"Where did you get that?" Lucas asked, astonished. Holding the knife up, it glistened in the light.
"I stole it from the infirmary." she replied, "they gave me some cutlery when I had a hot dinner one night, they never noticed the knife was missing, I've had it hidden ever since."
"You were lucky…. if the guards had found it on you they w…"
"But they didn't Lucas, and now we have a means to get out of here."
A flicker of a glint shone brightly in Lucas' eye for a brief moment, would they really be able to flee this place once and for all, he thought. As they talked more on how best they would make their escape, hope began once more to flow through their veins.
The next day dawned full of promise, the siblings were awake early and had decided how their escape would start, but even the best laid plans could sometimes falter and theirs too came to a shuddering halt when their cell door crashed opened suddenly.
Two armed guards entered the room and hauled them to their feet, Lucas cried out as he was pulled upright, his feet still very sore and with no shoes on, the hard floor just exacerbated the pain even more. Their hands were tied behind their backs with rope and they were marched out of the cell and down the passageway.
The prisoners were taken straight outside into a courtyard where they were held fast by the guards, the bright light at first made the two siblings eyes hurt as they had not been outside in weeks, but the fresh air was wonderful for them and they both breathed the sweet smelling air deeply.
Lucas heard a large vehicle backing and as the lorry came into sight so did Valery Tarasov as he walked into the courtyard.
"You may wonder, my dear playmates, what all this fuss is about." he said as he stood between the prisoners, clasping a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Well …..I am sad to say that you will both be leaving here shortly."
Lucas and his sister both looked straight ahead not daring to give away their surprise at the sudden announcement.
Tarasov spoke on, an evil smile breaching his stubby little face.
"But fear not my friends, you are not going home…oh no…we are simply moving you to a safer environment…one where no one will ever find you… if you thought Lushanka was bad wait until you see your next place of incarceration."
Laughing sadistically, he gestured to the guards who bundled their captors into the back of the lorry and locked them within.
The vehicle slowly made it's way out of the prison compound and out onto the open road, it would take several hours to reach it's final destination and it would first need to negotiate the tricky roads and the marshes that spanned out for miles all around the prison.
Lucas quickly realised that their chance to escape was upon them, he urgently called to his sister to help him untie the ropes that bound him, so, with their backs against each other they furiously began to untie each others hands, it took them over 30 minutes as the darkness inside the lorry hampered their efforts but eventually they succeeded and freed themselves.
Lowering his voice for fear of alerting the two guards that were accompanying the driver, Lucas told his sibling how they were going to escape and with that, the plan was put into action.
With their ropes back in place, although loose enough they could easily be slipped off, Lucas' sister began banging on the side of the lorry with her feet announcing to the guards that something was wrong inside the vehicle, while her brother shouted for help.
Slowly the big lorry came to a lumbering halt. Hearing the guards approaching, Lucas continued to shout whilst his sister feigned illness and laid on her side motionless. Opening the large doors the guards were confronted with Lucas' pleading.
"Please help her…she's not well…you have to help her….please."
Warily the guards climbed into the back of the vehicle, one of them withdrawing his revolver and pointing it at the male prisoner before him.
The other guard dropped to his knees and turned the unmoving female onto her back. Looking up from her, he spoke to his colleague causing him to take his eyes off Lucas for a brief moment. It was all the opportunity Lucas needed, sliding the ropes off his hands he launched himself at the guard, overpowering him quickly as he fatally plunged the knife into the man's chest.
Fumbling for the gun which had been dropped in the attack, Lucas tried desperately to get a grasp of it, his fingers refusing to encompass the weapon. Finally making purchase, Lucas quickly brought the gun up to eye level and pointed it at the other guard but his efforts were too late as the guard already had his gun pushed against the side of his sister's head.