Lucky Dog 1 translations 03 Bad Ending 05

Part 1: Prison

Chapter 3

No Light

We’re through preparing.  I can see the escape route, the way out of these walls.

It’s time to go through with the escape plan.

According to my biological clock, it’s 3AM.  I hop up from the mattress.  Time to get rolling.

All righty…

I approach the door and slip my hand through between the bars.  Lockpicks in hand, I stick them in the lock and tinker them around for a bit.

…Not even a minute goes by before the lock pops open.  As long as I have tools like these, locks don’t stand a chance.

I glide down the empty hallway.  Quietly.  Silent footsteps.

Well, you do have to consider the time of day.  The only thing I’d expect to hear is snoring from some cell down the hall.

I manage to reach Bernardo’s room, two cells down, and open his bars without anyone noticing.

Bernardo: You’ve kept me waiting, Honey.

Gian: I’m so happy you’re up, Darling.  …Let’s go.

Keeping banter down to a minimum, Bernardo and I hurry to the next destination.  With soft footsteps, we slink down the passageway and head towards the opposite row of cells facing the center.

Ivan: …Hey.

His expression’s a bit stiff.  Seems like he’s nervous.

Ivan’s the last one on this floor.  The three of us head down to the bottom floor.

On the way, we pass by a room with a prisoner sitting awake, but…

Ivan: …Make a sound and you’re dead.

Bernardo: Ciao.

…Ivan quickly threatens him and Bernardo passes on by with a shady smile.  Luckily, the man doesn’t make any loud noises.

Gian: Ivan, your footsteps are too loud.  Take off your shoes.

Ivan: Huh?  Tsk…

Looks like even Ivan knows that a single mistake can cost our lives in this situation.  He follows my order without a single protest.

We continue on quieter than before.  We safely make our way down the stairs and reach the first floor.

Luchino: Grazie.

Luchino slips through the open door.

Ivan: You take your shoes off too.  You’re probably gonna be really loud if you don’t.

Luchino:  Huh?  Oh, right…

Giulio’s room’s over there.  I lead the way since I have to open the lock and dash down the hall.

Suddenly, a small scream comes from somewhere, and I feel my insides freeze.  Without turning back, I keep moving on when two voices reach my ears.

Bernardo: Please be quiet…  If we make it out safely, everyone here will receive packs of smokes by the dozen.

Luchino: Once your sentences are over, come on over to our store.  The ladies will dust you off, head to toe.

The two of them hush the prisoners who’ve noticed our escape.  The others nearby can probably hear them too, since both their voices were relatively loud.

I hear them without listening as I fiddle with the keyhole to Giulio’s room.

Giulio: Signor Gian…  Thank you.

Ivan: No problem!  You’re the last one.

He wasn’t talking to you, Ivan.

Giulio quickly flicks a glance at Ivan before returning his gaze to me.  He steps into the hallway without a sound.  It’s at this time Luchino and Bernardo catch up.

It’s probably because more inmates are awake now than before, but there’s much more noise.  There’re some quiet conversations going on between the prisoners, but not a single person has raised his voice to call the guards.

Bernardo and Luchino’s offers and attempts at keeping them quiet seem to be working.

Gian: Looks like we’re all out without a hitch.

But … five grown men it really doesn’t lend to the atmosphere of sneaking and creeping.

Bernardo: Where are we heading to next?

Gian: This way…

I point towards our target destination with a thumb.  We hurry as quietly as we can down the passage.

Just a little further ahead is the door leading outside.  It’s not our destination, but it is a crucial checkpoint.

I spot a pillar with a large shadow that looks big enough to hide everyone and I herd everyone there.

Gian: Stop.  Quiet.

Ivan: Huh?  We’ve gotta—

Gian: The rounds should be coming.  So says my internal clock.

I shush them with a, “Shh,” and smirk.

That’s when I hear the sound of a door being opened.

Someone comes through the door and enters the hallway.

He starts walking in the direction opposite from where we’re hiding.  The even strides slowly quiet as he gets further away…  It’s a guard on patrol.

Just like the info said.  Thanks to that, we’d managed to get by.

Gian: Mm, just as expected.  Him being here right now means we’ve got smooth sailing ahead, as predicted.

Ivan: Should we just let him go like that?

Gian: We did roll up the blankets and set them on our beds in our place.  And, even if they do find out, we’ll still have time.

Luchino: And if one of those prisoners who saw us squeals?

Gian: Well, nothing we can do about that other than to hustle along.  …But, I feel like this’ll all work out somehow.

We start moving again with even more care than before.

If Flag for Tunnel Route, go to Tunnel Route.  If Flag for Morgue Route, go to Morgue Route.

We arrive at room 16.  It’s the room in the far corner.  I haven’t met him yet, but a guy named Owen is locked in here.

I swiftly open his door.  When I enter his room, the middle-aged man sleeping on the bed jerks awake.

So, this is Owen.

He’s looking over at us uneasily…  …Damn, he might start screaming.

Gian: Owen, you wanna meet Elena?

Owen: Huh?  How…?

I preempt Owen with his daughter’s name.

Gian: You just want to finish your sentence without a hitch, right?  Then all you’ve gotta do is look the other way.  When the guards come and ask, just say, ‘They threatened me, so I couldn’t do anything,’ and it’ll be all right.

Luchino: That’s how it is.  Just keep quiet for a spell, good sir.

At some point in time, Luchino’s approached the guy and slung his arm around his shoulder.  Owen still looks pretty uneasy, but he’s shut his mouth.

Gian: Owen … stay nice and quiet.  If you do, we won’t hurt you any.

He’s looking at us pretty suspiciously, but he still nods.

With that, I ignore Owen and start examining the stones paving the ground.

Gian: Should be around here…  Ah, here it is.  There’s a tunnel here.

I stick the thick piece of paper I’d prepared in between the bricks.

I use two pieces of ripped paper to pick out one of the stones with a small clink.

After that, I use my hand to take out stone after stone.

Under that is earth and an old wooden plank.  I remove the plank…

Ivan: Why is something like this…

…and underneath lies a black hole, gaping beneath us.  I can tell just from looking that it’s tall enough and deep enough for people to pass through.

Good.  Its condition hasn’t changed from before.

Gian: I wasn’t the one who dug this.  Some government guys made it long, long ago.  Maybe built it ‘cause they wanted an independent route in and out of the housing building?

Owen, who’d been sleeping on top of this tunnel the whole time, is repeatedly shaking his head in denial of any knowledge of this.  This’s probably the first time he’s heard about this.

The others are gazing down into the hole with exasperation and amazement.

Luchino: It doesn’t matter where it came from.  How did something like this get left here without getting destroyed?

Gian: ‘cause it was never discovered, of course.  Keeping track of confidential info’s pretty hard, so they probably lost track of it for some reason or another at some stage in the game.

Luchino: Seriously?  That’s pathetic.

Gian: It’s also ‘cause no one’s used it to escape before now.

Giulio: …?

Gian: It means that every last prisoner who’s known about this tunnel’s existence has decided to sit on it, leaving it unused.  You can keep it going for longer if you just use it for getting goods in and out, right?

To tell the truth, goods do come through here, though very rarely.  It doesn’t look like it’s been used in the past year, though.

An old gramps named Simon, who watches over the distribution of goods in this joint, had secretly told me about this tunnel.  He’d said it was his trump card for getting the absolutely necessary things in and out.

Gian: There’s another way to get out of here without using this.  …But don’t you think this hole is just perfectly suited for the escape of five grown men?

We’re lucky that no prison personnel’s discovered this tunnel and that no one’s used it to escape up until now.

If it were used once, there’s no question the security’ll find out about it.  Then they’ll probably fill it up.

It’s a shame to lose something like this, but it’s the best option I’ve got for such a difficult escape job.

…I’m gonna have to get Simon and the others a super gorgeous gift in return for throwing away their precious trump card like this…

Gian: We’ll save the rest of the story for later!  No time to spare!

If Flag 02 (Bernardo 3, Prisoner 3), then continue with escape.  If no Flag 02, then Bad Ending 05.

I didn’t get all the preparations underway, so the only source of light I have is a box of matches.  We’ll have to advance as carefully and as quickly as possible.

I scare Owen a bit and tell him to cover up for us after we go down.  Then I slide down the tunnel myself.

     

Even if I let the match burn to the very tip, the flame only lasts for a minute before extinguishing.

There’re wooden supports here and there, but the tunnel looks like it’s about to collapse in places.  The light is hardly reliable enough for walking over the rough ground.

There’s no sign of the air going stagnant, and the tunnel definitely goes through all the way, but the lack of oxygen is frightening.

It’s clearly in a much worse state than before, when I’d scouted it out upon hearing of it during my last imprisonment.

There’s just enough room on the thin path for one person to walk through at a time, so there’s no way we can make speed in this darkness.  We have to reach the end before sunrise…  …It doesn’t look promising.

The matches burn quickly.  It might just be in my mind, but the air’s getting worse than before.

We continue with slight irritation.  And then…

…at that moment, the match flame goes out.  I don’t know if it’s an earthquake or some portion collapsing, but the tunnel starts rocking.  I hear the sound of dirt crashing to the ground with a thud…

In the darkness, I feel someone behind me swivel around.  I hear him bump against the wall, and the sound of the wooden support falling.

Gian: No, don’t panic!

I raise my voice in an attempt to control them.

…Shit.  Just when I think that, it’s already too late.

The ceiling above us collapses.  An incredibly heavy weight crashes down onto my head, and I’m crushed by a huge amount of dirt and sand.

………

…I can’t move…  Can’t breathe…

Am I … gonna die like this…? I don’t feel as much pain as I expected. Gradually, my consciousness grows fainter and fainter.

There’s zero chance of anyone coming to save us.

This is the worst way for an escape to fail…

 

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