Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Grasping the metal plate tightly, Naomi smashed it against the sealed doors, determined to blast her way to freedom. With each passing second it was getting hotter in her cell, the air noticeably thinner. She knew that she had to escape fast or face an agonizing death in the suffocating darkness.
For a few minutes after her captor had departed, Naomi had been paralyzed with panic, the horror of being sealed in a pitch-black tomb with a decaying corpse too awful to comprehend. Gradually, however, Naomi had become aware of the heavy weight of the chain in her hand once more. She still had a weapon. Which meant she still had hope.
Her initial attempts to free herself had gone badly. With no light creeping under the door anymore, it had taken her a while to get her bearings. Stepping back, she'd swung her chain, revolving it faster and faster, but at the crucial moment, she misjudged her throw in the darkness, succeeding only in skimming the top of her head with the heavy metal plate as she let go of the chain, crying out in pain as she did so.
Cursing, she'd crawled across the floor, accidently squashing more than one bug as she scrabbled to locate the chain. Increasingly desperate, increasingly scared, Naomi now decided on a change of tactic, grasping the plate by the hook that secured it to the metal links, and using it as a makeshift axe. Summoning all her resolve, all her courage, she brought it down, once, twice, three times, slamming it into the doors. She heard the corner of the plate bite, felt specks of chipboard hit her face on impact, but the heavy weapon rebounded sharply each time, throwing her off balance. Breathless, her long hair sticking to her sweaty face, Naomi tried a few more, increasingly lethargic, attacks before giving up.
‘Think, think …'
Naomi urged herself on, gratefully sucking in what air she could find, whilst trying to still her pounding heart, trying to regulate her breathing. She had to get out of here, but she had to play it smart, given that her supply of air was diminishing steadily. Stepping forward, she now ran her hands along the surface until she felt a slight bump in the darkness. Here she paused, locating what had once been the join of the two doors, which was now part of a wider, more comprehensive seal. If she could somehow slide the sharp edge of the plate between the two doors, then was there a chance she could jemmie it back and forth, eventually forcing the two doors open?
Using her left hand to guide the tip of her weapon, Naomi placed the sharp edge on the join. Placing one hand on the back of the plate, she now pushed with all her might. She strained every sinew, her feet digging into the floor, her body weight thrown totally forward … but the plate refused to move. Breathing heavily now, she changed tack, banging heavily with her hand on the back of the plate, but before long her palm was smarting and she had still made no progress. Panicking, her strength fading, she pulled the plate back and hurled it forwards, hoping against hope that it would bisect the join cleanly, opening up a wound to attack. But in the all-pervading gloom, her aim was off and the plate rebounded sharply off the chipboard, cannoning into her face. In her shock, she lost her balance, falling backwards, before the final indignity, the plate landing heavily, painfully, on her knee.
‘Shit, shit, shit …'
Naomi swore so as not to cry, desperate not to break down completely now. But her resistance was weakening, her strength dissipating and with it her resolve. She was trapped, utterly trapped, with ever-dwindling oxygen. Lying on the floor, Naomi tried to suck in the air as she had before, but there was none to be had, the cell now completely sealed. All she could feel was her own hot breath rebounding onto her.
Tugging off her top, Naomi tossed it away, careless of her dignity now. For a moment, she felt slightly refreshed, her exposed skin kissing the rough floor, but she knew the respite would be temporary. The temperature was rising all the time, hot breathy carbon dioxide replacing precious oxygen, spelling only doom. She was stuck down here with no chance of escape, no hope of salvation, no prospect of ever seeing another human being ever again.
She would die down here. And she would do so alone.