Barely Legal

102

Melanie was weighing her odds, which she was hard-pressed to do because she was almost delusional with exhaustion and hunger. They hadn’t been feeding her. She’d complained, but they hadn’t given a damn. They clearly weren’t prepared for keeping prisoners, or at least they weren’t prepared for keeping one alive. No one knew where she was, including her, and no one was coming to help, and the options she’d rejected before were looking more and more attractive.

She thought about the window. Even if she could get it open — and that was a big if — would she be able to survive the fall and run far enough away to get help?

Was that a better chance than attacking a man on her way to the bathroom? It seemed a toss-up. They had their guns out now, each time they opened the door. Still, they wouldn’t be expecting an attack, wouldn’t realize how agile she was. Could she disarm an armed man?

She liked the idea better than the window, all that jagged glass slashing her to bits as she smashed her bones on the pavement below.

She’d do it the next time they took her to the bathroom. She’d hear the key in the lock and she’d be ready.