Escape From Riddler's Pass
me nervous,” Jesse said. “If this is the stronghold of the cunning, powerful Rebellion you always talk about, why isn’t it guarded?”
    â€œMaybe the traps Noa spoke of are enough to guard it,” Rae offered. She began to walk a bit slower, glancing down at the ground. “We should be careful.”
    Yes, the traps . That was another problem. “I have a feeling these tunnels were designed so only those of the Rebellion, who know of the traps, will be able to survive.”
    Usually, it would have been Silas who thought of that, who would have insisted on going no further until they were sure of what they would find. But not now, not when he is so driven by revenge he ignores common sense.
    Sure enough, Silas only reacted to his comment with a shrug. “The Patrol member Noa told us about survived, didn’t he?”
    Silas must have missed the point of the story . As Jesse remembered it, the guard had been driven mad, raving about all kinds of terrors.
    Jesse stepped forward, next to Rae. “Can’t you say something to him?” he whispered to her. “Maybe he’ll listen to you.” She just looked at him blankly, her face even paler than normal in the light of the glowing stones. “Don’t you agree that this is foolish?”
    Rae paused, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. “Maybe,” she said at last. “But we have to find Parvel. This seems like it’s the only way to do that.” She looked up at Silas, who had not stopped with them. “And I doubt anything either of us say will be able to convince Silas. He’s beyond that now.”
    As he walked deeper into the tunnel, Jesse decided he now knew what it must feel like to be a donkey, bucking against the pull of a rope that would take him where he did not want to go. But it’s my choice , he reminded himself. I could turn back .
    And go back alone, leaving my friends behind . Jesse sighed and kept walking. Maybe I don’t have a choice after all.
    They had only walked into the tunnel a few paces when the path in front of them split in two.
    Jesse asked the question they were all thinking. “Which way?”
    Rae walked between the two archways. She bit her lip and turned around. “The one on the left looks deeper. I can’t see very far, but it looks like the right leads to a dead end.”
    â€œLet me see.” Silas squinted down both tunnels. “We’ll take the left then.”
    Without waiting for agreement, he plunged through the left archway. Rae followed, hand on her dagger and eyes darting back.
    Jesse pulled back, still not convinced. There were no cries of alarm from the archway on the left.
    â€œThere’s a walkway covered with straw,” Rae’s voice echoed back to him. “This must be it!”
    Jesse glanced again at the archways. The few glowing stones nearby did not provide enough light to see down either tunnel. One of the stones, placed above the right archway, the one Silas had not chosen, caught Jesse’s eye.
    â€œCome on, Jesse.” Silas’ voice, from the tunnel on the left.
    Something’s carved in it , he thought, taking a step forward toward the stone above the right archway.
    It was a heart.
    Jesse’s own heart began to beat faster as he realized their mistake. “Silas!” he shouted, whirling around toward the other passageway. “Come back! We have to….”
    But his words were cut off with two nearly identical sounds: a deep shout and a piercing scream. Silas and Rae!
    In the second it took Jesse to run through the archway, he saw Silas, breathing hard, lying on a ledge. Seeing the blackness, Jesse felt sick. Where is Rae?
    â€œHelp!” her voice cried. Jesse leaned over the side of the drop-off to see Rae, her hands clawing at an outcropping and her legs dangling into a black abyss. She was just out of reach.
    â€œThe rope,” Silas shouted at Jesse. “Get

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