Chapter 5 - THE ESCAPE FROM THE ABYSSFor three days, a storm raged outside, masking the sound of metal scraping against stone. Using the steel pin of Clara’s crystal hair clip, Leo worked through the long hours, scraping away the rotted mortar surrounding the small drainage grate at the corner of his floor.
"You're a strange child, Leo," Croft whispered on the third night. "Where did you learn to feel the rhythm of people's bodies?"
"I lived in the coal tunnels beneath the city," Leo replied. "When you sit in the dark long enough, you feel the vibrations of the trains above. Everything in this world has a heartbeat. You just have to tune into it."
CLANK. The iron grate loosened. Below lay a storm pipe that emptied directly into the sea roaring beneath the cliffs.
Leo unbuckled his leg shackles using the pin. "Come with me, Doctor."
"No," Croft smiled sadly. "My time has passed. But take this." The old man handed him a crumpled piece of parchment covered in intricate diagrams of the nervous system. "This is my life's work. The Croft Frequency. Save the girl."
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Leo slid feet-first into the narrow pipe. He shot down the steep chute and was propelled out into the pitch-black night, falling fifty feet before slamming into the freezing ocean waves.
The violent current dragged him down, but Leo kicked his bare legs with everything he had left. He broke through the surface, gasping for air, and dragged his bruised body onto the sharp rocks of the shore. He was free, with twelve hours left before Clara was forced to sign over her inheritance.
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