“Is this everyone?” I ask the group knowing there’s at least one women missing.
One of the women looks around at the others before speaking up. “There are four women missing. The guards take some of us at night,” she says.
“Fucking great,” I say quietly.
The man who was beaten just a short while ago is with the men. One of his eyes is swollen completely shut. He is shirtless and his face is smeared with dried blood as if he, or someone else, tried to clean him up.
“My wife,” he says; the words thick and slurred coming through broken, swollen lips. Tears run down his cheek as he thinks about what she must be going through.
“We’ll get her,” I reply nodding. “Anyone here know Allie McCafferty?”
An older gentleman, well, older being relative as he appears to be only slightly older than me, raises his hand. His eyes light up and his face is written with eagerness and anticipation.
“I have a daughter named Allie McCafferty, sir. Do you know if she’s okay? Is she with you?” He asks excitedly and looks around as if she’ll materialize somewhere.
“Assuming she’s your daughter, and the odds are that she is, she’s okay. She and others will be waiting for us outside come morning,” I answer.
Tears flow down his face. I want to ask about McCafferty’s mother but it’s not my place and time is not our friend. We need to get these people to safety and quickly.
With Greg standing at my side, I whisper, “We need to get these folks back to the laundry room and maybe further into the building before someone shows up. Possibly even back to the roof. I’ll lead, you keep the stragglers rounded up.”
I think about staying here as there is only one entrance and we can keep the door closed by keeping another open but there’s no other way out. If they come to check on the prisoners, like I’m sure they will at some point, they only have to wait us out at the other end. We’d eventually have to leave for food and water. In essence, we’d be trapped.
“It’ll be a little akin to herding cats but I’ll keep ‘em moving,” he replies.
“We may have to move them into the hallway in stages if they all won’t fit in the transition room,” I say to which Greg nods.
“Okay folks. We’re going to get you out of here to somewhere safer. I’ll be leading and Greg here will be behind you. Stay together and behind me. A lot of the route will be dark but keep moving as best you can unless I say different. Keep absolutely quiet. No talking,” I say.
“What about my wife?” The hurt man asks.
“And the others?” The woman who first spoke up asks immediately after.
“We’ll get them but we have to get you to safety first. You first, then them,” I answer.
“Please hurry,” the man says with desperation and fear in his voice.
“We will. You ready, Greg?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he answers. Greg and I move the body into an empty cell before returning to the group.
There are twenty-seven men and women not including Greg and me. It’s one of the tightest squeezes ever, so tight that several pregnancies may occur, but we manage to fit everyone inside. I swear the windows bulge outward and the oxygen is immediately consumed. The door closes with a click. We are so tight I am almost not able to raise my hand to swipe the card. I’m also hesitant to do so as we may spill into the hall once the door unlocks. Heck, I may fly down the hall from the pressure and impact the far door at close to Mach.
None of this happens as the door swings open. I head down the hall keeping an eye on the opposite door until we reach the door we entered through on the left. I enter with the others close on my heels in the hall. I can’t blame them for bunching up and pressing close as they can’t see well, if at all, in the inky blackness of the corridor. Greg notifies me over the radio when he enters behind the group. Reaching the security door and the end of the hall, I clear the area before opening it and dart quickly down the hall branching off to the left. I retrace our steps back into the longer hall. The group makes more noise than I’d like. They are trying to be quiet but it’s hard with a group of this size and they don’t really know how. To me, we sound like a herd of spooked water buffalo.
I hear several gasps behind me as we pass the floor covered with blood and clotted with chunks of flesh and tissue. There is a much defined iron odor of blood along with feces. A faint lingering odor of gunpowder lies just below the other overpowering smells. We pass through the door and into the laundry room without incident. I’m not sure how long we have until our intrusion and the missing prisoners are noticed.
“What do you think? Here or the roof?” I ask Greg once we are all in the room with the laundry baskets.
“The roof will be easier to defend I think,” Greg answers.
“Unless they have grenades or mortars,” Greg continues with a chuckle. “If they find us and come at us with grenades, then nowhere is really safe.”
“Alright. Take them to the roof and hole up there. I’ll join you shortly,” I say.
“And you’re going where?” Greg asks.
“Back. There’s a bill that needs delivering,” I answer.
“How come you get to have all of the fun while I babysit,” he says.
“Payback for all of the ‘running’ comments,” I reply with a shrug.
“Duly noted. See you shortly.”
Replacing the clip with a fresh one, I head back, entering the long hall and proceeding down its length. Keeping to the walls, I crouch through the dark shadows, scooting rapidly through the lit portions. My nerves are taut expecting a cry of discovery. Although we hid the bodies, the evidence of what transpired is readily visible. And there’s the fact that none of the prisoners are in their cells. It won’t take long for the alarm to be raised if someone ventures that way. If it is sounded, I’m going to have to give up rescuing the other women and head to the roof. We’ll be able to hold them off there for a good while with only one entrance.
I’m tired but filled with anxious energy. The adrenaline has been pumping into my system. While I was able to sustain that for long periods of time in the past, it now tires me quicker than it used to. I crouch at the far door after checking for all clear.
“Okay, Jack, let’s do this. This is a no-brainer,” I whisper psyching myself up. I raise my goggles at this point. There’s no one to see that they’re not in place and I see better peripherally with them off.
I open the door and slither through, easing the door closed behind me. Going to the left this time, I enter a door and hall exactly like the one on the other side. Reaching the door leading into the lit hall, I halt and think things over. The layout will be the same as on the other side but the guard situation will be different. They may have a guard posted in the control room or they may not. There isn’t really anything to secure on this side if they’re using this to bunk down in. There may not be anyone or there may be men all over the place. I assume they are free to move around as they choose so they could be meandering anywhere. I’m also thinking the cell doors are permanently left unlocked.
“Only one way to find out,” I whisper to myself again.
I unlock the door and whisk down the lit passageway against the near wall moving briskly to the door. I peer inside. The room is dimly lit like the other one. There are two differences; three of the doors leading to the wings on the ground floor are lit as is one high up on the fourth level. No one is within the large room. Now to see if anyone is in the control room.
I swipe the card and enter keeping low. As the door slowly closes, I bring the mirror to the window and observe the room empty. Luck is still with me. A click behind me tells me the entry door is closed and I open the one to the room, entering and pressing close in the shadows against the wall. I keep an eye on the lit windows searching for a tell-tale shadow that someone is approaching the door. My heart thuds in my chest. I am in the lion’s den.