chapter 6

Ace bided his time, waiting for the next opportunity to break through the door. Using his free time wisely he refined his makeshift screwdriver and did his best to commit his captor’s schedule and rhythms to his memory. He was still determined to free himself, but no longer because he found his jailer disgusting. If he was being honest with himself, he no longer dreaded her visits, to be honest he even looked forward to them at times due to the raw passionate lust she dredged from him. He timed his next escape attempt, to his knowledge perfectly. Her schedule has become very regular and based on the subtle sounds and knocks from above he knew for sure she would be away for long enough for him to get the door off.

Going over his previous attempt in his mind time and time again he had imaged how to remove the screws and this time they came off quickly and efficiently. After the last screw came off he lifted the door out of its frame and set it down sideways within the frame. Ace stuck his head through the opening to freedom, peeking both to the left and right. He commited the layout to his memory. To the right appeared to be a living room, furnished with large reinforced furniture. On the coffee table looked to be the remains of a feast of takeout food, but on the whole the home was well kept. To his left was a kitchen and daylight cast through windows within. He crouched and made his way into the kitchen slowly creeping forward. The kitchen was filled with various commercial scale appliances, likely to provide enough food to keep the woman’s colossal appetite sated.

As he entered the kitchen he saw it, a backdoor to the outside. Still wanting to be cautious, not knowing where to door came out he made sure not to rush out. He continued slowly forward towards it. As he did, he passed a countertop with a pile of mail on top of it. He grabbed the pile in an attempt to gather a bit of information on his location and his captor. The pile was addressed to a Jamie Macon, address 57 Woodflat Rd, Rodgersville. Ace didn’t know exactly where Woodflat road was, but Rodgersville was about 20 minutes from the construction site he had been working at. If he could make his way to either the town center or the highway he could make it to safety, even better a neighbor’s house where he could call the police. Even if they came to arrest him for being a raving madman his story would bear out.

Ace looked out the windows, finding a small walkway that wrapped around the home. The yard outside was wrapped in a tall white painted wood fence blocking any views beyond. Ace unlocked the door and made his way outside. The fresh air filled his lungs as he emerged into the sunlight, his eyes burning from the brightness. He breathed deep at his newfound freedom. Looking again to his left the path ended with the fence terminating in a corner. to the right the path opened into a more spacious backyard. Following the path to the right Ace moved into the larger yard. That’s when everything fell apart.

Rising from a midday nap underneath a tree in the corner of the yard was a very well built Rottweiler. The dog's head perked up and locked eyes with Ace. Slowly walking backwards Ace quickly recalculated, maybe a mad dash through the front entrance could still be done. After breaking from the dog’s line of sight he hustled back into the kitchen, shutting the door with haste as the dog was now barking and had dashed over to the walkway to deal with the intrusion. Sweat dripping from his forehead Ace took a deep breath as he prepared to make his way to the front of the house. He noticed it in the air then. Blackberry.

“Fuck” Was the last thought that Ace had before he noticed the dark sticking out of his chest.