Untitled

The Great Escape

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I do not own Hannibal, but I wish I did!

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Dr. Lecter has kept me in his home for a long time. I used to count the days, but I lost counnt awhile ago. He has stopped sedating me, but I think the drugs have done permanent damage. I wonder why I've stayed here so long. I have been able to leave, but for some reason, I don't want to. Maybe because this is my first real home for what's felt like forever. It's been great, and Hannibal's been nice, but I know this not my place. I've got to escape.

"Good evening, Clarice." Hannibal says, as he walks into my room. He is holding up a beautiful, saphire-blue dress. "Would you care to join me for dinner?" He inquires, in his scratchy voice. I have to say yes. If I don't, he'll know something's wrong. "Yes." I squeak. He sticks out his hand, the one with the dress. I grab it, and make a "shoo!" gesture with my free hand. He smiles, and walks out of the room.

I quickly run to the door, close it, then lock it. A sigh of relief escapes my mouth. "How am I going to get out of here?" I whisper to myself. I look at the window, then my dress. This is not the time to escape. "Clarice!" Hannibal says, somewhat annoyed. I rush to put on the dress. It fits perfectly.

"Coming!" I say, in my most mysterious voice. He chuckles. Phew! That was close. He somehow unlocks the door and walks in. Hannibal waves a finger at me. "Clarice," he taunts, "why did you lock the door? Don't you trust me?" He gives me a grotesque frown, and pouts at me.

"I trust you!" I say quickly. "I... I j-j-just uh, didn't want you to see me before I was ready! Yeah... that's right. You like?" He smiles at me, and nods. I hold out my hand, and he grabs it firmly. His hands are sweaty. I think he might suspect something. We walk into the dining room.

The dining room is big and just as beautiful as it was the first time, with it's sloping sides and intricate carvings. I always feel like a queen in this room. Hannibal pulls my chair out, and I sit down. He bends over and kisses me. There is a weird taste to his mouth, but considering what he likes to eat, I don't want to know what it is. "I'll get the appetizer, you wait here." Hannibal leaves the room. I frown in disgust, and wipe my mouth.

Hannibal opens the door, and walks in with a plate of cavier. I personally don't like cavier, but I'd better eat it. I don't want to look even more suspicious. I smile at him, as he sets the plate down and sits across from me. "Bon apetit!" Hannibal purrs to me. I serve myself a bit of cavier, quite reluctantly. "What's wrong, Clarice?" he says, with mock empathy. "You've been acting strangely today."

"Oh," I smile, but it's more of a nervous smile. "I've just been tired today." I hope that'll work!

"Ok," Hannibal replies, "well if you are acting that way tomorrow, I'm going to call the doctor."

"I'm sure I will be okay tomorrow." I tell him, and he buys it. I start to eat my cavier. Yuck. I hate cavier. In a couple of minutes, it's gone from my plate. "More?" Hannibal inquires.

"No thanks." I tell him, and push away my plate. He quickly finishes his plate, grabs mine, and walks into the kitchen. I look around for a window to escape from. No luck, and anyway Hannibal walks in with the entrée, calamari with basil and garlic. I've never had calamari, but I guess there's a first time for everything. He cuts me a large portion of the squid, and sets it on my plate.

I poke it with my fork. The steam rises up and burns my hard. "Ow!" I yell, shaking . Hannibal looks up at me questioningly. "I burnt my hand." I explain. He nods at me, and looks back down. I grab my knife and cut a small chunk. An idea comes to me. "Hannibal," I say, "Please excuse me, I must use the restroom." He nods, and motions for me to "go ahead". I calmly walk out of the room.

I walk down a long corridor to the restroom, and slip inside. I turn on the fan, just in case he's close by, and slowly and carefully open the window. A cool breeze comes in, and I shiver. I swing my legs over the windowsill, jump out, and close the window. It's already getting dark.

I cautiously slip past the dining room, and around the house, to the driveway. I hear a clicking sound, and it takes me a few seconds to realize that it's my shoes that are making the noise. Sighing, I unstrap the shoes, and throw them into the lawn. I continue to run for a few minutes, until I reach the road. I hear shouts behind me. "Oh no," I gasp, "it's Hannibal!"

Now it's almost completely dark. I quickly slink along the road, hoping for someone to drive by. No such luck. I hear loud footsteps behind me. "Come back here!" Hannibal yells. I walk faster, until I break into a fast sprint. There's no way he'd catch up with me, he's almost twice my age. I see headlights coming up from behind me. I stick out my thumb, and hope that I'd get a ride.

The car pulls up, and the driver opens the door. "Need a ride?" The mysterious voice says.

"Yeah I do. Where are you heading?"

"I'll go anywhere." The person says.

"Okay, let's go." I say, and jump in the car. He pulls away, leaving Hannibal gaping behind. For a few minutes, neither of us say anything. I decide to break the silence. "Where are we going?" I ask, looking at the small man driving. "To the police station." He replies. "I'm a police officer. You shouldn't hitch-hike." I stutter for a while before I can get my voice back. "Wait!" I say, "There's a good explaination." He rolls his eyes. "I'm Clarice Starling." I said to him. Now it's his turn to stutter.

"Clarice Starling?" He gasps, "Didn't Hannibal kidnap you five years ago?" I nod. "Th-th-then y-y-you were running from him?" I nod again. " We've got to go back and catch him!" He yells gleefully.

"No!" I yell. "Now that I escaped, he'd like to have my head on a platter as well as yours!"

"Fine!" He snaps back, "Have it your way!" I smirk at him.

"Oh, and by the way, where are we?" I ask in my sweetest voice.

"We're in a little town called Derry, in Maine." He says, without looking at me. I look out the window. The man turns into a parking lot, in front of a little brick building. "Bye, Clarice." He says, as I get out of the car.

"Wait a second!" I exclaim, "I don't know your name!" But he is gone. I walk up the sidewalk into the building. A small woman walks up to me. "Hello!" she says. "My name is Anita Westwood. How may I help you?" She holds out her hand. I shake it. "My name is Clarice Starling." I say, "It's nice to meet you." She looks at me strangely. "I thought Hannibal the Cannibal killed you!" she said. I shook my head. "Not killed, kidnapped. I need to get back to Quantico. I just wanted to let you know where he is." I explain to her exactly where he has been living. "Thank you Clarice!" I wave and walk out.

*****

On the plane to Quantico, I try to ask people what had happened in the last five years without them thinking I was crazy. I don't think it works. But I find out many things. A few people recognize me, but it's really hard to. My hair has grown much longer, and I think I lost some of the glow in my eyes. "We will be landing in a few moments." The stewardesses announce. I put my seat belt back on, and prepare for the landing. The plane landed smoothly, and for once I don't get sick.

As I walk from the ramp to the waiting room, I notice someonr familiar. I can't remember her name, but I know she was my friend. "Clarice! You're back!" She exclaims, and hugs me. "It's Ardelia Mapp! Remember me?" I suddenly remember. "Ardelia! I haven't seen you for so long!" I hug her back. We are so caught up in rememberance, we don't even notice the dark man behind us.

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