Stranger No Danger

Escaping, Part 1

I blinked my eyes open to the darkness of a cramped hotel room. 

What the hell am I doing here? I thought to myself in confusion. 

I slowly sat myself up on the bed I had been laying on, all of my muscles complaining from how sore they were. I groaned softly in discomfort and stared intensely at the wall, furrowing my brows in concentration to try and remember how I had even ended up in this location. My memory suddenly flooded back: my captor and her assistants, beating and restraining me, and then me losing consciousness. 

My heart started to pound as I surveyed the hotel room. Praying that none of my kidnappers were lurking in the shadows, I slowly inched myself off the bed and tiptoed towards the door. To my dismay I spotted in the gap under the door the silhouette of a figure in the dim yellow hallway lights. Someone was standing watch outside. Shit. 

I turned around and hesitantly walked over to the other side of the room where the soft glow of what were lights outside just barely illuminated the room. Thin curtains hung from the wall, draping over a set of doors leading out to a tiny balcony. I drew the curtains open as quietly as I could, exposing the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. I looked over my shoulder at the silhouette in front of the door again. 

Is this my only way to escape? I thought, fear coursing through my body. I gently squeezed the handle and pried the door open, silently praying to any and every holy entity in the universe that it wouldn't make a noise. Thankfully these doors had been either recently oiled or decided to shut up in respect of my situation.

I treaded carefully onto the three foot long balcony and stared out into the midnight darkness. Train tracks ran as far as I could see, with some lanes converging together and others coming to a stop while the rest traveled to my left and out of sight. There was definitely a train station nearby. 

I continued to survey my location. My breath hitched in my throat as I peered down, counting at least eight rooms under mine. Goddamnit. I searched frantically around my balcony, trying to figure out a way for me to descend over eight floors safely. I stared at all the balconies below, gripping the cold metal railing and becoming extremely aware of the clamminess of my hands. Was it even possible for me to climb down the building by the balconies of those other rooms? I shook my head to myself in disbelief, panic beginning to overwhelm me as I paced back and forth. It was then that I heard a soft whisper from my right.

"Hey, you!" the person hissed. "Are you okay?"

I peered around the concrete wall that was separating my balcony from theirs. "Who are you?" I whispered shakily.

"I'm a guest staying in the room next to you," the person responded. 

I moved over so I could see them better and came face to face with a young man who had been standing outside to enjoy the cool night air. 

"I heard some weird shit from the people you're staying with... are you okay, do you need help?" he asked.

I started trembling. "Yes, please help me," I replied quietly, tears welling up in my eyes. "I think I've been trafficked. I was minding my own business, and then this woman and a bunch of buff dudes showed up and beat me and I woke up in this room." 

I gestured my head over my shoulder back towards the room. "Someone's keeping watch right outside the door. I don't know how long they're keeping me here for, but I got to get out of here."

The man took a deep breath. "Shit. Should I call the cops?" He then shook his head. "Never mind, that's gonna take too much time and it'll make a scene. Do you know if these guys are armed?"

I didn't remember. "I don't know," I whispered. "But I wouldn't doubt it, they seemed really sketchy." 

Tears started falling from my eyes and I wiped them away quickly in embarrassment. The man offered a sympathetic expression.

"I'm gonna get you out of here," he whispered, gazing intently into my eyes. "I promise. Let me help you."

"Okay." My response was barely audible. I peered up at this stranger, praying that he wasn't somehow manipulating me and would actually help me. "How are we gonna do that?"

He surveyed both of our balconies and then at the ones directly below us. After a few seconds of deliberating, he reached towards my arms. I flinched instinctively back.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Didn't mean to startle you. I need you to come over to my balcony. We need to get down to the room under mine; I think there's guests there that can let us out. It's too dangerous to try and climb down using the railings." 

I nodded and climbed over to his side, his arms supporting mine. Thank god for that, I feel like jello, I thought to myself. I really hope I can trust this guy.

Once I was safely on his balcony, my apparent savior turned to me and explained the rest of his plan. "Okay, I'm gonna climb down and help you after. Are you good to do that?" 

I nodded. At this point my adrenaline was at its highest possible levels. I could feel my heart thud heavily in my throat, and my entire body was quivering in flight-or-fight response. I kept glancing back over at my room to see if my escape had been noticed.

Before I knew it, the guy had made his way down to the balcony below us and supported me as I- ungracefully- followed suit. The brightness of the lights in this room illuminated the balcony and I was finally able to get a good look at the stranger who was helping me. He appeared my age, possibly a few years older, and if I hadn't been in escape mode I would've paused to check him out more because he was quite attractive. Instead I turned my gaze towards the glass door of the room we had climbed down to.