Timeless Creations

13. Free

Chris couldn't believe his eyes. He was being let go? It almost seemed unfair. All their planning and hard work down the drain. But it was a good thing at least. They were free! They could go back to their old lives and live normal ordinary lives.

He looked at the rest of his colleagues. They seemed to be glowing with happiness. Wide smiles were etched into their faces. Why wouldn't they be? They were free. Free from the clutches of their evil captor.

The others sensed that something was wrong. Chris was smiling as widely as they were. Leela decided to speak
"Chris. We're free! Aren't you happy?"

Chris smiled "Yeah I am. But.... this is weird... why would he just let us go..?"
Chris started to feel even more worried. "How would he even know if we snitched. Maybe he's got trackers on us! He's just going to use us when we're free!" A wild look entered his eyes. "We must escape NOW!"

Jean stepped in before Chris got any more superstitious.
"Chris. He has no more use for us anymore. He doesn't need us! That's why he is letting us go."

"But what ab..."

"He has people inside the police force remember? If we went to them they will relay this fact and he will know. Who knows what will happen if we do. My thoughts? We run. We get as far away as possible. Take your loved ones and escape."

Everyone sort of agreed with this. If they didn't, they didn't say anything.

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The one thing that bothered Chris was how they would escape. Or at least get out of this place. Superstition entered him. That's why he isn't letting us go! He knows we can't get out. That's why he knows we'll stay. We can't leave.

But when he discussed this with his colleagues they all were shocked. All except for the workers who gave them another letter. It said this...

Friends
I am filthy rich. So take a car each. The workers will stay here. Don't worry. Take one of my cars for you.
Marcus

No one belived Chris when he read this aloud. They all looked at the workers in amazement. "You... you... you're staying?" asked Nick.

They all smiled. A dark-skinned guy spoke "We're staying here. Master Marcus gives us shelters and food. We are forever indebted to him. You see? In South Africa we have a lot of unemployment. So when Marcus came and asked us if we wanted to work for him we jumped at the opportunity. In return he promised us once a month opportunities to visit our homes and to take care of them. (Plus we get week long holidays at home every two months.)"

Chris was astounded. How did such a monster of a man have such a good heart?

"Oh.... okay. I think I understand.... "

The worker spoke again "You're trying to understand why we stay? You see this is a once-in-a-lifetime job. A job with these benefits will almost never come again. We don't have fancy houses or jobs to go to. This is all we have."

A sense of sadness filled Chris. He hasn't thought of what these workers' situations were.

Nick interrupted his thoughts "You could come with us! We could take you with us! We'll give you jobs."

But this time they all knew the answer. They couldn't take the workers with them. They had a debt to pay.

Chris then ushered his colleagues out the room. They said their farewells to the workers and started to make their way to the cars.

Sadness forgotten Chris saw the cars and his eyes lit up. As far as the eye could see, all kinds of supercars. After 30 minutes of searching they had all found their cars.

Jean had a gleaming blue McLaren P1. It's doors opened with a swoosh. As he started the car (the keys were in the ignition. Well. In the car. All he had to do was push the START button.

Nick decided to get a vintage Ferrari F430. This was turbo-charged so clearly he liked speed.

Chris. He took a land rover. That's right. Any dream car he could want yet he took a land rover. A car that was, you know, will last. The others seemed to understand. But they weren't going to change theirs.

When the group walked towards Leela they saw that she didn't have a car. Tears streamed down her face. Something was wrong.

Chris stuttered slightly. "Leela. Where's....where is your car?"

Leela looked down at her feet. "I'm not coming. I have a commitment to Marcus I have to fulfill."

Chris couldn't keep his chin from hitting the floor (which was probably why his face felt like it had just been slapped with a plank full of nails)

He couldn't breathe. Well he could. Just had great difficulty. His heart was racing. Which was impressive because it felt like it dropped to his feet.

"Come with us Leela. Leave this monster!" Chris pleaded.

Looking dejected Leela kissed him on the cheek, hugged the others and then walked back to the other workers. "I have to stay Chris. I can't tell you why. But I have to stay..."