Antiheroes

Chapter 50: Breakout

Let's go Tommy!!!

Kidnapped in Wilbur's strange dungeon room without explanation
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Tommy POV.

Half-hearted sobs fell from my mouth as I laid curled up on my bed in the small cell Wilbur had locked me in, with only a blanket to keep me warm. It had been hours since I moved from this position, because I was too exhausted from crying to do so.

I just wanted to go home, was that too much to ask?

After all, it has been a stressful few weeks that I have had to go through. All I wanted to do was spend some time with my friends, and with Philza, and with George and Karl. But apparently I couldn’t do that because Wilbur wanted to lock me up like a prisoner. Which hurt just as much as everything else that happened.

All that I had was a bag of chips that someone had given me. I didn’t even know who, all that I remembered was me sitting against the wall opposite the door and someone pushed it open, threw the food in, and left without saying anything to me. Part of me wanted to eat it straight away, but I resisted. I didn’t know how long I was going to be here, so I wanted to save it.

There wasn’t even a light in this prison cell, or bedroom as Wilbur called it when he came to check on me earlier. He had also said he’d get me some more stuff to personalise it, but I doubt there was much I could do to get rid of the cold, empty feeling that boiled up inside of me every moment that I spent in here.

As I just said there was no light, so the only thing stopping this room from being pitch black, and my only form of entertainment in the otherwise bland space, was a small window. This was all I had to keep myself amused because Will hadn’t even given me a book, and it allowed me to see what was outside of the room I was locked in.

From what I could make out I was on the second story of a large brick building, most likely in the industrial part of the city. From what I remembered from class, this area is usually quiet because not many people wanted to be around this part due to all the crime.

I could look down into the alleyway below although it was difficult, and there wasn’t much to see anyway. Only some trash cans and some posters. And the only life down there was the occasional alleycat. I have tried several times to call out for somebody but they never heard me.

My next option was to try climbing out the window, seeing how calling out wasn’t doing anything to help me escape, in fact it was worsening my chances because someone could hear me and I might get treated even worse. Although climbing out wouldn’t be easy either.

It was small and narrow and high up meaning that I could barely reach it. Therefore, I could barely fit out of the window with my much wider waist and my height compared to it. Then there was also the fact that there was a metal grate about a foot away from the window itself, and it was secured tightly to the wall.

I sighed as I slid open the thin glass window, exposing myself to the cold air outside. I had to stand on the tips of my toes to see out clearly, and I wrapped my fingers around the cold, rigid metal. It made me shudder at how it felt as I attempted to tug on the bars, wanting to see if I could somehow get them loose, but I couldn’t.

There was a moment when I swore that I could feel the bars move, jiggling at my relentless tugging, but that was all they did. They just jiggled, and so I gave up. Just as I was about to return to the bed and curl up to attempt to sleep again, I heard the sound of clattering coming from the alley below, and turned to investigate.

I glanced down, seeing someone walking. Somebody wearing a black hoodie which was pulled over their head. Their gaze was downcast, focusing on the ground beneath their feet as they hurried along.

“Hey! Please! Over here!” I called out loudly, trying to get their attention, rattling the bars to try and make more noise so that the person would be more likely to hear me. My heart was racing, I heard the thumping in my head somehow, worried that this person would ignore me and continue walking. Fortunately for me though, they did hear what I said.

The person stopped walking  and glanced up in my direction, I still couldn’t see their face though with the hood pulled over their head, however I knew they were looking into my eyes as a flicker of hope ran through me. “Please,” I repeated, trying to hide how eager I was feeling at the chance of escape. “Can you help me?”

“What do you need help with?” They responded, and I could barely make out what they sounded like, except they were a male, however their voice cut clearly through the cold air.
“I’m trapped up here,” I answered, my hands wrapping around the steel bars as I looked down at him. “Can you help please?” My voice was strained as I begged.

The man considered for a moment before nodding up at me. “I can call the police.” He told me, causing me to nod desperately down at me, muttering a small ‘please’. He turned and began running away down the alley and I called out to him again, asking where he was going, trying to hide how desperate I was feeling at the moment.

“I don’t have a phone.” He admitted to me, which made my downcast expression fall even further. “I need to go find one, but I will be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” I nodded, trying not to cry at the thought of being left alone again. “Be quick.”
“Don’t worry,” he responded. “I will be back soon.”

Both of us shared eye contact for a moment, and I could see the pity and familiarity in their gaze. Then the man turned and ran, leaving me alone in my room. I leaned back, not wanting to wait for the person to reappear.

My mind ran to the feeling that the person worked for Wilbur, and that they were going to go and tell him that I was trying to escape. I mean, he said that he didn’t have a phone, who doesn’t have a phone in 2022? Maybe it was all just a lie so that he could leave me alone and go find his boss.

I just curled up on my bed again, listening and hoping that the man would return, hopefully with the police and not with my brother. God I hope that it isn’t my brother.
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