The Impossible Adventures: Book #1 - Mountain of Ash

Elaborate Escape

        That night, Claudia and I can't sleep. We must return home, but we cannot. A tear slips down my cheek and Claudia weeps silently.
        Suddenly, I get an idea. "What if we escape now, during the night?" I ask Claudia. She sniffs and looks at me.
        "That's a good idea, Carlos... but how will we get past them without being seen?"
        "They will be sleeping." I say.
        "How will we get out of this pit?"
        "We push," I tell her. At the same time, we push against the grate keeping us in the hole. I guess that there have been other prisoners trapped here, but they weren't strong enough to escape.
        Finally, the grate snaps with a loud crack. I hold my breath, waiting for a reaction, but the camp is silent. I climb out and motion for Claudia to follow.
        We carefully sneak out of the camp and crouch in the underbrush. The only sound from the tents is soft snoring. I let out my breath and Claudia follows me deeper into the woods.
        The branches scratch my arms as I crawl through the jungle. My bare feet are bloodied from thorns. Claudia's hair is filled with dead leaves. We are a sorry sight. But we pull on.
        Finally, we come to the shore. The water is frigid, and it numbs the pain in my feet. The damp sand sticks to my wet legs as I lie down and attempt to sleep. But no sleep comes. I sit up and look around at the trees for any food. The only option for food I see is a coconut, so I cling tightly to a tree trunk and climb to the top.
        When I return with the coconut, Claudia is dragging a long stick out of the jungle. She already has two more on the sand.
        "What are you doing?" I ask.
        Claudia sighs and wipes her hands together. "I am going to build us a raft, Carlos, so we can get out of here."
        I nod approvingly and use a rock to crack open the coconut. The milk inside is warmer than the water, and I enjoy a small sip before handing it over to Claudia. She drinks some and eats a bit of the coconut meat. I'm full, so I save the coconut for our trip on the raft.
        I help Claudia drag sticks out of the rainforest. When we have enough, we work at tying them together with vines. Claudia ties the last knot and we push the raft into the sea. I watch as it rolls up and down with the waves.
        "Claudia?" I ask. There's no answer. Panicking, I look up into the trees. Her head pokes out of a cluster of leaves.
        "Here I am! Just getting a fig for our trip." She tosses a fig down to me and I put it in the coconut shell. When she comes back down, we tie the two halves of coconut shell together with a vine.
        "Are you ready?" Claudia asks, a serious look on her face. My jaw is set.
        "As ready as I'll ever be..." I answer. We climb onto the raft and I give it a final push with my feet.