Book of Bravery: A Novel 2,000 Plus Years in the Making

CHAPTER XII

The Escape

History one day will recall when 30 prisoners of conscience escaped from 327 Military Hospital in Chengdu; how they managed to flee certain death and avoid being recaptured. Quite an achievement in an Orwellian state such as modern-day China.

It may not have been a prison but getting out of the hospital was still no easy feat. It was surrounded by CCTV cameras and a 12-foot-high fence topped with razor wire. Its exit and entry points were manned by guards. Beyond the hospital grounds was either the city's outskirts or the airfield.

Not that Quintus knew these details as he ventured out of the building. The others remained inside as he recced for the best avenue of escape.

Carrying the fire extinguisher, he went along the side of the building, which took him towards a hospital exit manned by two bored soldiers at a checkpoint. He made sure he was out of their eyesight when he knocked out two exterior video cameras with the extinguisher.

Satisfied there weren't any more cameras covering their intended escape route, he went back to the building door where the others waited. He told both Tina and the English-speaking democracy activist what he saw and then outlined a plan for them to relay to the others.

'I will take care of the guards, and once I give the signal, everyone has to rush out the gate and get into the city, split up, and do what they can to not get caught from there on,' Quintus whispered to them.

Just after Tina and the activist told the others the plan, Quintus pulled her aside and spoke to her softly.

'I will stick out like a sore thumb here. Tina, you'll have better luck without me if you go into the city and get to the nearest U.S. consulate,' he said.

'What are you going to do?' she asked him.

'I'm going back to the airfield to steal a helicopter.'

'What? Why?'

'It's the best idea I've got right now. It's hard to explain.'

'The security there would be ten times worse than here.'

'Maybe. Probably.'

'If you do get a helicopter, where are you going?'

'It sounds weird, but I need to go to a mountain.'

'Then I want to come with you. I'm okay with weird. I like mountains.'

'No, it will be more dangerous.'

'I can handle that. Weird, dangerous, no problems. It's been an ongoing theme for the past few days!'

For the next two minutes, they debated in hushed tones over what Tina should do. Quintus was right to a point about her chances without him, but behind that — the idea of them splitting and her being alone amid all the danger made him feel uneasy; made them both feel uneasy.

Despite the darkness, he noted tears brimming in her eyes, and he now knew he had no choice.

'Okay, alright, we're sticking together. Let's not worry about the consulate for the time being,' Quintus said. 'Once we're over there and stealing military hardware — you just need to do what I ask of you, okay Tina? Your life may depend on it,' he added.

Tina nodded, and as she wiped away a tear that fell down her left cheek, he patted her on the shoulder. 'After the mountain, we'll get stateside, somehow,' he said.

Quintus next told the activist to inform the others it was time to go, and soon he led them up the side of the building. Upon reaching the corner, they stopped in the shadows. The exit and its checkpoint were just ahead. Quintus indicated to Tina and the others to remain while he went forward. At a crouching run, he snuck up on the checkpoint where one guard was now asleep, and the other was barely awake in a booth.