Page 10 of Escape

Sucking up my tears, I pushed to my feet again and headed out the door I came in. With the knowledge I had now, I looked out into the hallway with different eyes. The scuffs on the floor, the cracks in the walls, the dented and dingy lockers. I should’ve seen it earlier. There was no way anyone went to school here anymore.

The front entrance loomed in before me. I could just barely see the shine of the streetlights outside through the permanently fogged windows. I could kick, push and scream all I wanted, but there was no way that door was open. I’d sealed my fate the moment I stepped through it.

Redirecting my attention, I peered both ways down the halls, my gaze catching on the Restroom sign. I tried to keep my face neutral in case my captor could see me, but when I remembered my phone in the bathroom lockers, hope bubbled in my chest.

I looked around one more time, checking for more cameras. I didn’t see any, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. I just had to sprint to the restroom and pray there was nobody hiding in the shadows to stop me.

Slowly, I crept along the wall a few inches towards the restroom. I stepped out of my heels, my bare feet meeting the icy tiles, and booked it towards the doors.

As soon as I crossed into the room, I flattened myself against the wall. My heart thrummed wildly, anticipating a gloved hand snatching me up and dragging me away.

Minutes passed and nobody came. I slid towards the lockers, my foot sinking into a puddle of liquid. I held back a gag, praying it was only water that had leaked onto the floor. Pushing up onto my toes, I continued. I pulled open the locker I’d placed my purse in, gritting my teeth as it creaked, only to find it empty.

“What?!” I whisper-screamed, pulling open every other locker, not caring how loud they were. “No, no, no, no. Fuck!”

I slammed my fist against the metal doors. They were all empty. Of course they were.

Standing there. Frozen. Staring at the wall in front of me, my whole body went numb. It’s like every nerve ending went offline and all feeling hovered over me like a whisper on my skin. My brain buzzed against my skull, thrashing around to grasp at any sense of reality because there was no way this was real.

Shit like this only happened in movies. Fucked up, sadistic movies. It couldn’t be my fucking life.

Through the haze, a faint pop sounded in the hallway. Just like the sound of the gymnasium door unlocking. I contemplated staying put. Locking myself in a stall and waiting for the stranger to come kill me. But what if they never came?

The only way out is through.

Snapping back into reality, I hopped over the wet spot and out the door into the hallway again. Scooping up my heels, I continued down the hall. Nothing but the sound of my bare feet padding against the icy floors and the thump of my heart surrounded me as I tested every door.

I had reached the end of one hall and turned down another when I finally saw it. The door of classroom 12 was slightly ajar, a warm glow shining through the bottom gap.

Memories flooded my mind as I entered. I was back in algebra class. It was a miracle I made it when geometry the year before had almost taken me out. I wouldn’t have passed algebra either if it wasn’t for…my gaze drifted to the back corner before I shook the painful memories away.

I should have left the past in the past.

After slipping my heels back on, the door clicked shut behind me. I whipped around, jiggling the handle to no avail. I flattened myself against the wall, my chest heaving with panicked breaths. Eventually, my attention fell to the front of the class where a timer with bright red numbers was counting down the seconds.

4:55…4:54…4:53…

Right below it, a whiteboard with a message waited.

TEST TODAY!

Please find your name and take a seat.

I crept closer, squinting to read the smaller print underneath.

(Choose wisely and quickly, your path depends on it)

My gaze flicked back up to the timer, which was now down to 4:30. I didn’t want to find out what happened when my time ran out, so I snapped into action. I trotted around the room as fast as I could in my stupid heels, slipping around corners and skimming every desktop for my name.

Every one I checked was blank until I got to the back corner. The same place I sat while I was in school. There were two desks with a white piece of paper taped to the top. I circled around to read the names.

They were both mine. Jasmine James, my maiden name, was taped to the left and Jasmine Mahon, my married name, was on the right. My eyes flicked between the two. There was the Jasmine I was in the real world, and the Jasmine that this stranger had addressed me as since the beginning. That had to be the right choice.

I glanced at the clock that was now down to 1 minute. I flopped down into the left desk so quickly that I didn’t notice the device waiting on the seat until a mechanical twist and pop sounded underneath me.

I grasped the edges of the tabletop and froze, squeezing my eyes shut and preparing for whatever I’d just activated. Another trap? A fucking bomb?

“Very good, smart girl!” The voice praised.