Escape To Survive

by Ryan Gawley

  Within an hour Henderson had received a brief message from his driver. ‘Package delivered.’ He hesitated for a moment but knew he could not afford to leave anything to chance. Almost regretfully he made a direct video call to a trusted Enforcer Commander and reported the theft of his private car. The loyal driver protested his innocence as an Enforcer dragged him from the vehicle only minutes after he had sent his confirmation message to Henderson. The driver immediately understood he had been double-crossed and even managed to pull his pistol from a hidden shoulder holster before an Enforcer shotgun blast punched through his chest at close range, shredding his heart and lungs and opening a massive hole in his back, killing him instantly.

  All that remained for Henderson to do was to eliminate the man who for nineteen years had sneaked around behind his back, using his wife, mocking him with his very existence. How often had this man been here in his home Henderson wondered? A personal visit to exact the vengeance he deserved would be most fitting but direct involvement was just too great a risk. As much as he wanted to witness the suffering for himself Henderson had to accept that the best way of cleaning this mess would be to once again use the Enforcers.

  Sitting back at his office terminal it took him twenty minutes to make a screenshot of the video he filmed on his mobile phone and crop a clear image of the man who had met his wife earlier that same day. He typed a brief report and submitted the name he had beat out of his wife before killing her. He added the facial image to an interrogation order which he encrypted and sent to Central Command along with a special request for a video copy of the interrogation. The reason stated was simply “personal security concerns”. He could not involve the Enforcer Commander as before for fear he may connect the incidents so instead sent the order via direct channels knowing a personal request from the head of the Upper Council would be processed immediately. Only two hours and ten minutes had passed when he received confirmation that the suspect had been located at his home and detained under Protocol Nine before being brought in for questioning.

  The following morning Henderson had woken to find a securely encrypted video among his new messages. He had started his day feeling satisfied as he sat at his home office terminal enjoying a cup of fresh ground coffee brought to him by his now broken and compliant daughter while he watched the horrific torture of his former wife’s lover. The tormented soul had no answer to any question asked of him, had no idea why he was being made to suffer. It was clean but Henderson had taken little satisfaction from watching the interrogation since he did not inflict the pain with his own hands. He had to accept the matter was now dealt with and the man who for nearly twenty years had made a fool of the most powerful man in the city was dead.

  As he once again pulled his mind back to the present Henderson sat up straight in his lounge chair taking a sip of rare whiskey from his glass then stared into the heavy cut crystal vessel remarking to himself how he could remember these scenes so clearly but without regret or remorse. To Henderson obedience was all and if he could not command respect in his own home then how could he expect the same from the cities he controlled.

  It had been almost two years now since that terrible day and while attending some of the obligatory social functions that were a necessary part of his position of office other Elites at first politely enquired about his wife and daughter but the cover story held and was universally accepted. Henderson delighted in seeing how people beamed and thought how lovely it must be for mother and daughter to travel together and of course it’s best that they are with family and oh how he must miss them terribly.

  He was pleased that his new driver Derek Stone was working out well. Stone had been recommended to him from a fellow member of Henderson’s exclusive club who had known Stone only for a short time but confirmed his excellent references and security clearances. He was a frightening figure with horrific scars on his face and hands and had lost his left eye apparently in the line of duty so he chose to wear a simple leather eye patch rather than opt for a prosthetic replacement. Henderson cared only that he was efficient and obedient.

  Kathy remained the only personal problem for him to manage but since she was effectively held prisoner she had no choice but to comply with anything he asked of her. The arrangement worked very well with Kathy cooking meals and fetching drinks whenever he wanted while the driver would deliver household supplies when required and if occasional household maintenance was needed Stone would sedate Kathy and lock her in her room then supervise the workers until the task was completed. Henderson revelled in smug satisfaction knowing he could enjoy his daughter’s company and the luxury of being waited on in his home without the inconvenience of a nagging wife.

  Kathy had been traumatised by the death of her mother at the hands of her father and for the most part appeared to have psychologically shut down but still made a few attempts at escape in the years following including her failed attempt earlier that day but Henderson felt sure that his warning had been sufficient to break her will further and he sadistically enjoyed wearing her down.

  ‘Yes indeed, everything has come around wonderfully,’ he thought to himself as he swirled the remnants around his glass. The whiskey was relaxing him and Henderson was enjoying this self-congratulation when his thoughts were disturbed by the sound of his daughter’s voice. He looked up to see Kathy standing in front of him holding a wide polished silver tray.

  ‘Victor, your dinner?’ she said, sounding frustrated like she had tried more than once to get his attention. When Henderson shot her a dark look she quickly changed her tone and said as pleasantly as she could manage. ‘I made you your favourite like you asked, remember? I made the sauce from scratch and used some fresh salmon from that deli you like.’

  Henderson finished his drink, placed his empty glass on a small table next to him and motioned Kathy to place the tray on his lap. Since his wife died he no longer ate at the dining table and instead preferred to eat from his chair.

  ‘Will that be all?’ asked Kathy apparently subdued by his earlier reprimand.

  ‘Yes my dear, that’s everything. Thank you. You see how lovely things can be when you do what I ask? Let’s not fight. I don’t know what I would do without you my beautiful daughter,’ he said with all the charm of a coiled viper.

  ‘In that case if you don’t mind I’ll go to my room for the evening. Thank you Victor,’ said Kathy turning away from Henderson as he tucked into the meal she had prepared for him, sickened by the words falling from her lips. She had to bide her time, be patient.

  ‘I’m not going to let that bastard break me. I’m going to escape this nightmare or die trying,’ she swore to herself for the hundredth time as she locked the door of her bedroom and tried to sleep after another day in trapped hell.

  CHAPTER 7

  Sam and Molly sat together on the sofa in Sam’s apartment, the golden haired canine enjoying the rare treat of being allowed up on the furniture. It was late afternoon and the effect of the few drinks he had earlier with Arthur was wearing off and he felt now the ache from the facial wound caused by the strike of the Enforcer’s shotgun butt. After leaving Arthur in the bar Sam had walked quickly through the streets, his mind racing with thoughts of the journey ahead and what difficulties and dangers they may encounter but he had to calm himself and think how best to contact Lucy. The pain from his injury was helping to clear his mind and help him focus. He needed to tell her of their plan and arrange to meet her on the road outside Raven City. With no time to organise sending a reply to her letter he had no choice but to risk using the net-screen knowing their conversation could be monitored and reported.

  ‘Might as well get on with it Molly, I just hope she’s home and understands the message,’ Sam said aloud as his dearest friend sleepily lifted her head from his lap.

  He got up and drew his hand across the scratched plexi-glass panel to activate the screen, as usual ignoring the vast stream of video ads that were immediately competing for his attention and swiped his hand d
ownwards, the gesture clearing the screen so he could make a call. What seemed like several minutes had passed and Sam was about to disconnect when the screen lit up with Lucy’s live video image as she accepted the call. His heart soared when he saw her smiling face. A petite figure and standing five foot six in her army surplus boots Lucy was several inches shorter than Sam but he felt they fitted together perfectly when they held each other close. Her dark wavy shoulder length hair, sallow skin, delicate features and deep brown eyes gave her an air of feminine mystery, an untold depth he would give anything to spend his life exploring and knowing he would love every single thing he discovered.

  ‘She is so beautiful,’ Sam thought, instantly forgetting the pain in his face and the troubles on his mind.

  The spell broke suddenly as Lucy’s smile quickly faded.

  ‘Oh my God, what happened? Are you alright? Look at your poor face, tell me what happened?’ Lucy gasped in shock at seeing Sam’s bloody and bruised face from under the dressings Arthur had hastily applied.

  Sam hadn’t looked in the mirror since he’d arrived home and only now remembered he must look a real mess. ‘Oh shit, sorry babe, I forgot to clean up before I called you. Don’t worry, it’s just a scratch, I’m sure it looks worse than it actually is. Really I’m okay, just an accident, it doesn’t even hurt. I’m fine,’ he lied hoping to spare Lucy any undue worry considering what he had yet to tell her.

  The two distant lovers spent several minutes catching up, much of which involved Sam trying to convince Lucy his injuries were superficial.

  ‘So, I was thinking, you know how we’ve talked before about you meeting my family?’

  ‘Yeah, we’d talked about it and you know I’d love to meet your parents,’ Lucy replied quickly catching the meaning as she knew Sam’s entire family had emigrated years ago.

  ‘Well, something has come up here through work and I’ve managed to arrange a temporary travel permit and a lift with a trucker as far as Raven City. I was thinking in a few days we could meet up, remember where we had the picnic the summer after you moved to Raven? I was thinking it’d be great to visit there again, it’s a really nice spot, just the two of us, and Molly of course.’

  ‘Oh Sam, I’d love that. It’s a wonderful idea, you have no idea how much I’m looking forward to seeing you. Our picnic that day was perfect, let’s do it again!’

  They spent a moment saying goodbye and ended their call terminating the net-screen connection.

  Sam knew Lucy had understood his message. They had many previous coded conversations and she knew as well as he did to be very careful. She understood Sam was leaving Rook City in two days and would meet her outside Raven City about three days after that. The picnic spot he spoke of was a lake several miles from Raven City where they had camped out one summer evening when Sam last visited Lucy after they returned from their travels and they had spent a miserable night being bitten by clouds of flying insects. They awoke covered in red bite marks on every inch of exposed skin and Lucy would certainly never forget it! It was a quiet place and well out of sight of the road plus now in much cooler weather would thankfully be free of the annoying insects. It meant she had around five days to get out of her own city and meet Sam and his travelling companions at the lake. One of the things Sam loved about Lucy despite her stunning beauty was that she was practical and resourceful. He could count on her to be there and she would wait at the lake for him if there was any delay. Lucy also trusted Sam completely and knew he was true to his word, he would meet her as he said, whatever it took.

  Sam felt relieved that he had delivered his message. He desperately wanted to get on the road and although his pack was ready to grab and run at a moment’s notice he had promised to wait for Arthur and Alice. The day after tomorrow he would meet them at the edge of the forest a few miles beyond the Rook City boundary so if he waited until morning he could get one last sleep in his own bed and then travel all the next day. It had been a hard day between forming plans of escape and having his face smashed in so some rest before the journey would be most welcome.

  It was early evening; too early for bed despite his physical exhaustion so Sam took the opportunity to check through his pack. He knew everything would be there but for peace of mind he double checked anyway. Sleeping bag, bivi bag and ground mat plus an old army tarp for shelter; dried food, chocolate and water filter bottle provided his rations, basic medical supplies, spare dry clothes, torch, a stout knife for camping and hunting, a small crowbar for urban scavenging and several other items Sam had long ago listed, gathered and packed in anticipation of this day. There were a thousand other things he could have packed but weight was a consideration and finding many items even on the city’s black market was difficult.

  He added some extra dry food mix and a small aluminium dish for Molly and filled his water bottle then packed the last of the spare filters. From under a carefully cut section of floorboard hidden behind the bath side panel Sam took a tightly wrapped package from its plastic cover and counted out five hundred dollars in cash. It wasn’t worth much but it was all he had and it might prove useful on the road.

  The last thing he did was to take the old wooden baseball bat his father had given him from beside his bed and strap it to the side of his pack. The heavy end of the club sat in a low outside pocket with the shaft loosely held by an upper strap which kept it secure but also allowed Sam to reach back and grab it in seconds if needed, a move he had practised many times to be sure he could pull it off smoothly in case of trouble. In terms of defence his knife could be useful but dangerous and his trusty bat gave him more reach and was certainly more intimidating. He knew it wasn’t as good as a gun but he didn’t know much about guns and probably couldn’t have got one if he wanted anyway so the bat was better than nothing.

  With his pack rechecked and additional preparations completed he took Molly for a short walk before dark and then went to bed since the next morning he would have an early start and the road to a new life would lie in front of him, if he could make it that far.

  While Sam restlessly dreamt of the adventures ahead Arthur sat at his kitchen table talking things over with his wife and explaining all that had happened that day. She didn’t need any convincing that it was time to exit the decaying city and was only too happy for the chance to leave. Both Alice and Arthur would have left the city years ago but age and feeling settled in their modest yet comfortable home meant the years just rolled by until it got that Alice felt too unsure of their prospects to make the journey alone. Although she trusted and stood by her husband through all their life she was also realistic and when they had previously discussed leaving both knew their chances of making it were slim. Now that Sam would be travelling with them husband and wife felt this could be their last best shot at spending their remaining years somewhere other than the rotting metropolis.

  As keen as Alice was to leave it came as a surprise for her to learn that the men planned to rendezvous beyond the city limits the day after next.

  ‘I’m sorry love,’ said Arthur softly. ‘I know it doesn’t leave you much time to get used to the idea but you know we have to go. Remember how it used to be, remember how happy we once were. Well maybe we can find something of that life again at the end of our long road. I know we have memories here in this place but you know as well as I do that there are more bad memories than good now, it’s time to leave it behind, take our chances and find something new. We’re not too old for that yet. Are we?’

  Alice’s eyes filled with tears and she wept as she and Arthur held hands across the table. He got up from his chair and came around to hold Alice to comfort her.

  ‘Oh I’m so sorry my love, I wish it didn’t have to be this way but it’ll be okay, you’ll see.’

  Alice leaned back from her husband, drying her eyes. ‘You old fool, I’m not crying because I’m sad we’re leaving this dump, I’m crying because after all these years together you still want to take silly risks and make a go of it with an old gir
l like me. I love you Arthur and whatever the weeks ahead have in store I’m just happy I’ll be with you, that’s all that matters.’

  Husband and wife retired to bed where they lay and just held each other affirming a bond that had seen them through times happy and sad for over three decades together.

  As the elderly couple drifted off to a contented sleep Sam was startled awake by the sound of a door being smashed in and the tramping of several pairs of heavy boots and aggressive shouts from an Enforcer squad commander.

  ‘Under Protocol Nine, section four you are hereby detained. You have no further rights.’

  An icy fist gripped Sam’s heart and he leapt naked from his bed, pulse racing, scrambling into his jeans and boots, and waiting for his bedroom door to be broken off its hinges at any second. Molly who had been asleep in her basket in the bedroom barked and snarled at the door. Sam had nowhere to go, his apartment was eight floors up with a single exit to the communal hallway. He was trapped.

  His thoughts were of Lucy, he would never see her again. She would wait at the lake for him for days but realise eventually he was not coming. Would she think he abandoned her? No, she’d know something had happened but would she make it to safety travelling outside the city alone? His mind ablaze now Sam looked to the corner of his bed thinking to grab his bat and maybe take a swing or two at the Enforcers before they beat him senseless but he realised it was in the living room, strapped to his backpack. If this was to be his last stand he wasn’t going down easily. As the seconds ticked past in what seemed like an eternity Sam heard shouts of protest coming through the thin walls followed by screams of agony and he realised then the Enforcers weren’t here for him.