The Girl Who Had Wings

Chapter 21

      I looked around the clearing where we were taken, and it all came back to me clear as day. I could see it happening again over and over in my mind the longer I stood there and the pack on my back felt like it was getting heavier. Why did Natali pack so much? I guess she wanted me to be prepared because she shoved equipment for every possible situation in there. Even my mother said there was probably too much stuff in the bag.
Natali pushed in more stuff that I might need on the rescue while my mom and I just stared at it. I knew we were both thinking the same thing, 'I am never going to need this much stuff,' but she insisted. It included rope, various lock picking materials, and bandages for my wing if I needed them. A screwdriver, hammer, and scissors if the lock picks wouldn't work. And many other supplies including a tennis ball, I don't know why but she said it might be handy.
      As soon as she finished packing the bag she handed it to me and we went straight to the woods. I gave both of them a hug, luckily they were carful of the wings, and I sprinted into the woods.
     But that was this morning, now I've made it to the clearing and have to retrace my steps. I remember the capture so clearly now that the escape starts to feel fuzzy, but I can see the stump I sat on to treat the cut on my wrist so I must be close. After a couple minutes I find where I reentered the clearing and run to it. I keep on running after that because it's all coming back and I know exactly where the building is. I run for a few more minutes before seeing the building through the trees and heading towards it.
The door is just as cold and dirty as I remember when I reach for the handle, but the door isn't locked. I hope the door doesn't squeak when it opens. I put my hand on the knob and quietly turn the handle, pulling the door out towards me. I don't make the space too big, just big enough to slip in and quickly shut the door without anyone in the tiny building hearing me.
I look around what should be like a foyer and see two staircases, one spiraling up and one spiraling down. Neither staircase is bright and both are dirt-covered and have a lot of dust hanging in the stale air. It's a wonder my cuts didn't get infected when being dragged up the stairs, or anywhere in this building for that matter.
I head towards the stairs that go down further into the building and descend quickly, my footsteps as quiet as mice. I reach the bottom after a few minutes, we are deeper than I thought we were, but you don't think about that when someone's dragging you up those same stairs. A hallway spreads out in front of me with multiple doors lining the halls.
      I walked down the hall, peeking into several doors that luckily didn't squeak. Although once I reached the fourth door on the left, the very last door to check, it was already cracked open. I could see a dim light and grimy floors just like the other rooms, but I could tell there was something different about it. I pushed the door open carefully and stepped inside.
      In the corner of the room, still chained to the wall, Max was sitting in the corner. Even in the dim light I could see all the cuts and bruises adorning his arms and face. I had no doubt that they covered his entire body from what I saw before I was released from here. I make my way over to him and realize that he's asleep, though it may be one of the first times since being here considering the dark bags under his eyes.
      I quickly grab some lock picks and try many of them before finding the right one. I unlock the cuffs and toss them away before turning to wake Max up.
      "Max, come on. You have to get up, we have to get out of here." He begins to stir and soon opens his eyes. His wide eyes dart around the room as if looking for danger before they settle on me.
     "Grace! What are you doing, you shouldn't be here," he says quickly. He looks at his wrists and rubs them before his hazel-green eyes stare up at me again. "You got them off?"
      "Yeah I did, now let's go!" I pull him up and he tries to regain his balance by resting his hand on the wall. He flinches and pulls his hand back towards him, his hand is bleeding but he puts that fact aside for now. "Let's go Grace," he says.
      We go through the door way and then silently run up the stairs. I reach for the main door's handle before a chilling voice stops me.
      "Leaving again without a word again Max? And with this girl no less?" We turn to the stairway leading up and I wonder how I could've forgotten to check that. Max's father stares down at us coldly before slowly making his way towards us. "I was hoping you'd stay longer, but you're just like your mother was," he says. Max turns to me and looks me dead in the eye and says, "run."
      I pull the door open and we both run out as fast as we can, but no later than that we hear heavy footsteps in pursuit. We weave in and out of trees, the footsteps gaining on us. I turn to Max and he looks at me, ready to try anything to get us both to safety.
      "Hang on Max," I yell and try to fly. At first we don't go anywhere so luckily we didn't stop to try this and my injured wing is in searing pain. I keep trying because I can't let Max's father get any closer or he'll be able to get us. After a few more seconds it works, we're off the ground and slowly gaining height. I put all my strength into the next few second so that we can pull up onto a tall tree branch. We barely make it and as soon as we land, I collapse of exhaustion nearly falling off.
      Max holds me steady as we sit there and we look down towards Max's father. He scowls up at us but quickly assesses the situation. His scowl melts to a smirk and he gazes and Max triumphantly before calling out to us.
      "Seeing as birdie girl is too tired to fly and you my son cannot fly at all, you're both stuck on that tree. I know that you won't jump because you'd break too many bones to get away so I'll leave you here while I go get a few helpful tools to get you two out of that tree." He turns on his heel and starts walking towards the building again. Max turns to me before looking at the tree down below us.
      "You know, he was right about all of that but left one thing out. You ready to climb Grace?" I look at him and nod determinedly. He starts going down the tree first and I follow closely. After several close calls from me, we reach the ground. We smile at each other triumphantly, happy to beat the odds.
      "You know Max, let's go back to he building. I seam to recall being able to lock the door from the outside as well as the inside. All we have to do is make sure he can't unlock it from the inside." He looks at me and then breaks into a smile.
      "Okay then Grace, let's go. Do you have anything to block the lock," he asks as we walk back. I pull out a tube of super glue that Natali shoved in my pack. "Oh you can thank my friend for packing for every possible situation," I reply.
     We run the rest of he way and quickly walk up to the door. He opens the door and locks it from the inside before I come over and to fill and cover the lock with the glue. After a minute or two I check the glue again and its dry, and just in time.
      Just before the door slams closed we can see the shocked face of Max's father before the door stays permanently locked. We don't worry about it though because I plan to call the police as soon as I get home so they can arrest him for what he's done to Max all of these years.
       "We did it. We actually did it! You did it Grace, thank you," Max says as he turns to me. I grab him in a hug before pulling back to look at him. He's covered in cuts, bruises, and haven't really slept and I've got a cut wrist, bruised legs, and a healing wing. We're both tired and ready for it all to end, but what really matters is that we're smiling and okay. He's okay, I'm okay, we're finally okay and with this moment I know everything is going to be alright as long as we work together.
      "Let's go home, Max."
*******************************************
So that's the end. I know it took a lot of time and thank you so So SO much for being patient with me.

I've had a ton of fun writing this story and I hope you all enjoyed it. It may have started off iffy but hey, we got there. I may write an epilogue for you guys but probably not right this moment.

Thank you all so much and I hope you loved the journey as much as I did!

Hope to see you guys soon!

- TorTor❤️