Anthem
Chapter 4
Locked in. I give the door another futile shake. I try to think as if I were on the other side of the door... the handle would need to be chained the the lead heating pipe... There's no way I can break that with brute force. I shout in frustration. I feel like crying but I just want to leave. Is my father still conscious? Is he even in the house? Unlikely. He probably grabbed what he could find in the cabinets to eat and then left for the night. My eyes scan the room and I quickly pull out the small cot mattress I keep under my bed. I hold it to my side, and run at the door full force.
BANG! The door barely gives.
I bounce backwards, my shoulder throbbing. I groan and sit up massaging it. Doesn't feel broken at least. My eyes once again scan the room, going all the way around and back again. The window is my only option.
It takes me a few minutes to get it open on account of the fact that its partially rusted shut. Cool air flows into my room. The bars are a different story. They look rusted enough that I should be able to break them fairly easily with some help. But that's going to need blunt force. I grab one with my right hand, using my left to grip onto the sill for balance. As I suspect, with the full force of my body it soon snaps. I break the others and survey what I have to work with outside.
The fire escape is about thirty feet to my left. A ledge about five or six inches runs around the perimeter of the building, directly under the window sill. I could use the rough brick facade of the building to grip with my hands. The thought of being 5 stories off the ground still makes me incredibly nervous. I take a deep breath and gather my courage. I duck under the window, taking the first step, and then the next. I never realized how bad my fear of heights was. I try to just block it out, ignore the fear.
I'm now fully out of my room. I grip the building with my hands, going one foot in front of the other. A blast of the city air hits me in the face. Sewage, smoke, and shouts from down the road. A police car with flashing lights and sirens whizzes by. I take a few more shaking steps. Pulling my coat in closer to me I start to think about what the consequences of this choice are. A few more steps. What could a, say, fifty foot fall do to a persons body? I'd seen news stories on how people jumped to their deaths off high buildings. More steps. Those were buildings much higher than my cheap apartment building though. I'm more than halfway to the fire escape now, but it also means i'm about fifteen feet away to the closest safe way to turn back.
After about 5 feet I look back at the open window. The curtains blow out the window. I try to put the thought of falling from my mind. I lean forward and grab a rail of the fire escape. I start to swing myself over... All of a sudden the brick I had been gripping falls out. My left side swings over the ledge wildly, my right hand gripping the fire escape for dear life. Several profanities come from my mouth and my eyes are wide in terror. I grab the bar with my other hand almost immediately and pull myself up and over the railing. Leaning over it I catch my breath. No going back now. I zip my jacket and pull up my hood.
It feels like a shorter walk down the five stories than the ten yards across the sill. Soon enough I'm at street level. The fire escape drops you off at an alley between two apartment buildings. Not much here except dumpsters and boxes, maybe the occasional rat. I get to the front of the building and start the familiar trek to the military recruitment office Since I wont have to ration my food for the next month after all I stop at a few places to pick things up. By the tie I get to the office it's about dawn and to my surprise the place is buzzing with activity. I suppose others had the same idea as me. A line snakes out the door of people about my age and some appear to be much younger.
Forty-five minutes later i'm almost to the front of the line. The boy in front of me looks a young fifteen, if that. He goes to the front, head held high and practically standing on his toes to look taller. He hands his form to the woman at the desk. She puts it in a pile and motions his to her left, not a word exchanged between the two.
"I can go?" he asks incredulously.
"Yes." he woman reply flatly. When he doesn't go at first the gives him a look of impatience.
"Listen, sweety, there's other people behind you. Go to the door and get in the truck.". He gives a dignified nod and goes. I hand in my paper. The woman gestures to her left. I follow the boy. The back parking lot is a flurry of activity. Orders are being shouted, loud trucks speed away. Someone grabs my arm and roughly directs me to the closest truck. The man is about nineteen, give or take. He has short cut dark brown hair and a handsome face. I struggle to keep up and he slows slightly, though still walking with urgency.
"Up here." he says calmly. He grabs my side to hoist me into the back but I move away from him and pull myself up. A few more people are herded into the back of our truck and soon we drive from the parking lot.
BANG! The door barely gives.
I bounce backwards, my shoulder throbbing. I groan and sit up massaging it. Doesn't feel broken at least. My eyes once again scan the room, going all the way around and back again. The window is my only option.
It takes me a few minutes to get it open on account of the fact that its partially rusted shut. Cool air flows into my room. The bars are a different story. They look rusted enough that I should be able to break them fairly easily with some help. But that's going to need blunt force. I grab one with my right hand, using my left to grip onto the sill for balance. As I suspect, with the full force of my body it soon snaps. I break the others and survey what I have to work with outside.
The fire escape is about thirty feet to my left. A ledge about five or six inches runs around the perimeter of the building, directly under the window sill. I could use the rough brick facade of the building to grip with my hands. The thought of being 5 stories off the ground still makes me incredibly nervous. I take a deep breath and gather my courage. I duck under the window, taking the first step, and then the next. I never realized how bad my fear of heights was. I try to just block it out, ignore the fear.
I'm now fully out of my room. I grip the building with my hands, going one foot in front of the other. A blast of the city air hits me in the face. Sewage, smoke, and shouts from down the road. A police car with flashing lights and sirens whizzes by. I take a few more shaking steps. Pulling my coat in closer to me I start to think about what the consequences of this choice are. A few more steps. What could a, say, fifty foot fall do to a persons body? I'd seen news stories on how people jumped to their deaths off high buildings. More steps. Those were buildings much higher than my cheap apartment building though. I'm more than halfway to the fire escape now, but it also means i'm about fifteen feet away to the closest safe way to turn back.
After about 5 feet I look back at the open window. The curtains blow out the window. I try to put the thought of falling from my mind. I lean forward and grab a rail of the fire escape. I start to swing myself over... All of a sudden the brick I had been gripping falls out. My left side swings over the ledge wildly, my right hand gripping the fire escape for dear life. Several profanities come from my mouth and my eyes are wide in terror. I grab the bar with my other hand almost immediately and pull myself up and over the railing. Leaning over it I catch my breath. No going back now. I zip my jacket and pull up my hood.
It feels like a shorter walk down the five stories than the ten yards across the sill. Soon enough I'm at street level. The fire escape drops you off at an alley between two apartment buildings. Not much here except dumpsters and boxes, maybe the occasional rat. I get to the front of the building and start the familiar trek to the military recruitment office Since I wont have to ration my food for the next month after all I stop at a few places to pick things up. By the tie I get to the office it's about dawn and to my surprise the place is buzzing with activity. I suppose others had the same idea as me. A line snakes out the door of people about my age and some appear to be much younger.
Forty-five minutes later i'm almost to the front of the line. The boy in front of me looks a young fifteen, if that. He goes to the front, head held high and practically standing on his toes to look taller. He hands his form to the woman at the desk. She puts it in a pile and motions his to her left, not a word exchanged between the two.
"I can go?" he asks incredulously.
"Yes." he woman reply flatly. When he doesn't go at first the gives him a look of impatience.
"Listen, sweety, there's other people behind you. Go to the door and get in the truck.". He gives a dignified nod and goes. I hand in my paper. The woman gestures to her left. I follow the boy. The back parking lot is a flurry of activity. Orders are being shouted, loud trucks speed away. Someone grabs my arm and roughly directs me to the closest truck. The man is about nineteen, give or take. He has short cut dark brown hair and a handsome face. I struggle to keep up and he slows slightly, though still walking with urgency.
"Up here." he says calmly. He grabs my side to hoist me into the back but I move away from him and pull myself up. A few more people are herded into the back of our truck and soon we drive from the parking lot.