The Escape

Chapter 8

I’m so cold. My core temperature has dropped. I can’t stop shivering. Each muscle convulses trying to generate some heat. There’s no protection out here. It’s too harsh. Everything is open to the elements. I haven’t eaten since I left the cottage. I don’t think I can survive much longer. The black corduroys and check shirt I was wearing when I arrived cling to my skin, hair is still dripping wet. I shouldn’t have left. They’re probably looking for me now. Whoever they are. They’re out there somewhere. Searching for me. They won’t stop until they find me, no matter how long it takes.

Rain continues to lash down. I can’t see further than half a mile through the storm. There’s no way I can be found now, no way I can be rescued. What am I running from? An elderly lady serving me tea and biscuits? How the hell did I get here? I look up at the overcast sky. Watch the branches overhead sway amid the unrelenting breeze. This is my chance. Ducking down, I race into the storm head first. Running as fast as my legs can carry me. The soaked ground spins as I run into the storm, fighting the urge to drop to my knees and allow the deep earth take what is left.

My lungs are burning. Each breath becomes more difficult with every step I take. The surrounding countryside offers no end in sight. Grey hills and steep valleys provide an empty vista. I’m trapped by the elements. I have no idea where to turn, which way to go. The dark is closing in. This feels too familiar. I’ve been here before. Trapped and alone lost in the wilderness with nowhere else to turn. An overpowering sense of fatigue hangs over me. My eyelids begin to fall. I can’t go on much further.

I slow to a crawl trudging through muck searching for any means of escape. The ground is loose underfoot. My boots slide as they try to grip the shifting earth. Each movement falters, I stumble, fall to the ground. Rain stabs me in the back. Icy winds numb my fingers, freezing my skin, cutting through my ribs. I can feel the temperature drop.

I look up to the sky. Watch as rain falls across the landscape. I can’t go on. My legs cannot support the weight of my body. I am sapped of any strength. Everything begins revolve faster and faster. Instinctively I reach into the air trying to clutch onto anything to break my fall. Moments later I collapse to the ground face first. The moment I hit the soft ground my world goes black. The landscape vanishes the instant I fall.

I open my eyes. The room swirls around as I lay on my back. ‘Where am I?’ I wonder, eyes searching the ceiling above my head. A resonant beep echoes through the room. I’m in hospital again, I must be. The familiar clinical redolence, the strong stench of antiseptic. I look around the room. Every muscle aches. I can hear footsteps approach. The lock on the door rattles. Someone’s outside. I shut my eyes, concealing my wakefulness. I listen as they enter the room.

‘I thought you brought him to the intensive care unit?’ a man’s voice announces.

‘Intensive care? Why the hell would I want to bring him there?’

‘I don’t know, maybe because you said you would, right after he left a trail of blood and a pile of empty sheets crumpled on the bed.’

‘The room was locked, the door was shut. Nobody could have got in here. Who’s to say you hadn’t altered his records, taken his life into your own hands? I’m beginning to doubt your credibility over this. He could have been killed.’

 ‘Okay, calm down. He’s here now. He’s resting, somehow. How is he even still alive? Shouldn’t he be technically dead right now after what he’s been through?’

‘He’s lying on the bed. He’s underneath the sheets. The machine next to him is still ticking away. He must still be alive. No thanks to your little stunt.’

‘My stunt? I wasn’t even involved with him. I did my job. Now, is there anything else you would like to add?’

A brief silence ensued.