Terah and Lindsey stood death still as the feet shuffled away and they heard the door close. They waited several minutes in case, for whatever reason, their owner had lingered outside near the garage. When Terah spoke, it was in a whisper.
“Now we’re trapped,” he lamented rather obviously.
“We need to gather the supplies,” Lindsey responded.
“We’re not going anywhere.”
“Maybe, maybe not. This side of the garage opens out toward the house. Did you notice the windows last night?”
“Well, yes, we tried to look through.”
“How many were on the far side?”
“Two.” The Terah understood. “The second window on this side—“
“Should be behind this shelf. We can’t test that hypothesis until after dark, but we’ve gotta be ready to move.”
A small fountain of hope began to trickle in Terah’s chest. There could be a way out. And maybe something more. Something that could complicate everything. Since they had time, they chose which supplies to take. With Terah’s bum leg they couldn’t overburden his pack, but small camping supplies and canned and dried foods would see them in reasonable stead as they made their way to the convent. The smell of urine pervaded the small room.
“I know it’s foolish,” Terah mumbled, “but we ought to leave some money.”
“You said you didn’t have much.”
“I don’t, but this is no faceless corporation we’re stealing from.”
“But this crap is all dusty. He ain’t been campin’ in years.”
“Still, it’s the principle of the thing.” Terah gave Lindsey a tour of his pack. There’s some cash in this pocket,” he said, fishing out a ten. “This won’t cover it, but it shows we’re not savages.”
“Savages? Ain’t that judgmental?”
Terah thought. “There aren’t many degrading words that aren’t,” he whispered. “Even calling someone a swine would be insulting to pigs.”
The air in the room changed. Terah looked at Lindsey. She stood stiff, transfixed with terror. He could see a scream building in her eyes. He looked where her eyes indicated and saw nothing. Quickly he clapped a hand to her mouth as she started to let go. She fought back. They wrestled in the near dark. She threw him off. Terah landed hard on the damp sleeping bag. Getting to his feet, he tried shushing and soothing. He had to keep that scream from coming out. When it did, it was terrifying.
Terah closed his eyes, awaiting running feet. They would be discovered and that would be the end.
The scream was violent, but brief. Lindsey heaved air into her lungs and looked about wildly. Terah waited, trying to think of a way out. When no footsteps were heard, he held his breath. Lindsey, it was clear, was calming herself, hugging and rocking her torso. Terah franticly went over the triggers. He’d avoid the word “savages” from now on. He knew she wouldn’t talk about it. When she came to herself, Terah asked, “Should we try to get out of here now?”
She nodded. The shelves were homemade and didn’t fit the space precisely. Nevertheless, getting the back one worried away from the wall required shuffling things around until they could attempt to turn it. Terah stuck his head in as far as he could get it. “There’s a window. It’s dark.” January’s gift.
Together they shifted and squeezed and were finally ready to attempt an escape. “Are you okay?” he whispered.
Lindsey nodded in the dark. The window wouldn’t open. “It seems that wood would shrink in winter,” Terah groused. He scanned beyond the shelf. “I thought I saw a rubber mallet earlier.” The hammer had to be applied deftly to the frame. Too loud and it would attract attention. If the owner’d heard the scream, he might well still be on the lookout for anything odd. Two widely spaced blows shook complaining dust from the frame. Waiting minutes between any action, Terah was at last able to worm his fingers under the pane and lift. Like a cheap band-aid left on too long, it moved reluctantly. Although there were lights on in the house, no curtains parted. No faces appeared looking their way. Terah was glad the house was several yards away.
At last he had the widow fully open. They waited a few minutes. He checked the house again. “You first.” Lindsey’s lithe form slipped through like a mink from its burrow. Terah hand her pack out. Waited. When he went to push his larger, heavier pack through, he realized she’d gone. Smart, actually. If she stood out there and someone glanced out a window, the jig would be up.
With his bum leg and the burden of a couple extra decades, Terah found his own exit problematic. Weight wasn’t a problem, but frame and clothing fought. At last he tumbled out like a clumsy newborn, his face in the snow, feet hooked over the ledge. His left was no problem, but the right hurt like hell. Stealing himself from any cry, he made it obey then laid still in the snow. The streetlight had come on, but the fog had let up. He would be visible if someone looked to the garage. He could see Lindsey’s tracks. Pushing himself up, he limped after them as quickly as he could. At the road he continued in the direction they’d been going. Their lack of a detail plan settled on him.
He tried to keep to the shadows as much as possible. He smelled the urine on his clothes. That sleeping bag would be a sorry surprise, but there was nothing he could do now. When he got beyond the light and could see down to the next, there was no sign of Lindsey. She knew to keep to the road for awhile before turning back off into the cover of the trees. The house they’d stayed in had been on the left. The next visible one was as well. The right side seemed undeveloped, which would logically be where Lindsey would’ve gone. Finding footprints in the dark wouldn’t be easy. On the right the ground sloped up. Again, that would be the advantageous direction. But not yet.
It was important not to be seen. This rural road had been quiet, but now he heard a rumble. There was no mistaking a Pennsylvania snow plow. Seeing the lights cresting a hill ahead, he knew he’d soon be spotted. He scrambled up the hillside just as he heard dogs begin to bark.
Comments
Post a Comment