The Life of the Wife

Chapter twenty four

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

DET MORRIS

'You should eat' Eric handed me a ripped piece of bread from his loaf, leaving patches of dirt in the white part from his fingers.
'No, thanks anyway.'
Eric snorted and shrugged before scoffing down the bread himself and laying away from me. I was used of that now, in the time I've been here I've pretty much figured everyone out. After realising on the second week of laying here that they were leaving me here to die on my own accord I took it upon myself to get to know everyone in the chamber in my own little way. The only person that I spoke to was Eric, but I watched the others. Penelope had been here eight months, she had been cleansed four times to no avail, but she actually seemed keen on the next one, believing she was ready for it. Jacob and Bernard had been here six months, barely separable the pair were caught from a gay bar and had a few failed cleanses, they seemed like not giving up on their own beliefs, but tried to stay alive so would occasionally show progress. Vicky had been here eleven months and was left here to rot like me, we would occasionally throw glances to each other, knowing what we were going through together. Eric was a regular in the chamber, occasionally he would be let out, to only be returned again. He liked it better in here, he said it helped him think, whatever that meant. Marge had been here two months like me, she was showing no progress, however and Gabriel had been giving her that look he gave when they were going to be killed soon. A few would come but never lived long enough for me to remember names, so I gave up after a while.
Today was going to be like yesterday's and I was going to lie on my bed and listen to everyone's voices and movements whilst thinking about home, but the sudden brightness of the hall jerked everyone up, including me. It was unusual to have anyone in at this time.

A sobbing man was thrown in and Eric hurried to greet him. I watched as Eric carried the man to the bed directly across from mine.
'What happened George? Why are you back?' Eric tried to catch his breath, with his ribs poking in and out with every gulp of air.
'I couldn't take it anymore, I had to do something! I thought it would work, I just...' The man referred to as George muttered as he wiped the dribble from the side of his mouth.
'Just calm down, and start from the beginning.' Eric fixed Georges collar and sat in a comforting position in front of him. He did that a lot around here, everyone talked to Eric, even though he always sounded angry and was one of them.
'It's Johanna, I'm in love with her. I wish I wasn't, maybe then I could be half way to Haden.' George explained. The sound of the towns name prickled my ears and peaked my interest. He continued;
'I started to see her again, without Aiden pulling her away. She is constantly depressed and sounded like she wanted to leave. By then I had already hatched my plan to escape, but she kept me back. After seeing tears roll from her cheeks again today I couldn't take it anymore, I grabbed her hand and lead her to the hole in the fence behind the fields. When I told her we can leave and forget about everything she couldn't do it, she ran back to the commune. I had only past a dozen or so trees when they caught me.' George slammed his fist to the bed before rubbing his temples. Eric barely moved.
'What do I do Eric? They're going to send me to purgatory tonight for sure! I'm not ready to die!'  He started to sob again, leaning on Eric's shoulder as Eric patted the back of his head.
'I'm sorry George, I don't know.'

The ones that believed, prayed for George. I could see the exhaustion in his eyes as he let them do something useless to his situation. I was nervous though, waiting for him to disperse from the crowd so I could talk to him alone. I had a plan that had been riddling my mind for a while now, and George might have been the best person to help me execute it.
I had found out that just before I came, a young girl escaped from the roof and that's why wire was threaded across it. This made me pay close attention to the roof and about a week ago I noticed the weakest point was in the toilet area. If I had a second person help me pull the wire hard enough, it would break loose, thus giving us the opportunity to remove the roof and climb through.
George finally removed himself from the group and headed to the toilet. I quickly ran behind him making sure no one seen me come in too as he swung the curtain closed. I quickly placed my finger on both of our lips to signify silence. He understood.
'I can probably get us out, if you're willing to try.' I whispered, close to him to ensure no one heard.
'Is this a trick?'
'Shh! No I think we can escape but I need your help. I don't want to die here either.'
For a moment we stood there silent as he stared at me.
'You're the detective aren't you?'
'Yes.'
'How do you suppose we get out?'
I looked up at the roof and pointed my eyes to the rotting wood in the corner, he followed suit and realised what I meant.
'I'm in.'

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Thank You for reading this far! Not long to go now! What do we think of all this escaping business? Think it will turn out like Isabel's try? Read to find out!