Breaking Their Hold

Meanwhile, At Haverly Hospital…

“Mr. Baker, do not play stupid with us.” Nurse Phillips told Zacky angrily with coldness in her eyes as he sat before her in Dr. Hastings’s office. A little over two hours ago, they had discovered Matthew Sanders and James Sullivan missing from their Cells during a routine check during the night. She had no doubt that Zackary Baker knew where they were at, and where they were headed.

“I’m not, Nurse Phillips,” Zacky told her, biting his tongue and stopping himself from saying what he really wanted to tell the nurse. He wanted to tell her that she was evil; that she was going to Hell for what she did. Come to think of it, he wanted to tell them all that they were going to Hell for what they did.

“Mr. Baker, you do realize that this is a very serious thing that has happened, do you not?” Dr. Baker spoke up, gently touching Nurse Phillips’s shoulder, signaling that she could leave. Zacky fought back a grin; the doctor thought he could make him break his silence. He was wrong.

Zacky would die before he would tell these people where his sister and friends were going.

“Of course I do, Dr. Hastings. If I knew where they were, I’d tell you. Because if I don’t, I could face execution. But I honestly don’t know where they are.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and two of the Security stepped into the room. One motioned for Dr. Hastings to follow him into the hallway, and he did after a short glare at Zacky. A few minutes later, he stepped back into the office, followed by a girl who looked similar to Melissa, but was no way his sister. But he had to pretend.

“What does my sister have to do with any of this?” He asked Dr. Hastings. “She would have no idea, either.”

“You can tell us the truth now, Mr. Baker, and we may ask President Schlagger not to have you executed. But if you don’t tell us exactly where Melissa Baker, Matthew Sanders, and James Sullivan are at, I will personally see to it that you face a public execution.”

Zacky fought back an overwhelming sense of fear. He’d gotten in trouble during his years at Haverly Hospital, but he’d never been outright threatened, let alone with execution. It was a scary thought.

But then he thought about his sister, four years his junior. He’d grown up as her protector, keeping her safe from everything that could harm her. Before they’d been arrested by Schlagger’s Government, he had taught her what to say and when, and when to keep her mouth shut. He’d helped Matt teach her a few basic self defense moves, as well, so that if she ever needed to, she could protect herself, should he not be there for her. There was no way he could let her be captured and killed when he could do something to prevent it. He had complete faith in Pierre that he would get his little sister and friends to safety in Quebec City. If it meant sacrificing his life for theirs, so be it. It was something he was willing to do.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zacky said, trying not to be too defensive, but neither too laid back about the ordeal. He wanted to appear as though he really were innocent. That was his best bet at the moment.

“Take him to Solitary for right now,” Dr. Hastings said. “As for her, have an Execution Chamber prepared. I have no doubt that Erich Schlagger is going to wish to have her executed.”

-x-

With Jimmy and Melissa

-x-

“I don’t see anywhere we can hide, Jimmy.” Melissa whispered in fear, keeping herself as close to him as possible. The one flashlight he had wasn’t doing much to light the way. He wrapped his arm around her waist protectively, and pulled her even closer.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Mel.” He told her. “Trust me. You can do that, right?”

Tears of frustration began to form in Melissa’s eyes as she wondered how Jimmy could even doubt that she trusted him with everything she had. “Of course.” She whispered. “I’ll always trust you more than anyone else.”

“Shh, stop for a second,” He whispered. They stopped, and he looked around intently before a smile overtook his face. She frowned, unsure of why he was smiling. “Can you hear that?” He asked her, seeing the confusion written on her face. She shook her head, and he walked closer to her.

“What am I supposed to hear?” She whispered.

“There’s a waterfall in here. We can hide behind it. They won’t suspect if we go deep enough in there.” He told her, taking her by the hand and leading her in the direction of the sound that he was hearing. It took them no longer than five minutes before they came across a large, fifteen foot waterfall. He looked at her.

“How are we—“

“We run through it. Yeah, we’ll get wet. But it’s the safest bet we have to hide from the Security teams that are coming after us.” He whispered. She nodded, and felt Jimmy squeeze her hand reassuringly in his as they ran through the small spring that the waterfall was emptying itself into, plunging through the water. When they got behind it, Melissa gazed in wonder.

Behind the waterfall was a huge cavern. It was so high she couldn’t see the top of it. It was very dark, but it seemed unimportant to her now. She knew Jimmy wasn’t going to let anything hurt her. He let her take in the site for a moment before tugging her hand again, walking forward at a brisk pace.

“We have to find a safe place to hide now. They might come back here, and we can’t be just standing here. That would make it too easy,” He grinned at her, as though they were only playing a game of Hide and Seek with the Security from Haverly Hospital. She nodded, and let Jimmy find them a spot. They walked along for twenty minutes or so, until he spotted a small, almost unnoticeable hole in the cavern’s wall. He looked at Melissa and back at the wall a few times before looking at himself up and down and at the hole. Then a smile formed on his face.

“I think we’re just undernourished enough to fit into that hole,” He told her. “You go first, in case whatever’s back there isn’t big enough for two people.”

“What if there’s a wild animal in there?” She asked worriedly. He looked at her, knowledge in his eyes. It almost reminded her of when they’d been growing up; when she’d thought Jimmy knew everything there was to know in the world. He still seemed to.

“There won’t be. There’s not enough food in this cave for an animal to live. The most you might run into is an ant or two,” He said jokingly. She decided to take Jimmy’s word for it, and walked towards the hole, dropping her pack on the ground. She put her legs through first, and tested the length with her feet. It was wide enough for her to slip into, and then she scooted on her bottom for a few seconds. There was a small, narrow tunnel that led to somewhere Melissa couldn’t see, but she knew there was enough room for Jimmy to come in, too.

“There’s enough room, Jimmy,” She called quietly, whispering.

“Okay. Here, put this over by you somewhere.” He said, tossing first her pack and then his own into the small cave with her. She put them on the other side of her so that there would be room for Jimmy to sit next to her. She watched as he struggled to get his over-long legs into the small cave, and then watched as he stuck his upper body out of the hole again. She heard something dragging along the ground, and it sounded heavy.

“What are you doing?” She asked him. He didn’t reply for a few moments, but instead grunted in discomfort. He pulled his head back in a minute later, and then smiled at her. Looking at him, she remembered how he’d looked just a few years ago. He hadn’t been so pale because of lack of nutrition and exercise; he’d been fair, yes, but he’d been a healthy then. He wasn’t so healthy now. He’d had his hair longish, though it was now a buzz cut against his head because of the Government Regulations on inmates of State Hospitals like Haverly.

“What are you thinking about?” Jimmy asked her, tilting his head to the side. She smiled, and then tears began to brim in her eyes as she thought of the past she’d had with him; of the future she could have had with him, had the Government not intervened.

“About you,” She admitted. “About what we were like before all this stuff happened.”

Jimmy scooted closer to her, and put his hands on her cheeks, looking her straight in the eyes.

“You listen to me, Melissa Baker,” He said to her. “I’m going to get you to Quebec City if it’s the last thing I do. And I’m going to be there with you. I’m not going anywhere; I’ll be right here, okay?”

Melissa didn’t reply, but instead closed her eyes as Jimmy pressed his lips innocently against hers in the first kiss they’d shared since being incarcerated. After they had finished kissing, he let her lay her head against his chest. She closed her eyes, and the last thing she was aware of before she fell asleep was Jimmy’s fingers playing with her stringy, oily hair.