ESCAPE

Not wanting to take any more risks, Ava stretched herself as far as she could, balancing on the tips of her toes while loosening the screws that held the vent cover.

She made a mistake by not doing this earlier. Her arms trembled from the effort, and her injured wrist screamed in protest, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.

When the final screw came loose, Ava smiled, a little relieved that she managed to pull this off without getting in trouble. She carefully pulled the vent cover away, and held it tightly in her uninjured hand.

This was her only shot at escaping. She needed something, anything, to defend herself and create a distraction. The vent cover wasn't much, but it was solid and it had sharp edges she could use if things went south.

Stepping off the chair with care, Ava scanned the room for anything else she could use. Her eyes landed on a stray fork near the table leg, and she smiled. It wasn't much, but it could do the trick.