An Inch Of Infinity (Short Version)

CHAPTER 54-Chased

That's when the worst moment of my life happened. He dropped the pill just as the ship swayed. The pill rolled towards me and he chased it. It rolled under the bed near me. The ship swayed and I pushed it towards him. I hit a button and a trap door swung open just as he bent down. He saw me for a second and I fell. Down, down, down.

I fell about twenty feet into a metal vent. I hurt my knee when I landed. It hurts really bad. I let out a scream in pain, but I know the danger I face. I look around. It is dark, and I am sprawled out in the only light. He looks down. I scrambled out of the light, into the shadows. I saw a ladder leading down here. This must have been an emergency exit. I heard him rushing down after me. The chase was on. Silently, I crawled down the darkest passageway I could see. The darker, the better. Then I will be harder to find. He was in the light where I had landed. Now that I could see, there was blood on the ground. I grabbed my knee, and found where the blood came from. I wasn't simply bleeding. I was gushing blood, leaving a trail for him to follow.

Behind my knee I was bleeding like a water fountain. He was already slowly following the blood. Good thing I had crawled in circles before I came down this passageway. I pulled off my shirt, now extra thankful for the bra, and cleaned up the blood in front of this passage. Then I wrapped it around my knee. It hurts so bad, I can't even begin to describe it, but I push on with the extra energy of the adrenaline. I found myself taking lefts and rights without thinking about it. Now I'm completely lost. I crawl forward carefully, listening. I can hear him, but he sounds at least thirty feet away. He sounds frantic, as if trying to escape someone. I couldn't help but wonder, and hope, that he is claustrophobic. He looked around eighteen years old, and even though he was fit, he should not easily fit in these vents. He has wide shoulders that may help him with strength, but gives me the advantage here. I've never been happier to be skinny. Considering I'm probably two years younger than him and I have difficulty fitting within these tight walls, he might not even fit. I take another step forward, with new found strength.

As I take another step, I fall down a slide-like ventilation shaft. I can't help but yelp, which sent him after me again. He wasn't far away, and by the time I hit the bottom of the shaft slide, I heard him above me, and the ceiling bent. I race away as fast as I can. I can see light in the distance, and I know I have to get away, no matter what. I hear him give out a sound, and then I hear a thunk as he hits the bottom of the shaft behind me. He's found the slide-shaft, it's only a matter of time before he catches me. Forgetting stealth, I race to the light. The shaft gets tighter and tighter as I go further. I hope with all my being that he will not fit behind me, but still push forward.

At the end of the shaft, is a grid with plastic stretched over the whole thing, most likely to keep out bugs. I pull on it. Nothing happens. I can hear him behind me. I push the grid. Nothing happens. I just know I'm going to be stuck down here. I spot little latches on the corners of the grid. I fumble with them, trying to open them. I don't hear him anymore by the time I am on the fourth and final latch. It's rusty and jammed. As a last attempt, I bang against it, and it snaps. The entire grid flies forward and lands with a splash.

Splash? I think to myself. I look over the edge and see that I'm over the ocean, about thirty feet from shore where the last obstacle to cross would be our wall. If I tried to swim for it, i'd never make it. Then I see an outside electrical cord that should hold me. I decided to back up and jump for it. I put my shirt on again. It is now soaked in blood and is a deep red. I calm myself for the jump.

I take a step back. A hand grabs my shoulder. I jump and hit my head on the top of the vent. Warm blood trickles down my face. Now that I think about it, I'm feeling faint. My vision starts to blur. I look at my leg. It hurts so bad. I forgot for a moment how much it hurts.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to escape?" He whispers into my ear. I am shaking all over and my head hurts almost as bad as my knee.

"Deciding to turn back or jump? Let me help you!" He says and throws me through the gap into the ocean.

I plummet down, but this time was more than a few feet. This might have well been forty feet above the ocean, and only one thought crossed my mind, as I fell to my doom.

I CAN'T SWIM