AS RESILIANT AS A COCKROACH

Michael murmured in a broken voice as he stared at his Uncle Drake's decapitated body on the floor. His mind rushed with emotions; he couldn't think straight. He didn't know whether to cry or scream. He fell to his knees, hands pushing into the mud mixed with blood, tears streaming down his cheeks. The pain was incomprehensible. He cried and screamed to the dungeon ceilings, venting his pain and anger.

"ELARA FLOXINIA, I WILL KILL YOU, EVEN IF I DIE DOING IT!"

Juli shivered as she heard Michael scream, but this wasn't the time to hesitate. She went to her knees and hugged him close to her chest, letting him release his pain. Michael held his father figure in his hands, cold and motionless. He stared at the creaks in the dungeon walls, remembering Mary, his father, and now his uncle. This forced his mind to one objective: to kill Elara. Juli, watching Michael in pain, remembered her Uncle John and the gruesome scene she had witnessed. She made a vow in her heart to show Elara true pain.

Michael broke away from Juli's hold, and she stood up at his side. Together, they said in resonance and sync, "I WILL KILL HER." They began to move around the dungeon, looking for weapons and anything that could help them.

Meanwhile, Elara, at the dungeon door with her guards, almost fell at the spine-shaking scream she heard. Hearing her name from Michael terrified her. She had made sure to erase the Floxinia family, believing she was the last one so she could claim the throne of Scotland and Britannia together. But now, she realized she might have missed someone.

"Guards, break those doors down and kill them all. I don't need them anymore. Just kill them. Have your fun and kill them."

The guards nodded in unison, grabbing a large pillar and smashing it into the dungeon door. When Michael and Juli heard the banging, they ignored it, focusing on using the torture devices to escape. They eyed the charcoal furnace, dried wood, and wet mud. Michael quickly formulated a plan and explained it to Juli.

"We will scatter the wood around, then heat up the furnace, and dig a deep tunnel as our escape route. Don't ask questions, just do it."

Michael and Juli began scattering dry wood around, digging a short tunnel, and heating up the furnace. This procedure took them two days. Their hands were rough with labor, and they fell to the floor in exhaustion, waking up on the third day to the sound of the guards at the second to last door.

Michael and Juli's hearts raced in fear, but they knew they couldn't falter. They stood their ground as another bang came, signaling the breaking of the final door. Elara and a group of fifty guards with weapons rushed in.

Juli froze, but Michael didn't. He ran straight to the furnace, grabbing the burning charcoal with his bare hands and throwing it around, igniting the dry wood. The fire crawled to the walls, making the whole dungeon flaming hot. But all Elara wanted was their death.

"KILL THEM ALL, MAKE THEM SUFFER!" she screamed.

The guards rushed through the fire, their metal armor protecting them. Michael's heart sank, but he wasn't going to let it happen. He dragged Juli, but an iron hammer smashed into his head, sending him to the ground. He looked up to see Juli's clothes being torn off, which woke him up. He kicked the legs of the guard, sending him to the floor. Four guards ganged up on him while the other four continued with Juli. 

Michael screamed, "ELARA FLOXINIA, DAUGHTER OF BEN FLOXINIA, I AM MICHAEL FLOXINIA, SON OF BEN FLOXINIA, AND I WON'T DIE HERE! NEITHER WILL JULI! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DIE!"

He picked up a spear from a fallen guard, smashed it into another guard's skull, and stabbed through his armor. As three guards tried to hold him down, he jumped off one guard's head and stabbed the others through their skulls. A guard behind him stabbed his thigh, but Juli, seeing this, cried and begged Elara, "Please don't kill him!"

Elara smiled at the sight of the almost naked Juli and the bleeding Michael. But Michael didn't stop. With the spear still in his thigh, he broke it, flexed all his muscles, and fired straight towards Elara, stabbing her through the shoulder. He then stabbed another guard through the eye. Juli, using her teeth, gnawed at the guard's genitals, forcing him to release her. She wiggled herself free, twisting her leg in the process.

There were still forty guards left. Michael took a big decision. He ran to Juli with the spear in his leg, held her close as the guards laughed and ran towards them. Elara wasn't smiling as she bled from her shoulder. She just wanted them dead, but as she saw Michael smirk, it felt like her life was about to crumble.

Michael tore his skin, revealing a sac of black powder.

Elara immediately recognized it. "FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

Michael threw the powder into the flames, causing a catastrophic explosion. The whole dungeon broke down, sending them underground into the short tunnel they had dug. Juli was unconscious, and the explosion had severely injured Michael. He vomited blood but couldn't stop now. He carried Juli with his shaking legs and hands, digging through the tunnel with his other hand until he fell through a hole into a familiar place. It was the tunnel he had built to get from Britannia to Scotland. He wanted to move more but collapsed to the ground, cold. He and Juli lay on the ground, holding one another.