After heading back to the bedroom, I lay down in bed, eyes fixed on the phone’s lit screen. While studying the building plan, I would zoom in on the areas that needed more clarity.
I spent the whole night studying that thing, alone. Adrik hadn’t slept in the room for like two nights now. He was busy keeping the house safe from a possible invasion. While he was planning to protect his household, I was planning on escaping from it.
The next day, I found out from Natalya that Adrik wouldn’t be home that night. He had to attend an important midnight meeting. I knew in that second that this was my chance to bolt.
I’d already memorized the blueprint and had it saved on my phone. I’d learned the guards’ routines and could movewithout being seen. Thanks to the blueprint, I knew where the house’s blind spots were.
There was nothing stopping me now.
I waited in my room that night until it was time to move. Dressed in an all-black outfit that would seamlessly blend with the darkness outside, I stepped out into the corridor.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I made my way through the hallways. I moved like a shadow, knowing the exact to stop and when to move again. That was how I avoided the guards and got to the basement.
I stopped in my tracks when I spotted the torture room where I first saw Adrik’s cold side. Across from it was the exit I was looking for: a steel red door. I threw my hands into my hair and pulled out the clip holding it together.
Like a river of blood, my hair fell loosely over my shoulders as I walked over to the waiting door. I crouched before it, slipped the clip through the keyhole, and began picking the lock.
I hadn’t done this in a long time, but I was certain that I still had it in me. After a solid five minutes of trying, the door finally unlocked with a softclick.
A fleeting excitement washed over me, prompting my lips to curl into a small smile. I rose to my feet and gently pushed the door open. My face twisted in response to the metallic stench and the foul smell that filled the tunnel air.
I buried my nose in my elbow, turned on my phone’s flashlight, and took that bold first step. It was dark in here, and only God knew what creeping creatures lurked in the shadows.
However, I was determined to leave. Besides, I hadn’t come this far just to turn back now.
They say there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
I was about to test that theory for myself.
As I walked through the dark tunnel, my phone lighting my way, my heart raced uncontrollably. I was afraid of the things I couldn’t see in the dark—the creatures making those funny noises.
I heard hisses from all around, like a snake wasn’t too far from me. I hated snakes; they scared the shit out of me. But that didn’t stop me. I could only hope I didn’t accidentally step on any.
My path was covered in thick cobwebs and crawling spiders, while rats scurried around in the dark. But I ignored the distractions and kept moving, hoping to catch a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.
The more I walked, the more it seemed like I was going in circles. I knew I wasn’t because I had the building plan to guide me. The tunnel was just longer than it looked on paper.
I walked for about twenty minutes in the darkness, and with each passing second, I grew more and more nervous. At some point, I began to doubt whether this was the right choice.
A thousand questions overlapped in my mind—all negative thoughts that fanned my fears. I wondered what would happen if I got lost in this tunnel. Or worse, what if I were bitten by a snake and the venom stopped my heart before anyone could find me?
What if I died down here? How long would it take Adrik to find my body?
It took everything in me to silence the noise in my head and keep going.
Then at last, after twenty-five long minutes, I finally saw a glimmer of hope. The light at the end of the tunnel. Literally.
Smiling, I hurried over to the small barred gate, adorned with vines and cobwebs. The padlock on it was huge but rusted. After looking around for a moment, I found a rock by the side.
With that rock, I struck the padlock a few times, and it gave way.
I laughed and pushed it open.
Laughed still when I stepped out of the tunnel, basking in the moon’s ethereal glow. I spread out my hands, closed my eyes, and inhaled the scent of the flowers and leaves around me. Smelled like freedom.
I easily navigated through the woods until I burst out onto a busy road. There, I flagged down a cab and got into the backseat.
“Where to, ma’am?” the driver asked me, stealing a glance through the rearview mirror.
