Page 129 of Survival
I listened as theglass shattered and the flames engulfed the patio as well as theside of the house. And then, not more than a few seconds later, alarge boom echoed from outside sending my heart into a frenzy, as Icould practically feel the flames from my bathroom window. As if astarter pistol had gone off, I immediately ran to the counter,pulling my hair up into a high-knotted bun and quickly slipping myrubber protector under my collar. It fit perfectly snug. I soonheard the shouting of the guards as they quickly collaborated tocontain the fire below my window. I then quickly changed into myclothes, laced up my Nikes, and bolted from mybedroom.
I could hearshouting and orders being given as I stealthily made my way downthe stairs, through thehallsand to the garage, adrenaline pumping through my veins soloud I could hear it. My senses werehyperawarenow as I heard twoguards coming my way, and I immediately hid in the shadows of thehouse, watching them pass right by me as they headed for mybedroom.
When I finally reached the garageundetected, I pressed the button opening one of the many doors,grabbed the key to the Panigale that was hanging from the hooks onthe wall, climbed on the bike, and roared that motherfucker tolife. Feeling the throttle in myhand, I revved the engine, moreexcitementand adrenaline pumping through me as I put thebike in first and tore out of the garage like a bat out ofHell.
By the time I made it down the driveway, Iwas already in third, and as soon as I hit the sensor for the gatebelow the cement, it openedlikethe pearly white gates welcoming me to Heaven, except I was onlyjust escaping from Hell.
I almost squinted as I waited for the shockto come and cause me to crash, probably killing me on impact, butall I felt was a low vibration that lasted about five seconds andthat was it. Relief rushed through me as I realized my plan hadworked. One shock was all the collar would administer, and I hopedonce Darren found out I was gone and on a bike, he would deactivateit for fear it might actually be the cause of my death.
I peeled out ofthe gate, nearly squealing the tires as I did, and turnedright,remembering from the first day I had beenbrought here where we had turned. Now that I wasonan open, butmostlikely private road, I screamed out loud invictory. I had fucking done it! Noshock! No struggle! No fuck ups! I was actually out of the estate!I couldn’t believe I had really pulled it off. But I wasn’t out ofthe woods yet. I had a mission to complete and once that missionwas over, it didn’t matter if Darren found me again.At least,my family would know to disappear andDarren could no longer hold anything over my head as leverageagain.
Kicking the bike into fourth and then fifthgear, I turned my headlights off and made my way through thewinding road until I came over a hill and could see what lookedlike a small town up ahead with a perfect view of a lit-up SanDiego beyond it. Perfect.
As I neared the town, fear rushed throughme. What if one of the cops here recognized me? I’d surely befucked. I slowed the bike down and turned off the road lights as Iturned down an alley street, not far from a small quiet looking7-11 before parking the bike behind a big green dumpster.
Darkness shrouded the little town, as thereweren’t many streetlights around. Constantly scanning the area, Iquietly ran my way across the street and headed into theconvenience store, my heart pounding in my ears. I was greeted by ayoung cashier; a girl barely out of her teens and obviously havinga ton of fun during her midnight shift. I walked up to her andsmiled.
“Hi, I’m sorry to bother you, but my carbroke down, and of course, my cell phone is dead. Is there a phoneI could use?” I smiled sweetly at her, acting as if I was really ina jam, and I really was as well as short for fucking time.
“Yeah, sure,” she said slowly, giving me anodd look as she tucked her long blond hair behind her ears. Sheturned to grab the phone off the counter behind her and hesitantlyhanded it to me. Yeah, I must look absolutely crazy with thesefucking soles around my neck and a giant bruise on my cheek. Ihadn’t even bothered to cover it up before I left. No time for thatshit right now.
“Oh, thank you so much,” I said dramaticallyand then sauntered away down one of the aisles to hide and began todial Jason’s number.
My body shivered with anxiety as I held thephone to my ear and prayed like hell he’d answer. It rang fivetimes and I was beginning to grow nervous as I feared I wouldn’teven get to speak to him. Butonthe sixth ring, and to my relief, he answered.
“Hello?” came a sad low, sleepy voice. Itwas him. It was his voice and my heart stopped momentarily as I hadalmost forgotten how it sounded. “Hello? Who is this?” came thevoice again, and I shook my head in anattemptto escape the ice that had suddenly consumed mybody.
“Jason?” I practically gasped.
There was a pause. I almost panicked.
“Jaden? Jaden, is that you?” He soundedconfused and scared.
“Yeah, Jason, it’s me, but listen, I don’thave a lot of time-”
“Holy fuck! I knew you were alive! Where areyou? Are you all right? What happened? Where-”
I had to cut him off.
“Jason, stop, I don’t have a lot of time.I’m fine, but I won’t be unless you listen to me very carefullyright now.”
“What’s going on? Where are you?”
“Jason, I was kidnapped and sold into humantrafficking. I was purchased by a very dangerous man who is keepingmehostage.”
“Who has you, Jaden? Who? I will fuckingkill them!”
“Jason, stop and listen to me! You need todisappear. He’s planning to kill my entire family to bring me toheel. You need to warneveryoneand tell them to run.”
“I don’t understand, Jaden. What’s thisguy’s name? Who is he?”
“I don’t want to tell you, Jason. If I tellyou, you will get involved, and I can’t have that. You have todisappear, please, for my sake.”
“Jaden,goddamn it, tell me who the miserable fuck is who tookyou so I can kill him and bring you home!”
“Jason, you cannotcome looking forme. If he finds you, he will make me watch him kill you just tospite me. Andbelieveme, Jason,if you don’t disappear now, hewillfind you. He hasconnections everywhere, including the police. Please don’t make mego through that.”
I suddenly heard sirens in the background,and my panic began to rise all over again as I kept my eyes gluedto the windows.
