Saving Grace

No Power of Hell, No Scheme of Man

“To-day, I have a little game. Richard and I are going to play hide and go seek.” He pushed another button on his remote. At the Tower, the screen split eight ways and showed different rooms in each. “These are all cameras I have placed over my facility. You will be able to watch where we go, and sit in anxiety while I find him. Rest assured, I can’t see them, so I won’t be cheating.” The screen switched back to Robin, where Slade addressed him. “I’ll let you go, but you have to find your way out. You have ten minutes to escape before I come after you. And I would spend that time running, if I were you. You are too weak to fight me.” He clicked another button and his restraints opened and released him. He rolled off the table onto the floor.

He tried to stand up, but going from horizontal to vertical so fast made his head spin. He sauntered until he got the bearings and ran to the other side of the room. Looking frantically, he moved across the wall. There was a door here, he knew it…but his eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness.

“Tick Tock, little bird.”

He blinked rapidly and made out a door handle. Bingo! He gave a hard yank and slipped through the opening. On he ran, down hallways, staircases, and passageways. As he moved, he heard footsteps following, but when he turned, no one was there. It wasn’t a mind trick was it? He wouldn’t have doubted it though, his mental state was sketchy.

The building was dark, Robin figured the only lighting was in the room where he was kept. All other light filtered through foggy glass and vents. Vents! That was it! His perfect escape route. He found a pillar that lead to a support beam, from the beam, he could swing and grab hold of the edge of the vent. He climbed weakly, frustrated at the strain on his fingers. He was starving, he should be lighter, not heavier! He launched out and grabbed the ledge and kicked out the vent, prepared to climb through, but a robot commando blocked the way and held up a laser beam.

Pow!

He skidded across the ground. He looked out the windows to see figures moving around mechanically. The building was surrounded. There was no way out.

Now panicking, he raced down corridor after corridor, trying to find a hiding place. One that would take a very long time to find, and an even longer time for someone Slade’s size to maneuver. That’s when he found it. Perfect, hiding in plain sight, Slade wouldn’t even consider it. In the middle of a large room stood a rusty, broken machine. At one time it looked like it spit something out onto a conveyer belt. Robin clamored up into the machine, twisting his raw and sore body ways it naturally shouldn’t go. The sharp gears reopened the some of wounds on his arms. He hit a place where he could sit comfortably (albeit a bit cramped) on a metal ledge, while he was surrounded by cogs on all sides. The only way to get to him was through a slim crevasse, that couldn’t be seen from the opening. There he waited. His heart pounded in his ears and his breath was erratic. He swallowed a few times to calm down. His eyes closed and let the silence take him.           

It turned out it wasn't such a silent place after all. He had listened to see if he could hear some kind of clue to where he was, and he had heard singing. Soulful singing. It must be Sunday, he mused. If he strained his ears, he could hear the spiritual they were preaching.

"I wish I knew how it would feel to be free. I wish I could break all the chains holding me."

How ironic. He wanted to stop listening, but something about the choir's voices just made him keep listening.

"I wish I could say, all the things that I should say. Say 'em loud say 'em clear, for the whole round world to hear."

If I ever get out of this, that's a good idea to start with.