A “Dead” End

Chapter 4

I have stunned…..I need to move from here before someone see’s me….I can not move though. The burden of this truth is too much…I wish I was still in my cell, dreaming about my upcoming “freedom”….what a sham…I will just be changing one prison for another…seems like death…..brutal death is the only true way out of this WEB of lies and betrayal. What a fool I was, such an eager student….so desperate to make “him” proud….thinking of him as my pseudo father, what a joke…..how can a “monster” be someone’s dad. I won’t just roll over and give up….I have to stand up, not just for myself but for the others…….the others that were here, now gone….the others that are here, puppets of “his” twisted schemes…..the others that will be brought in, to continue this deadly game……No, I will not let him continue this evil….he needs to be stopped and I will stop him no matter what it takes……

I leave the library very carefully, not making any sound at all. There will be time for anger and regret later, right now I need to remove any trace of me being out of my room….let alone listening to deranged minds communicating in secret. I have been trained to observe, among other things and I have a good….no…..a great learner, if nothing else, so I know all the security details….how many guards are on shift at what time….when the shift change happens…..where the security room is, after all I had my lessons on escaping surveillance in that very room….how ironic, I will be using the skills I have been taught against the very people who taught me everything. I make my way into my cell and pull up my latest invention. 

It is a small device, that looks like a tablet….but smaller…..I have made it with an inbuilt connector so that it can connect to any hot spot or wifi signal but it is completely undetectable and would not show up on any security sweep….I was going to gift this to him as my goodbye gift…..They might have trained me but I have worked hard to gain additional knowledge whenever I can. I have spent hours and hours of my sleep time learning on my own, maybe a part of me always knew there was something evil here that I need to protect myself from. Long ago, I created my own personal back door into the security system…..it was for practice only, to test my skills… when no one detected it, as I had expected….I decided to keep it a secret….maybe my inner self knew I may need it one day. I guess that day has come…I use my gadget to log into the mainframe and locate the security footage from today. I create a seamless loop showing me sleeping in the room, even while I left it till I return back to my room giving myself an extra 10 minutes buffer to get settled in my bed before live recording can start again….I have not worried about anyone noticing this manipulation, thanks to all my training….I have really good at all this stuff. 

I get into my bed and pretend to sleep. I have covered myself completely with the blanket to hide the trauma my body is going through. I use all my will power and strength to keep my body as still as possible, to control the shivers I have feeling. On the inside my mind….my heart….they are completely devastated. All I can think about is the lies, betrayal, the pain due to emotional turmoil….I go back into my childhood memories, to the time when I was taught repeatedly that feelings and emotions are our enemy….they only bring pain and loss….how true those words were….I resolve to gather myself and fight back. I may not be calm but I still have to be focused, for I have a purpose now………

I need to gather as many details as possible about this place and this operation……. I need to know the location, the number of captives, how they get their “merchandise” – as they call us, when and how they discard the “non worthy” but most importantly I need to know who these people are and how do they get funds to run such a huge operation….I have restless now, trying to figure out how I can gather these details. Thinking back to the conversation I heard, I know which “pile” I fit into…..how they plan to continue on using me….I have very little time left, I need to get out of here before they send me into phase 4…..I will never be able to escape them if they manage to bring me into this phase……

Thinking, planning, scheming….deceiving are apparently very tiring, my eyes were feeling tired and heavy….I manage to fall asleep. I woke up well before my normal time and re-affirm the plan I have come up with to try and gather as much information as possible because tonight I need to be ready to escape at any cost. I behave as normally as possible and follow my usual routine but today I have on full alert, looking for clues and information wherever I can. In a way I have thankful to “him”, it was only because of him that I strived to be the best. I not only soaked up all the knowledge given by my teachers but used my unique skills to learn more….way more…all because I wanted to surprise him with all my extra achievements on the day of my freedom…. 

How ironic it is, “he” encouraged me to gain knowledge. He always wanted me to learn beyond my teachers set curriculum. He allowed me full access of the library and filled it with all possible books on the subjects I was learning for my various degrees, PhD’d, certifications etc. I have a bachelor’s degree in science, maths, accounting, computer science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and sociology. I have done masters in computer technology, engineering and sociology and then moved on to earn my PhD in sociology, engineering and computer science and technology. 

When books were added to the library I saw there were so many topics beyond those I have covered in the normal course of my studies – complexities of human mind and behaviour, dark web, hacking, web technology, creative engineering…. And so much more. At the time I thought, where would I ever use such information but my memory and super fast reading abilities made it so easy for me to  read all the books they kept adding. I managed to learn 12 additional languages (total 18) than the ones they planned for me. I told him about some of my new skills but also kept a lot of key details to myself to surprise him eventually…..and what a surprise it would be for him, not a pleasant one I have sure, when I use the resources he provided to destroy him and his network……. 

Apart from the back door in the security system and my mini tablet, for lack of a better word, I have also used scraps leftover from my projects to build unique gadgets and devices that will aid my escape tonight. I had to build so many technological marvels for my chemical and mechanical engineering courses that it was quite common for me to be tinkering even in my cell, when I was unable to sleep at night. I never wanted to let any scrap material, no matter how small it was, go to waste and kept making new things all the time….I used to hide the extras in various locations in the complex….it became a kind of game for me to outsmart the system and today it was time to use all my skills to aid in my escape…. I can not use the security room during the day, without any assigned task that requires my presence, so I decided to use my tablet to connect to the main computer one more time.. I modify the system and plant several timed glitches, I just need to make sure I make my escape accordingly……… 

I was still connected to the mainframe via my small device and used it to hack into the satellite images of my current location so I can plan my escape route. I have never been more thankful for my photographic memory before….I just needed to see the images once and it’s all imprinted in my mind. I have covered my steps very carefully as I can not let anyone suspect me…next I decide to try accessing the restricted files, something I have never attempted before. I was a bit hesitant and scared because I did not know if I will trigger any alarms or alerts by doing so but it was a risk I had to take. I knew an organization this big will have a very strong firewall in place for anything marked “restricted” so I need to be extra smart and cautious. I have pretty confident that I can manage the firewalls, I just do not want anyone to find out what I have up to. So I decided to trigger alarms in various parts of the complex, including the security room…these alarms would go off every 1-2 minutes. 

At first there was panic, then caution set in but eventually it became a nuisance when they could not figure what and where the problem was. My advanced study into human psychology and behaviour taught me that in circumstances such as these human behaviour will triumph against all training and protocols and someone would shut the security system while the mechanical department fixes the whole circuit…. I knew at most I’d have 10 minutes before a higher up intervenes and systems go back up. I use this time very wisely to gather as much information as I can….. not only retaining it in my mind but I use my handy dandy USB (another twist on regular storage devices, one of my creations), that does not look like any USB, to download as much as I dare to, given the time constraints.

I end my connection after cleaning any possible foot steps I might have left behind. Next, I decide to gather all my weapons, (small and smart innovations that can be used as efficient but non life threatening weapons). My plan is to eat dinner, have my daily chat with him and make a run for it as soon as the security glitches kick in. My planned distractions will buy me 7 minutes to escape this place and I will have at the most 40 minutes, before my absence is detected…... I have sure they have rough terrain vehicles, helicopters, night lights, deadly weapons….etc so I have to move quickly and as per my planned route, if I want to survive this night. The toughest part of this mission is to act normal while talking to him….I hope I have able to pull it off otherwise all my efforts would go waste….I harden my heart and strengthen my mind as his voice comes through the intercom…..

He asks me about my day and acts so loving and concerned as if he did not have any evil plans regarding me. I match my tone to his…showering him with the same respect and adoration as before, I have his “student” after all. We talk a bit more about routine stuff and then he brings up my birthday. I almost gag at his fake affection but somehow control myself at the last minute and started talking about my excitement about my upcoming freedom and everything I want to do…. I already know the answer, as I heard all the vile details straight from the Devil’s mouth, but I still ask him if he knows what would be next for me….where will I go?.....and so on. After our conversation, I pretend to sleep but I have just biding my time for the plan to go into motion….. 

The circuit board caught fire, right on time, just as I planned….causing a total darkness and a complete system shutdown due to overload …. I was out of my cell and rushing towards the exit as soon as we lost power because I knew the backup generator will not start. I had arranged for a strategic leak, which emptied the fuel tank completely. I was the only one prepared, wearing a special make-shift mask (another one of my inventions) that worked like night goggles. I could easily see in this dark and was able to dodge any guards or teachers in my way……all the doors were open so anyone who wanted to escape had the opportunity to do so. There was total chaos, it was all hands on deck to try and contain everyone inside so I was able to make an easy escape. I was out of complex within 5 minutes……. walking quickly but carefully on the unfamiliar terrain. I have almost at the “point” that will lead to my freedom when I have interrupted by a very familiar “voice”….going somewhere, my dear?

I do not know if I should be angry at your insubordination or impressed by your intelligence and courage. I guess, I knew at some level that I should not have given you so much freedom and access but you were always my special pet and I wanted you to be the best….. but you are just like your mother. My mother, you knew my mother? Who is she….where is she? Please…..please tell me about her… why not, I will tell you all about that backstabbing little b***h…. she betrayed me…tried to run away with you…..not my daughter, he mimicked. Do not take my daughter…..please leave my child….my man stabbed her repeatedly to get rid of that nuisance…..trying to ruin my plans….. No….no, you killed my mother, Sarah moaned….her face losing all its colour. I respected you, trusted you, loved you and all this time you were her murderer…….. you murdering “SOB” (son of a b***h)….you killed my mother, deprived me of a normal childhood, forced me to train like some elite soldier…..you are disgusting……I HATE YOU…… Oh dear, I have crushed……did you not pay attention in class? Where were you when they tried to drill it…..emotions are your enemies…..just like your mother, a fool…. You foolish, foolish girl….you were my greatest success and you have spoiled everything with this stunt of yours…..Don’t you dare talk about my mother….you monster, I swear I will destroy you, even if it’s the last thing I do in this lifetime. 

Oh, so sweet…you want to kill me….destroy me? How? Come on, tell me how. I had such high hopes for you…you were so special to me…….so very special…. that is why I wanted you to gain as much knowledge as you wanted…….my mistake was to build a link with you…..talking to you and making things easier for you…..hell, I should have let those guards teach you a good lesson when you were young enough to comply easily, nevertheless, I will get a new child…..a boy this time and train him myself….start to finish I will mold him to be like me….. as for you…..all that training and potential….down the drain…..I guess I will just have to harvest your organs so you are not a total waste of all my time and effort…… I can at least recover some of the money I invested in you….. I will not let you use me again….I’d rather die….with that she jumped down the hill, before he could take a step towards her……..