I close my bag and sigh. It's been four long months here. Four months of faking idiocy, building false trust, and meticulously planning. Sarah and Maria have been going about their usual business, I've been taking care of our escape route. Today is finally the day, everything aligns perfectly. And thankfully, it shouldn't be nearly as torturing as my last escape. This time I have a solid plan.
I look around the tiny, cramped room one last time and mentally prepare myself, because after all, no plan will ever be perfect. In about five minutes, Tom should be leaving and then we should have about a two minute window before someone else arrives. I've timed it before, time and time again. Every time Tom leaves, someone else shows up two minutes later to watch over us. Usually, it's one of Tom's friends that comes over.
Listening carefully, I hear the familiar sound of Sarah and Maria's voices bid Tom farewell. He says goodbye and I grab my bag from the bed. I hurriedly grab Sarah and Maria's bags as well, not wanting to waste any time at all. I wait for the front door to shut, the heavy oak doors always make a distinct sound. I feel my palms start to sweat from the adrenaline and anxiety but ignore it for the time being.
The door closes and I wait five seconds before I go out to meet Sarah and Maria. I hand each of them their bags and they go about collecting what else they need to. While they do that, I go to Tom's room and open the drawer of his nightstand. Just as I expected, there's a very large sum of money there. I grab the paper with shaky hands and shove it into my bag, not caring about organization. I close my bag once more and sling it over my shoulder.
I meet back up with Sarah and Maria in the living room, each of us nodding to one another with wide eyes. I take the lead and head to the back door and fling it open, we don't have much time to spare. We rush out and head to the right, running through multiple yards and thankfully nobody was outside.
The three of us run further into the city until we're certain we've made it far enough. It will be easy for us to disappear in this city, there are thousands of people. I breathe heavily as I find an empty bench to put my bag on. I open it and discreetly hand the girls money. They each have their own plans of what they want to do, though I offered to stick with them if that's what they wanted.
Sarah plans on finding her family again, she hopes that they've been searching for her even though she's been missing for a year. Maria plans to find work in the city, she said since she's here illegally she doesn't feel comfortable going to the authorities in an attempt to go back home. Plus, she said there was nothing back in Colombia for her to return to. I asked Maria if she wanted to stick together, since we're both in the same boat, but she declined. She said she wanted to do this on her own.
After I hand the girls their share of the money and put my bag back on my shoulder, I give them both a curt nod.
"I hope you two find what you are looking for." I say, keeping my voice low.
"You as well, my friend." Maria says and gives Sarah one last look before she turns away, blending in with the crowd of people on the sidewalk. Sarah looks back at me, and I can see the fear in her eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder.
"Do you want me to walk you there?" I ask. Sarah nods and quickly wipes her eyes. She must be terrified. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little nervous of the road that lies ahead, even if I do have a plan. Sarah and I start walking to the police station. She's familiar with the area because she grew up here. She told me her family lives about an hour away, but it's too far to walk and she's scared Tom will find her if she tries to make the journey alone.
As we walk down the busy sidewalk, I remember all the late night talks I had with Sarah and Maria. They both planned as well, and they both were intensely terrified of trying to escape. But, they wanted their freedom badly, so they took the risk. Luckily, it seems like it's going to pay off. It had taken a little bit of convincing, but they were both tired of being prisoners, locked away in some wealthy man's home.
We reach the front of the police station and I stop walking, knowing that my time with Sarah has come to an end. She looks inside where there are several officers walking around. I look inside too and am filled with fear. If they catch me out here, I could be deported back to Russia.
"Good luck, I hope you find your family." I say and Sarah nods,
"I wish you the best, thank you. Really." She says and brings me in for a quick hug. It catches me off guard, but it's nice. She takes a step back, breathing hard to calm her nerves. She gives me one last look before she goes into the police station. I hope whatever she tells them it lands Tom a place in prison, that man deserves to rot for what he's done.
I know I can't linger around here for long, so I cross the busy street at the crosswalk and walk until I find a nice park. The cherry blossoms are blooming, their pink petals are absolutely gorgeous. I sit on a bench and think about where I'm going to go from here. I know I need to locate some sort of shelter, even if it's just for a night.
My plan was to escape from Tom's, say goodbye to the girls, and then forge a new life for myself. I will find work somewhere and be entirely self sufficient, I'll never have to rely on anyone again, especially not a man. But, the sinking feeling in my stomach is telling me that things might not be that cut and dry in reality.
In reality, I speak broken english, don't have a firm grasp on how America works, and don't have any legal documents to be here. But it's still ten times better than Siberia. I stand from my spot on the bench and begin my hunt for tonight's shelter.
I walk around the city for hours, checking the prices at hotels, motels, and everything in between. Believe it or not, not many people are willing to help out a Russian woman here. So, I made my way out of the inner city and to the outskirts, where some of the buildings are run down and things don't seem to be kept up very well. If I'm going to find help anywhere, it's most likely going to be here.
I find a run down motel with a sign that's only half lit up. I open the old creaky door and the man at the counter looks up. He straightens his posture as I walk in and he looks me up and down. I may be able to use this to my advantage. I walk to the counter and give him a sickly sweet smile,
"How can I help you?" The man asks, leaning on the counter. I lick my lips,
"I was hoping we can strike a deal actually." I say and reach my hand over to rest on his arm. The man gets visibly flustered,
"What kind of deal?" He asks, not taking his eyes off my hand.
"I'm new to town and I'm looking for work. Any chance I can help out around here in exchange for a room? It won't be for long, I promise." I put on a small performance for this man, making sure that I'm making him flustered, his judgement needs to be a little clouded.
"Uh, uh, yeah sure. I think we can arrange that. How does cleaning sound?" He asks and I take my hand back from his arm, still plastering a smile on my face.
"That sounds lovely, thank you so much." I say, and he hands me a key. The man shows me to my room and I thank him, letting him know I'll be back shortly to further discuss our arrangement. I hate cleaning, but, it should provide me with a stable place to live for a while, at least until I can find something else.
Another few months go by, and I do some cleaning for the motel. Luckily, I was able to convince the manager to agree to my deal, I convinced them it saved them on wages. In fact, I have no idea if it does or not, but it doesn't matter to me.
Since my escape from Tom, I've been able to gain a better understanding of how America works. What the norms are, how people behave around one another, how the money system works, all of the essential information. My english has improved as well, though my accent is still prominent. I've been doing my research, so I'm up to date with what's going on in case it were to come up in conversation, I don't need to give people a reason to be suspicious of me.
About two months into staying at the motel, I found a public library, and there I created some identifying documents, all entirely fake but wholly believable. I just have to be on my best behavior and not give the authorities any reason to check them. Luck must have been on my side, because some of our regular clients at the motel seem to be involved in some illicit business, and they were able to laminate the cards that needed laminating.
I've been applying to lots of jobs, hoping to find something to bring in some money so I can afford to move out of the motel. I've had a few interviews but nothing has worked out just yet. But, as long as I have a roof over my head at the end of the day I'd say that I'm doing alright.
I do find my mind wandering to Siberia, thinking of the man I abandoned. I hope he's doing alright, I hope he isn't suffering too horribly. But, I know Dane and I know that he will relentlessly try to find me and to figure out how the Soldier works. I can only hope that he never figures it out. It's hard to say how much death and destruction would come if Dane gained control of the Soldier.
I know he's going to try to come for me. He's not going to let me go that easily. The permanent disfiguration in my thigh proves that he is willing to take any measure necessary to get me. I just have to be smarter than him. I think about my father as well, and sometimes question if he's even actually dead. I think he is, logic tells me he should be. I watched him take a drink from the cup, and I heard his voice die out. But, I can't help but wonder if he's actually dead.
If not, I know he will also join Dane in hunting me down. They will go to the ends of the Earth to fine me. If I keep a low enough profile it should take them a while to find me, if they do at all. They don't know where I went and they've got the whole world to search. If they do find me, it's going to take them a while.
But at the end of the day, I got out of the base. I got to America. Who knows what will happen from here, only time will tell.