Chapter 4 - Escape
I woke up with the world's biggest head ache. It was like I'd been drinking for the last 24 hours, and now it was starting to catch up with me. Except for the fact that I hadn't been drinking. Instead I had fallen out of a tree.
Matt and I had bickered and argued for almost an hour yesterday after my return; him determined to get me to confess to being stupid, and me determined not to let him see how much I was suffering while he interrogated me. After what had felt like an eternity, he had finally relented, walking me home, where I had collapsed in bed with relief.
It was amazing how painful my throbbing head was, simply because I had fallen out of a tree.
Wow. That sounded really lame when you said it out loud. I briefly contemplated how incredibly stupid I had been to do that. You would think I would have realised by now that I was not the brightest crayon in the box. I just couldn't help it. Impulsivity was a part of me, as was boldness, rejection of authority, and optimism.
However, none of those were present right now. The only thing I was currently feeling was pain.
Groaning, I slowly slid off the bed. Opening my eyes and glancing downwards, my vision was filled with a jumble of multi-coloured splotches. I felt my head spin, the blur of colour causing me to stumble forward blindly. Desperately reaching out for support, I grasped my set of drawers gratefully. As I steadied myself, my line of sight slowly began to clear. Though there were no coloured spots, everything was still blurry.
I managed to make out that I was still wearing my sweater and shorts, but they were in desperate need of a wash. I grabbed something from my wardrobe before heading into the bathroom, staggering like a total drunk. It was awfully hard to navigate when you couldn't see where you were going. Predictably, I had a few run-ins with awkwardly placed furniture, and I gained a few more bruises. Lovely.
I showered quickly, relieved when there were no major accidents as a result of my impaired vision. Sure, I had stepped into freezing cold water instead of hot, but that was nothing. Though the hot water had soothed my head and partially cleared my eyes, I still felt like I was being hit repeatedly on the back of my head with a basketball.
Aiming to do my hair, but only ending up burning myself on the straightener, I decided it was in my best interests to just leave it and get dressed. Examining what I had brought with me, I pulled on denim shorts and blue top. I took one look at my make-up - more like I tried to look at my make-up - before heading downstairs. I knew any attempt in eyeliner would result in a new species of panda.
Silence.
I couldn't hear anything except the quiet chirping of the birds outside. Matt must have left early again. Preoccupied my thundering head ache, I headed straight for what I thought was the pantry only to open the fridge. Humph. As I finally managed to get my hands on some medicine, I pondered what to do today.
I couldn't stay home... I'd done that all week. Plus I'd probably have some sort of fit over the vampire that was after me. Shivering, I directed my thoughts away from the deadly topic.
Despite my unfortunate experience with the tree yesterday, the green and brown of the trees bordering our house was looking awfully inviting. The urge to go outside and breathe in the heavenly smell of earth and nature was compelling.
It was just too strong to resist.
I lugged my bag along with me as I moved to the front door. I glanced quickly in Matt's room, double checking he wasn't home, before leaving a note on the kitchen bench.
In the few minutes it had taken me to get ready, the compulsion to go outside had grown exponentially. I was desperate for fresh air, because the windows were locked and I couldn't be bothered trying to find to key.
Ready and somewhat desperate to go, I went to open the door.
It was locked.
Huh. Glancing around for the key which was for some reason not in the lock where it always was, I knew it was hopeless. I still couldn't see properly, and if I couldn't find something when I wasn't impaired, it was practically impossible that I would find it now.
Sighing, I turned around, and made my way down the hall towards the back door. I had a terrible feeling of apprehension as I approached it, but I couldn't figure out why. Then all of a sudden I hit something hard.
My head began to throb even worse than before, and I struggled to make out the object that was the cause of my misery.
It was the wall. Whipping my head side to side, I tried to figure out what had happened. The wall wasn't new, was it? No, that had definitely been there a while. Though I suppose I'd only been living here a week. Then again, I could navigate the house no trouble when it was dark. Shaking my head at the bizarreness of my mental conversation, I continued to the door.
Turning the handle, I braced myself. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but I had a growing, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Time seemed to stretch as I waited for the click before the door opened.
It was locked.
I stared dumbly at the door, willing it to open.
Nothing happened. Not that I had expected it to open simply because of my look, but with the morning I'd had, anything was possible. Overwhelmed at the ill fortune that had befallen me, I let head my head thump against the door. Once, twice, three times.
I now knew why my brother had left me all alone after our argument yesterday without posting a guard. He had been so worried that I had concussion; I had been surprised that he wasn't here watching my every move. He had obviously come up with a better idea.
He had locked me in.
I couldn't believe it. Was he honestly this obsessed with making sure I didn't hurt myself? And what on earth was I supposed to do for the day? Mope like I had done for the past week?
I knew that I had a tendency to do stupid things. It was fairly obvious, but that didn't mean that I was some crazy psycho that had to be locked in a padded room and supervised at all times! It was ridiculous.
I was still staring at the door, trying to comprehend the insanity that had befallen my extremely over-protective brother. We were going to have a serious talk when he came back.
It was completely and utterly ridiculous to lock me in the house because I had gotten a few bruises. As far as he was aware, I was perfectly fine.
And yet here I was locked in my own house. With absolutely no one who knew I was here, let alone anyone who would help me escape.
I took some deep breaths, trying to calm myself. I would need every ounce of my brain power to complete my mission. It wouldn't be easy; Matt knew I could be extremely drastic when need be. This was going to take everything I had. But I would do it. I had to.
My aim was a simple one. It wasn't long or detailed, or filled with a tonne of objectives that could go wrong. It was short, brief and to the point.
Escape.
Pivoting on the spot, I took in every item around me, searching for any possible means to escape. I let my mind go free, thinking, plotting, considering. I was going over every movie I had ever seen where a hostage escaped from an incredibly secure building of any form.
I sat on the floor, crossing my legs. I would need perfect concentration. And so I began to shuffle through the multitude of ideas bouncing around in my head like 5 year olds on steroids. So many plans, so many impossible ideas.
I could smash a window. But that would be difficult as Matt had almost certainly hidden every object capable of doing so. I had to stay away from such obvious solutions. Deciding a walk around the house might inspire me further, I clambered to my feet and began to wander aimlessly through the silent rooms.
There was the vacuum cleaner. Even I couldn't think of anything useful I could do with that. Perhaps I could pick the lock with a piece of wire? I sent that thought elsewhere as I tried to think of where I could find some wire. Breaking the door down wasn't an option. I doubted even my desperation could give enough force for that.
How about using the knives in the kitchen some way? No. I would probably stab myself in the process. I began to worry that I was running out of options.
Deciding that using wire was probably my best chance, I searched the kitchen, certain it was the most likely place to find it. Half way through my foraging I went to check the size of the key hole in the door, disappointed to see none of our knives would fit.
Moving upstairs, my hopes were low that I would be successful. I refused to give up though.
As I sieved through the contents of the few remaining rooms, my final hope was that somewhere in the junk sprawled around my bedroom, I would find my salvation.
Sifting through my drawers, I pulled out a number of items, none of them of any use. None of my jewellery pieces would fit the key hole, and my bobby pins all seemed to be mysteriously missing. Desperate, I went through my clothes, dreading that maybe I would be stuck in the house again. I even went through my underwear draw, but found nothing that could unlock the door.
Defeated, and still holding a bra in my hands, I sat down on the bed. I would have to stay locked in the house for another day. Staring moodily at the pale pink bra I was turning over and over in my hands, I willed some form of solution to arise. And to my great surprise it did. Still staring at the bra, it came to me. An idea.
I stood up like I had been struck with lightning, marvelling at my incredible epiphany. Could this actually work? Running downstairs, my heart pounding, I searched the kitchen for a pair of scissors. I glanced down at my bra, mystified at the fact that it might possible help me escape. My fingers felt the long, thin bar of metal sewn into the material.
My piece of wire.
This bra was an old one, and I didn't wear it any more. So I felt absolutely no hesitation before using the scissors and cutting it up. After extracting the wire from what was now nothing but a disfigured lump of material, I did a sort of victory dance. Newly invigorated, I headed for the door, grabbing my bag on the way.
I held my breath as I inserted the wire into the key hole of the back door. As I manoeuvred it, listening desperately for the tell tale click that would signal freedom, I was almost bouncing with excitement. And then suddenly, I heard it.
A short, sharp click.
My fingers shaking, I clasped the door handle and turned it, ecstatic when it turned with no resistance. I swung the door open wide, taking a deep breath of fresh air. I relished the earthy smell of the forest and the trees, and ran outside, shrieking.
It was so wonderful. My bag slung over my shoulder, I danced across the lawn, filled with happiness. The sun wasn't shining, as usual, but it was amazing to see the clouds and open sky. Suddenly, today didn't seem like such a disaster. Sticking the piece of wire that had saved my life into my pocket, I ran forward into the forest, not caring which direction.
I was free.