16
O nce Caleb has left, I lean in to Nia. “We need to come up with a plan to get us out of here.”
“Believe me, I’ve tried, but those guards are always around and even if we did get outside, where would we go?”
“Then we have only one option, and that is to take them down. There are two of them, and two of us. There is a way, we just have to find it.”
Nia’s eyes flash with hope. “You really think we can get out of this?”
“I will die trying,” I vow, pushing to my feet and walking around the room.
It is a solid basement, mostly concrete and little else. But, there are a few things that we could use. The one window, for example, has been boarded up with wood. That wood is frail and could easily be pulled off. It’s not much, but it could be used to hit the guards, or even stab them if it came down to it. If we caught them off guard, there is a solid chance that we might be able to take them down. We just have to work together, and give it our all.
“Do the guards have any kind of routine?” I ask Nia, continuing my inspection of the room.
“Yeah, I mean, mostly. They come down once in the morning and once in the evening to give me water and something small to eat.”
That’s helpful.
“And it’s always just the two of them?”
Nia nods, pushing to her feet. She looks tired, and when she walks, it’s slow and steady. She has been in here too long, and her body is weak because of it. That means I’m going to do this, I will have to take most of the force. Nia can be a distraction, perhaps.
“What are you thinking?”
I turn to face her. “There isn’t much in this room, but there is enough that we can use to hopefully take the guards down long enough to run. See that wood covering the window,” I point to it and Nia turns, nodding. “We can use that to hit them.”
Nia walks over, running her fingers over it. “It’s still solid enough. It is moldy but hopefully not enough to break when used.”
“What do they feed you with?”
She thinks on it. “A small plate and a plastic water bottle.”
“Two things we can use. We will leave the water bottle full, for more impact. A good hit with one of them would hurt. The plate, is it plastic or glass?”
“Glass,” she offers.
Idiots.
“We’ll smash it, that could cause some serious damage. Between the two of us, I think we can do this.”
“I’m not very strong,” she admits, pursing her lips.
“I know, and I will do my best to take the force of the attack, but do you think you can give it your all?”
She nods. “I’ll die trying.”
I smile as she repeats my words.
“Good, then let’s come up with a plan and pray that it works. I know Wolfe will be looking for me, and I hope he catches onto this house being where we have been taken. Until then, we have to focus on getting out of here if we can. I’m not going to let Caleb kill you.”
Nia’s face pales. “Do you think that’s really his plan?”
I hate to admit to it to her, but unfortunately I do.
“You do,” she whispers, staring down at her hands.
“Listen,” I say, stepping closer and taking her hands in mine. “I will not let him hurt you. I promise you that.”
She gives me a smile, but I can see the fear in her eyes. She doesn’t believe me, which only makes me more determined to ensure her safety.
“I’m afraid,” she admits. “I don’t want to die.”
“I promise you I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
She nods, but I know how scared she is. Caleb told us what his plan is, and that plan doesn’t end with her alive. That thought must be crushing, even for the strongest person. It would instill a fear that is impossible to remove.
“Come on, help me get this wood off the window.”
A distraction is what we both need.
Together we go to the window and begin pulling at the wood. It’s a lot firmer than I first thought, and I’m going to need some kind of leverage to get it off. Something that I can hit it with, or pry it away. The nails are rusty, but it’s still holding strong considering how long it has been here. Biting my lip, I step back and glance around.
The basement has stairs, and on those stairs is a wooden railing. Walking over, I shake it, and while it is solid, I think I could kick it enough to break it. I could use that to get the wood off the window, or better yet, if I get a solid piece, I could just use the railing. Ordering Nia to step back, I kick the railing as hard as I can. It shakes and cracks, but it doesn’t break.
I’m determined.
Taking a breath, I kick it with everything I have, over and over, until finally the railing snaps. The cracking sound is exhilarating, and I reach forward, wiggling it and pulling until a piece breaks off. Turning towards Nia, I wave it at her. “This won’t feel nice.”
Her eyes widen and she walks over, staring at the piece of railing in my hand, its jagged edges making it even more lethal. With enough force, this could do a lot of damage. I could hit it over their heads, or worse, I could stab it into their bodies. I don’t want it to end with that kind of violence, but if they fight too hard, what choice will I have?
It's them or us.
“Do you think you can really do it? Hurt those men?” Nia asks, reaching for the railing and studying it.
I am trying not to think about it too much. I will do it, because I have to, but there is a big part of me that wishes above anything else that I didn’t have to hurt another person. Inside, it makes me feel no different to him, and it only solidifies what people have been saying my entire life – that I am just like him.
I’m not, though.
This is a matter of life and death, not an enjoyable hobby.
My father killed for enjoyment, for fun, for whatever other sick reason he had.
I’ll do my best not to take a life, but if it comes down to saving Nia and myself...I’ll do it.
I’ll do whatever it takes.
WE’RE READY.
At least, I think we are.
When the guards come down the next afternoon, we have everything in place. I want them distracted, and to do that, I get Nia to lie on the ground looking like she has passed out. The moment they open the door, I cry out that something is wrong with her, and they need to get help. I act frantic, yelling and screaming.
Nia has a piece of the railing tucked beneath her, and she will use it however she can. I’m going to use the smashed plate on the other guard. They really didn’t think things through when they decided to lock us down here. They didn’t consider that we might be able to use the items given to us to get out. Why would you give glass plates? Are they utterly insane?
Not to mention, they didn’t even notice the broken railing when they came down this morning. If you ask me, these two guards have better things to do and are only coming down here to feed us, no doubt with plenty of other things on their mind. That will work in our favor, because they won’t see this coming. At least, that’s what I’m hoping. They’re big men, and it is going to take everything within us to carry out this plan.
The guards act exactly how I anticipate, walking over to Nia, both of them staring down at her unconscious form. Using his boot, one of the guards actually slams it into her side. I wince inwardly, horrified. Nia, like the true warrior she is, doesn’t even flinch. I don’t know how, because that would have hurt, but I slowly release the breath I was holding and prepare my shard of glass.
"What's wrong with her?" one of them barks, eyeing Nia suspiciously.
"I don't know," I reply, my voice trembling with feigned panic. "She just collapsed. Something is wrong, you need to help her."
As they turn towards each other, quietly discussing a plan, I tighten my grip on the broken plate hidden behind my back. The moment they're not focused on me, I swing it with all my might, aiming for the nearest guard's head. The glass shatters, sending shards flying, and he staggers back, clutching his face as blood trickles from a wound in his head.
Nia springs into action, swinging the piece of railing at the other guard. Her strike lands with a sickening thud, and he grunts, momentarily stunned. She swings again, this time aiming for his knees, and he buckles, falling to the ground. Without so much as a pause, she pushes to her feet and swings the railing again, hitting him over and over.
She needs to get out of here.
"Run, Nia!" I shout, adrenaline surging through me as I lunge at the first guard, trying to keep him down. He's bleeding, disoriented, but not knocked out like I had hoped. I kick at his legs, desperate to keep him from regaining his balance.
Nia scrambles towards the stairs, but the second guard, though injured, grabs her ankle, pulling her back. She kicks wildly, her foot connecting with his jaw, and he releases her with a curse.
For a moment, it seems like we might actually make it. Nia is almost at the stairs, and I'm holding my own against the first guard. But then, with a roar of anger, he surges forward, slamming me against the wall. Pain explodes in my shoulder, and I cry out, my vision blurring.
Then he does it again, over and over, until darkness clouds my vision.
The second guard, recovering faster than either of us anticipated, lunges for Nia again. She swings the railing desperately, but he catches it, yanking it from her grasp. With a swift, brutal motion, he twists her arm behind her back, forcing her to her knees. She goes down, too weak to fight off a man his size, and my chest sinks as my vision blurs.
"No!" I croak, struggling against the guard pinning me, but it's no use. He's too strong, and I'm too weak, my earlier adrenaline fading into emptiness.
Nia's eyes meet mine, filled with fear and determination. "Do not give up," she mouths, just before they haul her toward the stairs.
Then, the guard drags her up the stairs. The man holding me hisses into my ear. “Stupid girl. You just made a very big mistake.”
With that, he drops me to the ground and my body slumps against the cold concrete beneath me. He disappears and the basement door slams shut, leaving me alone in the dim light, my heart heavy with disappointment. We were so close, and now I’ve put Nia in more danger because I don’t know what Caleb will do to her when he finds out.
Will he kill her now?
My eyes close and my brain spins as I slowly take myself down to a lying position. I’m certain I have a concussion after that attack. I don’t want to die here, and I don’t want Nia to die here, either. I have to get out, but that was my only chance and now it’s ruined. What have I done? Did I just make the biggest mistake I could?
Come on, Wolfe. Please be alive.
I’m relying on you now.
Please don’t be gone.
Please.