Chapter 93

Sarah had freed herself from the ropes around her hands and ankles, but she was still trapped in the garage. She was sure there were bald patches on her scalp. Her hair had been entangled in the masking tape she had to pull off from around her head and mouth. Now she had to find a way out before those bastards came back. Once she was out, she could find help. Sarah knew she had to be careful with who she asked for help. She did not know how big this satanic cult was and who might be part of it.

Sarah's bladder screamed and she could not hold it in any longer. At least she would not have to wet her jeans anymore with the full use of her arms and legs again. She loosened her jean, pulled them down with her panties and squatted. She felt relief washing over her as a pool of urine formed between her feet. She felt much better when she pulled her jeans back up. At least she was able to think clearly again.

Sarah knew she had to be careful in the dark garage. There were many boxes and crates lying around. She moved towards the garage door. That was the only way out. Although there was another door leading to the house, she preferred not to try that door to escape. Her kidnappers might be inside the house or have someone inside that was supposed to watch her. She would have to be discreet about escaping, so as not to draw any attention to unwanted criminals.

Sarah stood in front of the garage door and wondered where to start. She remembered how Craig always had problems with one of the garage doors from one of their previous homes. There were cross beams on the inside that used to fall off whenever they locked the garage door. Craig had said that if those cross beams were not in place, anyone could enter the garage and rob them blind. Sarah placed her hand flat on the garage door. Starting at the top, she slowly moved her hands downwards until they reached two beams almost in the middle. They were surprisingly thin. She curled her fingers around them and pulled. They started to curve out towards her. She pulled some more and the left beam pulled out from where it was attached at the end. Although she did not understand the mechanics of such a door, she knew that it was a good sign. She pulled the right beam until it was dislodged as well. The two beams were only attached to a lock in the middle. She started to understand how such a door might work. If the lock turned to a locking position, it extended the beams into holes to the sides that should have been visible if there was enough light in the garage. She knew the locking mechanism had been bypassed which one could only do from the inside. The only thing that remained now was for her to lift the garage door. She found a grip on the door and pulled upwards. A larger stream of light entered at the bottom of the door but the door did not really move. Was there something else I missed? Sarah though. She tried again only this time she made sure she had a better grip on it. She pulled and the garage door moved a little. Her hands slipped. They were sweaty. More light streamed in from the outside. There was a small gap at the bottom, just enough for her to put her fingers through to have the best possible grip.

Sarah pulled again. The garage door moved up a little before it got jammed. No matter how hard she tried, it would not move any further. She got on her knees and peeped through the slid. There was no activity on the outside which gave her some comfort, but she would not be able to fit through the gap between the floor and the door. She remembered the square bar she had used to pull the crate closer. At least she did not have to walk into any sharp edges and hurt herself because there was just enough light in the garage now to see the outlines of the tools and crates. She searched for the bar and found it behind the pool of urine that was running down the floor in a stream.

Sarah wedged the square iron bar in between the floor and the garage door. That would give her enough leverage to lift the door with lesser effort. She pulled the iron bar upwards, and the door rolled up a little more. Excitement boiled up which gave her more strength. She repositioned the iron bar deeper into the larger slit and pulled again. The garage door pushed up more. She judged that the gap might be just large enough for her to slip through. She dropped the iron and went down on her stomach. It was a tight fit but possible. Sarah turned her head sideways and wiggled her shoulder and bum through. She got stuck almost halfway through. She felt a sharp pain as the door pressed down on her shoulder blades, but there was no time for pain. She had to get out of the garage. Her head was through and she scraped her breasts against the floor until the top part of her body was out. She wiggled some more and soon her bum and top parts of her legs were out as well. She turned her feet sideways and pulled them through.

She squinted her eyes at the blinding sun outside and felt the welcoming heat of a beautiful day on her face. She was free, and it felt good. She had to be careful now more than ever. If those criminals caught her outside, they would do more than just throw her back into the garage. Sarah scanned the area and dashed for a large shrub across the street. She had to jump over a low wall to get to it. It was dense enough to hide underneath for the time being but she knew she had to get away from the house. Better yet, she needed to get to a phone so that she could call Craig. Although she was never good at remembering numbers, she could at least remember Craig's. She was thirsty, very thirsty. She needed water. Her mouth felt like the Sahara desert mixed with grease in the sand. She looked around for a tap but judging from the dead grass, the people who stayed in this area did not really care for taps outside to water their gardens. She had to move again. She realised her face was probably covered in blood which would draw all sorts of attention if someone would see her in the street. She had to clean her face and drink someone's sweet water. The road was clear and quiet. It seemed like a neighbourhood where all the retired people lived. On the one hand, it was good because most of the elderly people were probably sitting inside their homes reading a magazine or watching TV, but on the other hand, it was bad if she needed help. Sarah noticed a house at the end of the street with a luscious garden. Large green trees and shrubs were growing high over an average-height wall. That would be her next destination, but would she be able to jump over the wall? Maybe it was too high for her, but she simply had to do it. She had to move stealthily from place to place until it was safe to move again. She scanned the street again. It was quiet. She jumped over the low wall and ran towards the house on the corner. She was almost halfway when she heard the familiar low growl of a motor coming down one of the crossroads. It is a sound she will never forget. It was fused into her brain. Her kidnappers were back and her heart jumped in her chest. For a moment she was torn between two decisions. Should she turn back to her old hiding place or simply take a chance and run towards the corner house? Both choices were dangerous. The choice of turning back was a little more dangerous because it was too close to the house where she was held captive. Her kidnappers might snoop around trying to find her again. They would most definitely find her there.

Sarah charged for the new house with all she had. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the growling sound came closer by the second. My life is over. She thought. I won't make it. Sarah was a few meters away from the wall. The car would come into view any second now turning down the road where they will spot her like a rabbit in a spotlight during a dark night. She was less than a meter away from the wall when she saw the nose of the ugly brown car. The growl was loud. Sarah leapt. She threw her body over the wall. A dull pain shot up from her knee when she bumped it on the edge of the rough bricks. She had no idea what was waiting for her on the other side but anything would be better than to be captured, raped and killed. She landed in a dense shrub with branches and tweaks cracking underneath her that would most definitely have alarmed the owner of the house. She actually hoped for it, but if the owner would come out of his house at that moment it would spell terror. At least the shrub had no thorns, but she knew she had fine cuts on her arms and face from the smaller branches. Sarah's heart bounced. She could feel the veins pulsing in her neck as she lay underneath a dense shrub. She heard the loud roar of the engine as the car accelerate past her. They did not see me? Sarah though. She looked around expecting to see the owner or maybe a mean dog with foam drizzling from its mouth chasing after her, barking. There was nothing. She had to find another bush to hide under just in case. The engine of the car cut out a few houses down the road. It was replaced by cursing and shouting. Sarah knew they found the garage door open. They knew she had escaped. Their voices were sharp and angry in the distance. They were probably looking around for her and her previous hiding place would have been the most obvious to look at.

Sarah knew she had to relocate to another denser part of the garden. The bush that broke her fall was enough for them to know that she was still around here somewhere. She scouted the garden and noticed a dark bush under the shade of a large tree. That would be ideal no matter how many spiders were waiting for her. She could still hear their voices in the distance. She took the opportunity to free herself from the bush as quietly as possible. Once she was out, she noticed she had damaged the shrub quite severely. There was a large hole in the middle where the smaller branches had been broken. Sarah tried her best to restore the bush, but it was still a little evident that it was crushed by someone. She darted for the corner and positioned herself in the corner behind the large bush. A few moments later she heard doors slam and the car engine started up again. The engine roared up the street past Sarah's hiding place. They are leaving Sarah thought. She noticed a coiled-up hosepipe against the wall. If there was a hosepipe, then there must be a tap nearby. Sarah waited a moment longer just in case they decided to leave one of them behind to look for her. It was quiet again. There were no footsteps. The situation was safe enough for her to drink water and clean her face.

Sarah opened the tap that was connected to the other end of the hosepipe and water started pouring out. She held the pipe with her left hand so that the water accumulated in her cupped right hand. She drank deeply. Water never tasted this good, cold and sweet and for a moment she had forgotten about all her fears and aches. She stopped for a moment, breathed and drank again. That's when she heard footsteps behind her crushing the dry leaves. Her heart sank with anxiety.