Escape. Then What?

Short Story by: Texasjane

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A quiet day, playing hide and seek with my grandmother and sister.

We were playing a nice game of hide-and-seek and look at me now. No one knows I am in this trunk. I have a flashlight, boy I am glad I thought of that. I got a screwdriver, a hammer, and my little buddy here. You are so cute. I bet you are sorry you decided to hide in here too. "Thanks for bringing the peanuts."

"We got the old lady tied up and that little girl. It is time to place the call. We have agreed on a million bucks, right?"

I hear some shuffling. I hear more shuffling. I am so afraid. What happens if they open this trunk? I gotta pretend I am not afraid. I guess I am scared. I gotta pray on this one. This is what Grandmother would call a Hoover Dam moment for sure. I am breathing too fast. I gotta be calm. Hoover Dam those guys messing up a good game. Shush, I think I am thinking too loud. I gotta figure out what they want.

"Answer me. Are we gonna go for the million? What do you want to do? Ralph, stop grabbing stuff. We are going to take it all but we gotta get rid of the old lady and the kid first. Then we can clean them out while we wait to pick up the ransom. Is that still the plan?"

"We tell the guy we got his kid and the old lady and he will leave the money. When we get the money we will tell him where they are. It is simple. No real kidnapping, if they are found at home. Just get the money and run. Right? Barney. I don't want to yell, Barney. Right?"

"Hey, Barney, look. There is a hole that goes under the house in this closet. What you say we dump both the old lady and the kid in there. They won't be in the way and we will be long gone by the time they find them."

"The kid passed out and the old lady is still dazed from when I slugged her. We are in Cozumel, Barney. This is a resort. Remember, they take great pride in not disturbing their guests."

"We overheard them talkin' at the restaurant. He is going to deliver the money to those guys he is making a deal with and then they are free for the afternoon. He can just deliver it to us instead. Makes me laugh to think about it. He will be running around. Hey, where we gonna' pick it up. Someplace where we can see all the coming and going. We will tell him, no cops or we kill the kid."

"Wow, Oh, Wow. Look at this, Ralph. This jewelry box. There are loose diamonds in here. Look. I wonder if this guy is a jeweler or what? Maybe we should ask for some stones."

"What are you doing? Ralph. Get with it."

"I am hungry. I am going to fix myself a salami and cheese sandwich."

"That sounds good to me too. Look at this big jar of peanut butter. Boy, that would kill us both. I am short, you are tall. I have brown hair, you have black. I have hazel eyes, you have brown. The only thing we two brothers have in common is an allergy to peanuts."

"What you say we get the old lady and the kid out first. Then we can come back and raid the refrigerator."

I hear more shuffling. Then silence. I knew they would have to be in the far back bedroom closet to get to the hole under the house. If I get out of here, then what? I need a plan. Grandmother and Tricia have to be all right. I just know it. Wait.... what am I thinking about? They are both allergic to peanuts. My mind goes back to the time Grandmother was babysitting for a kid who could not eat peanuts. They said it would make him really sick. Oh, please. Howard, I am calling you by your first name because this is serious. Dear Lord is for church. Howard is when it is just you and me. Howard, I need help. What do I do? I promise to be quiet and you can let me know.

If I can use this screwdriver to edge the lid up a little. I gotta be quiet. Come on my little friend. We are going to both get out of this one. I can hear them in the back room. It is taking a little longer getting Grandmother down that hole than they thought. I am safe so far. One more corner and I will be in the kitchen. I have popped some peanuts in my mouth to chew them up a little. The package of salami is there all right. I spit the peanuts out and smear the stuff all over every slice of salami and every slice of cheese. I smeared it in real good then wiped it off so it did not look like there was anything on it. I hear them coming.. Oh, my.

"Hey, Ralph, look one of those funny raccoons. They call it a pigmy raccoon. He is so small. He is taking off into the other room. I bet we could get a reward for him. I think they are endangered or something."

"Yeah, see if you can catch him. Go Barney Go."

"You make the sandwiches. I gotta find a box to put him in once I catch him. Boy, he is quick. "

I made it. I am finally outside. Now what? I have escaped. Now what? I see the hole that goes under the house. I gotta check on Grandmother and Tricia. I sure hope my little friend does not get caught by these guys. I hope he bites them. No, then they might hurt him. I will let you take care of things. Okay, Howard. Now what?

"Barney, Barney. My throat."

"Grandmother, let me get this gag loose. I think I got a way out of this. Just stay quiet and we will be fine." I looked at my best friend and somehow she knew I was praying my way through all this.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Wait. Come here. I grabbed Daddy's hand and dragged him to the opening. "You gotta be quiet for a few more minutes. Then call the police."

"What is going on here?" Daddy looked so confused. I saw Mommy starting to get out of the car.

I pointed to Grandmother and Tricia. He took one look and gasp. "Oh, My. Oh, My." He started under the house.

"You gotta be quiet. Please. The guys are still in the house.""Mommy. Stop." I closed the car door back as she almost opened it. "Don't. You drive. Scoot over to the driver's side and go get the police. There is no time to explain. Just go." I had my hands on my hips and she was so confused. She glanced at the opening under the house and got the thumbs-up sign from Daddy.

That is really all I remember until they woke me up. I had apparently run back to the opening and fainted. The police arrived and found two guys in anaphylactic shock on the kitchen floor. They were the only ones who suffered much from the ordeal. The police needed to know who thought of the idea of giving them peanut juice on their salami.

"I want to meet you. young lady. What were you thinking about when all this was happening?"

"Escape. Then What? I had to keep coming up with the "then what." My little friend had crawled up into my lap. "We made a good team. When I almost got caught he took off; they chased him for a while. They never even knew I was there."

"Where were you hiding?" Grandmother had bruises on her face but seemed to be no worse for wear.

I pointed to the trunk. Everyone's eyes got big. "The only way out of there is with a screwdriver." I pulled one out of my pocket. My buddy here brought the peanuts."

Grandmother again asked. "What were you thinking?"

"I told you, escape, then what?" Everyone laughed.

I was seven and my sense of adventure always included a little prayer. It still does.

Just a word to the wise. Pray for both the escape and "the then what". Finding an escape is never enough. It is the "Then What" that is also important. Whenever I told my grandmother that I had reached a goal, she would say, "That is great. "And then what?" Setting a goal is one thing. Preparing for the next goal is what happens next. Never stop setting goals.

Submitted: September 03, 2021

Fan Fiction crime-gone-wrong