Prisoner's Prisoner

Chapter 20

Sarah's tears faded away. It was like her body dried up of tears.

She remembered the night she tried to escape here in Antonio's mansion. It was their wedding night. She was forced to marry Antonio otherwise his brother will be killed. But Antonio did not keep his promise.

Antonio tried to force himself into her but she fought back. Said she'd better be dead than be touched by a horrible man. She scratched Antonio's face with her fingernails. She was ready to die. Blood filled Antonio's face. Antonio slapped her so hard she almost fainted. Antonio madly stormed out of the room.

She did not waste any minute. She had to escape. She was still in her wedding gown. She looked for Antonio's wardrobe and changed into one of his clothes. 

She was about to get out of the room when she noticed that the vault was slightly opened. She would be needing a lot of money if she needs to run away. Far from here.

She checked the vault and she saw bundles of hundred dollar bills. She immediately looked for something where she can put the money in. She searched his drawers and found a duffle bag. Her eyes grew big when a lot of pictures fell from one of the shelves of his closet. Documents and some pictures that made her want to puke. She hurriedly gathered those as well and put them in the bag. Then the money. She filled the bag.

Antonio underestimated her. She was good on locks. She worked for her brother in their automotive machine shop. And that was one of her specialty, unlocking doors. Sarah was able to unlock her out of the room. She knew Antonio's mansion. Been here many times. She just didn't know how she will escape Antonio's men.

Time was on her side, though. Antonio's men were celebrating their wedding. They were drunk to the ground. She did not see Antonio. Perhaps too embarrased to show his bloody face to his men.

Sarah was almost there. She's bathing with sweat. She was on the garage picking a vehicle. Antonio had a lot of luxury vehicles. But she could not choose those. Hot on the eyes. She picked the Wrangler Rubicon jeep. She was about to climb up the jeep when somebody grabbed her from behind.

It was Lucio. She produced muffled sound. Lucio was one of the men closed to Antonio.

"Don't fight with me." Lucio said. "The guards aren't drunk. I will drive you out."

Sarah was surprised.

"You are an innocent girl. I am sorry I waited until after Sean was killed before I realized. It happened so fast. I have no idea he will kill your brother."

Sarah was speechless. She knew Lucio was the one who dragged his brother into this mess.

"I will make it up to you and your brother."

"He will kill you." Sarah said referring to Antonio.

"I am one of his trusted men."

She was hesitant. But he was right. There were men guarding the gates. If she forced the gates with the jeep, they will chase her anyway. She trusted her instincts. She trusted Lucio.

She squeezed herself on the floor just below the backseat of the jeep. Lucio covered her with a tarp then put some cases of beer beside her to hide her more.

Lucio started the engine. The jeep stopped behind the gates. The guards asked where he was going. Lucio said he will bring extra drink to the boys downtown who were also celebrating with them. He pointed to the beers behind his seat. Sarah was not breathing. The guards looked at the back seat and did not notice the tarp. They only saw the cases of beers.

The other guards let him out and opened the gates. The jeep ran freely down the road. It was almost midnight. After about thirty minutes of running, Lucio stopped. He lifted the tarp that covered her. He gave her the keys, got down the jeep and bid goodbye. Sarah started the engine and drove as fast as she could.

She was going east. She got a few hours sleep at daytime and drove at night. She did not know where to go. She had no other family. Except for her brother and the workers at the autoshop. Well, there was a time she considered Antonio as family.

It had been two days. Sarah was tired but she needed  to move on. She realized she was already at Kentucky state. She parked the jeep at the parking lot of a shopping center. She needed to change her clothes. After a minute or so she was back with a dress and a set of underwear. She will look for a transient later. She was about to climb up the jeep when she saw the lone car beside the jeep. She checked  the parking lot. Not much people. Still early for shopping.

She needed a new car. It will be harder for Antonio's men to find her with the new car. She hurriedly walked to the driver's side and started to pick the locks with one of her hair pins. The door gave up. She looked at the surrounding. She was free except for the CCTV on the two corners of the parking lot. She pulled the hood of Antonio's sweater up her head. Then she got the bag and some few beers from the jeep and threw it on the car's passenger's seat. She smashed broken one of  the bottle of beer and used it to scratch the bottom of the dashboard which was connected to the steering wheel. She found the wires to the engine and started the car. She drove off.

She no longer knew how many hours she'd been driving. But as soon as she got an opportunity, she stole plates in every state she passed by. Thought Antonio would have difficulty finding her if she changed her plates. She checked in at a motel in Pennsylvania for only an hour or so. She just needed to take a bath and change. She looked so haggard. Dark patches encircled her eyes. Then she started driving again.

She realized she was tired already. She was now in the main highway of Penssylvania. The sun would about to set. She parked her car beside the road. The place was quiet and calm. She got out of the car to feel the breeze. She could see the mountains from afar. It had not snowed yet but she felt cold, very cold. She started emptying the bottles of beer she brought with her. Felt the warm sensation on her throat. She sat on the driver's seat but her feet was on the ground. She saw the bag. And realized what was on it. She removed the pictures and other documents she found at Antonio's house. She could loose the money but definitely not those...yet. She hid it somewhere in the car  then put the money back on the bag.

She started driving again. But still drinking. She wanted to forget everything. Her brother. She missed her brother already. She felt so weak, perhaps by the alcohol she drank or because she had not eaten much. She pulled over to the side.

She cried loudly yanking on the steering wheel. Then she noticed the car behind her. She saw it slowed down. She wiped her tears. She saw a man got out of it. Before she knew it the man was already at her window. She panicked. She was so nervous she couldn't find the right wires. When she finally did, she immediately stepped on the gas and there, she crashed into a tree.

Yes, that was what exactly happened.  She started to remember everything when she heard a gunshot and saw David's blood. Everything flashed back. She remembered her brother and how he died. She remembered everything now.

And she missed David.