Chapter six: No escape

The rumble in the cave slowly subsided, but the dust it had stirred up still lingered in the air. Max and William stood in stunned silence, staring at the gap that had suddenly split the floor beneath them. The ground between them was gone—broken into jagged rocks, now scattered and impossible to navigate.

"Great. Just great," Max muttered, surveying their new prison. He tried to step toward the gap, but his injured leg buckled, sending him back to one knee. He grimaced, clutching at his side for support.

William was already looking for any way to cross the widening chasm. His eyes scanned the cave walls—nothing but sharp rock and crumbling stone. It was all starting to feel too familiar. The pressure, the suffocating silence. The feeling that they were trapped here, that they had nowhere to go.

"I'll get across," William said, shaking his head to clear the dizziness that threatened to overtake him. He stepped forward, trying to find some way to bridge the gap. The rocks were large, and it was clear they couldn't simply be moved. He tried to push one of the stones with all his strength, but it didn't budge. The rubble was too heavy, too solid.

Max, struggling to stand, hobbled over to the edge of his platform, then turned to face the opposite side. "We'll need to find something—anything to get through this. There has to be another way."

William's chest tightened, a knot forming in his stomach. "But there isn't, is there? No matter how hard we try, these rocks won't move."

Max paused, rubbing his face with one hand. "You're right." His voice dropped into a grim murmur. "It's as if the cave wants to keep us here."

There was a long silence as the two of them looked at the gap between them. It was impossible. Even with all their strength, there was no way to lift the heavy rocks that separated them, no way to cross the chasm. They were stuck in a dead end.

"Maybe we missed something. Maybe there's another way out we haven't found yet," William said, though the uncertainty in his voice betrayed his own doubt.

Max didn't respond at first, too busy trying to push another stone, his hands shaking with the effort. Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh. "Doesn't matter. This place is sealed up tighter than a vault."

William's eyes darted around again, searching for anything that could give them a hint. The walls were slick with moisture, the crystals embedded in the stone offering little illumination. It was clear the cave was old—ancient, even—but there was no sign of a way forward. Just jagged rocks and the oppressive weight of the cave pressing down on them.

"I don't get it," William said, stepping back and wiping sweat from his brow. "We were just fighting for our lives, and now we're stuck. There's no escape."

Max clenched his fists, looking up at the ceiling. "Maybe... maybe this is part of the test." He winced as he straightened up, his face pale from exhaustion. "If we can't get out on our own, then we're stuck here—until the Catalyst decides we've proven ourselves, I guess."

William's stomach churned at the thought, but he didn't have the energy to argue. They were trapped. That much was clear. There was no way forward, no way out, and whatever the Catalyst had in store for them next… they weren't ready for it.

"Great," William said with a bitter laugh. "So we just wait then?"

Max didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stared at the rocks, his eyes narrowing as if trying to see something they couldn't. The silence in the cave was suffocating, and it only deepened the feeling of hopelessness settling over them.

"We can't wait," Max muttered, frustration seeping into his voice. "We'll find a way out. We just have to keep looking. There has to be a way."

But for now, they were stuck.

Trapped.