But I have no other choice, do I?
If I don’t run now, I might never have this chance again. Graham will be coming to his senses soon, and when he does, he’s going to follow me. And that numbered padlock makes it impossible for me to unlock the door. I don’t know the code. It would take hours, maybe days to decode, if I had that time. But I don’t.
Graham’s on my tail. There’s no time left.
I have to take this chance. Have to flee before it’s too late. Before he captures me again.
So I sprint away from the door and down the stairs in the far-right corner. I feel terrible for making this choice because I know Cage will still be there, all alone, waiting for me to come back. But the will to survive is too strong, too powerful to ignore.
I continue down a long hallway and past a set of windows that allows me to view the boxing ring Cage fights in. Up ahead is another door, and when I pass through it, I come through a dark room filled with red lights with a whole bunch of cages and podiums. One girl’s cleaning up the floor on her knees, her neck locked in place with a thick chain. I shiver, but there’s no time to help her.
Because I can already hear Graham’s screams behind me.
I bolt, not giving a shit where I run next. I’m going to escape this place. I need to, so I keep going until I find more doors, more hallways … and then … light.
Searing light.
Like a burning star right in front of me, scorching the very skin off my bones.
But I know for a fact it’s the drugs playing with my mind because what I see in front of me … is the warmth of the sun blinding me.
Making me cry tears of joy.
But there’s no time for elation, no time to stay and feel the breeze or smell the air because he’s coming. Fast.
My legs move me even though I can’t feel them anymore. I just know I have to keep running to stay ahead.
Through the red, scorching sand that lies in front of me.
Because literally nothing is around me … except for a desert and the burning heat of the sun.
My tears instantly dry up. I have no clue where I am or where I should go to get help. In the distance, I think I can see a dirt road, so I make my way toward it.
I glance behind me to see Graham emerging from the compound.
I have no idea where I am, and I don’t have a clue how to get away from here, but I will keep trying. I can’t let him take me again.
I’m bolting on pure adrenaline now, my body shaking as I rush through the biting sand that gets between my toes, but I can’t stop. I won’t stop. Giving up is for the weak, and here… outside … I’m no longer weak.
This is my home. My world.
The clouds above me protect me from losing my courage, the mountains in the distance providing me strength. I am human. I am frail. But I will not give up.
A pang shoots through my back, right into my spine, and I sink to my knees. I force my feet to get up and walk, but they don’t listen to me anymore.
Instead, I drop farther to the ground, my body incapable of anything but flinching. With the last bit of my energy, I touch my back … only to find an arrow stuck in my skin.
I pull it out.
Too late, the tranquilizer has already entered my system, poisoning me from the inside out. Within seconds, my body stops flailing, stops functioning entirely, except for my breathing and heartbeat.
A single tear rolls down my cheek as I come face to face with my captor again, staring right back at me from above.
Accompanying Song: “What A Wonderful World” by Sharon Van Etten & Juggernaut Kid
While I was out, Graham dragged me back to the compound and pulled me all the way back into the room where he keeps the wheelchair, putting me inside. I don’t even know where that is as the drugs coursing through my veins makes it impossible to focus.
All I can do is cry as I realize my only chance at escaping this hellhole was futile.
I’m back in his claws … going straight back into the glass prison.
As he straps me to the chair, I groan, feeling the drugs pour into me. I feel horrible, and it makes me want to puke.
I can see him watching me from the corner of my eye, judging me.
He leans over me and says, “You dirty little bitch … thought you could escape, huh? After everything I gave you … I told you, you might see the world again if you’d behave, but now you’ve really messed up.” He laughs, waving his finger at me. “Trying to run from a snatcher. Good one.”