An Unlikely Hero

Chapter Twenty-two

Alex

I sat on the bed and cried my eyes out, until I had no tears left. The only comfort I could think of was that I could see my parents again, and Jenny. That would be wonderful. I missed her so much.

Just as he explained my chain only reached the bathroom, and when I got there, there wasn't anything to help me escape. A bottle of the perfume that I recognized because it was Jenny's favourite sat on the vanity. I saw it, and I got angry. I bet he put it there to manipulate me somehow. To remind me what he could do. I wasn't going to let him win without a fight. I didn't need Brandon, I trusted him to protect me and look where that got me. If anything I went back to what I knew all along, you can only rely on yourself.

I grabbed the bottle and brought it back to the bed. I reached up to my hair and somehow one of the two bobby pins I made sure I wore in my hair everyday was still in there. I pulled it out. I sat down and examined my handcuffs. Years ago I spent hours alone in my apartment teaching myself how to pick locks, and pick handcuffs. I kept a lock picking kit in my pocket but as I was only wearing a T-shirt now that didn't do me any good. It was quite difficult picking handcuffs with a bobby pin, but it could be done.

I wasn't sure how much time I had, so I worked as quickly as I could. Luckily only one hand was handcuffed now, so it was to my advantage.

First thing I had to do was prep the bobby pin. I removed the plastic tip and bent the pin ninety degrees. Then I inserted the straight side into the upper part of the lock. I had to be careful not to insert it all the way, or it wouldn't bend properly to unlock it. Next I had to bend the pin to the left then insert it past the first bend. It took awhile to move the pin in the right direction to trip up the lock. After some movement I finally got it right and the cuff attached to the chain released. I wasn't sure when he would be back, so I left the cuff attached to my wrist.

I leaped up and instantly regretted my haste as my extremely sore shoulder ached. I grabbed it and rubbed slightly to try and ease some of the pain. It didn't work. I tried to push the pain aside and concentrate on getting out of here. I looked around for a phone, but wasn't surprised not to find one. I hurried as fast as I could to the door and my heart sank. There were four deadbolts, all needed a key to open them. I could maybe pick them, but I would need my kit, and it would take time. I wasn't sure I had that kind of time. I had to try though right?

I went into his bedroom and found my pants on the floor along with the contents of my pockets spread out on the floor. He was cocky, and most of my belongings there, minus my cell phone of course, but he did leave my lock picking kit. Now all my paranoia training and planning didn't seem so crazy after all. I grabbed it and headed back to the door. My hands were shaking. At any time he could walk through the door, and I could only imagine what he would do to me once he discovered I was trying to leave. I shuddered.

I got to work picking the lock. I was hurrying and therefore it wasn't working as good as I needed it too. I was fumbly, and nervous, and shaking. I tried to take a few deep breaths to try and calm down, but I couldn't. I was terrified, and the confidence I had gained had significantly deteriorated in the last few minutes. I knew my time was running out, not just with the locks, but in general.

I finally fumbled my way through the first one, and the second one seemed easier, and then by the time I got to the third lock, my luck ran out. The top lock had a key put in it and turned, and then the second one. He was home.

I had two choices, try and find some kind of weapon and fight him, or go back to the bed and pretend I was still locked up. There was no way I was fastening those handcuffs again. I think I would rather die first. I decided to go back to the chain and pretend I was still his captive. I hoped that I could fake it long enough for help to come. One of my best friends was a police officer, surely he was looking for me. I shook my head and decided that the nonsense I had earlier believed about Brandon not wanting to find me because I was so difficult to be around was pretty preposterous. He just had to be searching for me. I hoped that Johnny and his partner were as good of police officers, as I believed them to be. I knew I couldn't win against Corey, but my only hope was to use my wits, play his game, and hopefully ride it out long enough for someone to find me. If not, I guess I would be able to tell Jenny that I didn't give up without a fight. That I gave it my all, that I didn't let her down again. My chest tightened, and at that moment I vowed that if I made it out of here alive, I would read that letter Jenny wrote me.