| |
I’ve been a captive long enough, Maria thought. She was sick of it, desperate to be free.
And ready to resort to desperate measures.
So far, no one had visited or harassed her. But she was still trapped in the apartment or whatever it was. Plenty of bottled water, plenty of crappy snacks. But she was trapped. And she knew Dan must be going crazy with worry.
She almost wished the kidnapper would appear. At least she’d have someone to talk to, and might be able to devise an escape. But here, the monotony of captivity was the worst part. She felt like a bored lion trapped in zoo cage.
She didn’t know why she’d been taken. But since she hadn’t been harmed, she had to assume she was being held for ransom. Or someone was using her for leverage. Probably against Dan.
She had kicked, pried, and beaten on every square inch of this crappy enclosure. Nothing gave. Not even a little. The door was reinforced and deadbolted from the outside. There were no windows. She had tried screaming, as loud as she could manage, over and over again at various times during the day. No one seemed to hear.
And worst of all, she was sick to death of those granola bars.
Maybe the Grim Reaper didn’t realize she would be incarcerated this long. She was grateful to have some food, but at this point, a PB&J would seem like a rare delicacy.
She’d maintained her exercise regimen and stayed as active as possible. But given her condition, she should be doing more. She needed to get out of here. Before the Reaper returned.
Was it possible she’d just been...parked? Put out of the way? If so, for how long?
Or was the assassin just too busy at the moment to kill her?
She didn’t have all the answers. But she knew one thing for certain. She was sick of sitting around waiting, doing nothing. Especially when Dan might be in danger. At the very worst....
She preferred not think about it.
She couldn’t think of a safe way to send a signal to the outside world. But she could think of several unsafe ways.
No matter where she was, smoke could be seen from a great distance. And usually attracted attention from neighbors, police, firefighters.
Unsurprisingly, the Reaper had not left her with a can of gasoline or a box of matches.
But there was a microwave in the kitchen. And a lot of paper towels.
She had to dig around under the sink, but she eventually found one standard kitchen item the Reaper should’ve removed, but didn’t.
Aluminum foil.
She recalled reading articles by critics who complained that the ending of Rain Man wasn’t realistic because the microwave fire started too easily—and then described what the filmmakers should’ve done.
She took four granola bars, soaked them in water, wrapped that in aluminum foil, then wrapped that in paper towels. She placed the concoction in the microwave. Then she pressed Start.
The microwave had been humming for less than a minute when she heard the first crackle. She knew microwaves don’t like metal, but aluminum foil was thin, so that didn’t necessarily guarantee a fire. But she locked water up in the mess and that water was turning into steam, releasing energy in the process. The energy had no release, so the foil heated quickly...
The first flame burst out on the foil. And since she’d wrapped it in paper, the fire spread fast. The package was also wet, though, so she threw a lot more paper on top and below it, effectively creating a trail. She put the granola boxes and anything else she thought would burn on the trail.
A few minutes later, she had an active fire in the kitchen. Several minutes later, smoke filled the apartment.
No windows, but the chimney flue was open. And she doubted the door was airtight.
Smoke signals always worked in Westerns. She was about to see how well they worked in real life.
Only two possible results. This could lead to her being discovered.
Or it could lead to her being incinerated.
Smoke billowed through the apartment, making her eyes water and her throat dry. She knew she couldn’t last in this environment long. And it would only get worse.
She wedged herself in the most remote corner, covered her nose and mouth with her blouse, and waited.
* * *
Did she really fall asleep? How could she be so stupid? Smoke must be getting to her. When she awoke, she could barely breathe. Her lungs already felt congested and scratchy.
The smoke was so thick she could not see a foot in front of her face. She breathed in short shallow sips, just enough to live, trying to block out the smoke with her teeth, which of course did not work at all.
Her head throbbed. Seemed like an eternity before she realized how foolish she’d been. No one was coming to save her. No one saw. No one knew. She was going to die in flames, a latter-day Joan of Arc, except considerably less saintly. Maybe she hadn’t led a perfect life, but she didn’t deserve to die. She didn’t want to die. Especially now, when the future held so much promise...
Her eyes were fluttering. She knew she couldn’t last much longer. She laid on the floor and let her eyes close. She needed to rest. She hoped Dan understood how much she loved him. His name was the last word on her lips and the last thought in her head. She just wished...
And then she succumbed to the darkness...
Which made it all the more surprising when she heard the crash on the other side of the door.
The door bulged but still held. Someone was shouting through a bullhorn. “Is anyone in there?”
A smile crossed her face. She shouted back as loudly as she could.
More pounding at the door. After a few more moments, it practically pulled out of the jamb.
It worked, she thought, as she closed her eyes. Maybe they were too late to save her. But at least she wasn’t going to die the Grim Reaper’s prisoner.