Run and Hide

Chapter Sixteen

My eyes watered in fear as I saw the needle and thread on the table. I wanted to cry, but I needed to hold it back for Nate. "Breaking the rules and being disrespectful will put you in the chair, will you be next?" Ms. Selma held up a dull needle and a thick spool of thread to show to the audience, everyone remained silent.

"It's time. Rebecca, Claire, sew this child's mouth shut; make her see what real pain feels like." The two girls came out in long blue gowns, Ms. Selma handed over the needle and thread. Rebecca took the needle and shoved it through my upper lip. I closed my eyes to try and stop the pain, I prayed it would be over soon. As the thread passed through the last part of my bottom lip, I felt relief. Resting my eyes for a few seconds, Ms. Selma slapped my shoulder. "You think we're done? The fun is just beginning."

A large bowl of water was wheeled near my face, Claire smirked before dunking my head completely under the water. I was held under for what seemed like an eternity, my lungs burned as I accidentally let out the air, I tried so desperately to hold in. As Claire pulled me out, I gasped for breath.

The blurriness in my eyes faded as the water dripped from my face. I glanced over at Nate. He had been trying to keep himself from crying, but tears still escaped from his eyes.

Rebecca stood in front of me with a sinister smile. Holding rubbing alcohol above my head, she tipped the bottle. It trickled through my hair onto my face, it burned my threaded lips, causing me to cry in pain. Nate turned away; he couldn't watch me hurt any longer.

My body shook uncontrollably from the pain I was enduring, the chair flipped sideways as I blacked out.

"Oh, poor baby. You couldn't handle the pain?" Claire giggled; her voice echoed through my head. As I started to regain my vision, Ms. Selma picked the chair back up. Olivia was staring at me with a smug grin. "You're up, Olivia." She nodded her head, "I won't disappoint you," Olivia said while holding a long machete at her side.

Grabbing a fistful of hair, Olivia lined the machete across my neck. "It'll all be over soon," she whispered in my ear. I felt like bait, were Olivia and Ms. Selma planning to kill me? Rubbing my wrists together, I tried to break free from the ropes. "Please, don't kill me," my muffled voice tried to scream, but I was weak.

Struggling to break free wasn't doing any good, I let my arms go limp. Olivia raised the machete above her head, I closed my eyes tightly. If I was going to die, I didn't want that to be my last memory.

I imagined being in the living room surrounded by family. The aroma of coffee brewing, watching family movies with bowls of popcorn on the table, playing Monopoly for hours on the shaggy rug in the center of the room.

Something heavy thudded to the floor. As I opened my eyes to look, Ms. Selma lay there, the machete sticking out of her chest. "I thought I could trust you to do this," she inched closer to Olivia, "I should've drowned all of you when I had the chance."

Blood pooled across the stage. As Ms. Selma took her last breath, I was finally able to breathe. "I told you; it would be over soon." Olivia smiled, cutting the ropes off my wrists. Before she could cut the thread from my lips, Nate quickly got my attention. "We should go, I have a bad feeling about the other kids."

As I turned, the children stood feet away, they were frozen with blank expressions across their faces. "You're not going anywhere," they all said in unison. Olivia pulled the machete out of Ms. Selmas chest, "stay away, or I will hurt you." We took several steps backwards, the children followed closely. "May she still be with us, may these sacrifices work."

I wanted to believe this was just a nightmare, but it wasn't. "Nicole!" Mary shrieked; she was being dragged away by a group of children. Leaping into the crowd, I punched a child in the face. Picking up Mary, we ran after Nate and Olivia, pushing through the metal double doors. Pushing the wooden benches against the door, we stepped back. "This isn't going to hold them back for long, follow me." Olivia guided us through a secret passage underneath the jungle gym, we were safe, for now. "Here," Olivia said, slicing the thread across my mouth.

Each individual string burned with every pull. My eyes watered in pain, but I had to keep going. Once they were all removed, I felt a slight relief. I was no longer muffled; I could finally speak freely.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, Olivia pulled out a zip line of sorts. We bounced ideas between each other, and soon, we thought up the perfect plan. "We need to make this work, all of us are going to survive." I said, putting the plan into action. One by one, we headed up to the roof. When Olivia met us, we set up the zip line. "Nate, you're going first." Handing him one of the wooden hangers, I kissed his forehead. "As soon as your feet hit the ground, run. I'll be right behind you."

Suspending Nate into the air, I let go. I watched him fly across the courtyard, his little body made it over the fence and into the bushes. Standing up, Nate waved, signaling to us it was safe. Watching Mary follow Nate, Olivia looked worried. "What about you? There aren't enough hangers to get both of us across." I smiled at her, "don't worry about me, I can wait until help arrives." Saying our goodbyes, Olivia glides to safety. Cutting the rope, I watched the zip line fall; reality finally set in.

I was alone. The children busted through the double metal doors; I watched them run around in groups; trying to capture us. Laying back, I looked up at the sky. Clouds drifted by; I wished I could go with them. As the sun started to fade, the moon took its place. Closing my eyes, I quietly listened to children looking around the house. I smiled. The thought of knowing Nate and the others were safe kept me sane. I was going to make it out, even if it risked my life.

"They've been saved," a small voice said next to the window. "Someone is still here, that contraption couldn't take them all." A raspy voice asked, I was no longer smiling. "We must find the sacrifice; do you have the slightest idea where they may be?" They were puzzled.

"Find out who's left, we need them for the ritual." Moving as far away from the window as possible, I stared into the stars.