Bello's Dog

Lola woke slowly, lying still for a few moments to get her bearings...that bastard. She tried to sit up, expecting to see his snarling face at the foot of the mattress, but her whole body ached and she lay back down again, pressing her face into the dirty sheet.

"I see you've woke." She heard his voice, only feet away from her, and despite her protesting muscles, she shot up. He sat on the edge of the mattress. Close enough to touch, if she so wanted to. But that was the last thing she wanted right now.

"So what now?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest and straightening up.

"Do you not remember, my half of the bargain was to fuck, yours was to get my arse out of this shithole." He smirked.

"I can't...we'll both die. They'll know." She answered quickly, defensively.

"That's up to you to sort that out. Not my problem. Now the guards usually come in early to feed me. They will be here soon." With that he stood up, threw a large t-shirt at her from the floor and starting fixing his clothes.

"Are you serious?" She asked, pulling the t-shirt over her naked body.

"Do I look like I'm fucking joking?" He turned to her and with both hands on his hips smirked again. Lola hated the idea of helping this scumbag. But she wanted out just as bad... If she hadn't learned to fight early on, she'd had been fresh meat to these animals. It did help that Bello had taken a liking to her early on. Treated her like a daughter, kept her safe. Didn't make him a good man though. Lola decided in that instance that she would use Alex. Get herself out of here..and then she could beat seven shades of shit out of him.

"Fine." She stood, pulled the t-shirt low so it covered all her major bits and headed for the door. Alex was halted for a moment, she gave in so easily. But he couldn't linger on it for too long. She already had fished into his pocket to retrieve the key, and was easing herself quietly out of the door. He followed, scuttling down the empty corridor after her. Stifling a groan when he spotted just how short the t-shirt was, as it graced her jiggling cheeks as he hopped away.

They walked in silence for 10 minutes, but it seemed years. Darting and weaving through dark halls and secret corridors, It all looked the same to Alex. But Lola seemed to know every dingy piece of this hellhole. A couple of close calls had them coming to a quick standstill and playing human statues behind corners while guards walked inches away from them.

When they reached a small black door, Lola seemed to recognise they stopped.

"This it?" Alex whispered close to her ear. She nodded.

"There is going to be 7 or 8 guards behind this door, then a short walk to a barbed fence and we are on the home straight."

They had no weapons, no alibi, nothing. Lola was thinking up plans in her head, but they all seemed to end in her with her brains spilling out her ears.

"Right." She landed on the one that would most likely work and decided to stick to it. Stripping off a piece of material from her t-shirt, she tightly bound his hands.

"You are going to be my prisoner. Don't say a word."

"Is this really going to work?" Alex was sceptical, and he didn't like the idea of her having the upper hand binding his arms.

"Maybe." She started unbuttoning his trousers, slipping them off as he balanced himself against the wall.

"I have to be naked for this to work?" He snorted.

"No, but I'm half naked, and that's going to be a tad suspicious. Hurry, your guards will have noticed you're gone now." She slipped his pants over her naked legs and tucked her t-shirt in. Leaving him in his underwear and bloodied t-shirt. The pants were huge, she had to fold over the hem three times before they would even stay up on her hips. It was all she had though.

"ok. Keep it zipped." And with that, she flung open the heavy door and squinted against the sunlight.

"Lola?" She heard a deep male voice before she saw him. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the looming figure of Bello stood with six other guards.

"Sir! I. Yes." She stuttered. This was it. Dead. Her legs twitched under her, willing her to run.

"What's going on?" his voice was confused as he looked over the both of them. Lola stood, quiet and stunned. Alex had to give a little pull on his restraints to get her attention.

"Yes! Well this one refused feeding this morning. I thought I'd take him over to building 4 and string him up for a while. But the doors faulty so I'm going to long way around." The words skipped out of her mouth with ease, she even managed a cruel smile at the end. Alex was impressed, but more than anything, hopeful. He could see the fence about 7 metres away. And behind it, the wooded forest, that he knew led a 40 minute walk to freedom. Nothing. If he ran he could do it in half the time. Bello squinted at them, silent. The guards stood around him, hands lingering around their weapons. Time stretched out. Lola had stopped breathing the moment the words left her mouth, and now her lungs had started burning, but she forced a strained smile onto her lips and stood her ground.

"Yes ok. I'll meet you there when I'm done here." Lola pulled in a large gulp of air and gave a short sharp nod, pulling Alex's bindings and leading them out of the gate. She held her eyes ahead until they were out of sight and into the forest. At that point she sunk against a tree. Alex stood looking down at her.

"You did it." She didn't answer; she just sat catching her breath.

"Why? You could have handed me over to them there and then." Lola looked up.

"Because I wanted out just as much as you. Moron" She pressed her face into her hands for a moment, wiping the sweat (and few stray tears) away, and then stood. She began unbinding his wrists.

"Why? You've got it made in there." Alex stayed still as she pulled at the awkward material. In response, she snorted.

"You don't have a clue." When his wrists were apart, Lola turned and began walking. Not looking back as she spoke.

"you're free now. Ok. You got what you wanted, I got mine." Alex didn't have a reply. He just watched her slim frame dance off into the trees.