Powering OFF

11

The sunlight, barely visible, peaks through the blinds and catches my eye. Leah isn't in the bed anymore. I hope she hasn't done anything crazy.

"Leah!"

I hear her voice from downstairs. "I'm down here."

She's staring at the windows. Her curls are tighter because of all of the moisture from sweating.

"You know," she starts, with her back still turned.

"I never imagined that I'd be trapped inside of my best friend's house. At least I'll die with someone who makes me happy."

"Leah! Don't you dare talk like that! We're going to make it!"

She turns around and I see a tear drop from her eye. "You're right," she whispers. "I'm sorry."

I walk closer toward her and reach out my arms.

After we hug, she returns to the same spot to look out of the window again. She laughs. "At least it's snowing. All we need is hot cocoa."

Those words! They make me feel so...optimistic.

I move up beside her to look at the snow.

It's steady. It must've just started a few hours ago. Little patches of grass can be seen underneath the thin blanket of snow.

If the snow is continuous, there could be two to three feet on the ground. "Oh my God!"

"Oh my God, this is it!" Leah jumps and turns to me. "Cassie! What is it?"

Wait. Stay aware of your surroundings, Cassie. Grabbing Leah by the arms, I give her another hug.

"Seriously, what is it? You're scaring me!"

She tries to pull away from me but I manage to keep a firm grip on her.

"Leah," I whisper. "I have a plan. We're going to get out of here. But we have to go back upstairs. I can't talk about it here."

The two of us have to be cautious because there's no telling if the camera in the corner of the living room is still watching. Listening.

She follows me back to my room, then I make sure the door behind us is locked. "Now, what is it?"

I take a breath and prepare to tell her my brilliant idea.

"Okay. The man who works at WGR installed smart locks into all of the windows. Except for one. That window is in my attic!"

"Wait, where is this going?" Leah raises her eyebrows along with her hands.

"It still works like normal. We can escape through there!"

She backs away from me. "Cassie, the attic is at the very top of the house. That would be a long drop!"

I walk closer to her. "Not if the snow piles up by the time we make the jump! It could break our fall!"

"Of course, we can't do it now!" I groan.

"We have to wait for a couple of hours. Hopefully, it will have reached two or three feet by tonight. If not, we'll have to do it tomorrow."

Leah remains silent. I give her a moment to consider my idea before I say, "Don't you think it's worth a shot?" She nods, but I'm not sure if it's out of agreement or fear.

"So it's determined. We will escape tonight." I give Leah a hopeful smile.

This is our only chance. It has to work.

We did exactly what was planned. After about three hours of waiting, the sunlight vanishes completely.

When the streetlight comes on, I sit up on the bed and nudge Leah in the arm. She fell asleep beside me while I stayed awake to think over my plan some more. "I think it's time."

She opens her eyes and rolls over to face me. "Okay," she mouths. We both get out of bed. I grab Leah's hand and have her follow me to the hallway.

Standing on my toes, I pull the string so the attic stairs will fall.

"I'll go first."

Leah steps out of the way, allowing me to climb up the stairs. She gives me her phone so I can use the flashlight to guide myself. "Can you see?" I hear her ask.

"Yes. I've already reached the attic floor."

The small window in the center of the wall is the first thing that catches my attention. This could be it.

I've been trapped for three months by some kind of sick company that installed their evil system in my home. Tonight, I can finally live again.

There's no turning back now.

"Is everything alright?" Leah's voice brings me back to reality.

"Oh, yes!" I stutter. "You can come up here now." I shine the flashlight over the entrance to help her see.

We walk around and look at the boxes in the corner. Some stuff I probably forgot to unpack when I first moved in.

The temperature in the lower part of the house hasn't affected how it feels in the attic. The coolness of the air felt heavenly on my perspiring skin.

Leah watches as I peer outside of the window, with my fingers touching the cold glass. "I think it stopped, but the snow is still layered on the ground pretty thick."

"Are you sure about this Cassie? Open your eyes. It seems dangerous."

I turn around. "Would you rather break most of your bones by falling on hard ground?"

She swallows.

"Or break or one or two by falling on soft snow?"

Leah waves her hand, indicating that she gets the message. "Let's go."

The air hits my face with vicious force. I brace myself for the landing. Before I know it, I am knee-deep in the snow. There were mixed emotions of fear and excitement.

I look around and notice the sheets of white covering everything. Cars, houses, and the street light at the intersection of the street.

Some houses are decorated with Christmas lights. Inflatable Santas and nativity scenes are lined up across the yards. Everything feels so...weird.

I call out to Leah. "Okay, your turn!"

She peeps her head out of the window above. Her eyes are closed, she takes the jump and lands on her crouched feet, just as I did.

"We did it!" I yell, grabbing Leah and spinning her around.

"Now let's run to someone's house and get help! We need to make sure their cars are in the yard." I tell Leah to check her left, while I scan the right side of the neighborhood.

I do a quick jog to check out the other yards. I feel kind of lightheaded, it must be from all of the excitement.

When I return, Leah is still standing in the same spot.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you moving?" Leah looks concerned. She's mute.

"Cassie." Her eyes are staring into my soul.

We stand here in the cold when we could be getting help.

"Cassie," she repeats. "I need you to open your eyes."

"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense right now."

"Open your eyes. You are not awake."

"Wait- what?" Leah's face begins to distort right in front of me. My hearing is muffled.

I'm fighting off the urge to blink, but my eyes become heavier each second.

My awareness of everything around me ceases to exist as the only thing I am surrounded by is darkness.