66: C66 Chapter 66

C66 Chapter 66

They wrapped my mouth with black duct tape and tied my hands back to the chair where I had been staying for hours. I did not close my eyes a night long just to make sure that they did not do something bad to me. Due to being too sleepy, I had yawned many times. My hair disarrayed and blanketed half of my face. I peered around the room which was more like a shed. The light from the sun out there penetrates through the ventilation above near the ceiling. This place was only facilitated with a chair, a table in the corner, and a brown old cupboard that I was clueless about what it was for.2

I checked on myself. It was a relief that my bag was still with me. Woefully, I could not secure my mobile phone when I was in the car with those five criminals. Noting my struggle to read the message when the mobile phone beeped, a man who sat next to me immediately tugged it from my hand.

It was the message from Vera who passed on the information that I was admitted at one of the universities. All was futile. I would not be anywhere but to the brink of my end. Being a victim of human trafficking might be the worst scenario. However, I was against that. I had not come to my end yet, after all. It was not the time to cry or beg someone's help. I had to strive for myself.

Struggling hard, I slacken the knot roping both hands. Finally, on my countless attempts, I could make it. The tie had loosened. As soon as there was a sound on the door, I pretended to fasten the twist. The man in a dark jacket unlocked the room from outside and slid through the door. He came up with a pack of breakfast he set on the tray with a bottle of mineral water.

"Here's your breakfast," he said. He stilled and observed me with an expression I could not understand. I widened my eyes in scare the time he stepped toward me. His hand was hovering few centimeters from my face. I pulled my head back. "I just want to unstick this duct tape off your mouth so that you can eat your breakfast." He also untied the strapping on my wrist.

"Why do you do this to me?" I wept. "Why? Don't you have a family?'

"Your father can't pay for his debt. You are the only precious thing he has that he thinks can pay for all his debt." He idly muttered while dragging the table with the food on it near me.

"But, I'm not an object!" I burned.

"You should have said that to your father, not me. Bon appetit!" I still yelled at him even when the door had engulfed his muscular tattooed body.

My stomach had rumbled. Nevertheless, I doubted eating this food. It was not because I thought that they poisoned it, I lost the appetite due to my situation. That man had unwrapped the pack of rice with fried fish, chili sauce, and shredded uncooked cabbage and put them on a plate. Thinking that I needed more energy to run away, I ate the food. About five minutes, I finished eating, that man got back to retie my hands. This time, he did not seal my mouth with the duct tape. That left me with relief.

I soon untied my hand after that man took steps away from the shed. Thankfully, he did not rope my hands tightly. So, it did not require more effort to set me free of the cord. I walked across the room to learn the situation outside. I could peek through the keyhole that it was quiet out there. Nobody my eyes caught. However, I had to be wary. They might shelter somewhere. I planned to escape tonight. The iron stick which leaned against the wall in the corner might be helpful to get out of here by hitting that man using that object. I would do that when he came in at lunch or dinner time. That seemed a good idea.

I had been lasting for hours for the time to elapse, morning to afternoon, afternoon to evening without sleeping. That man did not come back. I got hungry since I did not have my lunch yet. It had been dark; I peered out through the keyhole. The floor and the area surrounding were covered by darkness.

I was worried as nobody was around. Meanwhile, my stomach roiled for being starving. I heard the footstep out. Quickly, I grabbed the iron stick and stood behind the door so that whenever that man got in, I was ready with my stick to hit on his head. With his average height, I was convinced that it was not difficult to reach his head with my stick. My heart was pounding harder.

The door creaked. His foot stepped in; next his whole body was in with his back facing me. I did not waste my time. In a very fast movement, I struck that man's head countless times. That man fell headfirst on the floor. Ensuring that he had fainted, I ran out toward the road. It was so dark, yet the lights on the road helped me to see the path I was walking through.

I ran and ran without a pause, not knowing where I would go. After a long journey, I finally stopped to catch a breath. My eyes traveled around to find a clue where I was. This area was strange. I was pretty sure I had never been in this place before. I might be in another city. Where was I?

The road was not that crowded. Only a few vehicles I watched. Could it be that I was in another outskirt of Jakarta? If so, then I had a chance to be safe. I just needed to get the public transport to go home. Digging into my bag, I only found my books and a paper wrapping a pendant from Reno. No matter how often I outrun, I never lost this pendant. It was bad that I had no money left. I remembered they had stolen it from my bag and pocket.

I was exhausted. Yet, I had to get to the safest place before that man noticed me escaping. I decided to continue my journey. Just taking few steps, I felt like the earth-shaking, my head spinning. Then all around me turned out black.

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