“You have to be a good girl, okay? Be a good girl.” He said, and put his hands on both sides of her face. She grabbed his wrist.
“Hey, get the fuck off of her!” I began to pull at my ties, but they were locked in place.
“Okay.” She answered, her voice now shaking.
He bent down, and what I thought was going to be a disgusting act turned into a very loving one. He kissed her on the forehead before he got up and walked toward the stairs that led up and out of the lower area. He turned to look at her again, a sad smile on his face. He craned his neck to look at me again, “Tomorrow morning, we will be back.” That was all he said as he walked up the stairs and made his way out of the ship.
I looked over to where Angel was sitting, and she looked just as confused as I was. Maybe the man was drunk?
I shook my head and let my head fall softly to the hard steel at my back. I took in a deep breath through my nose; I wondered where we were.
Copper.
Gas fumes.
We were in America.
It didn’t mean much to me, we’d been brought back to America many times, and it would be the same as before. No one would be there for us. We would be carted off to the deep woods and left in a small room with nothing to do but entertain ourselves. I did like the large cabin home that the Giles family had here. It was rustic and earthy, and it had a calming vibe to it. Maybe they’d already set up my next stall brawl, it had been a while since Viper, and I needed to break someone else’s -
“Oh, my god.” Angel gasped.
My inner tirade ended as I opened my eyes and looked at her; maybe something was wrong. “What? Do you have to use the bathroom? Are you sick?” I asked.
She wriggled her hand, and there was a bit of clinking before she pulled her hand up and showed it to me.
One of her hands was free.
“I think Roth loosened them. I think I can get my other hand out too!” Her speech became quick and excited. She pulled for what seemed like an eternity, but just the same as before her hand came loose.
I laughed happily. Angel was free! She could run away, and we were in America, someone would help her! He set her free. I wanted to cry in relief. I pulled at my hands, but I had no such luck. I was still tied tight. Angel got up from her space and ran over to me and tried to pull on my cuffs. I pushed her back with my knee.
“Angel, you have to get out of here. He said they would be back in the morning, but I don’t know if anyone else will be sneaking on or anything. Go.” I pushed her back again, and she looked at me like I was crazy.
“No way. I am not leaving!” She shook her head and went again for my wrist.
“God damn it, Angel. You have to go. This is your only chance! Get the fuck out of here!” I growled at her.
She flinched at the curse I spewed in her direction, but she didn’t move. “Ink, I am not leaving without you! If you are staying, so am I.”
“No, that’s bullshit! Get the fuck out of here, Angel! I’m not repeating it!” I wished my hands were free so I could push her toward the stairs. She didn’t understand I wouldn’t be able to protect her from Ruby and Harrington for much longer. This was her only shot. “Please, baby girl, just go,” I begged her.
“No.” She sighed before she grabbed my face. “You want me to survive? You want me to be okay? Then you need to be with me, don’t send me out there alone Inkpop. I need you.” Now she was pleading with me.
She was right. There was more of a chance of them finding her alone than with me. I knew where to hide, and I knew who to avoid. She didn’t. I pulled at the restraints again as hard as I could; this time, Angel helped. Even with both of us pulling as hard as we could, it barely budged. She fell to the floor on her butt, out of breath.
“Now what? There has to be a way.” She said, her eyes already welling up with tears.
“No time for that, look around for something that could help.” I looked to the side of me, but there was nothing but crates.
“What about that?” Angel asked as she got up and bound over toward one of the crates to the side. She bent down and picked up a crowbar.
That could work, I think I can make it work! I felt my excitement begin to rise. Roth must have left it down there for me to find, needing the illusion we broke free instead of him helping us. “Bring it.”
Angel ran the heavy metal bar over to me, and I looked for a place to use it on my cuffs. Right at my wrist, was a small hinge where the metal joined. While keeping my hand on the floor, I used the sharp straight end to pry it open. It creaked, but nothing happened. I was in an awkward position, and I couldn’t get all my body weight behind it. “Angel, I’m going to prop this up, and I want you to lean on it with all your weight, okay?”
She nodded her head quickly as I set up the crowbar where I wanted it. I grabbed hold of the end, and the smart girl stood on a box, so her weight was over the crowbar. “Okay, on three push down hard for as long as you can.” I looked at the metal restraint and prayed this would work. “One, two, three!”
