- Text Size +
~ 26 ~

The Great Escape




Max looked as surprised as we did. “What the hell is going on here?”

Nickolas flew past me and in one motion swirled and did a roundhouse kick, knocking Max to the ground. He landed on his back with a grunt. Before he could stand, Nickolas went over to him, uttered something in Russian and then kicked him in the face.

“Stop!” I said a little too late, just as Max’s head jerked back and he lost consciousness. He was just about to stomp on my ‘uncle’s’ neck when I found myself grabbing at him, “I said stop!”

He turned around and I continued, “I wouldn’t let him kill you and there’s no way I’m letting you kill him!”

“He killed one of my best friends!” The look of hurt in his eyes was there with all the sincerity of someone who was telling the truth. “He deserves to die for that.”

I looked down at the man who I had thought was my uncle only hours earlier. “Maybe, but not today.”

Nickolas turned to look at him too, “Fine. I’ll be back for him when this is all over though.” The intensity in his eyes told me that was true. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I once again started to doubt this decision. He looked at the four of us, “Let’s go. He isn’t going to be out for long and once he’s awake, he’s coming after us.”

“Maybe we should tie him up?” AJ said holding one of the scarves we had used earlier.

“Good idea.” Nickolas replied as he grabbed the scarf and in no time had my so called uncle hog tied to a coat rack.

Once he made sure Max was secure, he opened the front door and we made our way out into the hallway. I took one final look at everything before closing the door behind me. The Christmas tree lights were still on even though everything was now a mess. It was like the holidays were saying a quiet F.U.!

We made our way down to the lobby, avoiding the elevator and taking the stairs. At the end of every floor, Nickolas made sure to open the door and do a quick scan of the area directly ahead of us before we descended to another floor. Just in case someone was waiting there to blow our brains out or something. He did this over and over again until we finally reached the main floor.

Nickolas went first and turned to us before we all followed, “Walk nice and slow, business as usual, no eye contact.” He turned towards the emergency exit.

“Wait, isn’t an alarm going to go off if we use that door?” Howie asked pointing at the big red flashing light right above our heads.

“Yes, that’s why the second we go through these doors we needs to run like hell.”

“Why don’t we just go out the front?” This time it was AJ.

“You are being watched. You have been since you got here to this hotel.”

That’s when it dawned on me, how this wasn’t really going to be very easy. I don’t know what I was thinking actually. Of course people would be watching. I mean they set the friggin’ hotel on fire for Christ’s sake. For all I knew, the muffin lady could have been in on the whole thing.

“Won’t the alarm let them know it was us?” That was Brian.

“Yes, that’s why we have to run like hell. What part of run like hell are you people not understanding?” He paused and took a deep breath, probably regretting his decision to take us all with him. “Are you all ready?”

We nodded, but believe me when I say it was as half hearted as when Fatima asked us that same question before having to go through a dance rehearsal for the ten thousandth time. The slow nod of the head while cringing on the inside, wanting to do anything but what was just asked.

Nickolas nodded back at us and then gave me a quick, reassuring smile before walking towards the door. Once we were all right by it, he opened it and the alarms immediately started to sound. I can’t even really tell you what happened next with a whole lot of accuracy but I shall try.

We were no longer in the middle of Manhattan like we were at our previous hotel. I’m not even sure if we were still there or had jumped to a different borough. I should pay attention to these things. Either way, because of our location we were more in the open than we would have been had we stayed at our original location. Even in the blizzard, I’m sure there would have been enough people as stupid as we were, roaming the streets. We could have just blended in. It wasn’t the case here. That’s probably the way Max had intended it. I mean, he is the one who changed our location. God, I’m so stupid!

The first thing that comes to mind is the intense feeling of cold that hit me hard as we started running. It was snowing again, not as hard as before but hard enough so that it quickly gathered on our jackets as we picked up speed. The wind was blowing pretty strongly and the ground was kind of slippery. As we turned the corner and headed away from the dumpsters and towards the parking lot, Howie fell on his ass. Luckily I was behind him or we probably wouldn’t have noticed. I tried helping him to his feet as quickly as possible as he murmured something in Spanish. Funny how these kinds of situations bring out the secondary languages. I wonder if I’m going to start talking in pig latin or something.

We made it across the parking lot in record time, Nickolas in the lead with Brian a close second and finally AJ, Howie and then me rounding out the pack. By the time we got out of the parking lot and across the street, I was pretty much gasping for every breath I took. My pace started to significantly slow to the point where AJ turned back towards me and Howie had to yell for the other two to slow down. I felt dumb and embarrassed.

Nickolas and Brian both came to my side, “Are you okay? Do you need me to carry you or something?” Nickolas asked, making me feel even more like an ass considering that he was injured and all.

“No, I’m fine.”

“We have to go!”

I was bent over, hands on my knees just trying to catch my breath when I heard Brian say, “Guys?” in an alarming voice. That’s never a good thing.

“We have to go now, Andrew!” Nickolas said.

I looked up and there were two men running towards us at full speed from the parking lot.

“Come on!” He said as we all bolted across the street.

That’s when my adrenaline kicked in. The tiredness I felt only moments before had disappeared, replaced by a jolt of fear. We were actually being chased and not by crazy teenage girls, but men who wanted to kill us. If that didn’t motivate one to move, I’m not sure what would.

We managed to run one block which really didn’t consist of very much but a few restaurants, gift shops and an old fashioned barber shop. The block was long though and no one at all was out. I was afraid to look back but I was even more afraid to not, so I turned my head and saw they were getting closer.

“They’re right behind us.” I shouted as I tried to pick up speed and catch up with the rest of the crew. Howie stayed back with me and literally grabbed my arm as we ran. I thought at one point he was going to pull it right out of its socket. Sometimes I forget how strong D really is. He looks scrawny but he’s not.

We ran down I don’t know how many blocks with the two guys right on our tails. Meanwhile, Mother Nature decided that things weren’t bad enough so the snow suddenly started to come down fast and slanted, hitting our faces as we ran. The pellets were beginning to burn but I knew if I closed my eyes I might fall. The sidewalks were getting more slippery and overall it was getting harder to escape. We all slowed down, but luckily so had our pursuers. In fact, I didn’t even see them behind us anymore.

“This way!” Nickolas yelled, quickly turning and running into a small alleyway that smelled like someone’s ass had exploded.

At the end of the small area, there was a fence. “We need to climb up and over.” He said not giving any of us time to process anything. Brian started his climb first and then Nickolas looked over at me, “You next.” I nodded and climbed just as Brian leapt off of the top and landed on the other side.

“Hurry Frack!” He said as AJ started pushing my ass from behind. I put a leg over and then just kind of let my body follow and the next thing I knew I was being helped off the ground by my best friend. The other three managed to get over the fence rather quickly.

“Come on!” Nickolas shouted.

We flew around another corner and ran another two full city blocks before finally stopping in front of a CVS of all places. “In here.” He opened the door and we all ran inside to the sound of Christmas music blaring through the very empty store.

We quickly walked to the middle aisle where ornaments and Christmas cards were already half off, and just stood there waiting. “Why are we just standing here?” I finally asked.

“Just seeing if they follow us in here.”

“And what if they do?”

“Let’s hope they don’t.”

“Where’s my father? You said he’d be here waiting for us.” Yes, I was growing impatient.

“No, I didn’t. Not here, we’re just trying to lose our tail first.” I glanced over at the other guys and if I looked anything like they did, we were probably a site to behold. “This will also give you guys a little time to catch your breath. You okay?” He asked me.

“Sure, never better,” Was my sarcastic reply.

He smiled despite the fact that he probably wanted to slap me. “Okay, I think we officially lost them. Let’s go.”

We all nodded and followed him out of the store and turned back towards the fence we had just climbed over. “Don’t tell me we’re doing that again?” Normally I would probably get a kick out of climbing all over New York but the blizzard and life and death situation kind of sucked the fun out of it and made it feel like an overwhelming chore. But still, instead of answering my question he headed for it and started to climb, so we did the same. It was easier the first time. The cold metal of the fence was burning my bare hands and my skin was actually sticking to the metal. I swear by the time this was over I’d have no more skin left.

When we came out of the alleyway, we headed in the opposite direction of where we had come for about another two blocks and then stopped in front of a subway terminal. “Okay, let’s go.”

My nerves came back full force at that point. “We’re taking the subway?”

“Yeah, we have to get back to the city.”

“But I thought you said my father was right around the corner.”

“He is, after we take the subway.”

“Is it even running with the snow?”

He turned to Howie, “Guess there’s only way one to find out, huh?”

I took a few deep breaths as we descended the long stairway. This was something, that even though all my phobias had kind of taken a back seat to what was going on, I was still scared to death of. A small space with lots of people equals a panicked Nick, or Andrew or whoever the hell I was.

The burst of hot air as we finally hit the ground felt refreshing even though the smell of urine that accompanied it was anything but. There were a few homeless people sitting on the benches, with carts next to them as we walked towards the turnstiles. There were quite a few people down there waiting on trains which was weird considering how barren it was above ground.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked Nickolas as he glanced at his watch and then down the tunnel, hoping to see the light of an oncoming train.

“We get to your dad.”

“And then what?”

“And then we go from there.”

“I was hoping for a little more than that.”

“Train’s coming.” AJ said while pointing to the track as the sound of the engine started to overtake the Christmas music played in the background by a guy and his sax. Hearing the word Train, I found myself thinking about Kevin for a moment and hoping that he was with my dad and safe.

The crowd started to gather towards the edge of the platform, waiting on the arrival of the train but Nickolas gave us the signal to stand back. “We’re going to take the next one.” He said.

“Why?”

“Because there are too many people.”

“Isn’t that safer than too few?” Brian asked skeptically.

Nickolas didn’t answer, just watched intently as a bell rang, signaling the opening of the doors. Once they opened, a slew of people got out of the cars and then the others finally made their way in. I felt like we should be going to, what if those two guys who were following us had figured out we were down here? There was really nowhere to hide if they were to show up now.

The ringing of a second bell signaled that at any second the doors were about to close. I turned to say something to Brian when all of the sudden I felt myself being pulled at full force towards the closing train doors. Brian started running after me, trying to grab at my arm as Nickolas pulled me in right as the doors closed behind us.

“What are you doing?” I screamed, trying to bang on the doors so they would open up again. Brian, AJ and Howie were now just standing on the other side trying to do the same thing as the train started to slowly pull away.

“Wait!!!” I screamed again as they started to run after us. The look of fear and panic on their faces probably matched mine. “Stop the train!!!” I yelled but no one was listening. The last thing I saw was Brian finally coming to a stop just as he reached the edge of the tunnel and then off we went into the unknown darkness.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading! I'm glad I was able to finish this chapter in time to post this weekend. Hopefully i'll be able to do the same with next week's. :O)