Over the past few months, Ivan had started to involve himself more and more in my company. He said he wanted to “help relieve my stress.”
And like a fool, I had been touched by his thoughtfulness.
Time crawled by. My stomach growled in protest.
I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since yesterday.
Then I heard footsteps outside the door. They stopped right at the entrance.
“Ashley. Have you thought it through?”
“As long as you listen and do what we say, we’ll let you out.”
It was Ivan’s voice.
Biting my lip, I stayed silent.
“No answer? Fine, then keep rotting inside there.”
His footsteps faded into the distance.
Obviously, they had no intention of letting me go. If I wanted out, I’d have to save myself.
I searched the room, feeling along the cluttered corners of the shed until my fingers brushed against something sharp.
A broken piece of stone.
It sliced my fingers open more than once—tiny droplets of blood marked the floor but I didn’t care.
Using the stone shard, I pried at the frame of the small window on the wall. The wood was old and rotting.
With a crack, a part of the frame gave way.
The window was so narrow, I had to force my way through.