The Escape

It was silent. Too silent for her liking. Dai sat in her room, completely dressed in white, looking out the window. She could hear the laughter of children from across the road. Looking down, she shook her head remembering when her life used to be like that. A life when everything was perfect, that was until he came in.

It was another night, or Damien, her ‘father’ thought. Dai had snuck a gun into her pocket and was ready to shoot at any moment, she didn’t need to kill him, she just wanted him to go away and never return. She had tried calling the police but they never took her seriously, but this time she was going to succeed. He had his back towards her, hitting her mother like he did every night. Dai could see the frightened look on her mother’s face. The tears started to pour down her mother’s face as Dai’s grip on the gun started to become tighter and tighter. Pulling the trigger, Dai closed her eyes as she heard the loud bang fill the room. The next thing she knew, she was being sent to a psychiatric ward where she would spend the rest of her life.

There she was again, sitting in her room in the dead silence she hated. It was about an hour later when a piece of paper caught her sight lying at the foot of her door. She picked up the rather grubby piece of paper and carefully smoothed it out. ‘Dai, I know that you probably don’t think of me in a romantic way but, I can’t help but have this feeling about you. Some feeling I have never experienced before. I’m planning on escaping from this hell tonight, meet me in the dining room at nine, just after the roll call. All the doors will be unlocked. Don’t tell anyone Dai.. or else!’. Slumping back onto her hard bed, she placed the note over her chest.

Grant, the man who burnt his family to the ground. At first, Dai didn’t understand why he did that. Why he would kill the people who had loved him for so long, that was until he explained everything to her. Apparently, his family had been abusive to him. Not just verbally, but physically as well. He would tell Dai the stories of his past, the times when his older brother would force him into doing things that were unspeakable of. Over a long period of time, Dai started to gain more and more interest in him. But tonight was the night when everything would change. Finally, she was going to be free from all of this, no more pills or nurses with awkward smiles. Free.

Soon enough nightfall came and a nurse came in to check up on her. “Night sweetie” she spoke in her squeaky voice, shutting the door quietly. Once she was gone, Dai quickly got up and quietly walked towards the door. “This is it” she mumbled to herself as her tummy started to fill with butterflies. Opening the door slowly, she took a quick peek to check if anyone was still hanging around. She could feel her heart pounding as she took each step carefully. It seemed that with every step, her heart began to beat faster and faster until it stopped when she entered the dining room.

“Didn’t think you would actually come” Grant spoke in a low tone, staring at her with a soft gaze. “Of course I did, wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity like this, especially when I’m going to be with you” Dai could feel her heart fluttering just at the sight of Grant in his white t-shirt. But she knew that everything was too perfect. Something bad was going to happen, it was just a matter of time. Little did she know that Grant was hiding something from her, an object that was small but had the power to kill.

“You ready to go?” He spoke in a soft whisper, never leaving her gaze. “Ready as I’ll ever be” the girl sighed before following Grant towards the back entrance. For the first time in ages, Dai felt the wind against her hair as she looked at the city lights ahead of her.  “Finally” she spoke under her breath as she let fresh air fill her lungs. Finally free, she couldn’t believe it. Closing her eyes, she heard the click of a gun. This wasn’t right. Opening her eyes a flash of white appeared in front of the two. She heard people shouting, she knew those voices, they were too familiar. “Grant…..” turning her head slowly ignoring all the police around her. A gunshot filled the atmosphere as a body dropped to the ground.