Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
My shoulders ache and my forearm muscles burn from the strain, but I keep sawing. I’ve dropped the knife several times and cut myself in my frenzy but not even that can deter me.
Even if I manage to get my hands loose, I won’t be free, but when the men come, I can at least surprise them. I’ll at least be able to fight.
And right now, that’s all I have.
But my knife blade isn’t exactly razor sharp and it’s so small in comparison to the thickness of the scratchy rope, plus my lack of leverage puts me at a major disadvantage.
Perching on my knees, I’ve been sawing for what feels like an eternity but I’ve only managed to break one of the strands. How many more until I’m free?
A flash of light flickers through the seam in the cellar door.
Moments later, thunder booms. I’ve always loved our mountain storms. Not just for their impressive show of power, but for the calm afterwards, the return to balance.
In the wilderness, they’re one of the biggest hazards.
One you can’t always prepare for. Getting caught in an electrical storm while exposed high up in the mountains is terrifying.
Sometimes all you can do is curl up small and pray until it passes.
But the storm isn’t my enemy now. And no fucking way am I just going to sit here hoping.
The knife slips from my grip and I cry out. Not again!
Despite the chill in this place, sweat trickles into my eyes as I wriggle and contort my body so I can try to find the knife in the darkness. I shift inch by inch, my fingertips snatching at the cold, gritty floor. A whimper rises up my throat. Where is it?
When I brush past the metal bars, panic floods my body. I keep working, shifting, groping in the dark. Where? Where? I turn just as another flash of lightning fills the cracks in the cellar door, giving me a split second of light.
Enough to illuminate my shiny silver blade resting out of reach on the other side of the bars.