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“I feel like a truck hit me. What happened? Where are we?”
“I don’t know. How the hell did they find us, Maria?”
She sits up slowly, holding her head.
“I don’t know. Are you okay, Emily?”
“I’m alright. I can’t believe this is happening to us. How the hell did they know where we were? Do you think one of the guys who helped us escape talked? Did they double cross you, Maria?”
“Who the hell knows? I guess we’re not going anywhere now,” she says, tugging at the chain attached to her ankle.
“I can’t do this again, Maria,” I whimper, tears welling in my eyes.
“We’re just going to have to find another way, Emily. You can’t give up now. You have to stay strong for your baby’s sake.”
Maria’s stern voice reminds me that I’m not alone in this nightmare. My baby’s life depends on me keeping my wits about me. Maria’s right. This is no time to fall apart.
“Okay,” I say, sniffing back the tears that are threatening to spill over. “How are we going to get out of this one, my friend?”
“I don’t have a clue, but we’re going to try.”
“I’ll see if I can find something I can use to get this chain off me.”
I look around the floor to see if I can find a hairpin or something sharp that I can use to jimmy the lock on the chain. The place is a mess. Dust and dead bugs are scattered everywhere. I shudder to think about what these dirty walls have witnessed through the years.
“What are you looking for?” Maria asks.
“A pin or a piece of wire.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to try and get this lock open. It’s our best chance out of here.”
“Here,” she says, pulling a pin from her hair. “Use this.”
Maria throws the hairpin in my direction. It lands just out of my reach.
“Shit! Sorry. Can you reach it?”
“No. Hang on, I’ll try. Ugh! Almost.”
I stretch out as far as the chain will allow, but I’m still a few inches short.
“Use the blanket,” Maria suggests.
“Good idea.”
The blanket next to me is filthy. I wish I didn’t have to touch it, but what other choice do I have? I’ll worry about diseases later. Now is not the time to be squeamish.
“Do you know how to open a lock?”
“My brother and I used to do it when we were kids. He loved illusions and magic, so we played with a set we got for Christmas. I hope I can remember how to do it.”
“Hey, it’s like riding a bike, right?” Maria smiles.
“Let’s hope so.”
I pull the dirty blanket off the bed and throw it across the floor. It covers the part of the floor where the pin is.