I slid as quickly and quietly as I could, and I caught up with Lu around the first bend. I tried to slow myself down, but still I crashed into him, and he let out a quick “Ow!” I was going to remind him to be quiet when we were both immediately quiet. I was listening for other voices. They seemed to have stopped, but they quickly came back. I’m sure, OK, not that sure, that the voices were more excited or elevated or at least talking about us. They were talking about what they were going to do to us. OK, so I wasn’t sure of any of that, but we did hear the voices.

Chicken that I am, I felt safer with the four of us together even if I was the only adult and my companions were small boys who were more concerned about farting than getting out of here alive, and a small dog who looked like Toto and would protect us perhaps from a rat, but not much else. It was time to move.

I hurried to the end of the nothing, the end of my tunnel and screamed as loud as I could, “Li Lu!” as if a singsong, a call to the angels in the heavens. “Li Lu!” A frantic call from someone who didn’t like to regret actions, but was regretting actions. I just wanted things to be as they were only minutes ago, reunited with my boys. “Li Lu!” I sounded like a bad backup singer chanting and yelling as if possessed.