only one way out from this floor, because she would never make it through the lower floors, which seemed to contain the reception area as well as living quarters for the vampires who ran this operation.
There was a fire escape. She’d noticed it one night when one of the vampires had opened the blackened window at the end of the corridor where it made a bend to the right. It was her only chance.
She ran for it, stumbling several times until she reached it. Frantically, she tried to push the lower portion of the old sash window up, but it didn’t move. Panic surged through her. Had they nailed it shut? She jerked on it again, this time more violently. Her breath deserted her and she dropped her head.
Why? Why? she cursed inwardly and slammed her small fist against the frame.
Then her eyes fell on the metal mechanism on top of the frame. The window was latched. It was one of those old latches from decades ago that simply held the window shut with a small lever one pushed from one side to the other; no key was needed.
Throwing a look over her shoulder, she quickly unlatched the window, then pushed it up. Cool night air drifted into the sticky corridor, making her shiver instantly. Her gaze fell onto the metal platform that was built outside the small window. The fire escape hung from it.
With haste, she squeezed through the open window and set her feet onto the platform, testing whether it would hold her. It bent under her weight, making her glance at the bolts that secured it to the building. It was too dark to see much, but she would bet that the metal was rusty.
Grabbing the handrail, she took her first hesitant step, then another one. Then she set a foot on the metal ladder, descending one story, then another. At the second floor, she stopped. The ladder came to an end. Panicked she surveyed the platform, then discovered a stack of metal that appeared as if it was a ladder that had been gathered up. She kicked her foot against it, but it didn’t move. Shouldn’t it go all the way down to the ground?
Gingerly, she stepped on it, putting more weight onto what appeared to be the bottom step. Her hand grabbed the rail next to her, and underneath her fingers she felt a hook. She pulled on it.
All hell broke loose. The ladder released instantly, coming down with a loud thump, taking her with it as her feet continued resting on the last step. The freefall made adrenaline race through her veins, but seconds later she came to a dead stop, jerking her body forward. A metal rod snapped, slicing into her upper arm. Pain radiated through her, and she slammed her hand over the wound, trying to soothe the pain away.
But there was no time to lose now. The vampires would have heard the noise and would investigate.
Blindly, she ran out of the alley and into the next street. She didn’t know where she was. When she and the other girls had been brought to this place it had been night, and they had been herded from a dark windowless truck into the building without getting a chance at seeing their surroundings. She didn’t even know what city she was in.
Passing by a sign for an import/export company, she dashed into the next street, running as fast as she could. The streets were deserted, as if the area wasn’t frequented by humans. Somewhere in the distance she heard cars, but still she saw nobody.
As she ran, she tried to take in her surroundings and make mental notes of street signs and buildings she passed.
Her lungs burned from exhaustion, her arm hurt from its encounter with the metal rod, and she could still feel blood trickling down her neck. If she couldn’t close those wounds soon, she’d bleed out. She had to find help. At the same time she had to get away as far as possible from her captors, because they were like bloodhounds. They would smell her blood and be able to track her down.
Turning into the next street, she didn’t slow her furious sprint. She was running on empty, and she knew it. But she wouldn’t give up. She’d come this far, and freedom was just around the next corner. She couldn’t let it slip through her fingers. Not when she was so close.
Before her eyes, everything became blurred, and she