Evaluating the closed environment where Henry is currently, he discovers the entrance of a hatch to a conduit, which also has a folding ladder.
Tough there's one problem: his potential escape route is located on the roof and he won't be able to climb up on his own. Henry will need support.
Looking at her 'cell' mate, Stickmin manages to snap her out of her thoughts by making soft sounds so as not to alert the jailer, but loud enough for her to hear.
The woman exchanges glances between him and the ceiling, she understands Henry's plan. She nods in affirmation.
With great care and precision, the redhead lifts Henry into the air, who holds himself on to a damaged pipe with the shackles. Propelling his body forward, Henry manages to get inside the duct where he breaks the shackles to free his hands.
One less obstacle on the path to freedom.
Meanwhile, the young adult keeps her gaze fixed on the ceiling hoping the guy she helped a few moments ago will come back and rescue her. However, Henry provides no sign of his presence.
The lady becomes suspicious about Henry's intentions. Could it be he only used her to save his skin and leave her behind? Did he have the audacity to use such a low method?
Betrayal is never forgotten, and if that is the case then she will make Henry pay-
"Huh?" The redhead suddenly hears something coming from the ceiling. It's Henry!
Rolling upside down from the ladder, Henry extends his arms to pick up the young woman and lift her up alongside himself in one motion back into the shaft. All this happening without Grigori Olyat noticing.
"Thanks." Says the woman after breaking her shackles. "By the way, my name is Ellie. Ellie Rose."
Thus Henry and Ellie go through the section of the pipeline that will lead them to the next entrance.
The inmates emerge into another environment filled with sealed boxes of all sizes. Apparently it is a warehouse whose only entrance is blocked by a pair of guards, one carrying a weapon similar to a spear and the other wearing a hat.
Quickly, Henry and Ellie hide among the objects before the complex's workers of find out about their presence. Fortunately the guards are very busy talking to each other.
"We cannot stay on this site for long. We will be easy targets if they see us." Ellie whispers while she thinks about how to avoid the guards.
Henry seems to find the answer.
"…And I was like 'Look how much I care'. Heh, I didn't care. I buffed up my guys and did him seventy of damage." Heath Stone narrates about the latest participation on the online mobile game that he and his friend Isaac Binderson love so much.
Isaac laughs gracefully as he listens. "That's funny. Yeah, last night I deal with a similar deck-"
The spear guard doesn't finish his talk as something is thrown to his left. He and Stone take a quick look at what's in front of them.
"Hey, is that… a frog?" Asks the one with the hat.
"Hmm… I would rather say it's a toad. Yes, it is definitely a toad."
Before the guards start to wonder where the toad came from, the animal sends them a stare. Next, the toad generates a sort of cacophony similar to the noise of an engine from its own mind. In a matter of seconds Heath Stone and Isaac are trapped in the amphibian's hypnosis, a situation Henry and Ellie take advantage of to leave the warehouse.
"No idea what you did, but it worked. Well done!" The redhead congratulates her ally. Henry responds by giving a thumbs up in approval.
Jogging silently down the wide corridor of The Wall's cell blocks, the convicts reach the outskirts of another room. Through the bulletproof window Ellie finds three doors, two of which are elevator entrances.
Glancing up, at the second level of the cell block, the redhead spots another guard on alert in case an uneventful situation presents.
"If we could go up to the roof without that guy notices, we would reach the other side of the room and once there we would take an entrance."
Processing the redhead's comment, at the same time thinking of a solution, Henry reaches into his pocket rummaging around until he pulls out a small device.
GECK-ON WITH IT
"DARE TO CHALLENGE THE LAW OF GRAVITY AND CLIMB ON ANY SURFACE TURNED INTO A GECKO. DO NOT USE THE DEVICE IN AREAS WHERE NATURAL PREDATORS OF THE GECKO LIVE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR POSSIBLE DISAPPEARANCES."
-GADGET GABE. 2017–
Henry pulls Ellie up next to him and pushes the start button for the conversion process. The escaped convicts are transformed into a pair of geckos, albino and pink with red features respectively.
Without any setbacks, both manage to climb with their gecko paws until they reach the top of the structure. There, a small insect passes in front of Henry and he swallows it completely with his mouth.
It can be felt the transformation's effect is about to end shortly. Instantly the convicts return to their original human forms; Ellie turns around to find Henry chewing the insect he caught earlier with his teeth and then swallowing it.
The red-haired woman can't help but giggle.
Through an opening they enter the room. Ellie Rose descends to the ground like a professional thief would; on the other hand, Henry falls crashing against the room's tile.
After helping Stickmin to get on his feet, the convicts head to the entrance of one of the elevators, which is open. Henry contemplates the void with his eyes; he could go down by inflating a balloon but is very afraid that the article will not be able to support the combined weight of both.
There is the third door wich could lead them to another environment. Ellie carefully tries to pick the lock, however she is unsuccessful. The only option for the fugitives is to use the elevator that is operational.
If there's one valuable lesson Henry Stickmin has learned in recent years – in the hard way – it's that the most obvious way out isn't always the right one. Still he and Ellie decide to take a risk.
"Alright guys, lunch is on me." Ibrahm Jostlin speaks cheerfully as he and his group of friends prepare to get into the elevator and head to the cafeteria.
Jostlin turns his face to find a person.
"Hi guys," a woman greets them.
It's no other than Ellie, who disguised herself using the hat she stole from Heath Stone when she and Henry left the warehouse. Speaking of Henry, he is hidden inside a huge sack that Ellie is carrying.
Stickmin's new scheme consists in his friend pretending to be another employee who's heading into another part of the complex from wich later they would reach the outskirts and flee.
Deep inside the redhead wasn't very convinced with such plan, but she trusts Henry and is willing to collaborate no matter what as long as the main objective is achieved. Whether it works or not, she's going to find it out.
"Oh, hi miss. Come and pass, please."
"Thank you."
Ellie makes her way through the resort employees with her weight slung over her shoulders. Everything is going smoothly, to the astonishment of the redhead, and just when she is about to turn left…
"Hold on. Turn around." One of the guards, Travis Ump, orders the costumed woman.
Ellie's footsteps stop short. Both she and Henry feel an icy current run along their backs. Making a superhuman effort to maintain the composure, she turns around.
"Where are you going?"
"Umm…to the laundry."
"Is that so?" Travis Ump asks with a suspicious expression forming on his face.
"Umm… yes?" It's the answer Ellie can provide, who begins to give in to her nerves. What to say about Henry Stickmin inside the sack, the poor guy is sweating like a pig.
"Thanks goodness." The complex's guard says now relaxing his face. He then hands Ellie a black plastic bag. "Here, I need you to take this too. It's Sal Mann's uniform. The moron forgot to put it on last week and to top it off he didn't even bother to wash it. That's all, I don't want to take more time from you, such clothes doesn't wash themselves. Have a nice turn."
Finally the guards pays goodbye and walk away entering the elevator. Henry and Ellie can afford to breathe a deep sigh of relief; that was pretty close, next time they won't be lucky.
Now with the path clear, the inmates waste no more time and set out to find the door leading to the exit. Minutes later Henry Stickmin and Ellie Rose arrive at the lower area of the complex where a pier has been adapted to house a fancy cargo ship, plus a small inflatable boat and a parked rocket ship.
"We did it Henry, we're out now. We only have to pick one of those and we will be free."
Three potential escape routes, only one to choose from. Stickmin rubs the chin with the fingers of his right hand. After thinking for many seconds, he points his index finger at the ship.
"Alright then, the S.S. Annie will be then." Ellie says. "And how are we are going to get there?"
Another fair question, Henry pulls an old device out from a box. New idea.
"… do you know something about computers?" He asks his partner.
Sitting in front of his office desk, looking at the papers in front of him, Dimitri begins to fill out any form or document concerning to himself and to The Wall's staff. Nothing new when one gets used to the routine for five decades.
Suddenly a short ringing sound is heard coming from the computer. The complex's warden checks his computer where he finds an online message about a modern device that has just come on the market: an espresso machine with a gold cover and a portafilter handle made from African wood wich allows to keep the coffee warm if it is not going to be consumed at the moment.
Dimitri gets fascinated by the appearance of the product and the description enough to make him eager to buy the machine. Checking a little more, Warden Johannes Petrov reads the amount of $75,000.00, total price to pay for the item.
This information puts Dimitri uncomfortable, forcing himself to think about the matter thoroughly. Is he really going to spend a considerable portion of his workers' salaries for a coffee dispensing device that he, Grigori and the top brass are the only ones with accesos to it and which he maybe no longer won't use later in a few years?
"…Eh. Not everyone has the privilege of drinking espresso in the morning. They'll have to deal with it."
Finishing off with some clicks, Dimitri turns on the intercom.
"Да?"
"Captain Ugovitch, I have a mission for you…"
The loudspeakers of the S.S. Annie come to life as the captain's voice orders his crew to board immediately.
From where Henry and Ellie are hiding, they watch as the ship starts its engines, ready to sail.
"It worked! I can't believe the old creep actually did it!" Ellie Rose exclaims with glee. "Hurry! We have to go up there before the ship leave us behind!"
Neither short nor lazy, Henry Stickmin summons a blue penguin who – defying Nature's law – takes flight. The inmates hold on to each of the webbed feet as the bird soars.
Catching up with the ship, Henry and Ellie let go of the penguin, which ends up disappearing plummeting. Ellie lands safely, while Henry crashes on some wooden crates before falling down.
Both manage to successfully infiltrate inside the ship as they keep hiding inside one of the covered boats during the trip.
The next morning two people, representatives of the Espresso Slayers company, deliver the package to one of the S.S. Annie's crew member who goes back to set sail again anytime soon.
Thanking the purchase of the product, the representatives say goodbye and go to their transport only to find out the company van disappeared.
Elsewhere, away from the pier, Ellie is driving the truck with Henry as a co-driver. Both with triumphant smiles, and coffee in hand, are moving towards their next stop.
RANK: GHOST INMATES
And so this adventure begins. As you may notice I haven't placed any Fails wich characterize Henry Stickmin's games, I am not very creative in such aspect but I am open to suggestions.
With this, one ending is finished discarding the "Convict Allies"alternate route. There are three left to do.