“Stay here, protect the door until the others get here,” I said. “I’m going to grab them and we can get out of here.”
He nodded his head and turned his back to me, crossing his arms and standing guard as people flooded from one emergency exit to another. I crept into the apartment wanting to be safe in my approach in case anyone had gotten in and was holding my wife and child in a dangerous manner. I looked around the living room but it was empty. I hurried into our room but nothing was there except our half-packed luggage. Slowly, I turned the corner and looked into Seth’s room but again, the place was empty. Immediately, dread filled my stomach as I walked over to the glass and looked down at the drawings Seth had done. His crayons were still all over the floor and his picture wasn’t finished.
“Casey,” I yelled in panic. “Casey where are you?”
I looked around the room for any sign of where they might have gone. Everything was just as I had left it before we went to lunch. There was no sign of a struggle, no panicked exit, nothing. As my eyes moved across the space, they landed on the bathroom door, which was closed. The light was shining through the crack underneath it so I ran over and started pounding on the door. After pounding for a moment, I stopped and listened, trying to figure out whether they were in there or not. I didn’t hear a single sound so I jiggled the doorknob and started pounding again. Either they were in there and hurt, or they were so scared they didn’t know what to do. Just the thought of them being alone and hurt sent panic through me and I pounded harder against the door. Exhausted, I let my arms hit my sides and I leaned my forehead against the door. Maybe they weren’t in there at all.
I turned to go get the guard, thinking he could take the door right off the hinges. As I stepped forward, I heard a whimper that echoed into a scream coming from the inside of the bathroom. It was Casey and she was absolutely terrified, her scream showing something was not right at all.
Chapter 28: Casey
My hands were shaking so hard I could barely even hold onto Seth. The phone still wasn’t working and I had no idea where Dex was or if he was even okay. I could hear the crowds of people yelling and running through the halls and up the emergency stairwells. The sounds of sirens echoed through the entire building and an alarm had been triggered inside the hotel. Lights flashed above the bathroom door and Seth grabbed onto me, frightened by all the sounds. I wanted so badly to calm my son, to make him feel like everything was going to be okay but I couldn’t wrap my head around what was going on enough to calm even myself. It had been hours since all of this started and we were still hunkered down in the bathroom listening to the protesters trample through the hotel. Muffled gunshots rang out below us and I wondered if people were dying or were they rubber bullets like they used in the US during riots? This had to be the worst situation I had ever been in and all I wanted to do was hear the sound of Dex’s voice, feel his comforting arms around us, and get our little boy to safety.
We sat very quietly, listening to all the sounds around us, wondering when those sounds would get closer and if they did, what I needed to do to get us out safely. In reality, the bathroom seemed like the right choice but I had ultimately cornered us, not leaving any space to make a run for it. Part of me thought about leaving the bathroom and venturing through the crowds trying to get to safety but I knew that the sight of a woman and child wasn’t as strong during these kinds of events as they would be back home. These people were angry and though I understood their plight, I couldn’t help but see them as the enemy keeping me and my son from safety. I listened carefully as the sound of fighting out in the hallway rung out and I grasped onto Seth hoping it would quickly end and move on. However, as the fighting ended I could hear the click of the front door, someone was inside the room. Footsteps echoed all around us as someone searched the space, looking for something or someone. I heard the person yell something out but bet
ween the alarms and the sounds in the hall, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Seth began to whimper and cry. I pulled him close, trying not to give away our hiding space. We ducked down in the tub, finding solace in the porcelain sides, listening as the footsteps grew closer. Suddenly there was a loud banging noise on the bathroom door and I covered my mouth to stifle a scream. The person banged for several moments and Seth pressed his face against my chest. When the banging stopped, I took in a slow quiet breath, hoping they would just leave. But as my shoulders began to relax they knocked loudly again, scaring Seth and me half to death. Tears flooded my eyes as I sat completely unable to do anything. I could see the shadow of the person’s shoes under the crack in the door and I sat very still. As he continued to bang on the door, I could no longer hold it in and Seth whimpered loudly as I let out a scared and frustrated scream.
“Leave us alone,” I screamed incoherently.
The banging stopped and a voice shouted over the alarms. “Casey? Casey, it’s me,” Dex shouted. “Open the door baby, it’s okay. I’m here.”
I kissed Seth on the forehead and set him down, scrambling from the tub. I grabbed the door handle and flung it open, tears flowing down my cheeks. I dropped to my knees balling as Seth climbed out and ran to my side. Dex dropped down and wrapped his arms around the both of us, squeezing us tightly and letting the emotion take over. We sat there in each other's arms for several minutes, letting the reality of safety set in. Seth wrapped his arms around Dex’s neck and refused to let go. Dex’s hands were shaking and I could tell how nervous and scared he was. He buried his face into our son's neck, a small tear flowing down his cheek.
“I’m so sorry,” he cried out. “I never meant to put you guys in this situation. I would have never brought you here if I knew this was going on. I promise I am going to get you guys out of here. We have a helicopter waiting on the roof and the jet is ready to go on the runway. Please forgive me for this, I would never put you two in harm's way, ever.”
“I know,” I said, pulling his head toward mine. “Just don’t leave my side, please. Stay with us. I was so scared that something might have happened to you. I couldn’t even start to imagine what I would do without you.”
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” I replied, closing my eyes and feeling the warmth of his touch.
“Come on,” he said standing with Seth still wrapped around his neck. “We need to get out of here.”
I shook my head yes and grabbed my cell phone, checking my pockets to make sure I had all our information. As we walked out into the living room we could hear the gunshots out in the streets. Things were getting worse than they already were. These people were no longer protesting and were now fighting for their lives. Screams could be heard out in the hallway as people raced in and out of the stairwell. I looked around the room, trying to find our things.
“What about our stuff?”
“Leave it,” Dex yelled over the sirens. “It’s just stuff. It can all be replaced, you can’t.”
I stopped for just a moment and realized what kind of man Dex had grown into. As he stood there reaching for my hand, cradling our son in his arms, and pushing us to safety, I knew that Dex was not the man I met six years before. Instead, this Dex was strong, brave, and didn’t give a damn about anything but me and our son. He truly loved us even more than I already knew and because of that, I trusted him whole heartedly with our lives. I reached out and took his hand, following behind him to the door. When we reached the hallway, there were six large bodyguards waiting for us. I nodded my head at them and smiled, knowing they were there to get us out of this situation in one piece.
“This is what we are going to do,” the large man at the door yelled. “We are going to surround you like a bubble. You just stay in that circle and we will push everyone out of the way. Once you are in the helicopter, don’t wait for us, we are going to go back down to the office. Just get out of here safely and go somewhere a lot quieter than this!”
I laughed as he raised his eyebrows at me, looking up as another protester limped quickly across the hall and up the stairwell. I took a deep breath and stood next to Dex, grasping his hand tightly as the bodyguards swarmed around us, creating a protective barrier. The biggest guy shook his head and pointed to the stairs. We all started walking forward in a group, pushing our way into the crowded stairs. There were hundreds of people in there already and I couldn’t help but feel bad for not helping those that were obviously injured. The protesters looked defeated and they stared at us as we made our way up the stairwell. Some people shouted at us in Spanish while others ignored our presence entirely, tending to their wounded and trying to create a plan to get out of the hotel without being spotted by the police. I couldn’t even begin to imagine living in a world where this was the normal way of life. I couldn’t imagine coming out to protest for freedom and being shot at by police, beat up in the streets, and arrested. Though I was more than happy to be getting out, my heart went out to these people.
We pushed up the last set of stairs and out onto the roof. The sun was beginning to set in the distance and I stopped for a moment to look out at the horizon. While all this unrest was occurring, there was still a beautiful piece of life floating in the distance. The place was still gorgeous despite the smoke rising from the burning cars, the sirens blaring into the streets, and the smell of smoke bombs wafting through the air. I looked up as Dex pulled on my hand, motioning for me to get into the helicopter. I climbed up inside and took Seth from Dex, wrapping my arms around him and kissing his forehead. I watched as Dex walked over to the largest of the guards, shook his hand, and thanked him for everything. The guard refused the money Dex tried to hand him but instead shouted for him to take care of us because there were a lot of people today who would no longer have that luxury.
He nodded his head and made his way into the helicopter, buckling his seatbelt and taking my hand as we lifted off from the pad. As we got higher and higher in the sky, I let out a deep breath of relief. We had made it out safely, something I wasn’t sure would actually happen. I squeezed Dex’s hand tightly as we sped through the air, looking down at all the people marching and fighting in the streets below. Right at the base of the hotel, there was a loud bang and a bright flash and smoke began to rise. Someone had set off a bomb right where hundreds of people were standing. Tears flowed down my face as I watched the groups get farther and farther from me, knowing there were more casualties than I realized. What I heard in the bathroom, hiding in the bathtub, was just the beginning of the chaos that was ensuing in the streets of Caracas. People were there to fight and that’s exactly what they were met with.
When the helicopter landed at the airstrip, we were quickly ushered off toward the plane. We could hear the sirens in the distance and I knew this wasn’t something that was going to end anytime soon. I carried Seth onto the jet and buckled him quickly into one of the seats. I took the seat next to him and held his hand tightly as Dex sat down across from us. The crew worked quickly and before I knew it, the plane was headed down the runway and into the air. As soon as we took flight, I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, letting the emotion of the event completely fill me. Tears streamed down my face and I sobbed. These tears encompassed everything from the fear I felt, the helplessness that filled me, and the empathy for those who were hurt or killed in the events taking place. Sitting in that bathroom, I never thought I would feel fear like that ever again, but I realized as we soared off to safety in our private jet, it was only an ounce of what those people would feel on a daily basis.
Dex reached over and took my hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it softly. I opened my eyes and looked at his comforting face. This was exactly where I needed to be and I couldn’t be more grateful that we were actually here, safe and together.
Chapter 29: Dex
I let us get in the air and out of the Venezuelan airspace before going to talk to the pilots. When the turbulence had passed and we were free to unbuckle, Casey took Seth back to the bedroom on the jet to try to get Seth to take a nap. He was still pretty shaken up from the experience and we fully expected to have him talk to a professional when we got back home. In all reality, it would probably be a good idea for all of us to go see a therapist after an event like that, especially Casey who had such a sensitive nature. I could tell she was really hurt by the violence and the death she watched happen right before her eyes. It was one thing to watch it on a movie screen, it was another thing entirely to see it firsthand. Even though she tried to hide it, I could tell Casey was really messed up after watching everything go down like that. I waited until she slid the bedroom door shut before walking up to the pilot’s quarters.