After he passed a few meters, a dull thud resounded in the whole tunnel when the hatch locked up.

"Well, well, well," muttered Erilaz, sliding down into the complete darkness, "just in time..."

At that moment a grid with thick bars fell down from above, right behind his back.

"Shit!" he hissed.

Curling up his hands, he gasped nervously. The air inside the chute was so stuffy that Erilaz thought he's inhaling a handful of sand. At least the odour of burned corpses gave way to the smell of rotting food and wet cardboard. He put his legs together to minimalise the resistance and plummeted down the shaft.

Bruising against the walls and gaining speed with every meter, he shouted, "Move! Faster! The grid!"

"What?" responded Hefri. She was far ahead of him, and her voice sounded distorted and dull.

Another barricade locked up. Without looking back, Erilaz began to push himself off the walls. His heart sped up, pounding harder on his ribs. He breathed faster, but he still couldn't overcome the feeling of strangled lungs.

The dull thud resounded again. Another noise echoed a few seconds later. Erilaz inhaled the dense, dusty air to rush his friends but then Hefri shouted. A deep clunk reached his ears from below.

Hefri called again, panting and grunting, "Andvari! Watch out!"

"Wha..." Andvari wanted to respond but another bang deafened his voice.

Despite the complete darkness, Erilaz opened his eyes wider. A blow of fright pierced his nerves. His brain began to imagine the scenario, where he gets stuck in a cold, narrow pipe forever. He couldn't think about anything else because he slipped out of the chute. During the split-second, when he was in the air, he spread his arms and pulled one leg up. He came in contact with a hard, metal floor and rolled for a meter or two. As he stopped, every part of his body was in pain as if he had been hit with a bulldozer.

He opened his eyes. Red light on the ceiling blinked so weakly that he barely recognised silhouettes of his friends. Hefri lied on her side, clenching her fingers over her wounded leg. Andvari knelt next to her, staring at the ground and gasping harshly.

Erilaz felt a wet object on his wrist. He shook his hand, throwing off a slimy fruit peel. He raised his head and blinked as his eyes couldn't get used to weak but vivid light.

"Are you..." he asked, breathing with effort. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," muttered Hefri, gripping her leg tighter.

Andvari giggled noiselessly, still keeping his head low. "What's worse," he said, "landing in a container full of trash... or landing in an empty container?" He grunted and gripped his arm when another stream of itchy pain ran through his muscle tissue.

"What now?" asked Hefri.

Erilaz rubbed his eyes and sighed. The events from the last three or four minutes happened so fast that he couldn't tell where he was or why he came here. He depended on his instincts all this time, and he performed all actions mindlessly and without hesitation. Plans or purposes never crossed his mind. He charged forward, guided by adrenaline and his will to live. It detached him from the physical pain, bruises or wounds but now he began to feel the strained tendons, tensed muscles and bone-tired lungs.

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He raised his head and looked around. The container stood in a high but narrow room. There were a few hatches in the walls but thick grids covered each of them.

"Here." He pointed at a narrow slit. "I guess there are some rails under this container."

Underground containers were a common practice. Rails were frequently installed under them because it was easier to send them to the waste incineration plant. Each city and large facility had a rich underground infrastructure, so the streets could remain clean and free from hundreds of rubbish bins.

He shook his head and stood up. "Now. Jump." He trotted towards Hefri and grabbed her arm.

"Come on," he said. "We have to go."

"Wait a minute," muttered Andvari, nudging Erilaz's shoulder. "Tie this around my arm." He took his longsleeve off and shoved it into Erilaz's hands.

Erilaz nervously glanced around. "Fine."

He grabbed the shirt and wrapped it around Andvari's forearm. It took him only a few seconds since he didn't want to look at the ragged skin of his friend. The bare tissues caked with dried blood and large red stains all over Andvari's suit made him taste a sour saliva in his throat. Andvari endured it without a blink, staring blankly at the wall.

Erilaz nodded, tying the last knot. "Done." He turned towards Hefri. "Hefri, get up. We have to help Andvari."

She grunted affirmingly. Propping herself with her shaking hands, she stood up. When the machinery underneath hissed and grunted, she tensed her ears and looked around.

"Come on," whispered Erilaz. He bent over, twining his fingers in the shape of a basket.

Hefri trotted towards him and jumped. As Erilaz tossed her, she hissed with pain but she caught the edge of the container and climbed up. She stood on the rim, leaning her back against the wall to keep her balance.

"Andvari," called Erilaz, waving his hand in an urging gesture.

Andvari approached him. He took the same position, glancing suspiciously at Erilaz.

"Just be careful," he snarled.

Pretending that he didn't hear it, Erilaz stepped back. He hurtled at Andvari and sprung at his hands. Andvari gnashed his teeth and wrinkled his forehead, but he gave his friend a leg up with all his strength. Erilaz climbed up, and together with Hefri, they reached their hand towards Andvari. Gasping and grunting, Andvari took a run-up and leapt. Erilaz and Hefri hoisted him and together they slipped through a tiny slit.

They landed in a slot engulfed in complete darkness. After a few meters of squeezing through the space between the wall and the container, they reached an empty tunnel with rails on the floor. Small, red lamps gave some light every few meters and the only sound was a dull, monotonous echo. The faint smell of rotting food filled the already stuffy and suffocating air but a soft breeze blew from the depths of the tunnel.

"What now?" whispered Hefri, bending over during every shallow, heavy breath.

Erilaz sighed and narrowed his eyes. He didn't know if he can trust his senses and instincts as he did so far. His friends depended on him. His every mistake could cost them their life.

The sound of a muffled alarm gets these thoughts out of his head. The lamps began to flicker and the machinery rumbled again.

"Run, I guess," he hissed and charged towards a distant intersection.

Andvari and Hefri did the same. A dozen or so seconds later, a thick, massive grid slid out of the ceiling, locking the container behind them.

As the ear-splitting thud echoed in the tunnel, Erilaz glanced back. Shaking his head, he raised his eyebrows and mumbled, "Here we go again..."

They dashed out from the passage straight into a larger tunnel, still hearing the gates closing behind them. Three tracks criss-crossed the hall, and a closed container glided through the middle lane. Its clatter resounded in the tunnel, and when it passed Erilaz by, his hair heaved.

"It they didn't lock this way," he gasped out, "we have a chance to... climb on one of these containers...and..."

"Aren't they too fast?" asked Hefri. She looked at her leg, wincing with pain. A wet stream soaked her pants from the wound to the shoe. Every time she moved her leg, she just wanted to rip the shard out and throw it as far as possible.

Erilaz trotted down the ramp. He aimed his gun at the tracks and shot three times. Tiny sparks sprung around and three shallow hollows appeared on the metal rails.

"Now they should slow down for a moment," he said.

"Wow." Hefri smiled even though her eyes expressed only anguish. "Three correct shots in... almost total darkness."

"Let's lurk," whispered Erilaz and craned his neck to look deeper in the tunnel.

A few seconds later, the steady, metallic thuds resounded in the distance. Erilaz rubbed his hands and wiped them on his pants. He forced himself to smile. That comforted him slightly and let him focus on the task. His transport to freedom was approaching.