hands clutching his sides, futilely trying to keep from laughing out loud. Chet raised an eyebrow at the spectacle before him and stepped over to the obstacle in front of him.

"Like this."

With a push on the door, it swung open, leaving a stunned Chester Morton standing in front of the unblocked opening; his equally astonished cellmates blinking behind him.

* * * * *

The darkness and the silence was chilling, even though pierced by a beam of light. The light slanted upwards, towards the place where the last trap had sprung from.

Frank stared hard at the ceiling in the beam of his light that he'd managed to recover from the pile on the floor where they'd fallen. TJ stirred at his feet, and Frank hastily knelt down beside his friend. A nasty gash ran along his forehead, and Frank was worried for him. Although it seemed to be only a surface wound, medical help was impossible to get in their current predicament. TJ seemed to be trying to sit up, and the boy above him held onto his shoulders, keeping the injured boy on the ground.

TJ's eyes opened and focused steadily on Frank. "Hey, you can get off of me now. I know you like to use me as a cushion and all, but don't you think you're overdoing it this time? I'm not hurt that bad." He reached up a hand and gingerly touched the rough bandage that Frank had affixed over the cut. "Well, at least, I hope not?" He slowly sat up and blinked a few times, with his friend watching him carefully.

Frank ran his hand along the floor, and came up with a thin wire, dull brown, that ran between the walls. "So that's the cause of all our misfortune." With those words, TJ dug into his pack and produced another flashlight. He thought back to several minutes before, when he and Frank had been walking parallel along the wall, looking for an exit. Of a sudden, there had been a scraping noise, and dirt had been dislodged. Although they dove out of the way, somehow they weren't quick enough, and they had each been knocked to the ground by the stones.

Luckily they were small rocks, and only struck glancing blows for the most part. One of the last caught TJ in the head, and Frank had several bruises on his left arm. Cautiously the two resumed their walk, the beams from the flashlights playing over the walls and floor. Thin beads of sweat began to run down their faces as the exertion and slight taste of fear started to overcome them. A strict examination of both the walls and floor brought no clue as to an opening. They pressed further into the slight cavern, examining with one flashlight now the surface of the wall again.

Finally overcome with the exertion and distracted by the singular lack of success, Frank leaned against a projecting slab of stone. It moved downward, and with a slight rasping sound, a door opened up beside him. TJ leaped up from where he had dropped to the floor to the inside of the new tunnel. Cautiously Frank followed, using the beam from his flashlight as a guide. His eyes traveled over the surface, checking for danger in the form of trip wires. Seeing nothing, he finally joined his companion inside the new opening.

As he stepped through the doorway, a low rumble reverberated through the hallway behind him. Startled, he ducked and swung his light behind him. A cloud of dust was revealed in its beam. Unable to get a view of anything from the place where he was crouching, Frank slowly advanced to the door and peered out into the tunnel. A large pile of rocks and dirt lay in the passage in the direction they had come from. His throat suddenly felt dry as he realized the extent of the danger that they had just avoided. He felt TJ's hand on his arm as the boy behind him also viewed the damage. "Wow." was all that he could say.

Frank felt a little choked up, but managed to get out, "We're lucky that we weren't under there when it decided to come down." TJ nodded and whispered, "There wouldn't have been any way out of that."

Frank nodded slowly, absorbing the scene lit up only by the single beam from the light in his hand. A wispy haze of dust particles still hung in the air, tracing a path through the single ray penetrating the darkness. Finally the two tore themselves away from the near disaster. Without a backward glance, Frank led the way through the new passage. There was no turning back.

* * * * *

"I don't believe it!"

Chet Morton sat down in the middle of the floor and proceeded to put his face in his hands. "Somebody tell me that I'm dreaming and wake me up!" When none of the others spoke, he glanced up again. "Well then, it must be real. Let's get out of here!" He stumbled back up on his feet and lumbered over to the now open doorway. "Well, aren't you guys coming?"

Joe scrambled to his feet, and hurried to stop the hefty boy from stepping prematurely into the hall. "Wait Chet, we better make sure that it's clear first." Bending down, he placed his eye just beyond the door's frame to peer in the direction the boys had come from. Finding it clear, he checked the other direction as well. By this time Biff had joined them at the door, and their two cellmates had gotten to their feet.

"Thanks for the help kids." The man sneered sarcastically, a nasty look on his face. "Now if you'll just excuse us for being rude, we'll leave you here and find our own way out." He stepped towards the boys, closely followed by his now silent female companion. Chet slid nervously into the hallway, while Biff flexed the muscles in his arms and frowned. Joe glanced at Biff and pulled him outside the door.

"Cool it pal! We have the upper hand here!" Biff nodded his understanding, and stepped aside while Joe took hold of the door to the cell. "Well, we'll just leave you here and let you find your way out." The man realized what he meant and rushed at the door, but Joe slammed it shut in his face. A satisfying click met his ears and the cells inhabitants growled angrily. Realizing that the noise could attract unwanted attention, Joe pushed his companions down the hallway, opposite to the way that they had first come.

"Quick! We've got to get out of sight before anyone comes back here!"

Chet hustled along, surprisingly speedy for his apparent weight. Chet's hustle and muscle had helped the Hardy's out on several occasions, usually when he was saving their bacon. Now he was intent on keeping himself in one piece, not to mention that he didn't want to be the one to ruin the escape. Ahead of him, Biff took great running strides, following Joe's lead. The passage, although slightly lit behind them with an occasional fluorescent bulb, gave way to near darkness ahead of them. Joe was afraid to show a light back here, in case their jailor would come back. Instead, he slowed his pace and pressed on with one hand against the wall.

* * * * *

Later, after a few brief pauses to catch their breath, the trio came to a division in the way. Joe had his light out of his pack, and shined it inside the passage to their right. In the bright beacon, it seemed to grow thinner and peter out. "Just a niche in the rock, handy to hide in if we have to." Chet commented, staring with some distaste at the narrowness of the passageway. "We'd never fit through there."

Biff snorted in disgust, and turned towards the way that led forward. "You'd never fit through there you mean, we'd just get through and wedge you as the perfect blockade." He rolled his eyes and stretched, rolling his head in a complete circle to loosen up the tension in his neck. "However, I agree that I don't want to tackle that passage unless we can't help it."

Joe just shook his head at the exchange. He had a gut feeling to take the right-hand path, but he didn't want to push his friends, besides, he agreed with them that it didn't go anywhere. "Let's go then, we have to get back and warn Frank."

"Plus call the cops down on this mess!" Chet insisted.

"Yeah, of course." Joe stretched as well, then resumed the trek forwards.

* * * * *

"Frank, I see a light up ahead!"