Episode 4: Escape
Caroline pushed me away and put her hand between her legs. I pulled up my shorts. She pulled me down, behind the counter, and put her finger over her lips.
The door opened, then closed; we heard footsteps.
"Caroline?" Ken asked.
He walked away from us -- his footsteps faded down the hallway.
"Follow me," Caroline whispered.
Caroline led me around the fridge to a small half bath. She tip toed inside. She turned on the lights, fan and locked the door behind us.
"I have to talk to him," Caroline said.
"Wait here."
Caroline turned on the sink. She bent down and let the water cover her hair. Caroline grabbed a towel from the closet, she wrapped her hair in it.
Caroline smiled nervously at me. She slid out the door, it closed with a gentle bang.
I put the lid down on the toilet, sat down and waited.
I heard Caroline talking and laughing. Ken said something I couldn't understand.
I heard bare-feet on tile...approaching.
Caroline rushed into the bathroom.
"Follow me to my room...he's leaving," she said.
"Won't he see me?" I said, nervous.
"No, he's getting changed upstairs for golf --come on!" Caroline said.
She pulled me into the hallway; we walked quietly towards the kitchen.
We crept around the corner and tip-toed into the kitchen. I looked to my left; the sliding glass door was open. My eyes shot right. I saw a man standing in the living room looking up towards the stairs. He was wearing a mask and all-black fatigues. He was holding an assault rifle.
His back was to us.
Caroline quietly pulled me behind the counter. I watched him start to look over his back.
She pulled the towel from her hair and placed it on the floor.
We heard two muffled shots from upstairs...something heavy hit the floor.
Caroline mouthed, "Ken." She looked serious, the blood drained from her face, sweat beaded her forehead.
Still down low, Caroline quietly grabbed a chef's knife from the knife-block resting on the island counter.
I looked at Caroline. Her eyes had this fire in it that I had never seen before.
She looked over the counter as the man walked towards the spiral staircase.
Looking up towards the gunshots, he took a couple of steps towards the stairs.
Caroline held her finger over those beautiful lips to say "Shhh."
I couldn't believe what I saw next.
Caroline grabbed the knife with both hands, her right hand pushed against the butt, her other steadying the knife. She stood-up and ran at the masked man's back with full-force.
The man began turning around, but Caroline's knife stuck him squarely in the back of the neck with a "slice" -- like meat being cut; he choked.
The black fatigue man lurched forward a little, but steadied himself with both feet.
He dropped the gun, it fell to the tile with a clang. He grabbed the back of his neck with both hands, blood oozed between his gloved fingers and ran down his neck soaking his flak-jacket.
He gurgled something, then slowly spun around to face Caroline. A thick spurt of blood shot from the front of his throat near the tip of the knife; the blood sprinkled Caroline.
She turned away -- as his body shook, his hands still holding his neck. He fell onto his knees like he was worshipping her, then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell forward with a thud. A thick pool of blood formed around his neck and shoulders on the tile.
He convulsed and gurgled one last time, then was still.
Caroline bent over and picked up the gun.
Peering over the island counter, I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. I didn't even move. I felt sick.
Holy shit.
Caroline motioned for me to get back down.
I didn't want to see what she was going to do next. I looked out the sliding glass door. I wanted to run but felt cemented to the floor.
I felt like I had to shit.
Everything was quiet for a moment then, I heard someone running down the stairs pretty fast.
"Daniel!" the voice said.
Suddenly, I heard silenced gunfire -- a couple of quick pops -- instinctively, I put my hands over my ears, then something heavy rolled down the stairs. Everything was silent.
I didn't dare move.
I looked up and Caroline was standing over me. She didn't have the gun anymore.
Caroline looked down at me. Her robe was open and had blood splattered on it. Her hair was a wet mess. Caroline was still naked underneath, her breasts had blood on it. I flinched.
"It's ok..." Caroline said.
I just sat there --terrified.
"Jaime, are you ok?" she said.
I shook my head, "no."
I felt sick again. I looked away from her. I felt a heavy sickness well up inside my stomach. I put my hand over my mouth and heaved through my fingers. I ran to the bathroom and puked.
~
Caroline looked at me. She was wearing black spandex knee-highs, a tight matching black tank-top and some black running shoes. I sat on her bed -- still in shock.
Caroline was packing a small backpack.
"There are always four of them," Caroline said, glancing outside.
"Two inside, two outside."
I looked at her.
"Who?" I finally said, watching her buzz around the room.
She ignored me.
"The less you know, the better," she said.
"First, we need to get out of here...and get you home." she said with a click.
I looked at her bewildered.
"What?" I said.
"Jaime, I can't just can't say anything...else," she said.
She grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye.
"They're not after you -- you have a chance to get away from this," she said, staring at me.
"They haven't seen you yet, maybe you have a chance." she said.
She grabbed the backpack and shouldered it.
"Do you have your mobile with you, your phone?" Caroline said, looking at me.
I fished out my phone from my front pocket. Caroline grabbed it and put it on the bed.
"Leave it here, or they will try to track us." She said, "I put mine in the dresser."
I nodded in agreement.
"There's a Hummer in the garage," she said, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail.
"I am taking that."
I stood up. I was raging inside but I still wanted to help her.
"Let's go," she said, grabbing my arm...
...Caroline opened the garage door and scanned the room with the gun.
She looked around...nothing.
"Clear," she said, under her breath.
I followed her like a lost kitten.
Caroline opened the hummer's driver-side door. She threw the gun in and got inside.
I climbed inside on the passenger side.
Caroline pulled the keys from underneath the seat and started the engine.
Caroline pushed a button on the roof; the garage door began opening. She looked at me.
"We are gonna go hard and fast." Caroline said.
"Stay down."
I hunkered down in the seat.
Caroline raced the engine and slammed the truck into reverse; she hit the gas.
We peeled out of the garage, out into the open.
The front of the window exploded with small holes, glass fell all over the dash. Bullets hit the truck with a "metal-on-metal" sound all around us.
