Escape

Bored... Until She Comes

Sam had not gotten anything else to escape. She had not felt any need to eat. She had gotten bored of sailing little rafts made out of bread in the bucket of water. So of course, the only logical thing for her to do at this point was to sit in the corner on her sweatshirt.

Okay, maybe not. But that's what it felt like to her. She had fallen asleep, perhaps... One hour ago? Two hours? Sam lost track of time. The only thing to let her know if it was day or night was the light, which lit up more of the room when it was day. At night, the corners fell dark, and that's precisely why Sam chose that spot to sit down. She wasn't tired, rather, quite the opposite. Her mind was going faster than a running race car, but she couldn't entertain her self.

It was... Perhaps an hour, give or take a few minutes, when Sam started to move slightly. Then, she got up, finally, and looked around. With stiff legs, she walked over to the center. The water was clean as ever, all faint bread crumbs mysteriously gone. The bread was there, fresh and warm as ever, and finally the note. The note was something strange for sure. Sam dunked the tip in the water, but got the same results as the last time she tried. The note was still dry.

"I'm bored," Sam said out loud. She had started to voice her thoughts, mainly to keep her voice, as well as her sanity. The last thing she wanted was to be one of the crazies who spoke to random objects.

She began to pace the room. Up down. Around and around. Over and over.

'Maybe I will be insane.' 'Maybe I'll die here.' 'I don't think dying of boredom is a real thing. 'I suppose it could be.'

Sam walked, but as she did, she noticed something. First, she couldn't hear her self walk. It was as if the ground... The ground itself absorbed all noises.

Nothing, nothing, nothing... thump. Thump. Nothing, nothing...

Sam paused and turned. She began to pace over where she heard the sound. Something was there!

Silence. Thump thump. Thump. Thump.

Sam grabbed her screw and started to smash it against the ground. Suddenly, it gave away without warning.

"Hell yeah!" Cried Sam as she ripped the thin metal to the side. She almost threw it away in excitement, but caught herself and gently slid it to the center. That was something she could use.

In the small compartment under the floor, Sam found what looked to be a large box fastened with a clasp. She tried to break the lock, but she just didn't know how.

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Meanwhile...

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"Should we go ahead?" The man asked Alexa. She was gazing at a large screen, watching Sam attempted to break the lock.

"Daniel, as impatient as ever. Just wait, I told you I have faith in this one." She spoke the last six words sternly and Daniel stepped back ever so slightly.

"I understand, Alexa, but the list of ready participants are long. People are willing to do things like this to save humanity."

Alexa laughed.

"Humanity as we know it now, that is, Daniel. The humanity of the future, provided we survive this, won't need to be saved from anything."

Daniel looked baffled. "Alexa... What do you mean."

Alexa turned to him, but her eyes were focused on the clipboard in her hands. Several seconds later, her eyes met his grey ones.

"She's almost there." A phone in her other hand showed Sam's brain activity, and the wall-sized screen depicted her reaching for the metal.

"Daniel, pick one of the volunteers, please. Test #02 will be starting any minute now."

David stared at Alexa for a few moments, as he had a habit of doing, before nodding.

"That can be done. And by the way, you have a meeting with Mr. Copperfield in twenty minutes." Alexa waved at him as he left, not taking her eyes at the screen. Sam was almost there. And then, things would be interesting. Perhaps humanity was not doomed after all.

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Back in the room...

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Sam grabbed the piece of metal. Her attempts to break the lock were failing, as she could have expected. But another idea had come to her mind: Picking the lock. She used the screw to pound the weak metal into a needle-thin shape. Carefully, she put it in the keyhole of the lock and pushed. Nothing. She shifted it a little bit up and to the right, then tried again. Still nothing. After moving it to the left, she felt something. Carefully, she pushed it in and heard a click.

"Yes..." She whispered, hissing the end of the word. She removed the lock and swung open the top.

Inside lay two things. Number one, a long coil of twine. Number two, another note. But this one had three words instead of just one. Sam read it a few times, puzzled, before she said it out loud.

"Enjoy the company."

Suddenly, Sam began to feel a bit... Fuzzy. Then, a splitting pain erupted in her head, and she passed out.

It was dark. Peacefully dark. Sam tried to open her eyes, but they refused. With a huge effort, she pried her eyelids open. she was still in the room. Still on the ground next to the box. Still holding the note. But one thing had changed, Sam realized, as she stood up and looked around.

A girl wearing a green shirt with purple jeans sat in the corner of the room, nervously fiddling with a bracelet. She got up, inching her back up the wall, and Sam realized she was just one inch higher than this new girl.

"Where am I?" Asked the girl. her faced showed confusion but her eyes showed fear. Sam slowly approached.

'It's okay. I'm Sam, what's your name?"

"Linda." The girl muttered, looking at Sam.

Sam smiled, glad she was not alone.

"Well, welcome to... Wherever the hell we are. Nice to have you."

Sam had a feeling she wouldn't be bored again... Not now that she had a friend with her.

Rule two of this place: Never succumb to insanity.