Chapter 28

Getting the Hell out of here!

Bex's POV

I've had enough of this! I need out now!

And there is nothing that can stop me!

I have been alone for about a day now from what I can work out with my internal clock being on the fritz from now idea to tell when the sun is coming or going but I think.

I have been struggling with the ropes for hours… burning the skin around my wrists… leaving what I know will be permanent marks but I think they are wearing thin. I found a bit of metal sticking up from the back of the seat that seems to be slowly getting through the thick triple knotted rope.

Slowly but surely I can feel the strands snap and fall apart until the rope is weak enough for me to just snap it apart.

IM FREE!

I bend down to work on the knots around my ankles and feel my head spin…. The metallic taste of blood slides down the back of my throat from what I'm sure is a busted nose… can't breathe out of it if my life depended on it….

Which ironically it kind of does….

Anyway the knots are simple work with both my hands free. The feeling of blood flowing back to my limbs is something I never thought I would feel grateful for but believe me I do.

Standing up uneasily I feel my body sway at the sudden demand on it to hold itself upright after so long of being forced to remain seated.

I creep towards the door and hopefully twist the handle but of course nothing happened, not that I really expected it to but it would have made things easier.

I guess I will have to try the air vent again…

I move to the chair and carry it until it is directly under the vent. Cautiously I ease myself onto the chair and reach for the bolts securing the grate cover to the roof.

I brace myself for the extra weight this time and slowly lower the cover to the ground instead of dropping it like last time.

Gripping the edges of the vent I attempt to hoist myself into it with a little jump off the chair…

…. And I fail…

Landing back on the chair slightly less than gracefully but thankfully not making a big racket I realise that it will be harder than I realised it would be.

My muscles are weak from lack of use and they don't want to hold my weight like they used to be able to do.

Mentally preparing myself for a lot of hurt I once again clasp the sides of the vent and jump.

Despite the screaming of my muscles I managed to haul myself into the cool tunnel that is the vent.

For what feels like forever, but must have actually only been a few moments, I sit and struggle to catch my breath, something I hadn't had to do after so little exercise since the seventh grade.

I'm slightly ashamed of how weak I have become.

I sort out my options, straight ahead, left or right…

Something tells me that I need to go right so I slowly begin to crawl along the tunnel, being careful to keep my shuffle as quiet as possible.

I pass many forks but stay on my chosen path… I'm not exactly sure why though. I slide easily over other grate covers, looking in to only find empty rooms.

Either they have kept me and Macey far apart from each other… or I've gone the wrong way.

I'm really hoping on the former.

Finally I make it to a vent where I can see Macey's familiar brown nearly black hair underneath me. The grate openings are just wide enough for me to squeeze my thin wrists in between them to unscrew two of the bolts and let it hang open like a hinge.

Macey slowly looked up at me…

I really hope I don't look like her. …

Her eyes are sunken into her head, thick black circles rim her eyes … bruises or from lack of sleep I can't quite tell… her hair is matted with blood and there are slashes in her clothes revealing thin, angry red lines…. The spark that is normally present in her eyes is missing and her mouth forms an unusual grimace…

Who am I kidding I most likely look exactly like her.

As small spark of recognition lights in her eyes as she studies me for a few moments.

"C'mon Mace," I call softly. "We are getting the hell out of here!"

A/N Wow nearly 800 words later and I finally have a chapter to you… I don't think I will have many readers now but I hope someone is still there… but I wont get my hopes up yet… something just made me need to write this… I really hope whoever is still there likes this… please if you have read this… take the extra minute to review… id really appreciate it