Chapter 52
Chapter Fifty-Two
Eva
The back of my head throbbed as I woke. Rubbing the spot, I felt a minor bump and remembered the horror of the live heart and lungs in the cooler. Nausea threatened at the memory, so I shut it down.
I remained still in bed, wallowing in my frightening situation.
What was wrong with these people? How could they farm organs like this?
A human life was precious. When I stared at those organs, a part of me sensed the fear rising inside me.
But another part felt the anger from those organs.
It was as though they looked back at me, scolding me with their disapproval.
Tears streamed down my face as I imagined a young Kain experiencing this horror. He was captured for five years. Five years of horrific trauma transformed a person. His solace was his tattoos and the will to survive. My heart swelled for him, loving him more and more.
I missed him so much. If I wanted to see him again, I had to get out of here.
Nerves swirled in my stomach, then slowly formed into a wave of courage.
Then I remembered the tools hidden in my socks and bolted to a sitting position.
Relief settled when I felt the tools were still there.
They weren’t tiny objects, so I had no idea why my body didn’t register them sooner.
Fear has a way of blinding your senses, making you focus only on certain things.
My stomach churned as I wondered who had brought me back to this room. Did the person see the tools?
The bathroom door opened, and Avery exited, walking to her bed and changing into a fresh shirt.
She heard me move, smiled, and walked over. “How you feeling?”
“I’m such a weakling.”
“You’re not. It’s a normal reaction.” She sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing a comforting hand on my arm. “You were in shock, and your blood pressure dropped, so you passed out.”
With Avery’s medical background, I wondered if she’d met people with weird phobias like me.
“Do you faint at the sight of blood? Many people do.”
I’d heard of hemophobia, but that wasn’t what I had.
“I have organophobia.” Embarrassment heated my cheeks.
“It started when I was seven and witnessed an attack at a park where a man’s gut spilled out of him.
I had nightmares for months. When my parents died the following year, that trauma made everything worse.
Especially when I learned how severely their bodies were damaged in the car accident .
. .” I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat.
“Just months after their deaths, I remembered waking up one night and walking in on my grandparents watching a surgery show on TV. I couldn’t look away when it showed a chest cavity with a beating heart. ”
“Oh gosh. That’s traumatic for you to see considering what you’ve experienced.”
“A few days later, I saw them watching a horror movie where a killer gutted his victims. Their organs spilled out of their bodies. Then the organs transformed into little monsters, murdering people.” I paused for a moment to breathe.
“TV exaggerates things, which didn’t help my young mind.
The loss of my parents solidified the phobia, making it harder to overcome. ”
“Grief takes a long time to heal. Nothing’s wrong with you.” She took my hand in hers. “We all have fears. Overcoming them strengthens us.”
“I had several nightmares about organs. One was about a bloody heart, a liver, and lungs popping out of a body and chasing me.” I laughed at the ridiculous dream that traumatized me. “In your studies, have you met people with different phobias?”
“Yes. Part of the healing process is facing it. Acknowledge what you fear and take steps to confront it.”
I released a loud sigh, feeling a lot better after talking with Avery.
“Did I get you and Hailey into trouble?”
“Surprisingly, no. Are you close with Tony?”
“No. Why?”
“He seems to be more lenient with you. He told us to let you rest and help you adjust until you’re ready. With others, we’d get a beating and no food or drink for two days. He also gave you the wooden seal right away. Hailey and I don’t even have it.”
Maybe Tony was close to his sister. Did she work for a different chapter?
“I’m not sure if he’s all there, you know?” I pointed to my head. “He’s called me by his sister’s name a few times.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s odd.”
“He’s strange and scary.” She stood up. “Are you ready to start again? We finished the initial batch already. The organs had to be transported out, but a new batch just arrived. Most of the organs have been packaged. Just two hearts are left. I came back to check on you to see if you were up.”
Just two hearts.
It must have taken inner strength and discernment for her to detach herself emotionally from the task.
“Those hearts were stolen from two living people,” I said.
The organs deserved respect and dignity. Perhaps I could give them that.
Rising to my feet, I gestured to the shirt she’d dropped on the floor. “What happened to your shirt?”
“I spilled some chemicals on it. Let’s go before we get into trouble. The organs need to be packaged quickly.”
As we made our way back to the packaging room, I wondered if Shawn had gone home yet. Did Kain receive those links? Did he understand what I was trying to tell him?
“Do you know what time it is?” I yawned.
“Last I checked, it’s two in the morning.”
“What?” My eyes widened. “Do they make everyone work all night long?”
“There’s a first and second shift, depending on the workload. Let’s finish this up, and we can sleep.”
“How long was I out?”
“Two hours. You bumped your head on a small crate. Does it still hurt?”
“It’s sore, but I can deal with it. Where’s Hailey?”
“They have her packing drugs.”
Hawthorne must be a billionaire serial killer with all this illegal income. We arrived at the same table. I saw Hailey standing at the other table with two boys.
With sweat filming my palms, I stood facing the cooler.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled and exhaled slowly.
My loved ones were waiting for me, so I had to be strong.
I slipped on gloves and a face mask and imagined Kain steeling himself to survive.
If he could endure this atrocious act for years, I could be strong for him.
Envisioning him beside me, I looked into the cooler and saw the heart.
Anxiety tugged as heat bloomed all over me.
Reaching in, I held the heart in my gloved palm and felt its weight and wetness.
For a moment, it felt as though I was holding a slab of meat.
My hand trembled as I stared at the tissues, arteries, and veins making up the heart.
Its symbolism pulsed in my palm, giving meaning to love, life, death, and all the things associated with the heart.
After staring at and studying it, the anxiety subsided. There was nothing terrifying about this organ that also existed in me. This heart was the machine that kept our bodies alive. I shouldn’t fear it. Instead, I should be grateful for it.
Thank you.
As I showed it gratitude, something shifted in my body.
I imagined Kain caressing my back, comforting me.
Feeling more at ease, I envisioned the heart transforming into a cartoon heart with an adorable face.
I didn’t know where that idea came from, but it released the heaviness weighing on me.
Following Avery’s directions, I placed it inside the specialized bag, which was then transferred into a sealed container.
Despite what had happened to the heart’s original owner, this heart was going to save another person. I assumed that was the reason for the sale. Whoever needed it was probably sick. Why else would they settle for this transplant method? I remembered my grandmother had waited for a heart too.
I said a silent prayer, blessing the new owner and hoping it would treat the new host well.
Avery showed me how to flush out the organ with a cold preservation solution to reduce the oxygen demand.
Then I placed the heart into a sterile bag with more preservation solution, sealed it, and put it into another bag to prevent contamination.
The bags went into a container filled with crushed ice and cold packs.
She helped me label the container with the organ type, blood type compatibility, and time of removal.
This information was on a printout that came with the cooler.
When I finished packing the second heart, my anxiety faded to a mere sliver.
I now understood how Kain and the others acclimated to this awful scenario.
They took it one step at a time. Eventually, the repetition eased them into a routine.
It was sad to think of it that way, but it was the path to survival.
After cleaning the work area, we gave the packages to two men who would transport them to where they needed to go.
Hailey joined us in the hallway. “A guard will lock the bedroom once we’re inside.”
As we walked back to our room, I passed another boiler room with the door left ajar. I couldn’t go to sleep, knowing the danger I was in. I had to find a way out of here. My thoughts wandered to MacGyver, hoping it could help me get out of here.
Once inside the bedroom, a guard swung by to lock it. I looked at Avery and Hailey, who stood around the front door, looking exhausted. Could I trust these girls? Would they come with me? But what if I failed? I’d get us all killed.
Despite that, a chance at survival was better than none, right?
“I’m going to wash up,” Avery said, heading to the shared bathroom.
“Wait.” I walked over to them and whispered, “Have you considered escaping?”
Avery and Hailey exchanged glances. “Of course we have, but we couldn’t figure out how. There are guards everywhere. But there are fewer of them at night.”
“What if we make a distraction?” I asked. “Something to draw them away from our room.”
“Like chaos?” Avery asked.
“Are you planning to escape tonight?” Hailey looked at me.
“I need to find a way out. The longer I stay here, the more I fear my courage will wane.” Reaching down to my socks, I pulled out a lighter. “I know of a way to distract them.”
“That’s why you hid the tools there,” Avery said. “When I helped put you onto the cot, I saw the tools but wasn’t sure what you were doing with them.”
“My grandfather is a MacGyver fan,” I said.
Avery looked at Hailey. “I want to go home too. You?”
Hailey nodded. “What can we do?”
“Cover for me. In case someone checks.” I threw a blanket over the pillows, pretending it was me sleeping. “I’ll start a fire in the boiler room, create an explosion. Be prepared to run. Do you know the closest way to the exit?”
“If we go into the delivery section, that should lead us out to the transportation route.”
My heart filled with hope and anxiety. “I’m not sure if it’s going to work, but I hope it will.
” I swallowed, pushing away all doubts that wanted to take over.
“Once I light the boiler room, I’ll come back to get you.
There’s going to be an explosion, but by then we’ll be heading to the delivery section.
Grab a weapon or something to defend yourself. ”
“How are you going to leave this room?” Hailey asked.
I held up two paperclips. “These little things are going to save us.”
We washed up in the bathroom, trying to keep the normal routine in case someone was listening from the outside.
Then we turned off the lights, leaving one small lamp on.
After a moment, I walked over to the door, pressing my ear against it.
Silence greeted me. My heart pounded as I looked at the old lock.
Avery and Hailey tiptoed over to stand by and watch me.
Maybe these guards were confident that their captives didn’t dare to escape. If they had updated this old lock to something electronic, I wouldn’t have known how to unlock it.
But I’d watched MacGyver open several locks with a paperclip, bobby pin, or credit card.
I straightened one end of the paperclip to form a pick and a tension wrench at the other end.
Inserting the wrench end into the bottom of the keyhole, I applied slight pressure in the direction in which the lock turned.
With the other paperclip, I placed the straight end into the keyhole and pushed up on the pins while keeping pressure with the wrench.
When I heard a click, joy burst within me.
I flicked a hopeful look at the girls who wanted to squeal but covered their mouths with their hands.
“Can I have your dirty shirt?” I asked Avery. “I need two of them.”
“Take mine too.” Hailey grabbed both shirts and gave them to me.
“Thanks. Hang out in bed and wait for me. I’ll be back.”
When they were in bed, I nudged the door open and waited.
When I didn’t hear anyone, I pushed the door open wider and peeked out.
No one was in sight. My heart pounded as I rushed over to the boiler room and saw oil stains like in the room Shawn was in.
I took out my lighter and lit the shirt smeared with chemicals.
Then I tossed it beside a stack of cardboard boxes, closed the door, and hurried to the boiler Shawn had tried to repair.
I repeated the steps and raced back to the bedroom, shutting the door.
Avery and Hailey rushed over to me.
“Everything okay?” Hailey asked.
Avery looked at me. “I don’t hear any—”
A loud boom shook the ground, followed by another.
An alarm blared through the area, and voices sounded out in the hallway. I cracked the door and saw smoke filling the hallway.
“Come on,” I said as we headed toward the delivery room.