Page 19 of Damaged
“Got it,” I hear him exclaim. I lift my head, looking over the desk at him to see him holding up his arm with the little card on a wide strap. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Jackson moves to the door as I quickly step up behind him. Opening the door slowly, he peeks out to make sure there isn’t anyone out in the main area still. We move swiftly through the door. Jackson turns back around, locking the door from the inside and closing it. Hopefully, no one will realize what we did right away.
We don’t need them chasing us before we have the chance to really escape.
Moving from behind the nurses’ station, the phone on the desk begins ringing right as we pass. Stopping just in front, we look at each other. Stepping back, I reach over the desk and lift the phone to my ear, and try to mimic how I’ve heard them answer before.
“D Ward,” I say into the receiver of the phone. Jackson rolls his eyes, but a smirk lifts the side of his lips as he shakes his head.
“Hey…We are locked in the cafeteria and can’t get a hold of anyone,” an orderly says.
“Oh no! I will be right there. Let me grab the keys,” I respond quickly, then hang up the phone laughing. “That will give us a little extra time.”
Jackson nods with a smile, and we head in the direction of the laundry room.
Once inside the laundry room, we both find new, clean clothes to wear, since the ones we both currently have on look like we’ve been in a massacre. We find several sneakers that belong to either the nurses or orderlies.
Setting several out to find our closest size, we eventually are able to get some shoes on as well. They aren’t stylish, but then again, neither are the fucking clothes. But they will do to hide the fact we’re escaped patients from the fucking insane asylum.
Balling up our old uniforms, we shove the old, bloody ones behind one of the machines so no one can find them. We scan the card, with our fingers crossed that no alarm will be set off.
When no warning bells go off, we step out into the dark, closing the door quietly behind us. The long gravel road laid out in front of us seems to go on forever into the obsidian night.
We walk fast, making sure to stay in the shadows as much as possible. They never expect one of the patients to escape, so they don’t have too many guards roaming the grounds. But better safe than sorry.
The longer we go, the darker it seems to get. There doesn’t seem to be any light pollution out here, but thank goodness my eyes have adjusted to the tenebrosity.
As we briskly walk, a shiver runs over my body, making me cross my arms over my torso trying to hold the heat in. Now thatthe temperature is starting to drop at night, there is a chill in the air, and since I’m also sweating from the exertion of walking so fast, my body feels a little cold.
The long, gravel driveway that runs into the asylum ends at a desolate looking highway with no lights on either side. Jackson and I stand at the end, looking both ways.
“Which way should we go?” Jackson asks.
“I say we go this way,” I say, pointing to the left. “I remember when they brought me in, we turned right on the gravel road before parking.”
“You can fucking remember that?” he asks incredulously with his brows raised in surprise. We start walking, but try to stay near the wooded area on the shoulder of the two lane road, in case we see headlights and need to duck under cover.
“Yeah,” I say with a boisterous laugh. “I knew when I was ready to leave, I had to.”
Jackson laughs along with me.
We walk for what seems like hours, when I feel a vibration in my pocket, reminding me I stole her phone. “Shit…I completely forgot,” I say, lifting the too big T-shirt and pulling it out of the dark gray joggers I stole.
Jackson looks over my shoulder. The screen reads ‘Wellard’ and I quickly swipe the red button at the bottom and promptly turn it off. We need to preserve the battery, since I don’t know when I will be able to find a charger.
“When did you grab that?”
“It was in her pocket when I was checking her for the keycard.”
Walking around the bend, we see lights up at the end of the road, making us both look at each other, then back again. We speed up our walking just a bit, excited to get back to civilizationand blend in with the population, where it’s a little more difficult to find us. Doesn’t matter how exhausted we are.
The small town we come across, has a bunch of little stores and offices all along both sides of the main road. People are milling about, probably closing up to get home. It’s late, so most of the places are closed, but there are still cars parked along the side of the road.
My stomach rumbles, reminding me we haven’t eaten properly since lunchtime. Jackson looks over to me with a smile. “Hungry?” he asks, making me nod with a little chuckle. “Yeah…me too.”
We keep walking to a little corner store that’s still open, the lights shining bright out to the street. A few people move in and out of the front door. Pulling the bitches wallet from my other pocket, I nudge Jackson’s arm to get his attention. “Let’s eat then,” I say, with a devious smirk.
Jackson barks out a laugh, pushing the door to the business open and holding it for me. “You’re just full of surprises,” he says, shaking his head and making me smile.
