Even in my delirious, semi-conscious state I'm still elated at my discovery. I distantly hear Blacksuits talking about me, saying things like "concussion", "broken nose" and "bruised ribs". But those words mean nothing to me. I feel invincible, despite the pain I'm in. I've discovered a way out of Furnace. Who would've thought the sight of a simple air vent would make me feel this good? It's perfect. More than large enough for me to crawl inside, and set in the wall rather than the ceiling so that I don't have to climb vertically upwards. The small voice of reason in my head is pointing out the many flaws in my plan, that in order to get to the surface the vent will need to go straight up at some point, that it might get narrower as I get further in, that it's so high on the wall I'll need to find a way to get up there in the first place, that somehow I'll have to get in it without being seen. But I wave those thoughts away. They're minor problems, and I can sort them out later when my head is more clear. For now, I just want to enjoy this victory while it lasts. I begin to laugh quietly, and a Blacksuit turns to look at me.

"He's awake," he said, sounding surprised. The other Blacksuit snorts.

"Not for long he's not." He snaps his fingers at a wheezer and points at me. The horrible, gas masked creature removes a filthy syringe from its long coat and walks towards me.

"No... don't..." I rasp. But the wheezer digs the needle into my arm and after a few seconds the effect of the drug sends me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I wake up groggily, feeling sorry for myself. My entire head hurts, my nose especially, and my chest and everything really is aching. My heart sinks as I remember the last time I was in this situation. I got put in the Hole for two days, and that was a first offence. I'm not sure I can survive any more time down there. But then I remember my escape route, and tell myself that no matter what punishment they give me, I will endure it. I'm so close to getting out of here, I can't give up now. A Blacksuit walks past my bed and looks at me.

"Oh. So you're awake now." I nod, trying to stay brave but dreading what's going to come next.

"Well? Get out of bed. You're fine now. Your nose is broken and you're probably concussed but you'll live. We've done what we can. Now get up and come with me." I get up, aching with every small movement I made. Larger movements were agony. I wanted to ask the Blacksuit how long I'd be in the Hole for but I was so scared I wasn't sure I really wanted to know. Obediently, I follow the Blacksuit out of the Infirmary.

However, the Blacksuit does not take me to the Hole as I'd been dreading. He simply led me back to my cell. I'm suspicious, wondering if this was part of some new, worse punishment. But then I remember what Jake said about punishments being completely random down here. I guess this time I just got lucky. I remain silent as the Blacksuit locks the door and behind me and walks away. Jake rises from his bunk.

"Scott!" He jumps off the bunk and runs to me. "I'm so sorry, Scott... I should have helped you..."

"It's fine," I say. "There was nothing you could've done anyway." He shakes his head.

"I could've gone and got a Blacksuit and told him what was going on... or distracted them so you could get away... or..."

"Yes, but then you'd be in trouble with the Skulls too," I reply, cutting him off. "You made the right decision." He hung his head.

"I thought you were dead," he said quietly. "You have no idea how awful I felt. I felt like it was my fault."

"No! You didn't lead them to me, or tell them where I was! It wasn't your fault. You've already spent 4 days in the Hole because of me, I don't blame you for not wanting anything like that to happen again."

"But..." he sighs. "I still should have done something."

"There was nothing you could've done. Remember, it doesn't matter what I do down here." I lower my voice to a whisper. "I'm getting out of here, so it doesn't matter who I piss off. You're staying behind though, if you get on the wrong side of the Skulls..."

"Are you still talking about this? After all that's happened, you still think you can get out?" Jake whispers back.

"Like I said before, I need to. I've got lucky with the Skulls twice, if they find me again they will kill me. Anyway," I lower my voice even more and look around furtively. "I think I know how I'm going to do it."

Jake stares at me. I hesitate, knowing I shouldn't involve him in this, but not wanting to make this attempt alone.

"It's not too late to change your mind. You can come with me... I don't know when I'll do it, but it'll be soon. Things are only gonna get worse for me from now on. I can't stay here much longer. Come with me, Jake. By the end of this week, we could both be out of here. We could be free. We'd get to see daylight again, get to eat proper food, sleep in proper beds, see our families..." I begin to sob quietly. I know I shouldn't be doing this, I should just respect the choice he's made and leave him out of this. But I have to try. "Please Jake. I don't want to do this alone. I'm... I'm scared. If I've messed up, if I've made one tiny mistake I am going to die a probably painful death. But if I stay I'm going to die too. I don't want to do this alone..." Jake is watching my breakdown, wide eyed, unsure what to say. I can see he's tempted. He wants to get out of here as much as I do. But unlike me, he doesn't believe it's possible. I shouldn't be forcing him to choose like this, but the presence of a friend would make it seem a lot less terrifying.

"Scott... I..." he shakes his head and sighs. "Don't do this." Out of all the responses I was expecting, this was not one.

"You don't understand... I have to! I've told you, I'll die... much longer in here and... I... I..." I stop talking, my emotions overflowing.

"You've been here for almost a month! In all that time... the Skulls have only caught you twice. I'll help you, I'll look out for them, stop them finding you..."

"I can't! I can't stay!"

"If you try to escape you will DIE!" Jake shouts. I go silent. Quiet, shy Jake never shouts. "You will die," he repeats more quietly. "I don't want you to die. Don't do this."

"But I'm dead anyway!" I mumble miserably. "At least this way I have a chance..."

"There's another way..."

"What other way?! There is no other way! One day, the Skulls will find me. They'll beat me up and this time I won't get saved by a lockdown or a Blacksuit. They will murder me. Look at my face!" I gesture angrily towards my broken, bruised face. "This is what happens when they find me. And I got lucky this time! If there hadn't been a Blacksuit, if he hadn't come over, I would be dead! Even if I do spend the rest of my life down here being saved by the Blacksuits, I'll end up in the Hole so many times I'll just go crazy! What part of it don't you understand? I'd appreciate if you came with me, but you don't have to. At the end of the day you still have a choice. I don't have that choice. I..."
"Scott!" Jake interrupts. "There's another way."

"Fine then, what's this "magical solution" you've come up with?" I snarl. Jake looks at me, thinking very carefully about his next words.

"There's more than one gang down here," he says. "They fight from time to time, but usually they don't mess with eachother too much. You could go to a rival gang, convince them to protect you... the Skulls wouldn't like it, but they'd accept it. You'd be safe. Nobody would come after you." I stare at him, unable to believe what he's saying.

"You think I should join a gang?!"

"No! You don't have to join them! Just convince them to protect you!"

"Why would they want to protect me? What have I got to offer them that would be worth it?!" Jake hesitates, then leans in.

"You know a way out of the prison," he says softly. "Down here, that's about the best thing anyone could ever offer."

"But I don't even know if it will work," I say. "There are so many problems with the plan... anything could go wrong, and if I end up getting one of them caught because my escape plan wasn't good enough..."

"Then you would have died anyway if you'd tried to escape that way," finishes Jake. "Think about it Scott. You're more likely to survive this way. Finish your escape plans. Go to a gang. Tell them you've got a way out and you'll tell them if they protect you from Kevin."

"So I've got three choices," I say miserably. "Escape and probably die trying. Get killed by the Skulls. Or live down here for the rest of my life as another gang's "pet"."

"Two of those involve you dying. One of those lets you live." Jake looks at me, then climbs back into bed. "I don't want to rush you, but you're going to have to decide quickly." Shaking, I crawl into bed. I spend the rest of the night awake, thinking about what I'm going to do.