Unspoken Connection

6. Relief

The instructions from voice number two were accurate. The red door from the pantry led me through a tiny pathway. As I walked the floorboard creaked and with each step, I felt my heart fall lower and lower into my stomach.

Walking through that old passage, you could tell it hadn't been used in ages. Cobwebs hung everywhere, like neglected decorations, and there was this musty smell that hit you in the face. The more I went down, the more I noticed. Rodents and critters were all over the place – some alive and scurrying away, others not so lucky. It was clear this place had been left to the mercy of time, with signs of neglect staring back at me in every nook and cranny.

I walked for a while until I finally saw another door, it was already slightly ajar.

The building fell silent; the gunfire and shouts had stopped. My palms were sweaty, and cold sweat was trickling down my neck. Taking a deep breath, I cautiously stepped forward. When I tried to open the door wider, it made a loud creaking noise that echoed through the empty hallway and probably the entire house.

‘Gotta move’

I couldn’t stay here much longer. I gave up on trying to be quiet and focused on trying to get out as soon as I could.

Pushing the door a bit more I ran through it. Still not sure where I was going I looked around, it had led me to a corridor with three pathways.

‘He forgot to mention this part’

I did a quick best two out of three elimination process to decide which path to take.

“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers, let him go, Eeny, meeny, miny, moe '' This method resulted in the path farthest to the left.

Another easier method was to select C, this was the path farthest right.

This eliminated all but the middle path. I ran down that corridor and saw a glass door. Behind that door, I saw grass.

‘Yes!’

‘I knew tried and true methods wouldn’t fail me’

As I neared the door, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. I hastened my steps, opening the glass door to step out onto the fresh grass in the backyard.

‘I was free’

The feeling of the wind as it brushed against my skin felt wonderful, as it was the warmth of the sun that heated my body.

‘I never knew being inside for a day could do this’

As a regular homebody, it's never had this effect on me before.

“Gate, Gate, Gate” I mused, looking around for the gate to leave this place.

Tree, shovels, bleach, machetes, as I looked around it became more evident that someone was either about to die or had already died.

Fortunately, the gate wasn’t too hard to find. It was a golden gate standing out amidst the black fence that surrounded the yard.

I began my sprint across the yard, using the theory that a straight line is faster. While running I dodged shovels and tools that were scattered on the ground. Relaxing a bit as I arrived at the gate I stumbled on a wrench falling facefirst.

“I don’t see the girl” I heard as I lay unmoving in the soil. The sound of a door closing was my signal to start moving again.

As I got up a throbbing sensation from my right ankle forced me to pause. Gritting my teeth I pushed through the pain and limped out the gate.

I limped as far away from the building as I could before the pain forced me to stop. Even while limping, the sensation of being watched never left me.

I sat under a light post, partly to rest before continuing my journey, and partly in slight hopes that someone might walk by so that I could borrow their phone.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was going down, the light from the earlier midday sun took with it my sense of security. I was about to start limping again; I wasn’t sure where I was but I thought that as long as I kept going, I would find out.

“Are you okay?” a soft feminine voice crept from behind.

I lodged a scream that threatened to escape.

‘Don’t sneak up on people!’

“Are you okay?” the voice asked again.

I spun around to see a petite lady in a gray skirt suit. Her eyes brimming with concern.

“Not really, can I use your phone to make a call please?” I asked.

“Yes of course” came her reply, as she reached into her handbag to retrieve her phone.

I used the lady’s phone to call my aunt.

“Hello?” came my aunt’s cautious answer.

The sound of her voice finally made me feel safe. I let go of a deep breath that I didn’t even know I was holding.

“Aunty Julia,” I started when my voice began to c***k. Tears escaped my eyes as a sense of relief from family swept over my body.

“Can you come and get me please?” I continued.

“Roxanne, honey, where are you?” she asked, her tone no longer cautious instead it was now filled with worry.

The sound of her calling my name caused a wave of sobs to rock my body.

“I don’t know, I don’t know where I am” I replied sobbing.

“The corner of Westbrook and Ridgecoast” voiced the petite lady.

“Okay, I’m coming” was my aunt’s quick reply.

I knew she had already started moving from the muffled sound of footsteps and jangling keys.

“Do you need anything?” my aunt asked.

“No”

With that, we ended the call. I was okay waiting alone, but the lady insisted that she wait with me until my aunt arrived. Seeing me cry all of a sudden must have shocked her too.

My aunt arrived half an hour later.

“Thank you,” My aunt and I said for the umpteenth time to the lady.

“You’re welcome, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

As we were leaving the lady’s phone started ringing.

“I have to get this, it's my boss,” she said pointing to her phone.

Nodding we got ready to leave, but as we left I overheard,

“Tell the boss, she’s a bit shaken up but okay her aunt just came to get her”