Fighting My Way Out

Alarms Sound

Later that evening, I found myself in Holden's room, finally eating safe food he had smuggled under his bed. I had sobbed and vomited until I was nothing left inside of me and simply dry heaved for awhile; Holden was the only one who could understand the torment I had endured, being the only non-drugged slave there.

"We have to get out," I dry heaved again. "I can't... I can't... I..."

I couldn't finish my sentence, but Holden understood, looking more sympathetic that anyone in that house could.

"All right, so the grounds, from what I saw last time, are extensive," said Holden, trying to draw a crude map. "I know there's a driveway on the south lawn, and I assume it eventually goes to a road, but I tried to take the wooded route to escape last time. Didn't get far, those damn dogs gave me a good run before cornering me. So if we want to escape, it'll have to be far more covert than what I did; we can't alert anyone that anything is wrong."

"I agree, I think we should leave at midnight, once all the guests have cleared out or passed out, we might stand a better chance it no one is conscious."

Holden nodded, then sighed. "And then what? It's freezing out and neither of us has coats or shoes."

I shrugged. "I guess we'll have to be quick."

The silent dark was on our side as we quietly snuck down to the south side of the building, sticking close to the shadows on the walls. Neither of us spoke and I trusted that Holden knew where he was going. No one was around, just as I thought they wouldn't be; the gala had taken a lot out of the clients, no one was moving about at that very early morning hour. At long last, after many halls and stairs, we came to a large set of wood doors, locked and bolted. I started to rush toward them, but Holden stopped me roughly.

"No, we can't just charge to the door. Why do you think I didn't last week and just broke a window? There are security guards patrolling these halls. They hide out around corners when they patrol; I've almost learned their route, but sometimes they come by here at random."

I rolled my eyes. "So how are we supposed to get out now?"

"We wait for one of them to come by and make the jump on him. If there's one guarding the door, the others will be guarding other places. With your help, we should be able to overwhelm him, grab the keys, and get the hell out of dodge. Or if there's a specific guard, we might not have to."

I reflected on jumping Jill and Allen back in the other prison. I hadn't given much thought until then and suddenly wondered if they were alive; I wasn't sure how hard I hit them, but the hits definitely did damage.

I must have had a worried look on my face because Holden suddenly smiled, nudging my shoulder.

"Have no fear, I've made a friend with one of the security guards. Sort of. I've tried to memorize their schedules so tonight should be the night of his rounds."

I frowned. "What d'you mean you sort of made friends with one of the psychopaths holding us here? Is he going to help us?"

"I don't think he'll open the door or anything, but he just might look the other way for a moment if I give him a good reason."

Holden's attention was diverted to a place down one of the halls to our left. His smile grew as he walked out into the large foyer. I remained hidden in the shadowy corner of the hall.

"Jerry!" said Holden, clapping the security guard on the back. "How's rounds? All the children tucked into bed?"

"Yeah, yeah, all's good," he said, then seemed to realize Holden was out of bed. "Hey, you should be in bed, too. You head back, now."

Holden looked sheepish. "Ha, I know, but you see there's this girl. I wanted to surprise her with a stroll around the mansion. We were going to meet here in the foyer, if that's all right with you. We won't be any trouble, just some alone time, if you know what I mean."

He gave Jerry a sly smile, trying to work his charm. After a moment, Jerry returned a small smile, looking impressed and interested.

"Yeah, okay," said Jerry, "just be sure to get back soon."

Holden nodded obediently, trying to look innocent. The guard believed that act and turned back down the hall he came from to resume his rounds. Holden waited until he was out of sight before motioning to me to come out into the wide foyer. I was intimidated by the large, bolted doors blocking my way to freedom.

"If we unlock the door to get out, we can't lock it again behind us," I said. "They'll realize we've gone when they come back around here."

That fact seemed to register with Holden as well as he looked the door over.

"Well, we'll have to run fast then, won't we?"

I was skeptical of that new plan, but decided it was our best chance.

"Ready?" asked Holden, a hand on the locked bolt.

I nodded, trying to quell the sudden fear in my stomach. I knew I should have been more optimistic, but couldn't help the feeling of a terrible weight of escaping this pristine prison.

Holden slid the bolt back with a resounding 'clank' and yanked open the doors then a shrill alarm pierced our ears. I panicked, dashing through the threshold without any regard to Holden behind me. I barely reached the bottom of the steps before flood lights flashed on, reflecting the snow into a blinding light. They were going to find us, I kept screaming in my head as I made a mad dash to the treeline.