Brent's heart pounded against his chest as he peered around the back of the large stand-out closet. It was still there, the one escape route in the room.

Mel noticed Brent was taken up with something. "Brent? What's going on? What do you see?"

Brent couldn't speak, he could only motion with his hand for Mel to come over. Mel's eyes followed the path that Brent's made. He gasped when he saw it.

"A vent!" he exclaimed.

Brent quickly put his hand over Mel's mouth and put his finger to his lips. "Yes, a vent!" he whispered. "But you've gotta be quiet about it, because I don't think you want everyone else knowing."

Mel nodded as Brent removed his hand. "How do we move this thing, though. It must way at least a ton."

Brent shook his head. "No, we can move it. We've just got to think...think," his voice trailed off. He thought for a few moments before replying. "Dude, we have no choice. We have to slide this thing enough to the point where we can open the vent."

Mel's eyes hardened as he set his jaw. "Yeah, it's the only way."

Mel & Brent both got on the left side of the closet and pushed. They pushed with all their might and with everything in their being, they thought they could move mountains...they closet moved an inch, and with a loud squeak.

Brent wiped off his forehead. "OK, now to plan B."

"And that would be?"

Make yourself as small as possible and try and squeeze through the space between the closet and the wall."

"How are we going to get the vent open, though? We have no room!" Mel countered.

"Look, we'll worry about that when we get there. Now come on!" Brent said, flattening himself against the wall and slowly sliding against it. The space was just large enough for him to fit his body in. Mel slowly followed.

Soon, they stood over the vent. They looked down. The vent was lighted by some blue light. Brent kicked the vent as hard as he could. Miraculously, the vent cover loosened. Mel then kicked it. The vent cover fell. Mel & Brent looked at each other. Escape was at hand.

Shannon walked down the street. The evening sun beamed straight in front of her, causing her to have to shade her eyes. She had left the hospital a few minutes ago, having visited Jessica, and was making her way back to the dorm.

"Walk fast and it will go away," she thought to herself. She was feeling sick. Walk fast and it will go away...walk fast. It never went away.

"Shannon? Shannon! Are you OK?" Sharon ran up to Shannon. Her brow was furrowed, worry lines creased her forehead.

Shannon smiled up at Sharon faintly. "I'm fine, just have a little upset stomach. What's up?"

"I'm looking for Meredith, but I haven't seen her," she paused to take another look at Shannon. "I could walk back to the dorm with you, though."

Shannon waved Sharon away. "No, I'm fine. I'm fine. You go find Meredith. I'll go find something to take."

Sharon's worried look did not fade. "Well, OK...but if you start feeling worse you let someone know!"

Shannon again tried to smile. "Yes, mother."

Sharon smiled and walked away towards the beach. Shannon turned around and began walking towards the dorm again. She tried to walk fast, but it didn't work. She stumbled and fell and cried out in pain.

A young man ran over to her. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." her voice stopped sharply when she looked up and saw the face. Her eyes went wide and her heart raced. "You..."

A sly look of knowledge entered the boy's face. "Well, well, if it isn't Shannon Freemont. I've been looking for you. I think we need to have a little talk, and now seems as good of a time as any."

Meredith strolled down the beach happily, waving her hands in the air and allowing her dress to flap in the wind. The waters coming onto the sand were rather large, courtesy of a tropical storm that had been churning up the waters and was now making its way into Florida. But that was far away, and not a part of Meredith's blissful thoughts. She smiled into the glistening water, filled with the setting sun's golden-red reflection. Sea gulls called and sang in the air, some landing on the golden sands of the beach to rest before taking off again into their paced, rhythmic flight.

Meredith crested a small hill and stopped short. She caught her breath. Sitting on a small sand dune was a young man, perhaps 16 or 17 years old and of Asian descent, facing in the other direction. His black hair was tossled in the sea breeze. Meredith sat watching him. Almost as if he knew she were, the young man turned around and looked at her. For a long while, the two just looked at each other. Finally, Meredith's gaze faltered and she looked away.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. You just looked so much like a part of the sand and the sea and the sky that I felt like I was looking at the sand and the sea and the sky themselves," Meredith said, her voice soft.

The young man smiled. "No problem. I often find myself doing that same thing." He paused. He looked at her a while more. "Do I know you?"

"I don't think so. I'm Meredith Coe," Meredith said kindly. She smiled at him.

"Mark Kwan," he replied, still smiling.

Meredith's heart beat faster. "Why?," she wondered. "It's not as if...as if...I like him...do I?"

"Go away and leave me alone," Shannon whispered fiercely.

Jakoby laughed, revealing a set of straight white teeth. "No, no. That wouldn't be fun. You see, Shannon, when someone has the information on you that I have, they don't just 'go away and leave you alone'."

"What do you want then, hmm?" Shannon got up and yelled. "You want me to get up and kiss your behind and tell you that I'll do whatever you say, because I'm not going to do that!" Shannon shot out, her eyes blazing a threatening fire.

Jakoby swatted off an evening fly from his smooth dark brown skin. "No one asked you to do that. I just think we should discuss your...problems."

"Look, my problems are just that...my problems. Nobody asked you to come up in here and take them over, understand?"

"Really, you must work on your temper, Shannon. Here I am sitting here trying to help you and you try and tear my eyes out. Is that any way you treat a friend?"

"You are not my friend," Shannon responded quickly. "And if all you're going to do is sit up here and have that little snotty attitude, then I've leaving, because I have places to be and things to do."

"Oh, that you do, I'm sure. But just understand this, Shannon: you cannot run away from me or the things that you're dealing with. Both of us will always be here, knowing what you've done and the consequences you'll have to pay. Even if we're gone, you'll know we're there, sitting, thinking about you. Just know that you'll never be free of it. Never," Jakoby said fiercely, still smiling though, and walked off.

Shannon was so mad she wanted to spit. But whether she wanted to admit it or not, she knew he was right.

Sharon came running down the beach to meet Meredith. Meredith & Mark had been sitting on the sand dune, talking about life and life's problems and life's joys and life's situations. Two strangers had met and been bonded by one thing: their appreciation for nature and beautiful things. It had opened a world of communication between the two.

"Meredith!" Sharon called. "Come on, I've been looking for you!"

Meredith turned around and looked at Sharon with shining eyes. Sharon stopped and looked at Meredith. "What's going on here?"

Meredith got up, grabbed Sharon's hand, and dragged her over to Mark. "Mark, this is my friend Sharon Redmont. Sharon, this is Mark Kwan."

Sharon shook Mark's hand blankly, still confused. Meredith laughed. "No need for the shocked look, Sharon. I just met Mark, and it turns out that we have so much in common."

Mark laughed and Sharon just looked at Meredith. "Um, ok. That's great," she said with less-than-joyous-emphasis.

"Hey, Meredith, I've got to head back up to the dorms. It's beginning to get late, so I'll see you around," Mark got up and brushed the sand off of him.

Meredith smiled. "OK, see you soon."

As soon as Mark was out of hearing range, Sharon turned on Meredith. "What is going on here? Do you...you know," Sharon hesitated.

"If you're asking if I like him, then the answer is yes," Meredith replied brightly. "I told you, we're so much alike it's almost scary. But I really like him, he's a really nice boy. He's got so many bright ideas and ambitions. He seems like the perfect guy."

If only that were all there was to it.

Brent slowly slid down the wall, letting his legs trail out to the side, not backwards. Mel's eyes lighted up as he began to understand Brent's plan. He began to do the same.

Brent slowly and quietly crawled into the small vent. He could barely fit. Air blasted his face, making him squint and his eyes tear. Mel followed behind him. They slowly crawled , slithering like snakes in a blue metal jungle. There were small barred openings on the sides of the vents, and some on the bottom, that let air through. They could see an underground floor, a floor that Brent had never known to be there. They crawled on.

Brent crawled around a bend in the vent. He sighted the end of the vent. He relayed it to Mel.

Mel took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go."

The two silently and smoothly snaked through the rest of the vent, and reached the end. Brent quietly pushed the vent cover out. He crawled out, and was in a familiar hallway. Mel did the same, brushing himself off and looking around. Mel put the vent covering back in place, and began walking with Brent.

"This cannot be real. I must be still in a dream stuck in that black room," Mel laughed. "I mean, after all of that..." as he turned the corner he bumped into something. He looked up, and it made him jump back. It was Mr. X.

"Well, if it isn't the two little boys who didn't know how to keep their suspicious little behinds out of trouble. How're you doing, boys?" he laughed, his great big bellly jiggling up and down, making Mel choke down a laugh.

Brent remained silent. His eyes were locked with Mr. X's sunglasses. He finally spoke up. "We won't cause trouble, Mr. X. No one will know about the secret room. We promise."

Mr. X. laughed. "I wish I could believe that, I really do. But you see, I know what little kids are like. They never can keep their mouth shut. But let's just say for now, going against the odds, that you do keep your word. You can go, but if I ever even hear the slightest whisper about that room, I will come looking for you and you can expect severe consequences. Understood?"

Brent & Mel nodded. Mr. X. smiled and walked off, his huge, towering figure silhoutted against the setting sun.

Brent & Mel breathed, almost as if for the first time. "Man, that was close," Brent breathed, wiping his much-perspired forehead off.

"It sure was. But I'm not giving up that easily," Mel said with conviction.

Brent looked at Mel as if he were looking at a fool. "You must have a screw loose up there...no make it two. Did you not hear him say he'll come looking for us if we talk about the secret room?"

"I won't talk about it. But I'm not going to just let it go like nothing happened. I'm going to find out what that room was and what's so important about it."

Brent shrugged. "Whatever. I have other things to do. Wanna head down to Jax's? I hear they have a burger special going on."

"Sure," Mel replied, walking down the hallway with Brent. The adventure was over, the drama over. Everything was back to normal...for now.

Post your thoughts of today's episode in The Forum!

Go Interactive!