did it. Her legs kicked against the wall and she realized the mattress hadn’t completely crumpled. With wild grunts of effort, she used her legs to press the mattress back against the wall, not at an angle this time, but so it was upright on the floor. Her arms shook, fingers slipping, as she used the flimsy frame of the mattress’s end to lower some of her weight. It began bending slightly but held. She panted, her whole body shaking, blood and sweat dripping from her, draining her further. Nausea rose up her throat in a sudden rush, and she leaned her head to the side and vomited bile. She was sure she’d pass out as she gagged and sputtered. But she didn’t and after a moment, she was able to gather herself.
She took a moment to breathe, to let her muscles rest before she tested them again. I can’t. I can’t. The streetlight outside blinked on, the milky glow mixing with the last traces of daylight and brightening her cell. Unbidden, that vision of her aunt’s farmhouse flashed in her mind, golden peace filling her mind with hope, the imagined sound of a child’s laughter—her child—filling her heart. She opened her eyes, looked up, ready for the final trial. There was a tiny crack in the corner of the window, a small spot of weakness. With her lower body semi-supported on the rickety mattress edge, she let go with her right arm and punched at the crack in the window. Once, twice, grunting and heaving. The third time caused the tiny crack to spider outward and the fourth punch shattered it, Josie screaming with pain as glass shards sliced her skin.
Cold air flowed over her drenched skin and she gasped out, a desperate sound of longing at the first feel of partial freedom. She used her arm to sweep the window of glass as much as she could and then took one big breath before using the mattress edge as a springboard and pushing off it while simultaneously using her arms to pull herself up and through.
Her torso caught on the sill and for a moment she simply flailed, half in and half out of the room that had been a dungeon of torture for almost a year. She let out another mighty yell, kicking with her legs as she pulled herself through the window, glass shards raking her naked skin.
Josie tumbled onto snowy dirt, groaning and gasping, as she crawled for a moment, unable to pull herself up but desperate to get away. Away. Away. Her sobs filled the night, breath forming white gusts of vapor, and she tried in vain to be quiet, but her body had taken over. She thought she heard a car in the far distance and her heart slammed harshly against her ribs. Her head whipped around. She felt watched.
What if it was him? She would not be shackled again. She would not. She picked up a shard of glass and clutched it in her hand as she pulled herself to her feet, slipping, stumbling, limping, shaking from fear and cold. Run! Run! Josie ran. Her feet were bare, she was only wearing a tank top and the torn remnants of the shorts she’d put on a lifetime ago. She glanced behind her and saw that she was leaving a trail of blood in the light dusting of snow.
Red breadcrumbs that he could follow if he arrived before she made it to safety.
She slipped on a patch of ice, pitched forward but caught herself before she fell, stumbling on. And on. It was deserted everywhere she turned, a vast area of abandoned buildings. No wonder no one had heard her screams. She wavered in and out, gasping, keeping herself moving by sheer will alone.
She saw movement up ahead. Headlights. A car. Josie sobbed, wondering if it was him. But no, it was a taxi. A taxi! Josie stumbled forward, mustering a yell, sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath, waving her arms.
The taxi turned, heading in the other direction and Josie yelled again. A pulsing wave of red overtook her and for a moment the world blinked out. She fell to her knees, raising her hand toward the taxi that was moving slowly away. Come back! Come back! She tried to pull herself up, but couldn’t, crawling in the snowy dirt toward the retreating vehicle, one arm reaching toward it.
She saw the red brake lights come on suddenly and then it