Page 17 of Loki
All thoughts of the destruction of the offerings left my mind and my brow creased with confusion.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the person who got in touch with you about what’s happening.”
My eyes widened. “My source.”
“I’ve seen some of your work and know your connections. I thought you could help,” he continued.
“How do I get away?”
With a determined effort, he reached up, moved the wall hanging, and forcefully pulled the boards off an opening in the wall, then tossed them inside the tunnel. “This is your way out. It will come out in the swamps. If you go straight, you should come to a road.”
“I can’t leave Lila,” I said. “She’s too young to be here.”
Despite the frustration on his face, I remained steadfast in my decision not to abandon her. I will get us both out, and we’ll come back for the others.
He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous to take her,” he said, his voice filled with concern. “Right now, she’s his prize possession. She’ll bring too much attention if she’s gone. He’ll start looking at the men surrounding him including me.”
“I don’t give a fuck if she’s his damn prize possession. I’m not leaving here without her. I have a key to the cage. We’ll sneak out as soon as we can.”
“A key?”
I nodded, keeping my guard up and refraining from sharing any more details. He might be my source but that didn’t mean I trusted him completely. People in dangerous situations would do anything to save their own asses. Only I knew where I’d hidden the key so even if he was not who he said he was, no one would ever find it.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay. When you get somewhere safe, tell the authorities what’s going on. We may not have time to wait for your story.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond before he yanked me back down the narrow hallway towards the cage. Hopefully, I’d be able to get Lila and myself out of here and find some help. If not, I’d die trying.
When some of the girls were taken from the cage and I was certain that no one would be entering the room for a considerable amount of time, I made the tough choice to leave. Regardless of the time, the moment to act had arrived, and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. My source had shown me the way out. All that was left to do was for me to swallow down my fear and make a run for it.
I’d already removed the key from its hiding place making sure no one saw what I was doing. I leaned over to Lila, giving her a soft nudge on the arm to wake her up.
“It’s time to go,” I whispered.
When she glanced at me, her eyes were filled with a mix of surprise and fear. She didn’t move.
“I’m not leaving here without you. I know how to get out. When we get outside, just run straight. Don’t stop.”
She vigorously shook her head, and I palmed her face with both hands. “We have to do it now, Lila. The auction is tomorrow.”
She let out a gasp. It wasn’t exactly a lie because none of us had any idea of the auction date, which could have been tomorrow for all I knew. She needed to trust me that if we were going to go, it had to be now.
“You are his prize possession,” I said repeating the words of my source. “And if someone is willing to pay for you, your life is going to be even more shitty than it is now. Do you want that? Because I don’t want that for you. I don’t want that for me or anyone of these women. It’s time to leave.”
I got up and offered my hand to her, patiently waiting for her to grab onto it. And when she did, I let out a sigh of relief, as I pulled her to her feet.
Right now, the others who were still in the cage were sleeping, as we crept to the cage door. I reached my hand through the bars, twisting it to reach the lock on the cage.
Once I unlocked it, I slowly pushed it open, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Once we’re both on the outside, I closed the cage door making sure not to disturb the other women. Like I said, I wasn’t sure who I could trust, but I’d make sure once Lila and I got somewhere safe, I would come back for them. I refused to let them go through this kind of life if I had the chance to stop it. I wouldn’t wish this existence on anyone, not even my worst enemy. Nobody deserved this fate.
It was like a lead weight sat on my chest knowing that I would have to leave them, but it was all I could do right now. I glanced at the women one last time as we approached the room’s door. I slowly pulled it open, praying to whoever would listen that nobody would see us. When I looked out and the hallway was empty, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I clung to Lila’s hand as we rushed out of the room.
Following the same path my source had taken me earlier, we walked down the narrow hallway as quickly and as quietly as we could until we reached the wall hanging. “As soon as we get out of here, we’re going to keep straight, okay? And don’t step on any of this stuff.”
I motioned to the offerings kicked across the ground. We didn’t need any more problems than what we already had. Lila’sgaze shifted down to the floor, then back to me with recognition in her eyes and she nodded.
I shifted the wall hanging, opening the space so we could crawl through. Once we were inside, it became clear that we were in a tunnel of some sort. It was just tall and wide enough for us to move through on our hands and knees. Not sure what it had been used for, but I was thankful it was here.
