The Escape

I looked out the window as we were driving past tree after tree going up the windy path. The ascent was steep. As the car climbed the mountain road, I felt my ears begin to clog; I placed yet another piece of gum in my mouth to chew. This was all new to me. I lived my entire life in the city. I already missed it. It was nice knowing that I could rely on cell service for GPS. Or even a taxi. I was told the nearest bus station was about a mile and a half away. Out here, it was just more dirt and trees. I once took an English class where people spent their time writing about how beautiful nature is. They called it romance. I don’t see what is so romantic about getting bit by mosquitos. When we passed by yet another owl, I was reminded how little I knew about animals. All I was used to were the city rats that skirmished throughout the tunnels of the underground city. We took another bend in the road.

“So... what’s on yo’ mind — ?” Joe, the officer in charge of my protection duty, asked: “ — awfully quiet.”

“Definitely ain’t the city,” I replied. He probably heard the skepticism in my voice, for I showed no remorse for my uncomfortableness to the mountains.

“Give’t a chance, you may ‘ome to ike it afto awhile.” I shrugged my shoulders “ehh maybe... if I live long enough,” I started thinking about the past couple of months. So much had changed since that night. It still haunts me knowing that he hasn’t been caught yet.

“Ey promise ya’ e ain’t gonna find ya out here.” Joe was apparently trying to calm me down and make me feel better. I appreciated the attempt. It wasn’t working, though. Travis found me in my home, at my work, even my best friend's house.

“Dar ain’t any neknology out hea’ jus’a lota guns en stuff.”

He tapped his colt forty-five revolver that was attached at the hip.

“Dat an ‘ole lot of friendly people ookin’ afta ya.”

“Yeah, the court is doing a great job of keeping him away, aren’t they.”

“I know it ain’t seem ike it now...but it all be betta soon” He kept one hand on the steering wheel of the old ’76 Ford while we turned into the three-mile-long dirt road that led up to the safe house. As of this moment, only two people knew about this place, and both of us were sitting inside the truck. Joe kept smiling as he hit the bumps in the road. It had not been graded in years since I used to come up here as a little girl.

“So how you go bout know’n a place ike dis anyhow?”

“It was my grandfather’s prior to him dying. He kept to himself most of his life, only allowing us to come to visit. We decided to keep the home after his death.... we just couldn’t let go. He built it alongside his father when they settled here with their family.”

As we pulled up to the driveway, I remembered when the three of us would come and visit my grandfather, and I would play on the tire swing. It was the only thing I liked about the place. Although I loved my grandpa, I didn't particularly appreciate coming here. It was no longer there. Just a long rope that hung from the tree.

“Lot smaller than I remember.”

We got out, grabbed my stuff, and walked in. The door was a bit stuck, so I used the weight of my bag to barge through. The living room was musty with dust floating in the air. I could feel my nose start to feel up with snot.

“Mind me of my ole’ place in ‘Bama” after I didn’t respond, he went on to talk about he went from being in the military to becoming a police officer then on to deceive while doing protection duty on the side.

I was only half-listening. Joe’s voice was more like background noise. I was scanning around the room, trying to get a sense of what my new life might come to look like. When I went to the window, I looked out at the trees. They were saying in the wind slightly. It had been late spring when I escaped my imprisonment.

Now the beginning of Autumn was upon us. The cold reminded me of the darkroom that I spent many nights in. Travis kept me in a wine cellar below his old house that was modified to fit a small bedroom on the opposite side of the Amontillado and Montignac Medoc's barrels. His family owned a fortune five-hundred company. His resources allowed him an acre of land on the outskirts of the city. I remember thinking to myself that I would never see the light of day again. It was not until he had mistakenly left the cellar door unlatched when he went for a business trip that I was able to make my escape. Little did I know he had a vast collection of knowledge on my life. He knew everywhere I went. He stalked me but evaded custody by paying people off. Others who resisted died.

“Well, ima sure you want some space to yo‘ self. I’ll let a settle yourself in.” Joe’s voice disrupted my thoughts only for a second. I faintly heard him say something about making a phone call letting his captain know we were okay. He left the room to the other side of the house where there was still an old cord-phone for emergencies.

My mind drifted back to Travis’s mansion. We actually went on a date before he took me hostage. I remember his voice being smooth and sweet. My therapist said that is how a lot of abductions start. The man knows how to talk. It makes sense now that I think about how he managed to be so rich. We had a couple of drinks at a club downtown. Of course, he paid for the drinks for the whole table. Twenty people were sitting at the barstools with the music blazing to some sort of EDM. I wasn’t paying all that much attention to it. I was more interested in him talking about anything. Ooh! Those beautiful verdant eyes matched the glow beneath the table. Only if I had not noticed them that night, things would be different. After about five rounds, I decided I was drunk enough to allow him to swoon me over, back to his place. What could I say? I liked it rough...in the beginning. And the kinky cuffs to the bed in his cellar were amusing, at first. But then said he needed to use the restroom.

I didn’t think much of it until he was gone for twenty minutes, then forty. After two hours I had to pee. My buzz started wearing off as I called his name several times to no avail. He did not come back that morning nor the morning after that. It was not until the middle of the third day that he finally came down with the smell of rosé on his breath, to go along with his grin. It was then I realized that monsters truly did walk this earth, and I had sex with a rich one. He would come down every few days with plenty of food and water to keep me “wholesome” and beautiful. He raped me every few nights for all five months.

The memory faded as I was startled by Joe, raising his voice on the phone.

“Well, aya betta get a cut. Dis be some hard work ye hear.”

I glanced back towards him, and he caught my eye. He made a motion that was some sort of lousy sign language for “my bad.” I decided to walk over to the bed in the center of the room where my bag was and started unpacking. Something struck me as odd. I felt uneasy. There was a strange feeling that something was not right. It had been a long day for me, so I knew I was tired and anxious to get on with my life, but in the back of my mind, there was a realization that maybe Travis was just too smart and would somehow find me out here. How was it that he knew everything the police knew? There was no way that he could have known they were close to arresting him. I had a feeling that someone on the inside had been leaking information. The only matter was who. There was only one detective who had been on the case the entire time. I finished placing my things away and decided I had to act on my instincts.

“Yes. Yes, sa. I’ll take care of ha.” That was what I had heard when I walked over to Joe right before he hung up the old phone. I pretended not to notice his stray glance toward my direction as I walked by.

“I am going outside real quick to get firewood. It will just take a moment.”

“I don’t dink dat is de best idea. I can a get it fo ya.” Joe then stood by the door blocking my path.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Nobody is here. Plus, I know exactly where the wood is at. It’ll only take a moment.”

I could see Joe starting to shake a bit. He was nervous. He had been on the right side of the law for a long time. He was not sure he was capable of following his next order.

“Sorry, der mam, but I can’t let ya do dat. I’ve got ma ordahs.” “Joe. Who exactly was that on the phone?”

“Aww damn!” Joe then glanced over at his revolver that he had left on the table. He lunged to grab it, but before he could, I yanked it away and pointed it in his direction.

“It was you all along, wasn’t it. How much?”

“Much a wat?”

“How much is he paying you.”

“Please. The offace don’t gotta dime to give. I gotta. I gotta.”

At that moment I heard tires rolling up on gravel outside, and a car door opens then closes.

“You told him we were here?” My finger was on the trigger now. I would have to shoot them both here and now. It was the only way I could be free. I made up my mind. I was tired of hiding.

BANG!!!

Joe’s face went pale, and his eyes widened as the door slammed open. Four men with navy blue uniforms came barging into the room just as he mouthed, “I’m sorry.” It was too late though the blood oozed from where his heart was. He hit the floor.

“This is the police hands up! Hands Up!”

I could not do anything but stand there frozen. The fact that the police were here shocked me. It had meant one thing. I was done running.

“We have good news, mam. We caught the bastard. Another squad had found out that your security detail lying there on the floor was selling secrets to Travis. They followed up on the lead and got Travis in custody. Congratulations.”

I kept the gun in my hand. I thought long and hard about my next actions. I needed to keep it.