Blood Moon Lake

Chapter 14

It's been five days since Brian took the knife, and we still haven't found something to replace it. The guards have been making sure we aren't saving food, and the old guy has been taking our spoons, too. Trying to determine the guard's patrol pattern was a bust; if there is one, they don't walk anywhere where we can see.

The escape plan has gone from bad to worse in a matter of days, and there's no sign of improvement. Why did I think this would be easy? I should have expected something to go wrong.

I let out an annoyed sigh. The sun was starting to go down, and it should be time for dinner soon. As if on cue, footsteps beat on the concrete, getting closer. The guard slid the tray through the bars with a grin. "Next feeding is soon. You might want to figure out who's gonna go."

With that, he placed down the tray and walked off.

The air felt heavy.

No one moved.

We're out of time.

"We're leaving tonight," Leo announced.

"How?" Amelia asked, "I don't know if you've noticed, but we still don't have a way out!"

He glanced at her. "Not yet, we don't, but if things go right, we will."

"How?" Chase questioned, "Because we're not lifting a finger until you tell us."

"I'm going to pick-pocket Brian's keys," he replied, "And I'll need your help."

Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, you're the most believable to get in a fight with."

"Hey," Anna called, "Brian doesn't even come down here. How are you getting the keys?"

Leo smirked. "He seemed pretty pissed last time I broke the glass. Which reminds me, Chase, you need to break another window."

"So we break the glass and lure Brian down?" Chase asked.

Leo nodded with a sly smile on his face.

"Okay, loving the plan," Ella said, "But the guards take the food. How are you going to manage that?"

Leo turned slightly red. "Oh yeah, that's the tricky bit... I shoved some in my pocket a while back. It dried in a throwable shape, but it's... stuck. I was gonna use the knife to get it out, but I don't have that anymore."

Ella pinched the bridge of her nose. "So our entire plan hinges on a dried piece of food stuck to your pants pocket."

He nodded. "Yeah."

She sighed. "You're an idiot."

"Well, I don't hear any ideas coming from you!" he protested, "Besides, all we have to do is get it out."

"That stuff dries like cement!" she cried.

"I'm sure we can find some way to get it off," he reasoned.

"Let me see it," I said.

Pulling the pant pocket out, I saw half the mush was dried on it. I frowned, prying it off doesn't seem like it'll work, but it's big enough that if we break it in half, we can still throw it. However, we'll have to bash it against the floor.

"Okay, take your pants off," I said.

Leo blinked. "What?"

I sighed, realizing how bad that sounded. "Enough is dried on there, we can't pry it off, but we can try bashing half off. The cage floor should do the job, but you need to take your pants off."

"Oh come on," Leo complained.

I rolled my eyes. "It won't take that long. Besides, the shirt covers everything anyway."