The Escape

Jake Morrison's POV

Jake's shoulder burned where the bullet had touched him, but he ignored the pain and kept crawling through the dark hospital basement. He could hear Frank and the other killers looking for him upstairs, their heavy boots stomping across the floors above his head.

The fake blood pill from the old magic kit in his pocket had worked perfectly. When he'd heard his father's warning shout, Jake had bitten down on the capsule and fallen to the floor, faking to be shot.

In the chaos that followed, he'd rolled under a hospital bed and crawled to the stairs while the killers were distracted.

Now he had to find Maya and his dad before it was too late.

Jake pulled out his phone and tried calling Maya, but there was no service in the basement. The thick concrete walls stopped everything.

He needed to get back upstairs, but going through the main hospital would be suicide. Frank's men were everywhere, checking every room.

That's when Jake remembered something from his past. His grandpa had been the hospital's head engineer before he became a lawyer. As a kid, Jake had explored every inch of this building during boring family trips.

There was an old service tunnel that connected the basement to the upper floors. If he could find it, he might be able to reach his father's room without being seen.

Jake felt along the basement walls until he found a metal door marked "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY." The handle was rusty, but it turned.

Inside was a narrow tunnel with pipes running along the roof. Jake had to duck down as he moved through the dusty space, following the sound of water running through the pipes above.

After what felt like forever, he found another door. This one opened into a supply closet on the fourth floor, just three rooms away from where his father was living.

Jake listened carefully at the closet door. He could hear voices in the hallway, but they sounded far away.

He opened the door slowly and peeked out.

The hallway was empty, but he could see broken glass and bullet holes in the wall near his father's room. Emergency lights were still flashing, making everything look scary and strange.

Jake crept toward his father's room, staying close to the wall.

As he got closer, he heard whispering coming from the bathroom.

"We can't stay here much longer," Maya's voice said quietly. "They'll find us eventually."

"I know," his father answered. "But Jake is hurt. We have to help him."

Jake's heart felt warm despite all the danger. His father was okay, and so was Maya.

He tapped softly on the bathroom door. "Dad? Maya? It's me."

The door opened instantly, and Maya threw her arms around him.

"We thought you were dead!" she whispered, trying not to cry.

"Just some fake blood and good acting," Jake said, hugging her back. "Are you both okay?"

"Better now that you're here," his father said, but Jake could see worry in his eyes. "Son, we're in real trouble. They're not just trying to stop your cases. They're trying to kill our entire family."

"I know, Dad. But I think I know how to get us out of here."

Jake quickly explained about the service tubes. "If we can get back to the basement, there's another tunnel that goes to the old part of town. We can leave without them seeing us."

"What about the evidence?" Maya asked. "Your father says he has proof that could stop all of this."

Jake looked at his dad, confused. "What evidence?"

Thomas Morrison took a deep breath. "Son, there's something I never told you. For the past twenty years, I've been working quietly with the FBI."

Jake felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. "What?"

"After Judge Brennan threatened our family when you were little, I called the federal government. They asked me to stay in Millbrook and collect proof of the corruption."

"You've been a spy this whole time?"

"Not a spy exactly. More like a secret witness. Every payment, every cover-up, every crime - I documented all of it."

Maya grabbed Jake's arm. "Where is the evidence now?"

"Hidden in your old treehouse," Thomas said to Jake. "But they know about it now. Frank found the note I was writing."

Jake's mind raced. If the killers found that proof and destroyed it, Tommy and Danny would go to prison for crimes they didn't commit. Judge Brennan and his friends would keep controlling Millbrook forever.

"We have to get there first," Jake said.

"How? The treehouse is behind our old house, and they'll be watching it."

"Not if they think we're still trapped in the hospital."

Jake explained his plan quickly. They would use the tunnels to escape, but instead of running away, they would circle back to the house through the trees. While the killers were searching the hospital, Jake could climb the treehouse and grab the proof.

"That's too dangerous," Maya said. "What if it's a trap?"

"Everything's a trap now," Jake responded. "But we can't let them win."

Thomas grabbed his son's hand. "Jake, if something happens to me, you need to know something else. The blue folder I gave you last week wasn't the real proof."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a ruse. Fake papers to throw them off the trail. The real evidence includes photos of Judge Brennan meeting with drug dealers, recordings of Sheriff Morrison planning murders, and documents showing they've been poisoning the town's water supply for twenty years."

Jake felt sick. The corruption was even worse than he'd imagined.

"There's more," Thomas continued. "The evidence shows that Sarah Martinez wasn't killed because she saw them taking bribes. She was killed because she found out about the water poisoning. She was going to subject them to the news."

"And Danny?" "Danny saw them dumping toxic waste behind the plant. They framed him for arson to destroy his reputation as a witness."

Now Jake understood everything. This wasn't just about two court cases. It was about twenty years of organized murder and environmental crime.

"We have to get that evidence," Maya said firmly.

They left the bathroom and started moving toward the supply closet. Jake led the way, with Maya helping his father walk.

Just as they reached the closet, they heard Frank's voice echoing through the hospital speakers.

"Jake Morrison! I know you're still alive! You have thirty minutes to surrender, or we start killing innocent people!"

Jake's blood turned cold. They weren't just threatening him and his family anymore. They were threatening to hurt sick people who had nothing to do with this.

"We have to hurry," he said, opening the closet door.

They squeezed into the narrow space and Jake opened the tunnel opening. One by one, they crawled into the dusty tunnel.

As they made their way through the tunnel, Maya whispered, "Jake, what if the proof isn't there anymore? What if they already got to the treehouse?"

"Then we think of something else," Jake said, trying to sound more sure than he felt.

They reached the basement and Jake found the exit path he remembered from his childhood. It led to an old storm drain that opened into the woods behind the hospital.

Twenty minutes later, they exited from the drain into the cool night air. Jake could see lights flashing in the hospital windows as the killers continued their search.

"This way," Jake said, leading them through the trees toward his old neighborhood.

But as they got closer to his childhood home, Jake noticed something that made his heart sink.

Smoke was rising from the backyard.

Orange flames were dancing in the darkness.

"No," Jake whispered, beginning to run.

Through the woods, he could see the worst thing possible.

The treehouse was on fire.

Twenty years of proof was burning to ash while they watched.

But that wasn't the most frightening part.

Standing next to the burning treehouse, smiling as he watched the flames, was Judge Brennan himself.

And he wasn't alone.

At least six armed men circled the fire, all of them pointing their guns at the treehouse as if they expected someone to come climbing down.

"It's a trap," Maya breathed.

But before Jake could reply, something happened that changed everything.

A huge explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet.

Not from the treehouse.

From behind them.

Jake spun around and saw a huge flame rising from the direction they'd just come from.

The hospital was bursting.

"They're destroying everything," Thomas said, his voice full of fear. "Every piece of evidence, every witness, every connection to their crimes."

But then Jake heard something that made his blood freeze.

Screaming.

People yelling from inside the burning hospital.

Patients who couldn't leave.

Nurses who were trying to help them.

Innocent people who were about to die because of Judge Brennan's plan to cover up his crimes.

Jake looked at the burning treehouse, then at the exploding hospital, then at Maya and his father.

Everything they'd worked for was being destroyed.

But the worst part was just starting.

Judge Brennan's radio crackled in the distance, and Jake could hear his words clearly through the night air.

"Phase one complete. All proof destroyed. Now find the Santos family and the Whitfield boy. It's time to tie up the loose ends."

Jake realized with increasing terror that Tommy and Danny weren't safe.

Neither were Danny's little sisters.

The killers were going after everyone who knew the truth.

And Jake, Maya, and Thomas were the only ones who could stop them.