Michelle paced back and forth, gnawing her lower lip. She had some very serious doubts as to what she could accomplish here; however, anything was better than going back to where she'd started out in this place. The walls seemed impossible to breach and until she knew a little more about what the odd sparks encircling her hands could do, she didn't want to try out her new power on real people who could hurt her.<br/><br/>The ditch seemed like her most obvious path.<br/><br/>With a sigh, she edged up to the mouth of the drainage passage. The iron grate that covered it proved very sturdy and set deeply into the stone that surrounded it. The slime trickled with a foul stink between her boots, nearly making her retch in revulsion. The girl had to do something about that first. She could think if she was struggling not to be sick...<br/><br/>Fabric proved much harder to tear without a starting weakness than it did in the movies, she realized as she yanked on the hem of her robe. She split one seam nearly up to her ribcage before she finally got a little nick in the silk that allowed her to tear off a long strip to knot over her mouth and nose. The thin cloth did very little, but at least it filtered out some of the smell.<br/><br/>She eyed the bars over the ditch, flicking her fingers indecisively. She obviously had some kind of power in her hands, but what could it do? There seemed to be no better way to find out than this. Furrowing her brow, the girl laid her palms delicately on the grating near the top; the bottom of the mesh was left open a few inches, perhaps to allow small debris to pass out of the tunnel. If she could loosen the top, she could hopefully pry the barrier free.<br/><br/>Michelle bit her already-raw lip and closed her eyes. She focused on something like heat in her hands, envisioning it flowing from her fingertips and into the cold iron. She yelped softly as sparks crackled from her hands, instantly blowing away the tops of the bars where they met the stone in a neat, half-inch wide slice. The sound alarmed the guards of the wall, who immediately began to move to investigate. She could hear their boots on stone and the hushed orders they exchanged.<br/><br/>She jerked the grate down and dove into the tunnel. It was tall enough for her to move forward while bent at the waist; there was no way she was going to crawl here! She heard voices behind her as she moved as fast as she could into the tight, black, foul space. Her breath was ragged, gagging pants as she forced herself onwards.<br/><br/>Twenty steps into the ditch, Michelle ran directly into a wall. She stopped, tears of frustration and revulsion soaking the ragged mask she wore. The guards were close behind her and she had no idea what to do now. Only the flickering sparks on her hands provided light, and that was too dim to show her anything but a stone ledge slicked in filth.