Saving Hope

XVI. Unexpected

She was dressed in a drab of a dress. And she looked so frail he could put a finger on her forehead and push and she would fall backward right away. Her eyes were brown, or so he thought, and they were both cloaked with fear and determination.

Her lips were pursed in such a way that they gave her a look of someone who was fighting back tears.

Her long, black hair was a mess and some stray strands were on her forehead and cheeks.

She was the worse-looking girl Devin had encountered in his entire life, but she was also the most admiring one. He couldn't imagine the things she had gone through in Carl's hands. He couldn't imagine anyone surviving them, but somehow, this girl who almost had it all ten years ago was able to do just that. She was a survivor and she had more fighting spirit left to make sure that she outlived this night.

"Hi," he greeted under his breath. "I am Devin, by the way, nice to finally meet you up close. By the way, are you ready to run away with me?"

Her panicky pale face stared at him and he saw a slight twitch on her lips. "Hi, Devin. Nice to know you know some social etiquette but it is not the time for that now. And yes, I am ready to run away with you."

With that, she walked to a wall beside her bed and started working on the metal mounted on it. As he stepped inside the room, he realized that she already figured out how to escape from her chains.

"Do you need some help?" he asked, taking in the smell of the room. Cigarette and draft engulfed his senses. And she had lived here for more than ten years?

"No. Just take care of Sam. She's in the next room and her chains might be new. It might take us some time."

He nodded and backed off the room, his eyes didn't want to leave her frail one hunched before the wall.

"Samantha? Are you there? You have to listen to me very closely," he heard her say before he walked out to go to the next room.

The door was locked. He knocked. "Samantha?" he called. He didn't want to frighten the child.

As he waited for an answer, his mind was racing.

Carl could be driving his way back right now and they needed to be fast. How many minutes had it been anyway?

And they still had to find the key to the car. And he was not sure, despite Hope's words, that the car would start.

"Samantha?" he called once more. "I am a friend. I am here to help."

When he did not hear a sound, he stepped back from the door and kicked it. It didn't budge. He heard the child yelp in alarm from inside the room.

"Stay away from the door, Samantha," he warned.

He tried another kick and it sent the old wooden door swinging against the adjacent wall.

A red-haired girl was hunched at one corner, her knees against her chest, her eyes wide with fear. Her clothes were dirty and she had no shoes on. Just like Hope.

He approached her slowly, his steps careful. "Samantha, I am Devin. I am friends with Hope and I am here to help. Do you believe me?"

It was important that the child trusted him.

Still shaking with fear, the child nodded slowly. "Hope said you're going to take us away from here."

Devin answered with a nod. "Yes. But we have to be fast." He slowly placed his bag down on the dirty floor. The room didn't smell like Hope's. It smelled of chlorine, as if the room had just been thoroughly cleaned. Was this the dead girl's room?