Telling You Twice
Dan jolted up from his bed in a cold sweat. Today, he and his son would escape. Dan had been restless the night before, but when he finally closed his eyes, his head was filled with nightmares of failure.
As he watched the steady rise and fall of the mound of blankets across from him, Dan went over the plan in his head one more time. At 11:19 A.M., all of the doors in the building would unlock like he had programmed. They would walk through the building in the guard uniforms they had hidden. As soon as they reached the ground floor, the two would split up. Henry, Dan’s son, would join the guards who left for a drink each day at 11:30 A.M., and Henry would take a car out to “get some repairs.” They would meet again at Main Street. As soon as they were both in the car, they would drive out of this country and head home.
The mountain of sheets tumbled to the side as Henry sat up in bed. His short, brown hair looked like a bird’s nest, and his clothes were rumpled. It was painful for Dan to look at his son like this. His sixteen-year-old son shouldn’t be caught up in his father’s problems and kept in a prison cell.
Henry shoved away the rest of the blankets and walked into the bathroom to change. Dan changed outside. In a few minutes, Henry came out with the guard’s uniform on and flopped down to sit beside his dad.
“Do you remember the plan?” Dan questioned quietly.
“Yes,” Henry replied shortly.
“Who do you join with when we reach the ground floor?” Dan asked.
“The guards who leave for a drink each day at 11:30 A.M.,” his son answered.
“Where do you go once you split up from them?”
“Main Street,” Henry sighed as he rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.
“Where do you wait while I head to Main Street?” Dan inquired.
“Dad,” Henry complained. He had enough of these ridiculous questions. “I know the plan. I’m not stupid. We’ll be fine. Don’t over think this.”
“I know I’m being an annoying parent right now, but this is the most important part. You must stay by the stairs at the back of the souvenir shop. You must stay there. This is literally a life or death situation,” Dan informed urgently. “You know this is important! I’m-“
“I’m telling you twice. I never tell you twice,” Henry mimicked. “I hear you, Dad. I hear you. I really doubt that we’ll be in danger by that stage, but whatever. I’ll stay there.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” Henry mumbled. His dad was making him promise! He was being such a child! They would be fine! Being kidnapped turned out to be such a bore. They just sat in a cell all day and played with the dust bunnies. At least he would have a cool story to tell his friends when he returned.
Dan, content with his son’s promise, got up and looked through the bars. He caught sight of the clock at the end of the hall. It was 11:15. The plan would be put into action soon.
“Four minutes,” he told his son. They would have thirty seconds before the doors locked themselves again. They didn’t have time to loiter.
As Henry finished preparing, Dan watched the ticking of the clock. The minutes went by in slow motion. The steady ticking of the clock was the only thing he saw and heard. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. When the hand of the clock finally moved to show 11:19, everything sped up again.
“Now!” Dan hissed. “We are leaving now!”
Dan quietly slid the door open. They both stepped out. Henry spun around and pushed the door shut. There was a slight click when the door was fully closed and they headed out.
