Chapter 47

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Shivers racked Brynlee’s body, each one sending a fresh wave of dread through her. The air in the basement was damp and cold, seeping into her bones and exacerbating the ache in her muscles from hours of captivity. She had lost track of time down here, in this hellish place where the darkness felt like a living thing, pressing in on her from all sides.

Her hands were bound with a thick nylon rope, the rough fibers digging into her skin with every slight movement. The rope was tethered to a metal ring bolted into the wall, giving her just enough slack to sit or lie down on the dirty mattress in the corner. She’d tested the strength of the tether several times, pulling with every ounce of strength she had left, but it held firm. Her captor had made sure there was no easy escape.

There was a small rectangular window high in the wall to her right, but it was too far away for her to reach. She hadn’t even realized it was there until the first gray rays of dawn broke through the filthy, dirt-encrusted glass. She stared longingly at it, so close to freedom, yet still so far away.

She couldn’t keep sitting here, waiting for whatever horrific fate awaited her. The fear that had initially paralyzed her had morphed into something sharper, more desperate. She had to get out. Brynlee forced herself to focus, her mind racing as she scanned the basement for anything she could use to her advantage.

She turned her gaze back to the tray of food beside the mattress, and her lip curled. Johnson had brought it down not long ago, the same time he’d removed their gags. He’d given Brynlee a hard look, then picked up the bucket she’d kicked over and moved it far away. With a final warning, he’d told them he had errands to run, and that he would be back later.

Her eyes fell on the spoon lying on the tray next to a lumpy bowl of oatmeal. The bowl was styrofoam, but the spoon was metal. She rolled her eyes. Probably so she couldn’t break a plastic one and try to stab him with it. Because she absolutely would have.

As she stared at it, her mind began to whirl. She shuffled toward the edge of the mattress, her bound hands making the movement awkward and slow. When she finally reached it, she grabbed up the spoon, the cool weight of it in her palm sparking a tiny flicker of hope.

With a grunt of effort, she hurled the spoon at the window, aiming for the center of the glass. It pinged off, not even scratching the surface, then clattered to the floor next to Fallon’s mattress.

Fallon sent a panicked look her way. “What are you doing? He’ll hear you!”

“Do you really want to stay here and wait for him to come back?”

Fallon flinched at Brynlee’s harsh words, but she couldn’t tamp down the urgency that coursed through her. “He’s never going to let you go, you know that. Whatever happens next will be worse. We have to try.”

Fallon bit her lip, and Brynlee pressed on. “Please, Fallon. We need to get out of here. Give me the spoon.”

Reluctantly, Fallon picked up the spoon and tossed it toward Brynlee. It landed on the mattress a few feet away, and she grabbed it up, then took aim again.

She threw it again, harder this time, using the rage and fear that boiled within her to fuel the throw. The spoon struck the glass with a sharp crack, and a small fissure appeared at the point of impact.

Hope exploded through her chest. “Again!”

Fallon passed her the spoon once more, and Brynlee gripped it hard as she scrambled to her feet, straining against the rope as she readied herself for another throw.

This time, she threw the spoon with everything she had. It hit the window dead center, and the glass shattered with a satisfying crash. Shards of glass rained down, a few pieces clattering to the basement floor, glittering like tiny diamonds in the dim light.

Fallon whipped her head toward Brynlee. “What do we do now?”

Brynlee didn’t waste a second. She yanked up the threadbare sheet that had been tossed carelessly over the mattress, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Gripping the sheet tightly, she pulled it so it was taut, then threw it toward the broken window, using it to drag the shards of glass closer to her. She had to be careful; one wrong move and the glass could slice her open, but she was beyond caring. This was her only chance to free herself.

Slowly, painstakingly, she managed to pull a small shard of glass within reach. She picked it up, then tossed it toward Fallon. “Start cutting!”

She picked up another shard, the jagged edge biting into her palm as she positioned it against the rope binding her hands. She sawed at the rope with the glass, her hands trembling with the effort. Sweat mingled with the grime on her skin, her breath coming in harsh pants as she worked.

“Ow!” Fallon cried out and tears slipped down her cheeks as a rivulet of blood trickled down her arm. “I can’t do it!”

“Yes, you can. I know it hurts,” Brynlee said sharply, “but this is our only chance. Keep going.”

Brynlee bit back her own cry of pain as the shard slipped and sliced her skin. Blood mingled with fluid as the ropes cut into her flesh, but she didn’t dare stop.

Minutes felt like hours as she sawed, the sharp glass gradually cutting through the thick rope. Her hands were raw, her muscles screaming in protest, but the fear of being caught, of her captor returning before she was free, spurred her on. She couldn’t let herself think about what would happen if she failed.

Finally, with one last desperate effort, the rope began to give way. The fibers frayed and snapped under the relentless assault of the glass shard, and with a final tug, the rope fell away from her wrists. Brynlee let out a choked sob of relief, tears blurring her vision as she flexed her hands, the circulation returning in painful tingles.

But she couldn’t rest, not yet. She still needed to get out of the basement, out of this nightmare. Wiping her tears on the back of her hand, Brynlee clutched the shard of glass like a lifeline. Her hands might be free, but she was far from safe. She glanced up at the broken window, gauging the distance, the escape it promised.

She just had to figure out how to reach it before it was too late.