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They sat for a moment in the stillness.
He stood and returned to carving the wall. A few minutes later, he leaned his weight against the wood plank he’d outlined and pounded it twice with his fist. “Hey, this board’s loosening, but I can’t tell what’s behind it.” He wiggled the blade’s tip and popped off a rectangular chunk of drywall. He brushed aside the dust, and underneath, exposed inches of dry rot next to a stud.
Noticing the hole expanded to expose the old wood, Tess placed another bale of hay at a strategic angle to hide his handiwork.
“I’m going to break it down.” From the opposite side of the cell, he accelerated a few steps before pummeling the wall with an explosive kick. Wood splintered, and a tinny, metal sound rang out.
“We’ve got something.” She removed scraps of plaster from the caved-in wall. Crouching beside him, she studied the open space. A burst of brisk air flowed inside the cell. She squinted, hoping her focus might change the view. “Wow, the space is…”
“Tiny. I’ll never fit inside. Can you?”
Skeptically, she surveyed the narrow opening. The exposed chute was a literal hole in the wall and not at all the spacious escape route she imagined. After examining it in silence, she stood and stared into the dark hole. “It’s tight, but I’ll try.”
“Good.” He handed back her knife and pointed to the drywall mess on the floor. “We’d better clean this up before they return.”
Together, they arranged the hay bales to hide their escape route.
“Let’s wait until after dark before I try to go through. Best chance of avoiding capture.” She rubbed white dust off her hands.
“Hopefully, this chute dumps outside our captors’ view.”
“Right. I’ll sneak back inside to release you. We need a Plan B, though. If they enter while I’m circling back, use the knife and escape out the front door.”
“You mean kill the gunmen?” He started pacing back and forth across the cell and used both hands to rub his forehead.
“Well, they’re going to kill me. Any other ideas?” Given a choice to kill, or be killed, preserving their kidnappers’ lives wasn’t a priority. She assumed what her plan required of him was obvious, but his face formed an awkward question mark.
“Give me time. Once we’re out, we’ll search for the road—”
“No. They’ll find us on the road, and we need woods for cover.” Growing anxiety swept away her patience.
“Fine. We’ll aim for the woods, then we can head for the highway. Might make it before dawn.”
“Let’s escape around ten. Gives us at least eight hours of darkness to travel.” The prospect of freedom energized her, and she longed to run under a boundless sky, free from their cell.
“The woods appear quite rugged. Long night of trekking ahead of us, should we make it outside. Better rest now.” He stretched his arms high above his shoulders before sitting on the floor and straightening his legs.
The afternoon crawled by. Around sunset, the outside door yawned open, and two gunmen approached their cell carrying a small box.
All evidence of their plan hidden away, Tess and Mark each retreated to their respective sides of the cell.
“Dinner.” The metal bar clanged as Alexi, the gunman sporting stitches on his head from the fallen chandelier, slid the door open. He placed a box of sandwiches and water bottles on a bale of hay. “Bathroom?”
They both nodded.
The other gunman, Sergey, gestured at Tess to go first, and he followed her out of the cell. Holding his rifle in one hand, he used his other hand to pinch her left buttock, hard.
Unamused, she swatted his hand away. “Stop it.”
“Goryachaya zhenshchina, ya by khotel razdet’ yeye.” Sergey threw his head back and laughed, making obscene sounds.
“Ne seychas. Vy poluchite svoyu ochered’, chtoby poveselit’sya s ney.” Alexi pointed at her and broke into laughter.
She turned and stared at Alexi, who had addressed Sergey as if disciplining a small child. Unsettled, she glanced over her shoulder and caught the look of disgust etched on Mark’s face.
“Keep your hands off her,” Mark shouted, and he jumped to his feet.
Both gunmen paused to gawk at his outburst.
