"I'm not, I'm not myself. Feel like I'm someone else. Fallen and faceless, so hollow, hollow inside. A part of me is dead. Need you to live again.
ONE
RYAN CALLAWAY
When I signed on to do this show "Escape!", I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I told myself I would go in planning for anything. The only things I knew was that I would be leaving unexpectedly, and participating in a number of challenges with a group of other 'troubled youth' who would be a part of my team. Beyond that there were no rules, or guidelines for me to prepare myself with.
For whatever reason, waking up in a dimly lit room with my ankle tied to a bed post and each wrist tied to a person lying next to me, was so low on my list it hadn't even registered as being plausible.
I groan, slightly confused as to how I even got here. I had fallen asleep in my own bed, packed, ready to go in the morning. And I woke up here, like this. I move my arm to see how much slack I have, but it's not much. A strong boy arm moves along with me. He's obviously unconscious because he's not reacting or fighting me. Good, because this will make it much easier to get myself unleashed from my bonds.
Immediately, I get to work, using my right hand to start untying the knots around my left. I stop briefly when I notice I'm tied to another boy, no, young man. He's definitely older than the other. His body is curled up towards mine, his wrists are both bound together which makes it harder for me to untie mine from his. The other thing I notice is that he's wearing blue plaid pajama pants, a pair of glasses, and that's it. No shirt, no other visible clothing beyond a necklace he's wearing which contains a glowing crystal. At least, I think it's glowing. I'm not sure if jewelry counts as clothing though anyway.
I'm making progress, but the knots are tight, and things start to get complicated because he begins to stir. His lids open to reveal bright, disoriented, blue eyes. They lock onto me, and then proceed to bug out. He tries to flail and pull away from me, but all this ends up doing is pulling me on top of him which in turns wakes up the other guy who's tugging my arm in the other direction.
"Knock it off!" I scream at them both.
Blue-eyes stops, and he's panting heavily as though he were going to have a melt down. The other guy adjusts his position so he can look at me and I get my first look at him as well. He's younger than me, but not by much, dark floppy hair, and dark eyes to match. He's wearing boxers and a white undershirt. I realize then that we're all in our respective sleep clothes. Needless to say, I'm thankful I decided to wear a long, black, nightgown to bed. At least I'm decently covered.
"You," I said to the floppy haired boy. "You need to stop moving so I can get myself free." I then glare at the blue-eyed one. "Calm down. You're fine."
"I don't remember what happened," he says in barely more than a whisper.
"Join the club." I snap back. "Hold still, I'm almost out of this."
Now with the pressure on me though, it's hard for me to focus on the knots without getting frustrated. Floppy-hair comes up behind me and starts to tug on the string connecting our two wrists. I almost yell at him to stop, but he knows what he's doing. With one tug and a pull, we're separated.
"Thanks," I mumble to him.
"Yuppers," he says and went about his business. No doubt he was busy trying to free himself completely. Good to know someone can be useful.
"Is this it?" Blue eyes asks.
"I see red blinking lights in the corners. I'm thinking so." Floppy-hair says. I noticed them too. I had come to the same conclusion - cameras - which meant this was the show. Way to start things off with a bang I suppose. At least we all were aware and on the same page.
Finally, I get myself free from Blue-eyes. My ankle isn't as difficult to get undone, so I do that first before going to help him out. His knots aren't complicated, but they are plentiful. Talk about overkill. Once I get him done, he pulls away, giving me a small and grateful smile, before stretching out his entire body. Then I notice the tight muscles of his arms and torso. Maybe he won't be completely useless either.
I check on Floppy. He's busy trying to gently wake up a girl, but it's pointless because she's basically dead to the world. I scope out our surroundings.
The lights are low, but I can see sunlight peaking in from underneath a thick shade. It's daylight, but I have no idea what time, or what day today even is. Off in the corner I see four hiking backpacks, packed full. Our stuff. I go to my bag, see all of my clothes in it, my personal items, and a few things the producers were kind enough to add in. I'd take more time to investigate this fully later.
Right now, I want some real clothes. At the very least, a bra. My hairbrush would be nice as well. I desperately needed to use the bathroom.
Blue-eyes bolts into there as soon as he's freed, and I'm pretty sure he was talking to himself, but I couldn't quite make it out. Whatever, probably needs to recollect. Little scares me, but waking up tied up was mildly disturbing, so recollecting is a good idea all around. Especially given some of the things I've already been through. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize though.
The bathroom door finally opens and I see Blue-eyes buttoning up a shirt in a pair of jeans. His gaze fixes on me for a moment and he raises an eyebrow. His entire attitude changed. Nothing about him reminded me of fear or panic. He stood tall, his shoulders are squared off confidently. In fact, he could have possibly been more cool and collected than me.
"Be fast. I have a feeling we shouldn't stay here for too much longer," he says. He then tilted his head towards the last girl, still unconscious in the bed. "I'll help with sleeping beauty."
I am fast. I'm able to dress myself, brush my hair and teeth, as well as do all necessary bodily functions in just short of ten minutes. Blue-eyes seems impressed with his smug smirk as he watches me walk out. Sleepy Beauty as he called her was just now starting to rouse from slumber. Floppy hair bolts into the bathroom after me.
"Geez, took you long enough, I was about to go piss in the corner." He says before shutting himself in. He already got dressed. Though getting dressed for him was nothing more than throwing on a pair of jeans and a plaid button down over his white shirt and boxers.
I toss the last, untouched, bag onto the bed for the girl. "Get ready."
She nods at me and starts to frantically dig around through her things. At least she's fast, and apparently un-modest, because she starts to change right there in the bed. Blue-eyes had about three seconds to look away as she threw on her bra under her tank top, and then she pulled off the short-shorts she had on and replaced them with tight low-cut jeans. She pulls her hair back into a high ponytail, and that was that.
The room was some kind of cheap motel room. Outside of the one bed and bathroom, there was a dresser and a rather out of date television. A note sat next to the remote control.
"You know all the right ways to turn me on."
"Perv," I roll my eyes and click on the television just as Floppy decides to exit the bathroom.
For a moment, there is nothing but static. Then the picture began to clear and a man who could pass for about mid-forties appears on the screen. His hair was gray, and his smile was too bright and cheery for my tastes. Cheese, and lots of it.
He spoke in a light, non-chalant tone. "Good morning my little escapees. I hope you slept well. Please don't be alarmed by the constraints, they're for your safety." I highly doubt that.
"I'm sure you are confused as to how you have gotten here. The last thing each of you remembers is going to sleep in your cozy beds without a care in the world, or perhaps too many cares. Isn't that why you're here?" He pauses for dramatic effect, and it definitely works because not even crickets are making noise.
"You'll have to get acquainted on the run. As soon as this video ends, you'll have exactly five minutes to get into your car and hightail it out of there before the hunters arrive for you. I'm sure that means little to you right now, but trust me when I say you do not want to meet them.
"Inside your vehicle there will be more supplies and more instructions. If you make it there of course. I'd hurry, the clock is ticking." And with that the screen went back to static.
I hoist my bag onto my shoulders. "Time to move. We can make introductions in the car."
"Who died and made you the boss?" Floppy says with a snort.
"Dude, I don't see anyone else with any better ideas." Blue-eyes says.
"We don't have time for other ideas." I snap at them both, and I start for the door.
"Might want these," a female voice pops into my head. Yes, into my head, as if it were telepathy. I search for the source and saw the other girl holding a set of car keys. She tosses them at me.
With our packs on, we rush through the hallways. I try my best to ignore how seedy the place is. I didn't want to think about what kind of diseases are lingering around every square inch. It might have made me puke. We found the nearest exit and step out into the parking lot. The contrast between the dim lighting and the bright morning sun is blinding. I have to shield my eyes for a moment so they can adjust.
Needless to say, it's full of cars, trucks, SUVs, you name it. I check the keys for some kind of hint as to what we'd be driving. The closest thing I could come up with is that it's a Ford. There were, of course, a number of Ford's parked in the seven rows of cars.
I click the unlock button, searching for some lights to come on, or a sound, or something, that will indicate which one is ours. Nothing helpful happens though, at least not that I can tell. If the lights flash, I can't see them in the sunlight.
Floppy gets the bright idea to take the keys from me, and he pushes one button and in that moment all hell broke loose. Not only did the car come to life in a whir of honking and blinking, but around the corner of the building three individuals in suits appear. Were those the hunters? Had five minutes already passed? Those were a pretty fast five minutes.
"Way to go," I yell at him and then bolt towards the blinking, honking, obnoxious, ugly as sin, gold, Ford Escape. How fitting really. An Escape for "Escape!". I roll my eyes.
We all bolt for the car, which is right in the middle of the parking lot. The people in the suits are walking slowly, inching closer. I get the feeling they're trying to intimidate us rather than stop us. Maybe five minutes haven't passed yet because they stop at the edge of the parking lot as if they're waiting.
One by one, we throw the packs into the trunk. Floppy and the other girl get into the back, and Blue-eyes gestures for the keys.
"What, just because you're the guy doesn't mean you get to drive." I say and clutch the keys to my chest.
"No, but I get car sick if I don't drive, so if you don't want me puking while we're making introductions I'd hand them over." He says and makes one more impatient hand gesture.
Reluctantly I pass them off and take shotgun. I hate to admit it, but it is nice to have someone else taking initiative for the time being. He starts up the car and pulls out of the parking lot just as I'm buckling my seat belt.
"Is there a GPS? Anything we can use?" Floppy asks from the back.
I look at the dashboard and see there is in fact a GPS screen. I turn it on and a map pops on with driving instructions. There's also a CD laying on top of the cup-holder. I pull it out of the jewel case and stick it into the player.
"Greetings team. It's me again, Chance Cagney!" The voice of the television man says in the same fake cheery tone as before. "I'm glad you were able to make it to your vehicle in time. Don't worry, the hunters won't be pursuing you through a high speed chase, today at least. Tomorrow who knows what they'll want to do. They're a little unpredictable sometimes.
"As you may or may not have already noticed, you have a GPS in your vehicle. Follow the directions to your destination. We were kind enough to place you in the same state this time around. Try not to get lost though, because I can't guarantee the hunters won't be lurking around.
"Are you all set for some rules? Complete the challenge. That is always your main priority kiddos. When you complete your tasks, you'll earn rewards such as free time from hunters, and other lovely privileges. Next you need to keep in mind that you are a team, and you won't be allowed to switch out team members - not without quitting, but why would you want to do something silly like that? In short, learn to get along if you want to win. Beyond that, have fun."
I hate how he says 'have fun'. This isn't supposed to be fun.
"Speaking of fun, your first task is to head to the Snowy River carnival. Once there, you need to find the Fun House and get through it before the hunters catch up to you. Easy peasy right? I look forward to meeting the five of you at the exit. If you make it that far, I mean."
It was quiet for a while, and Floppy says exactly what I'm thinking.
"Five? Did we leave someone behind?"
"No," Blue-eyes says matter of factly. "Nobody got left behind. I count as two people, I think...I hope."
"How do you count for two people?" I raise an eyebrow. Someone has an ego issue.
He runs his hand through his dark hair, and then he lets out a deep sigh. "I guess you could say I share a body with another person."
In the rear-view mirror I can see Floppy making the universal hand gesture for 'cuckoo'.
"I saw that!" Blue-eyes says. "Yeah, I know it sounds nuts. I have this." He holds up his necklace. It's not glowing this time. In fact, it's a dull white color. "This is my brother. Wiring connects this crystal to my body, basically. If you want, you can check for yourself. You'll see it goes into my body. It's literally connected to my nervous system in my spine." He lifts his head forward as he drives, briefly meeting my eyes with his own.
I lean towards him some and see the chain of his necklace does in fact go inside of his skin. I notice that the chain is made from thick rubber, scarred tissue surrounds the entry points. I've never seen anything like this before.
"I don't get it. What is this?" I ask.
"It's a new experimental technology." He says. "We decided to give it a try. The brain is an electric mass of energy. They were able to harness and condense the energy into the crystal here to preserve his life, his soul so to speak, until they can repair the physical damage done to him. I know, it sounds like something from some kind of crazy movie, but I think a lot of what we can do falls into that category."
"So how do we know who's talking?" Floppy says and rolls his eyes. He's skeptical. I almost don't believe it myself, but Blue-eyes explains it fast, and then I do. Simply because I'd seen it.
"This will glow," he says and gestures at the crystal pendant around his neck. "You'll believe it soon enough."
"So what's your name?" Floppy asks.
"Coty, but most people call me T."
"I'm Ryan," I say. "And what about you wise ass?" I turn to look back at Floppy for a moment.
"Tobias, Toby preferably." He introduces himself with a smirk then looks over at the other girl. "And you?"
"I'm Ipod." She says in that same voice that pops into my head again. She pronounces it differently than the Apple music player I should add. It sounds more like ipud. I don't want to know what her parents were thinking.
"Why do you keep talking like that?" Toby asks with a roll of his eyes. "It's kind of annoying."
"It's the only way I can talk." Ipod counters. "I'm a mute, but I can use already present soundwaves to communicate when I need to. I prefer sign language, but I think I'd crap a brick if anyone knows it."
"I do." T says with a big smile. The same wimpy, frightened, persona is returning to him, and that's clue number two that he's telling the truth about his inner counterpart. Whether or not that counterpart is something he's making up or not is a completely other story. I hope not, because I hate the idea of leaving someone behind at the hotel. Especially since we'd probably have to go back.
"Yey this is awesome! I totally believe you by the way. I can feel the energy, so trippy."
"That's one way to word it. Okay, so do you know where we are Ryan?" T asks me and glances at the GPS.
"Let me zoom out for a second here. We're just following the freeway for a while." Which is fine by me. The most I can tell is there are mountains ahead of us and flat behind us. When I zoom out on the map and find that we're on the edge of Colorado and Nebraska, I let out a small gasp.
"Well?" Toby leans forward.
"Sit back and put your seatbelt on. What are you five?" I shove his head back. "We're in Colorado."
"Damn," he says and does as he's told. "That's hella far from where I lived."
"And you're from where?"
"Middle of no-where Ohio."
"Chicago, here." Ipod chimes in.
"Minneapolis," T says softly.
"Duluth," I give T a weak smile. "Same state at least?" I pause, "And what about your...brother? Is that right?"
"Yeah, brother," he nods. "He's from the same area as me. His name is Cory. Which is why people call me T. It's confusing otherwise."
"How long until we get there?" I ask.
"A few hours at least. Do we have any money stashed somewhere? You know, for food or whatever?"
I shrug and start to search the dashboard. It sounds like a waste of time to stop, but I am feeling hungry myself. Now that the adrenaline from running is starting to wear off and reality is sinking in, I wouldn't mind something to eat. I find a collection of five credit cards, one with each of our names on it, including this Cory who shares a body. Seems kind of odd to give one body two different cards, but maybe that's just me.
"We have plastic," I say and hand each their card. "I would be cautious with it though. These hunters might be tracking us with our purchases. Whatever they are."
"Probably, but I think I have all of a dollar in cash on me." Toby comments. "I wonder what kind of a limit we have on here!"
"Don't get any wild ideas," I say with an eye-roll.
"You're no fun, did you know that? You sound like my mom. Ugh."
"You know I'm right though." I give my attention to T. "I propose we find an ATM, pull out as much cash as we can, and then get some drive thru."
"Sure," T says. I'm not sure if he agrees with my plan, but nobody else is coming up with anything else.
Twenty minutes later we each have $100 in cash and McDonalds. Not exactly the breakfast of champions, but it's breakfast. For a few brief moments in time, I completely forget that we're being filmed for a show and I feel as though I'm on an every day, ordinary road trip. Then I see the blinking lights in the corner of the car, on the rearview mirror, and there were probably several others I couldn't see as well. I hold myself, suddenly very aware of my every move. I wonder just who else is too.
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