Helga (unedited)

Chapter 13: No way out (I)

I had a dream that I was in some epic war with some king. On the king’s side everything was red. Behind me, everything was blue. On my side; the centre; I stood with millions of people and everything there was purple. There were no spectators; everyone was in battle. The red and blue sides were at each other’s throats. On the purple side, however, each person was fighting them self. I had been a battle with myself before, but this time it was of different proportions. The funny thing, however, was that, although some fought with swords etc., the majority fought with words. It was as if one could debate the life out of another. I guess the liars were at an advantage...

‘Ah! My neck,’ I roared.

I painfully looked around, but all I saw was black. My dream had been stimulating and it was a pity that I never completed the story in my dreams. Either way, I hoped that I would complete the story of how I got out of Hell. As I blinked, my eyes felt a little odd. The swelling had gone down over sleep. I ran my hands over them and blinked a few times. My neighbours to the right were already up, if they didn’t sleep at all. Their footsteps had a pattern: one...two...three, four...one...two... Upon hearing their footsteps, I examined my injured toe only to find out that it was still lumpy.

‘Damnit!’ I exclaimed.  I could tell that I wasn’t running anywhere soon.

The following hours I sat up looking around in the pitch. I ran my hands through the walls and steel. Perhaps there would be a lose brick or faulty whatever, that I could use to begin my escape. Ngi was two cells to my right. I wondered whether she was doing the same or was asleep.

‘Hey,’ I whispered to my neighbour on the right, who was directly adjacent to Ngi.

My neighbour didn’t respond.

‘Hey,’ I urged ‘you guys are walking around the right and because you’re directly next to me, I know you are the loudest. Now, answer me. It’s not as if you’ll get points and an early release for good behaviour.’

‘Yes...sir,’ returned my neighbour.  It was little girl terrified.

‘Sir. What?’ I said ‘I’m not your father. Now what’s your name?’

The soft voice of the girl was louder informing me that she was speaking against the wall between us.

‘Anastasia,’ she returned.

I brought myself against the wall and leaned my neck against.

‘Alright Anastasia. I’m going to need a favour from you.’

‘Ah...eh...ih...oh...uh,’ she skidded ‘yes?’

‘Go to the wall on your other side and ask the person there if she is up.’

The footsteps rushed across the floor and returned in lightening speed.

‘Uhm, yes she’s up.’

‘Tell her that September 19th is a good day.’ That meant that was supposed to find the seven best spots in her cell from which to breakout.

The little girl did as she was told.

‘Told her sir,’ she returned ‘I uhm...know that I may be a liability, but uhm... I am an asset right now and would like to escape with you.’

The girl was coy. I didn’t want to bring her out though; she’d die in the first minute of battle. But I needed her, so I added her.

‘Alright,’ I said ‘but I take no responsibility for your wellbeing. All you have to do now is to find a weakness in your cell and start digging through.’

The best thing about The Devil’s Little Sister is that the demons never came by. We were basically left for dead in the darkness. Yes, they arrived once a month to deliver animal food and water to us, and nothing else. The food was foul and made you sick. Many of us prisoners preferred to observe fasting and hunger striking than eating crap. We were fools and many of us died during the first three months. Never be proud when your life is at stake.

My team was taking shape. Anastasia, Ngi, and I dug tirelessly for many nights trying to find seven opportune spots from which to escape. It was inspiring and terrifying. If we got caught, we would be sent straight into the Elimination Chamber. After four months, our labour began bearing fruit.

‘I’m here,’ said Ngi ‘with the child.’ She broke through her wall and into Anastasia’s cell. The news was splendid and also ominous. Her breakthrough meant that the next time the demons were to bring food, which was in about six days, they’d find the gap.

‘We have no time,’ I told them.

The wall between myself and Anastasia was stronger and required more force. The problem with that was that a greater force meant more noise and that would summon the demons.

‘We have to dig through the cement with our nails,’ said I.

‘Use the water, your urine, and all the sweat you have,’ smartly added Ngi. It was moments as such that reminded me of why and how I loved her.

The wall couldn’t and didn’t budge. You’d swear that it was some other force that bound it.

‘What’s the plan now?’ asked the child.

Time was not on our side and the days had become two hours. Anxiety shot straight through my face. I thought best under pressure and then it was no exception.

I recalled the rock of coal that had kicked.

‘Do any of you have rocks of coal on your floors?’ I asked.

‘Yes, we both do,’ they returned’ but how do you know that’s coal?’

‘On this planet, at this level beyond the ground, coal is the only rock there is,’ I negotiated ‘Have faith. Surely, it’s coal.’

I said it in such a way that I, myself, had to believe what I was saying.

‘Use the coal to colour in the blankets,’ I instructed ‘then cover the gap with the blanket.’

They did so and it all came down to the actions of the demons. Luckily, they gave no damn. They walked in a line holding their candles in one arm and tossing the slop in the other. They came from my direction and passed with no problems. The demon’s candle was short and about to die when it passed Ngi’s cell, thus it was too dark to distinguish between the blanket and the wall.

‘Gone,’ she said ‘we have thirty more days on the clock.’

On Mercury, thirty days are very short and amount to the equivalence of about two and a half weeks. We had nothing to be happy about.