Six
Jackson worked to prepare himself to go aboveground. The dim glow of the oil lantern was all his eyes could take up close. He stared at it, ignoring the pain as he increased the amount of light it emitted.
When the pain became unbearable, he switched it off and spread out on the mattress, enjoying the darkness as he rested his eyes, only to repeat the process once the pain subsided enough for him to be able to think. Hours later, eyes stinging, tired, half-starved, he sensed dusk’s rapid approach.
He turned off the lantern before pulling the cord on the trap door. He stretched up to grab the end of the protruding ladder, pulled it down to ground level and tested the first few rungs to see if they would hold his weight.
He pocketed a pair of sunglasses, locked the door to his room,
