Escape

Lost

After erasing any trace of my foot prints, I begin thinking about the riddle that I found as I walk deeper into the jungle. At first it made sense, follow the water... but I didn't realize that there was going to be a whole fucking river, a few drops okay, a small stream manageable, a raging river that looks like it goes on forever? What am I supposed to do with that, how long am I supposed to follow it, is it more dangerous than the situation I was in before up in the cell. Where do I even begin to find clues? Taking a deep breath I think about what my therapist used to say to me. Take life one step at a time.

Okay so I was kidnapped, let's start there. I was kidnapped but I really had no idea why. I am an up and coming author in New York City but I was not famous nor did I really have money yet, my adoptive parents did though. But unless my kidnappers did a lot and I mean a lot of deep diving there's no way of even knowing that we're related. 

My relationship with my parents has become strained in the last few years due to me moving from the safetly of the manor to the grimy New York City. For months we argued about me moving to peruse a career in writing and being a creative and my parents just wanted to buy a publishing house and have my books published. But I was tired of them just solving all of my problems, I needed to have something of my own. To create a name for myself, so in the middle of the night, almost three years ago I just left and I haven't spoken to them since. So it's highly unlikely that this kidnapping was for ransom because I was estranged from my parents, we didn't even have the same last name anymore.

 But what did the crazy guy Ezra say? That his boss needed me to find a key and that in order to do that they had to break me. I question if part of breaking me included drugging me and having some thug threaten to kill me. Or maybe the breaking part was literal because it looked like Ezra was really going to hurt me. My mind goes back to the gun shots that should have hit me as I fell toward the river I just exited and I begin to walk faster to ensure I put plenty of distance between me and those goons. But what about the Key... what type of key? Like a passcode or a skeleton key or a key card. 

I'm sure Ezra was intentionally vague but being the paranoid person I am I can't help thinking all of the events that have been happening to me are connected. The dreams that I would have every once in a while before the kidnapping but that have become more frequent since the kidnapping. I assumed it was because of stress but maybe the drugs were causing me to have the dreams more often. Now that I think about it, besides being weaker and more drowsy the drugs haven't really had a negative side effect except for maybe causing me to have more dreams. And the dreams are always about that night at the hotel, that to this day, I am still not sure if it actually happened or if I'm having the same dream over and over again. But what about when I woke up after the first dream and the door to the cajoining room was ajar and the match that was on the ground. And then what happened back in the cell when I felt like I was on fire and light was coming from my body. That was the same feeling that I had in the dream-

Before I can finish connecting the dots I'm jolted out of my head and back into the forest I'm walking through as I trip over a large vine. Of course with my luck the vine is on the edge of a hill and I begin to tumble down. I try to twist my body in order to stop my downward rolling but I quickly gain momentum and just try to do my best to protect myself as I hit rocks and twigs. I slam into a fallen tree trunk so hard that it snaps in half, but thank god it stopped me from continuing to roll down that hill. I don't immediately stand up, first I wait for the pain of what just happened to me to register, but I feel nothing. Oh fuck, am I paralyzed? I must be, but then I feel something begin to crawl up my leg and I instinctively swat at it and shoot to my feet. So, no to being paralyzed, but how is it possible that I have no broken bones... not even a scratch?

This honestly has to be a dream, the events that have occurred just don't make sense, the shinning thing I did, not getting hit by a bullet when I was shot at and even now not having a single injury after rolling down a steep incline. And honestly in a dream all of this makes sense, I must be lucid dreaming which means in order to wake up I have to cause myself some type of harm on purpose. I look around and find a sharp rock, all I have to do is cut myself and I'll wake up I think. Well this will make for a great concept idea when I meet with my creative writing group. I press the tip of the rock firmly against my palm, and slice.

"Shit, oh my fucking goodness!" I scream. I should mention I am a bleeder and there was blood all over my hands and quickly leaking onto the forest ground. Immediately I tear part of my dress and create a makeshift bandage for my hand, the piece of cloth quickly grows heavier as it soaks up my blood. I will the bleeding to stop because if this was a dream I'd be able to control something like that but soon blood again begins to drip from my hand again and I have to add more of my dress to the bandage.

Okay I think, so this doesn't seem to be a dream and now I'm injured. Laughter starts to bubble out of me as I slowly begin to accept my situation. Being that I grew up in a manor I was always taken care of and even in New York if I needed something I just went to a bodega. But I am god knows where being hunted by god knows who and all I have is a watch and a flashlight. My hand quickly goes to my hip where I had put the flashlight in the belt of my dress. The flashlight is no longer there.

"Of course, just my FREAKIN LUCK!" I say the last park in an unhinged scream. A scream that turns into a very ugly cry that for only a moment makes me glad that I'm alone so no one can see it. I don't even bother with wiping my face as I begin walking. I'm unsure how long I was walking through the beautiful hell of a jungle I was in before I began to hear water again. At first I don't notice the water over the music of the self pity party I'm having within my head but then I begin to hear the familiar rush. My mouth suddenly feels extremely dry and my steps quicken towards the source of the sound. Soon I break through some scrubs and skid to a stop, luckily before tumbling off the edge of what looks likes like an ocean of water but even with the light of the jungle around me, I can't see how large or how far the body of water spans. But the jungle does do an exceptional job of showing me the steep ledge that I was about to walk off.

Further to my left is the source of the rushing sound. What I assume is another part of the river that I fell in earlier. But this part of the river is much wider and the water is moving at a rapid speed over the edge of the cliff. The water cascading off the cliff is as spectacular as it is terrifying. I take a few steps back and bump into something, actually, someone solid. 

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Yikes, it seems like Sasha just can't catch a break huh? I wonder who's behind her....

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Happy Reading

-K