Weeks passed, and the boy's slowly made progress on the tunnel. Laurence's muscles became more defined, and Garroth's muscular figure seemed to bulk up even more as they worked harder every day.

Eventually Laurence lost count of the days, they had a simple goal, and a way to achieve it, so they worked as hard as they could. Their food supply seemed to be getting slimmer by the day as well, as if the people in charge of the operation were trying to flush them out, but why?

Laurence struggled with this question so much that he could hardly sleep at night. He needed his sleep to keep up with their rigorous schedule.

Work,

Switch,

Eat,

Switch,

Work,

Switch,

Eat,

Sleep,

And repeat.

Laurence's body could hardly take it. He sat on Garroth's bed with his head resting on his hands, listening to the rhythmic chiseling of Garroth in the tunnels. They had made quite the tunnel, but to no avail.

Static started to come over the speakers, and Laurence jumped to his feet. The static continued, beginning to grow louder and louder. "Garroth!" Laurence called, screaming as loud as he could to let Garroth be able to hear him. The tunnel that they had made stretched for quite a while, and they started working on a few different pathways once they realized that they couldn't get past some particularly tough stone.

So far, they hadn't found a hint of dirt, only more and more cement. Soon enough, Laurence herd Garroth emerge from the tunnel. "What? What's going on?"

Suddenly, the static tuned into a deafening screech, like the kind a microphone would make except ten times louder. Garroth let out a scream as both the boys covered their ears. Laurence felt tears welling in his eyes and began to dig his nails into the side of his head in an effort to cover his ears harder.

Then silence once again.

Laurence waited a moment before removing his hands from his ears. He had never felt so grateful for silence.

A voice came over the speakers, making both of the boys jump.

"Greetings, gentleman." The voice began. "I don't know if you two have noticed, but we know everything that is going on in your cell. We are trying our best to help you escape, but you two are taking much too long."

It was a man's voice. Deep, chilling, and surprisingly cheerful. Laurence looked over at Garroth, who was standing frozen in place, mouth agape. "D-Dad?"

"In order to speed up the process, we are deciding to have the walls close in on your cell. Good luck boys!" The speaker cut off with s click.

Laurence and Garroth looked at each other with pure shock and horror.

The ground began to shake as the walls began to close in around them. "Go! Go! Go!" Laurence screamed, grabbing as much of the food as he could and dashing for the tunnels. His legs were wobbly from fear and the sudden movement.

Garroth did the same, grabbing food and a few of his paints before dashing ahead of Laurence and into the bathroom, disappearing into the tunnel. The walls were closing in faster now, but Laurence knew he would make it.

Until foot caught the edge of his bed post.

Laurence felt his heart beat faster than it ever had before as he saw the ground closing in on him. He slammed to the ground, scattering the food everywhere. "Laurence!" Garroth screamed as he watched in horror.

Laurence could feel warm blood trickle down from his nose into his mouth. The metallic taste was sickening. He sputtered and tried to get to his feet, only to collapse again. He knew he had been overworking himself. He saw Garroth trying to reach out to him, but his arms were too short to reach his friend. "Garroth.."

Suddenly Garroth's hand disappeared, only to reappear with the neck of Laurence's guitar in his hand. "Grab on! Go Laurence! I can't lose you!"

Tears were streaming down Garroth's face as he desperately reached for Laurence. His blue eyes once full of hope and happiness seemingly shattered in an instant.

Laurence reached out.

And he felt his hands grasp the wood of their makeshift pickax.

Garroth pulled him into the tunnels, just as the walls closed in behind them. Darkness covered the two of them like a blanket.

Laurence embraced Garroth as they sat there in the tunnel. Both hunched over, both crying, and both happy to be alive. "I could have lost you. You were almost gone... I couldn't live without you Laurence." Garroth stuttered between sobs.

"It's ok Garroth... I'm here. Were here together." Laurence's tears were silent, as always. He pulled away and reached up his hand to brush away one of Garroth's tears. He couldn't see Garroth, but it was easy to tell because of the little water droplets that were dripping down his cheeks.

Garroth ran his hand through Laurence's hair, stopping on the back of his head. Laurence relished the feeling of his warm touch. Garroth began to pull Laurence in.

Laurence leaned in as well, excepting another warm hug. Instead he was shocked to find Garroth's soft lips press into his.