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plotted. Was it possible there was a way out of this hell? Was it possible I had found the impossible?
    For the first time in a long time, I had hope.
     

Chapter 3
     
    The plan was fairly simple.
    It had to be simple for reasons of necessity. I wasn’t the only one weakened by my time in the pit. The Nightstalkers were never let out; they were just given easy prey to kill. Though their murderous nature was irrepressible, part of them had suffered from being locked away for so long. They were tired. They were broken. The only thing we really had to depend on was our mutual, overwhelming desire to not be imprisoned any longer.
    I had to wait two more days for Master Limp to come see me again. It was a long two days. I didn’t rest – I didn’t allow myself the luxury of searching out Daniel in my dreams. I remained focused on the present.
    When Master Limp finally showed up again, I could tell by the way he opened the grate I was in for another beating. I had learned to see them coming. His happy expression and the cold fire in his eyes was clue enough. It meant he was coming down instead of controlling things from up above.
    I eyed my ally. The Nightstalker lifted its lips in a dangerous canine smile, to show me it was ready for action. Its red eyes were full of alert energy. I repressed the urge to shudder and focused on Master Limp’s descent.
    He maintained the same routine every time he came down. His injured leg didn’t allow for the same strength of other Watchers, so he was forced climb down a set of rope stairs, instead of jumping down into the hole. Whenever he climbed down, he had one of his flunkies keep watch from above, to pull him up in case something went wrong. My escape would be a matter of timing; I would have to make it to the top of the stairs, before they were pulled back by the flunky.
    I stood and started backing away toward the levers.
    Mister Limp’s face turned smug when he noticed my retreat. It was the first time I had retreated from his attack.
    “Have we finally put fear into you?” he asked.
    “Please don’t hit me anymore!” I said mustering all the fake fear I could manage. It sounded ridiculous to me, but I was certain he would never know the difference.
    “This is progress!” he exclaimed. “Very good! But I’m afraid I can’t stop just because you want me to. We have to be sure of you. It’s a matter of doing something right.”
    “Please!” I said continuing to back away from him.
    “Come now, it’ll be over soon,” Master Limp said.
    I reached the levers. “I know…”
    My body tensed, and my whole spirit focused on this one attempt at freedom. This was the moment I had been waiting for, since Anna had taken me. It would be freedom or death, and I was determined to not die.
    As soon as his foot touched the dirt floor of the pit, I turned around and pushed down all of the levers at once. The doors holding back the Nightstalkers opened. They were out of the cells, before Master Limp could get a handle on what I had done. The first Nightstalker tore into him, tearing him away from the rope ladder and in to the darker part of the pit. Master Limp’s startled yelp was consumed by the sounds of growling and snarling from the Nightstalkers. I hurried to the ladder, before they had finished dragging him away. The Nightstalkers made space for me, and a couple of tried to help boost me up with their snouts as I climbed.
    The person at the top of the pit had either grown bored with their duties as rope manager, or was exceptionally indifferent to Master Limp’s fate. As I pulled myself out of the pit, I saw a young man with brown hair staring back at me. He was startled to see me, but he didn’t try to attack me either.
    “You have two choices,” I told him as I placed my feet on the floor. “Run away or I will throw you down there with your master.”
    “Is he dead?” the man asked.
    Master Limp screamed out one last time as the Nightstalkers ripped him apart. His