Freaks

20(Continued)

Aster turns away from the door, a despaired gloom over her face, "Looks like I'm going with you. At midnight."

Malakai stands with impatience, "We need to get out."

"We can't—"

"Right now."

"Between them?"

He looks around the room, seeing every obstacle, "The window." He looks back at her, "We can break out."

"They'd hear us. We'd get caught before we could ever get through."

He stares at the ground with agitation, analyzing the ideas that cannot be followed through.

She huffs, leaning her shoulder on the door, "We need to escape when they try to shove us in a car before we leave for the plane...or jet...whatever it is."

He looks up at her, "I tried to do that when we left my house. It didn't go well."

"Because you didn't have me. And you weren't in a compacted neighborhood like we are now where you can take two steps and reach a house."

"Well, his car is in the garage this time."

"Even better. Gives us more time to get out quicker and run before they can."

"Okay. And we just stay here until midnight and hope that works?"

She nods, "It has to. We've done everything bad there is to do, what could be so hard about escaping from kidnappers?"

He thins out his lips, "You're being sarcastic."

She shrugs, "Not really."

"Are you thinking of some sort of mechanism to do this?"

She glances around the room, "Run."

"That's it?"

"We'll learn along the way."

He lets out a heavy breath, scratching the sides of his head. There's a sudden knock at the door, Aster strays away from it.

Raymond's deep voice comes from the door, "Bathroom? Either of you?"

Aster looks back at Malakai, he nods his head, "Yes." She says back at the door, "Both of us."

Raymond unlocks it and slowly opens it away from them, inch by inch with caution. He matches eyes with them as they gaze back with a perplexed face, then he opens it faster.

He puts his back against the door and focuses on their movements, "Easy." He warns.

Malakai walks steadily, grabbing Aster's hand as he passes her. Together they walk out of the door, Malakai gives no attentiveness to Paul but Aster does, only a glimpse, one full of hatred. The words are spoken through her eyes, "how dare you", and "shame on you".

They both reach Alice to the right who holds open the bathroom door with the desire for violence in the blackest parts of her eyes.

"I really would like to see you all suffer." She says, her head crooked, "Who do you think would die first?"

"Me." Aster emits, "I'd kill myself before I'd let you touch me."