When I’ve made the opening large enough to squeeze through, I find myself inside the empty main room. I have no idea how much time I really have, so I make my way around the room to the other side of the building.
Beyond the wall, in the area I couldn’t see from the crack, there are two small doors side-by-side. They look like stall doors from a public restroom. I can see underneath them well enough to tell that there isn’t much inside other than a pile of blankets to make up a bed. To the side of the stall door
s, there’s another small cot.
Hannah is there, lying with her back to me, sleeping. I can see her shoulders shift as she breathes steadily. I check the door behind me as I approach and then lay my hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently.
“Hannah!” I call quietly. “Hannah, wake up! I gotta get you outta here!”
She doesn’t respond though I sense her breathing change. I want to revel in the fact that she’s right here in front of me for the first time in seven months. I can feel her warm skin under my fingers again, and all I want to do is hold her close to me and enjoy the moment, but I can’t.
“Hannah! It’s me! It’s Falk! Now come on—I’m going to get you out!”
She still doesn’t move, so I grab onto her shoulder and pull her toward me. Her eyes are open but dull and unseeing. Her hair drops off her shoulders in long, greasy strands. There’s a bruise on her cheek and smudges of dirt on her neck and arms.
But that’s not what alarms me.
When I look her over, I see her round, protruding stomach.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck, no.
I have to force myself to start breathing again. Hell, my heart may have stopped, too. My fingers are shaking as everything hits me at once. I know what they were doing to her—I’ve known it since the day they took her away—but seeing the evidence of what they have done is too much.
“Oh, shit, Hannah,” I whisper. I run my hand along her arm, but she still hasn’t uttered a word.
What the fuck am I going to do? How is she ever going to be able to live with this?
I consider smacking myself in the face to get my shit together. Everything else can be assessed later—I have to get Hannah to safety. I can’t fall apart now.
“Come on,” I say again. This time I grab her by the shoulders and haul her to a sitting position. She’s dead weight in my arms but stays up once she’s sitting. I grab her legs and pull them over the edge of the cot, but I can’t get her to stand up. She just stares into space without saying anything.
This is taking too long.
Out of options, I take a second to compose myself and then slip my arms underneath her. I’m going to have to carry her like a child—there’s no way I can toss her over my shoulder with her swollen belly. Carrying her isn’t easy. I have difficulty just getting her through the crack I made in the wall, and I have to force it farther open while holding on to her with one arm.
Outside, I look at the rain barrel and stop.
There is no way I can put her in there. She may not even fit in it at all, and even if she did, I can’t roll her around in her condition.
There’s a lot of movement off to my left. Everyone in the group is breaking up now, moving off to start their new assignments. The other guard could be back here at any moment.
“Not supposed to leave the stable.” Hannah’s looking left and right, but there’s still only dim recognition in her eyes.
“I’m getting you out of here,” I tell her, but she doesn’t say anything else.
But how?
I can’t just walk carrying a limp, pregnant woman without being noticed, and I have no other way to conceal her. Wrapping her up in a blanket or something like that would be equally suspicious. I wouldn’t get ten feet without being questioned.
What could I say that wouldn’t arouse suspicion? I need something that will be believable enough to allow me to get past whoever stops me without having to draw my gun. If I have to fight my way out, I’m going to lose.
Possible reasons I might be moving her to another location run through my head, but anyone who stops me is going to wonder why I would be moving her at all. It’s not my job. Only one of her guards would be asked to do something like that.
The guard.
“Stay here,” I whisper to Hannah. “Don’t move, okay?”
I have to lean her up against the wall, telling her again not to move. She still doesn’t respond to me, and I’m not even sure if she knows what’s happening. She does stand in one spot at least, giving me the chance to get what I need.