Alive

The Escape Plan

"How did... What's the plan?" Ross asks.

I shake my head.

"Can't say," I respond, then at their confused looks, I add, "Recorder."

They both nod, and I smile mischievously.

"Really! Tell us! At least tell us when." Ross says. He seems eager, and suddenly, I have an idea to get my plan working faster. There's no doubt that Carlos will listen to the voice recorder, so I know this will work.

"Okay! I'll tell you!" I say, and Nakya groans, afraid that I'm going to give everything away. I silently promise her that everything will be okay. "One of my ropes is loose, so I'm going to undo it and then hide until Carlos comes back. I'll then sneak out the door!"

"That's it?" Ross asks irritably.

"Yeah." I say, smiling to myself because Ross has no idea that my escape plan is nowhere near finished.

I wait a second, sure this is going to work. No one says anything, and I can only assume that Nakya is silently scolding me and Ross is busy coming up with a better plan. Or, what he thinks is a better plan.

Suddenly, the door upstairs squeaks open, and I nearly cheer with excitement. Carlos comes running down the stairs with food. It's not even eating time, I know, but he only has two. He unties Ross and Nakya and hands them the food, only having enough for them. 

Even though it isn't time to be fed, I know he gave them more food than usual to punish me for talking about escaping. He wants me to suffer. Exactly like I planned.

"C'mon Carlos! I'm so hungry!" I lie, and he walks over to me.

"Oh, is little Takyi hungry?" He mocks.

I want to slap him, but my hands are still tied, so I bite at him instead. He is so close to me that I almost get him, but he moves just in time and and laughs hysterically. I struggle against the bindings and he laughs even harder.

"Takyi, you overestimate yourself." He says, smiling.

"You do, too."

"You know, I think it may be time to start my experimenting, and you can go first! Think of it as a reward for your constant comments." He says the last few words with so much venom that I almost lose my smile.

But I don't.

He chuckles again, goes over to Ross and Nakya, takes their plates, and goes up the stairs.

"I'll be back, Takyi." Carlos says in a sing-song voice and then closes the door. He doesn't even realize that he forgot to tie Ross and Nakya back up.

Nakya seems to notice this; I can hear her standing up. 

"Oh!" Ross mumbles, and I hear him stand up too. They walk over to me, and as they get closer, I start to see them. I can see Ross's pale skin more clearly than I can see Nakya's dark skin; all I can see is her eyes.

They work together to try to untie me, even in the darkness. It takes a moment, but they finally actually get me loose, and I nod my thanks. I get up and gesture for them to follow me to the other side of the stairs.

It's hard to see anything, but we manage to get out of the way of the bottom of the steps. We are hidden, and now I hope and pray that there is something on the floor that I can grab to distract, or hurt, Carlos when he comes back.

I have no doubt in my mind that he will come back to get me, so now we wait. The anticipation almost hurts me physically, but I know I have to just wait. I can't do anything else.

And then the door opens.

"Okay, Takyi-" He says, and he keeps talking, but I don't hear anything else because the light came through and now I can see more. I can see that there is a broken pipe not two feet from where I'm sitting.

I rush to it and grab it. Carlos has stopped talking and is now standing in front of the chair we were sitting in, a look of deep shock on his face.

I motion for my friends to run, and that's when Carlos notices us. They run up the stairs and I run at Carlos. 

My time at Kempo, though it was short, has taught me enough that I know I at least have a chance in this fight.

I swing the pipe up over his head, but trick him out and bring it over to the side of his abdomen where he is completely vulnerable. It hits him hard, but then he throws a punch at my face. It hits me hard as well, and my head snaps back.

My lip is bleeding, and I can taste the metal in my blood. It makes me even angrier so I kick his crotch and hit the side of his head. He goes sprawling on the floor, knocked out. I sit him up so he can still breath, then I sprint over to the stairs.

I run up the steps and then shut the heavy door, which I now realize can't be opened from the inside. It's perfect.

"Ross? Nakya?" I shout and hear a response towards the front of the house.

When I get over to them, they smile. They smile because we're out, and I smile too.

We open the door and run out of the house, sprinting in the direction of my house. As we run, Ross says, "That was an absolutely great plan!"

"Well, what can I say? He came to me."