Let Me Out

by A H Alhaila

  Chapter Seventeen

  Recuse Gone Wrong …

  “Are you crazy?”, said Steven.

  “We don’t have time to ….”

  “What’s on your eyelids?”, said Steven interrupting her when he saw the drawing of eyes on her eyelids.

  “It’s a drawing of an eye. I used it to trick the creatures.”, said Joanna, closing her eyes and showing them to him.

  “How did you know it would work?”, asked Steven.

  “Yeah! How did you know it would?”, asked Joseph curiously.

  “It’s a long story. I promise I’ll tell you everything after we rescue Mr. William.”, said Joanna.

  Everyone was shocked about what they have heard. They did not know that Mr. William exited the building. What Joanna had done added fuel to fire too. “What happened to him?”, asked someone in the group.

  With concern very apparent on their faces, Steven explained what happened and said, “Mr. William was helping us get the medicine we needed for Oliver. But, he didn’t come back. Now, Joanna will explain the rest to all of us.”.

  “He couldn’t come back because he got his vision back!”, said Jonna.

  Everyone was amazed by what Joanna had said. “How did that happen?”, asked Steven.

  “He was climbing the shelves to reach the medicines on top and slipped and hit his head. And just like that, his vision was back.”, she said.

  Everyone felt that Joanna’s mixed feelings of happiness for him regaining his vision, and sadness for him being in a dangerous situation.

  “How will we rescue him?”, asked Steven.

  “I’ll just take Sam with me to him. He will then draw eyes on Mr. William’s eyelids!”, replied Joanna.

  “I can’t go out there. How about I teach you how to draw them. It’s pretty easy!”, said Sam in a nervous and frightened voice.

  “We don’t have time to waste.”, said Steven in a serious tone.

  “I’ll go instead of Sam.”, said Elma interrupting them.

  “Can you draw the eyes on eyelids?”, asked Steven.

  “Yes, I can.”, she replied.

  “Then go get ready you two.”, said Steven,

  “Alright then. Ask Sam to draw eyes on your eyelids first.”, said Joanna.

  “Right away.”, replied Elma.

  Elma went with Sam so that he can draw the eyes on her eyelids. “Are you crazy?”, whispered Sam to Elma, attempting to warn her.

  “It’s not as dangerous as you think.”, replied Elma. “We saw Joanna walk between the creatures without harm.”, she added.

  “You are the only person I know who is still alive! Please stay.”, said Sam.

  “I want to do this to show you there’s nothing to be afraid of.”, said Elma. “I’m also doing it so that later on, we can walk freely between the creatures with eyes drawn on our eyelids. Okay?”, she added.

  “Okay.”, he replied in a sad voice after thinking a bit. “Do you have the colors?”, he added.

  “Yes, they’re with me.”, she replied.

  He took the colors from her and said. “Okay, now close your eyes.”.

  He started painting on her eyelids when he noticed her eyes shaking. “Are you nervous?”, asked Sam.

  Elma was silent for a few seconds then replied, “No, I’m not.”.

  “You can still back down. We can come up with another solution.”, said Sam.

  “I won’t back down. Keep drawing.”, she replied.

  He sighed as he replied saying, “Just a little more and I’m done.”.

  A few seconds later, he finished drawing. He then put the paint brush aside and started blowing on her eyes so that the paint would dry faster. He rubbed his finger on her eyes to make sure that it was dry then said, “Are you ready?”.

  “Yes, I am.”, she replied.

  “May God protect you.”, said Sam.

  Joanna then came and said, “Are you done drawing?”.

  “Yes, I am.”, replied Sam.

  Joanna looked at Elma with irritation, as she remembered Elma endangering Brian’s life when she did not distract the creatures while Brian was hanging on the rope, and said, “Are you ready?”.

  From her voice Elma felt that Joanna remembered that incident when she endangered Brian’s life. She looked downwards and said, “Yes, I am.”.

  “Let’s go then.”, said Joanna.

  Joanna and Elma, who was carrying some paint equipment, went to Steven and said, “We’re ready dad.”.

  “Alright. I’ll keep an eye on you two from the roof.”, said Steven.

  “Okay.”, said Joanna.

  Steven asked Sam to close the door behind them after the leave. Joanna, Elma, and Sam headed towards the stairs. As they were walking down, Joanna was reminding Elma of some instructions. “Close your eyes well but not too tight so that you don’t create wrinkles on your eyelids. Just show the eyes drawn on your eyelids clearly. Don’t open your eyes otherwise you will turn into one of them. Got it?”, said Joanna.

  “Got it.”, said Elma.

  “Grab my hands and don’t let go.”, said Joanna when they reached the door.

  “Be careful Elma.”, said Sam.

  “I will.”, she replied.

  Joanna felt Elma’s fear when she held her hands tightly. Sam then opened the doors. As soon as they walked out, the creatures surrounded them. But they both kept walking as everyone looked at them in fear. Suddenly, and while everyone was watching, two creatures attacked them and wrapped their hairs around them both. Sam was watching anxiously as his tears silently fell. They continued to walk when the creatures moved away from them and left them unharmed. Sam felt great relief and happiness. When they left the building, everyone ran up to the roof. They all watched as Joanna and Elma kept walking until they reached the pharmacy.

  When they reached the pharmacy, Joanna said, “I’m going to open the door. You quickly go in and get the chair that’s behind the counter. Don’t forget to keep your eyes closed because they can still see you even if you’re inside. You can open them when you get to Mr. William.”.

  Elma did not know what the chair was for, but she replied saying, “Okay.”.

  Joanna opened the door as Elma went in quickly to get the chair. She was startled at first when she got to the counter and found Mr. William hiding behind it. “Who are you?”, said Mr. William.

  “I’m Elma. I’m here to draw eyes on your eyelids.”, she replied.

  “Where’s Joanna?”, asked Mr. William.

  “She’s outside and she needs this chair so excuse me please.”, she replied.

  “What are you waiting for? Take it quick.”, said Mr. William.

  “Well you were talking to me!”, said Elma.

  “Why are you still talking to me!”, said Mr. William angrily. “Take the chair to Joanna quick.”, he added.

  Elma took the chair to Joanna. From behind the door, Joanna said, “Put the chair under the handle so that it can’t be opened. I’ll wait outside until you’re finished drawing.”.

  “Okay.”, said Elma.

  Elma then went to Mr. William and took out the paint and said, “I’ll start drawing on your eyelids now.”.

  “Where’s Joanna?”, he asked.

  “She’s distracting the creatures outside.”, replied Elma.

  “Then you’d better draw fast for her sake.”, said Mr. William.

  Elma began drawing, but the creatures rushed towards the pharmacy because they saw her hiding behind the counter. At that time, the creatures wrapped their hair around Joanna’s head one after the other. Meanwhile, the creatures that saw Elma started to push even stronger causing the glass windows to break. Feeling anxious, Joanna almost opened her eyes to see what had happened, but she kept her eyes closed. She tried to enter the pharmacy, but the chair prevented her from doing so. The creatures managed to go into the pharmacy and headed towards the table. Luckily, Elma had finished drawing the eyes in the nick of time. “They’re coming … Close your eyes and don’t
ever open them. Don’t close them too tight so that the painting would be clear and the plan would work.”, said Elma in a haste.

  In a confident tone, Mr. William said, “They’re my friends. They won’t hurt me.

  Mr. William closed his eyes and Elma said, “Keep it like that.”.

  As Elma also closed her eyes, the creatures surrounded them and wrapped their hair around them. Elma shouted, “Don’t forget what I said!”.

  When one of the creatures left Mr. William after wrapping its hair around his head, Elma asked, “Is everything okay?”.

  “What is this? Is all they want some affection?”, said Mr. William.

  “This is how they attack.”, replied Elma.

  “Come here my friends. I have so much affection, I can hug ten of you at once.”, said Mr. William sarcastically, as he hugged the creatures one after the other.

  “This is not the time to joke around. Come with me.”, said Elma.

  Elma held Mr. William’s hand and they headed towards the pharmacy door. Elma then moved the chair aside and opened the door.

  “Let’s go Joanna.”, said Elma.

  “Are you both okay?”, asked Joanna.

  “When I got my vision back, I was sad that I won’t be able to walk with my friends again. But now, I can.”, said Mr. William.

  Joanna then knew that they were both fine. “Let’s hold hands so that we don’t get lost.”, she said.

  They held each other’s hands and headed towards the shopping center. Steven felt relieved when he finally saw them approaching the center with Mr. William. However, a few moments later, Joseph started shouting, “Steven! Steven!”.

  Steven turned towards him and said, “What’s wrong?”.

  “Come look! It’s the creature that killed Max!”, said Joseph.

  Steven looked at where Joseph was pointing and saw the creature coming from far away. “Dear Lord! It’s heading straight to them!”, said Steven.

  Sam was with them and heard what they said. He moved slowly without anyone noticing and headed downstairs. Steven turn towards Joanna and said, “Joanna! Turn left and come from the other way.”.

  “Why?”, asked Joanna anxiously.

  “The creature that killed Max is coming toward you.”, replied Steven.

  Mr. William and Elma were about to trip as Joanna pulled them towards the left. They started moving around the building as Steven said, “That’s good. Keep moving.”.

  “Is that creature still moving towards them?”, Steven asked Joseph.

  “I’ll go check.”, replied Joseph.

  “Bad news!”, said Joseph to Steven as he went to see whether the creature was still following them or not.

  “What is it?”, said Steven.

  “I can’t find it! It vanished.”, replied Joseph.

  “Damn it! It’s going after them. Try to look in front of the building. I think it went the opposite direction to cut them off!”, said Steven.

  Joseph went to check while Steven asked Adam to get him a gun. When Joanna and the others approached the turn, Steven said, “Turn right”.

  “Let them turn the other way! The creature is right in front of them and is running towards them.”, said Joseph, as soon as Steven finished his sentence.

  Steven turned and saw the creature running towards them. He shouted as loud as he could, “Go back! That creature is right in front of you. Let go of each other. Spread out!”.

  The three felt confused and they turned back and let go of each other. Mr. William became on the left side, close to the center, while Elma was on the right side away from it. Joanna was in between. Steven started directing each of them while Joseph kept updating him about the creature. The three walked parallel to each other in the same pace as some creatures were able to wrap their hair around their heads holding them back a bit. They were able to set themselves free from the creatures until the creature that killed Max approached them. When they reached the turn, Steven shouted, “Turn left!”.

  When they turned left, Mr. William became in front followed by Joanna then Elma. Steven then asked Joseph, “Where is it?”.

  “It’ a few meters behind them.”, said Joseph.

  “Damn it’s fast. I asked them to spread out but now Elma’s in danger. Where are you Adam?”, said Steven to himself.

  “Elma it’s getting closer. Walk faster!”, said Steven.

  It was apparent that Elma was struggling to move faster. Mr. William decided to slow down a bit. Joanna however, moved in the same speed which made them get close to each other once again. Steven noticed what was happening and that there was no chance of separating them again, “Damn it! This way they might all get hurt.”, he said.

  Steven turned again and saw the creature had just turned and came close behind them. Steven became very angry that he could kill Adam for taking so long to fetch his gun. “Dear Lord! This will not end well!”, said Joseph when he saw the creature approaching them.

  Everyone was tense from the situation happening in front of them. They tried throwing some objects off the roof to distract the creature that killed Max, but it did no work. Joanna, Elma and Mr. William became very close to each other as the creature was but moments away from reaching them. “Who will it be first? What will happen if Joanna gets caught?”, Steven asked himself as the creature became even closer to them. The creature was only a couple of meters away when Steven lost hope and could not think straight anymore. The creature then caught one of them, but to their surprise, it was Sam! Everyone was shocked from what had happened as they heard Sam shout very loudly. “I won’t let you get my girl! Get me instead you fool.”, shouted Sam.

  Elma and Joanna heard Sam’s voice and knew what had happened. Joanna felt that Elma was going to open her eyes which led her to place her hands over her eyes and say, “Stay calm. He’ll be okay.”.

  Joanna knew that Sam had drew on his eyelids otherwise he would not have been able to move through all the creatures. “Don’t leave me alone!”, should Elma at Sam.

  Joanna pulled Elma and tried to calm her down. “He’ll be okay. Don’t worry. Shouting won’t help.”, said Joanna to Elma.

  Joanna, Elma, and Mr. William continued to walk while Sam was in the creature’s grasp. “Remember don’t open your eyes and don’t shut them too tight. You’ll be fine. Think of Elma and don’t do anything rash!”, said Steven to Sam.

  Sam took Steven’s advice as the creature wrapped its hair around Sam’s head while everyone was watching anxiously until the creature finally let him go. The creature did not know what was happening thanks to the trick of the eye painting. It wrapped its hair around Sam’s bead again and again it let him go. “Good job Sam. It can’t get to …”, said Steven.

  Steven was interrupted as the creature unexpectedly picked Sam up and carried him on its shoulder and ran. Everyone screamed in fear of what had happened as Sam was screaming as he was being carried away. “Is this really happening?”, said Joseph in shock.

  “How could this happen?”, said Steven angrily.

  Elma heard their screams and knew that something had happened to Sam. She stopped and turned around, but Joanna quickly placed her hands over her eyes again and said, “Don’t be foolish. Let’s keep walking.”.

  “He was trying to help us. I can’t leave him.”, said Elma.

  Elma tried to resist Joanna forcefully which made Joanna hit her on the head, knocking her unconscious. She started to drag her along as Steven and everyone else saw them getting closer to the turn. Steven went to direct them into the building and said, “Is Elma okay?”.

  “She’s just unconscious.”, replied Joanna.

  Chapter Eighteen

  A Stream of Emotions

  “Okay. Now, after fifteen meters, turn left and you’ll be right in front of the main entrance.”, said Steven.

  Steven continued to watch them to make sure they made it into the building safely. He and everyone else went down to the first floor. As Steven was heading down, he saw Adam just heading u
p the stairs with his rifle. Steven looked at him with anger and said, “Why did you take so long to get the gun? The creature that killed Max took Sam. I could have shot it!”.

  “Took Sam?”, said Adam in shock.

  “Yes! Took him! It wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t late!”, said Steven.

  “I’m sorry. On my way to get the gun, I saw Sam. He was out of his mind! He was trying to leave the building and I was trying to convince him not to. He wouldn’t listen to me and asked me to lock the door after he left. I wish I had stopped him.”, said Adam.

  “We’ll discuss this later. Right now, Joanna and the rest are downstairs. Open the door for them, will you?”, replied Steven.

  Adam went to open the door, while Steven went to guide his daughter from above. While Joanna and the others were heading towards the door, everyone who were on the first floor distracted the creatures which were this time larger in number making distracting them more difficult. When Joanna and the others got to the stairs, Steven said, “Joanna, as there are three of you, I think trying to enter will cause a large number of the creatures to walk too.”.

  “Do you want us to lose consciousness?”, said Joanna.

  “Yes.”, said Steven.

  “Making yourself lose consciousness is risky. It can kill you. I suggest not doing it unless you really need to.”, said Victor interrupting them.

  “What do you suggest we do?”, said Steven.

  “I suggest they drink the sleep medicine that Mr. William had mistakenly got.”, said Victor.

  “Good idea. Bring some water bottles and put the medicine in it.”, said Steven.

  “Alright.”, said Victor.

  Victor went to carry out the plan. Steven turned to his daughter and said, “I guess you’ll be sleeping with the creatures tonight.”.

  “I heard what Victor said.”, said Joanna. “I think this medicine is as important as the paint we use.”, she added.

  “I agree.”, said Steven.

  “Here you go.”, said Victor after coming with some bottles of water mixed with the medicine.

  Steven took the bottles and said to Joanna, “How will we give you the bottles now?”.