Mark's POV

My eyes widened and a grin formed on my face. "Jack!"

He didn't look toward me. He didn't so much as flinch.

"Mark, I already told you. The glass is one-way glass. He can't hear or see you," Thomas explained, almost in a sad voice.

"But," I felt hot tears begin to swell in my eyes, "but he's right there."

I watched Jack as he silently walked passed me in the crowd of prisoners. He had his head down, but I could see a bruise on the right side of his face.

"Why's he bruised?" I whispered.

"You're pretty bruised up yourself," Thomas replied. "Everything that's happened to Jack has happened to you. If you don't hurt too much, he's probably alright as well."

"Thomas, you never answered my question from before."

"Which one?" he asked.

"I asked you if your last name is Sanders."

A few seconds of silence followed as I watched Jack disappear behind a corner. "I can't tell you my full name–"

"I recognize your voice. I know it's you," I interrupted him.

Thomas sighed, "Don't forget that the glass will lift in a few hours. You have to walk to the cafeteria when that happens, or you won't get food." I silently nodded my head and walked back to the wall I had been chained to. "I'm going on lunch break, so I'll be back in a little while."

With that, the intercom shut off and I was left with my thoughts. I glanced at the timer on the wall. Zero eighteen.

Eighteen hours before the demon version of Percy was executed.

I sat against the wall and stared out the glass. A few prisoners were still making their way to the cafeteria. I hadn't seen Percy, so I assumed he was locked up somewhere else.

Then, an unavoidable thought crossed my mind: how the heck was I supposed to escape, let alone save Jack and Percy?

It didn't seem possible. As I'd been told by Thomas, the only time I was let out of my cell was for meals. To add, there were guards roaming the hallways.

I might've been able to find and talk to Jack in the cafeteria, but I didn't have the slightest clue where Percy was. Not to mention I only had eighteen hours to figure all of this out.

I needed a miracle.

As I was thinking, I heard the intercom turn on. "Mark? You alright?"

Thomas.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Well, other than the fact that literally everything that could've gone wrong is going wrong!" I screamed as I brought my knees to my chest and laid my head down on them.

"I personally believe that you need to have a bit more hope. You haven't been here for twenty-four hours and you're already giving up."

"I'm not giving up," I grumbled into my knees.

"What was that?"

"I'm not giving up!" I yelled, slightly annoyed. "I'm just pissed because nothing's going the way it's supposed to! I mean, I'm in the freaking Underworld! I should be back at my house with Dan, Phil, Felix, Cry, and Jack! We're supposed to be making YouTube videos of us fostering Reagan, Nate, and Percy! We should have been at that orphanage for a few hours at the most, not a few days! None of this is supposed to be happening!"

There were a few minutes of silence before Thomas answered, "Think of it like this: if you and your friends weren't going through this, someone else would have been."

I stayed quiet and let a tear run down my face. I just wanted everything to go back to normal.

I laid on my side and watched as prisoners began walking back to their cells. I searched the crowd of demons for Jack but didn't see him.

I sat up. "Thomas, was that everyone?"

"No? If you're looking for Jack, he usually comes at the end. He absolutely hates the person on the other end of his intercom," Thomas chuckled to himself.

I walked back toward the glass. "Who does Jack have to talk to?"

"It's just an annoying friend of mine. His name's Logan. He's kind of a know it all."

"Will I ever talk to Logan?"

"I'm not sure. I'll always be the person talking to you on this intercom, but you might see Logan in the cafeteria. Everyone who talks to the prisoners like this has to get their food from there unless they bring their own."

"Does that mean I could see you there?" I asked.

"Not likely. I typically bring my own food."

Before I could reply, I saw Jack walk around the corner. "Jack!" I screamed.

"He still can't hear–"

"Thomas, I'm sorry, but shut up!" I tried to think of something I could do. He couldn't hear or see me. I held my head in my left hand.

"Mark–" I pounded my fist on the glass.

Jack slowed down a bit and looked toward me. I whirled around to face the camera. "Thomas! I thought Jack couldn't hear me?!" I yelled, though I was smiling.

"He can't hear you talking or see you. I never said anything about you punching glass and him hearing it. Besides, no one informed me that someone would be desperate enough to do it."

"Hey! I'm not desperate!" I defended as I turned back to the glass and watched Jack.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Thomas joked.

Jack shook his head slightly, as if trying to clear it, and continued walking back to his cell. I thought about hitting the glass again, but decided against it.

"I can talk to other prisoners when I go to the cafeteria, right?" I asked.

Thomas thought for a minute before answering, "I guess there's no rule against it. Most people don't, though. Majority of the demons here just kind of hate everyone."

"That's a comforting thought," I grumbled to myself.

"Yeah, well, you are in the Underworld. What did you expect?" Thomas chuckled.

Thomas and I talked for a few more hours before he announced that I had to go to the cafeteria for dinner. I quickly glanced at the timer on the glass. Zero fourteen.

"Before I go to the cafeteria, can you tell me where Percy is?" I asked. "I haven't seen him walk passed."

"Since Percy's being executed, he isn't locked up in a cell like the rest of the prisoners are. I can't go into detail, but he's locked up somewhere else."

As the glass began to rise, I replied, "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem."

I smiled as the crowd of prisoners swarmed the hallway. I walked into the crowd and followed the other prisoners to the cafeteria.

It was relatively quiet. Besides our footsteps, only a few prisoners whispered to each other. I couldn't see anyone other than the few demons surrounding me.

I walked with the flow of people until the hallway expanded into a large room. Everyone walked off on their own, leaving me to marvel at the hugeness of it.

The room had to have been able to hold at least two thousand people. Tables were lined up in rows and there was an enormous buffet lining the right side.

A few people bumped into me, adults and children alike, as they raced toward the buffet. Seeing demons of all ages made me wonder what laws in the Underworld were like. The only one I knew for certain was that humans were prohibited.

Seeing that a line was forming at the buffet, I decided to go get food. I took a step toward the line when I realized I hadn't seen Jack.

I turned around to face the crowd swarming into the cafeteria. I peered over everyone entering, but didn't see him. I thought Jack was one of the first people to come for meals.

I slowly began to walk back in the direction of the cells. I pushed my way passed the crowd of prisoners, mumbling a few quick "sorry"s as I went.

It didn't take too long to weave my way through the crowd, but I wasn't sure where to find Jack.

I wandered through the hallway, passed my cell, and turned the corner Jack had. Immediately after I turned the corner, I saw a few straggling prisoners.

I put my hands in my jean pockets and walked toward them. I passed them and continued down the hallway, but stopped when I saw someone walk out of one of the cells. He was smiling brightly as he frantically peered around the hallway. He stopped when his eyes landed on me, and I felt tears come to my eyes just as they did to his.

"Mark!" he yelled.

"Jack?"

A/N

It occurs to me that people who don't know who Thomas Sanders is are probably pretty confused

HAHA W E L P

Idk guys if you don't know him just search him??

Logan is a reference to Thomas Sanders btw. He's one of Thomas' characters.

Anyways, BUH-BYE BROTATOES!