Escape

- Chapter 17 -

Clank.

My eyes open in alert and I sit up, wondering if that sound had come from my dream or real life.

Clank.

No, I’m sure that it’s coming from outside. Standing up, I spin around slowly and stupidly as if the noise will be a figure looming over me somewhere.

Clank.

My heart gradually speeds up as I keep looking around, wondering what in the world that noise is. I finally stop spinning after feeling dizziness. And then silence settles the noise. Is it my mind playing with me? I return to my bed, sitting carefully on the edge while my heart goes back to normal rhythm. Suddenly, I hear rustling noises, making me jolt my head towards the window that sits to my left side.

Clank.

I gulp, standing up. Slowly and cautiously, I walk towards my window. I’m sure the noise is coming from behind…

Clank.

Clank.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

With unreasonable thoughts of some kind of robber tossing knives at my window, my shaky hands quickly push the thin curtains aside, letting me spy someone currently sitting on the tree with their head down. I take a good look at the person, immediately recognizing his dirty blonde hair and bulging jaws. It’s Shawn.

He studies the tons of rocks that are in one of his palms. I watch him as he chooses a rock – probably the biggest rock – before shooting his head up and tossing the sharp block at my window without aiming which results in making that familiar clanking noise.

“What is he doing,” I mumble disbelievingly to myself, widening my eyes at the boyish figure sitting on the tree. I pick the duct tape out and push the window up, causing Shawn’s head to shoot in my direction. We stare at each other for a long moment before he frantically waves his arms around, causing his surrounding to rain rocks. It takes me a couple of seconds for my absent mind to register that he’s falling. Off the tree. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been quick on the act.

I stick my head out from my window and look down, relieved that he’s grabbed onto the branch before his whole body slings onto the grass which is about more than ten feet down. “What are you doing?” I yell, with my heart racing erratically because of the slow processing of my brain.

The branch wiggles as he swings his body back and forth, making weak leaves shed around him and water droplets to drip down from the current rain. I watch him in confusion – what is he trying to do? He finally grunts loudly, looking up at me to glare with narrow eyes. “You fucking scared the shit out of me Daisy!” he yells.

I wince, looking around to see if the neighbors are peering out their windows to see where that sudden yelling is coming from. “You scared me too,” I mumble.

His fingers turn white while they quiver and he uses his arm’s strength to haul his body up. I watch fascinatingly as his muscles becoming visible with veins bulging from his creamy skin. He wraps a leg around the tree and within a few seconds he’s safely settled on the tree, positioned like before. I watch him dumbfounded as he closes his eyes and leaning back on a different vertical branch, a terrifying look on his face as if he’s afraid he’d die if he had fallen. I can’t help but stare at his chest because it’s rising in and out quickly.

Suddenly his eyes pop open and his lips slowly part so he can speak. “Hi.”

It gets quiet for a moment. It’s hard to hear him and see him clearly with the rain pouring down, trying to wipe my vision. “Why are you – what are you even doing?” I stammer, hoping he hears me.