In the Shadow of His Wings (20 page)

Laura wondered which university she would get accepted into and wished desperately she could receive some news of how her family was doing. She thought of Josh and wondered if he was still dating Maggie. She hoped so, Maggie was such a sweetheart.

Her thoughts then went to her husband Jim. She wondered how he was doing. Had he given up completely on her? She wondered how long he would wait before he would eventually remarry. She loved Jim with all her heart and she could honestly say that after all the years they had been married she was still head over heals in love with him. She was secure in his love for her, but she didn’t want him to stay alone for the rest of his life.

She wanted him to be happy so she prayed that if the remainder of her life had to be in this place, the Lord would then lead him to another woman that would love him and love Josh and Lacey too. The thought of another woman living in her house and loving her children was not an easy one. She would much rather be there herself, but if she couldn’t be there, then she wanted her family happy.

“Christine, come out here we have a surprise for you.” Gerhard called from the living room. Laura could tell he sounded excited about something and wondered what it could possibly be. She didn’t feel any sense of anticipation or enthusiasm. Her life in the basement was so boring and what Hilda and Gerhard found exciting, Laura did not.

Laura quickly tucked the picture of Lacey back in the drawer in case one of them decided to open her door and rush her along. She hurried out to the living room to see what they wanted. Gerhard was standing in the center of the room holding a cake with a candle in the middle. Hilda stood beside him holding several presents.

“Happy Birthday!” They both shouted together.

“Birthday? It’s not my birthday.” Laura said, confused.

“Of course it is silly, it’s March fourteenth!” Gerhard said as he put the cake down and led Laura over to it to blow out the candle.

Laura still hesitated because she knew her birthday was in August, but then she realized they were thinking of Christine’s birthday, not hers. That made perfect sense, even if nothing else in this insane basement made sense, this did. So she bent over and blew out the candle as Hilda and Gerhard sang a badly off key version of ‘Happy Birthday’.

The afternoon progressed with a festive lunch of Christine’s favorite foods, pizza, chicken wings, chips and dip, and birthday cake with ice cream. The gifts consisted of some more altered clothing, some jigsaw puzzles and a needle point craft kit. Laura actually appreciated the puzzles and needle point kit; at least they would give her something to do. Gerhard tried to make the two women laugh by putting on some music and dancing about the basement. Hilda chuckled as she watched him and Laura forced a smile and acted like she enjoyed the entertainment. After he had pranced about the basement acting quite silly, he plopped down on the couch in a fit of laughter, obviously thinking himself quite the clown. Laura asked him if he had a card table she could use to do the jigsaw puzzle on. He hopped up, glad to do his sister a favor and ran up the stairs to get her a card table and chair. He was back a few minutes later, set up the table and chair for her. Laura spent the next few hours working on a thousand piece puzzle of an underwater scene. Her dove, Angel, cooed in the background and Hilda watched an old movie on TV. Gerhard took advantage of the lazy afternoon to take a nap on the couch.

It was about six o’clock in the evening before anyone moved. Hilda’s movie had ended and with great effort she got up from her chair. She nudged Gerhard and he got up from the couch.

“We’re going upstairs to make supper; you can clean up down here.” Hilda announced to Laura and her and Gerhard went up the stairs.

Laura stood up and stretched. She had been working on the puzzle for quite awhile and didn’t mind stopping to clean up. She needed to move around for a bit anyway. Gerhard and Hilda had taken the dirty dishes and food garbage with them so all she had to do was clean up the other traces of the party. She picked up the gift wrappings and put her presents in her room. She went back to the living room and straightened the cushions on the couch. As she did she noticed some change had fallen out of Gerhard’s pockets.
Probably from when he had plopped himself down after his little dance.
She picked up the coins and put them on the coffee table but when she did she noticed the key. She picked it up and held it in the palm of her hand and stood there looking at it stunned. It was the key to her handcuff and it was in her hand. She was holding the key in her hand right now.
What do I do? Oh God, what do I do!?
Her heart started to beat faster and her hands began to shake. She closed her hand over the key afraid she would drop it.
I should hide the key and wait until they are both asleep and then use it to
escape. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.
She slipped the key into her pocket and sat down on the couch, her legs trembling.
God help me here, give me wisdom. I have to do this right!

Laura then thought this through more carefully. If she waited until night time, Gerhard would no doubt empty his pockets before getting into bed and probably notice that the key was missing. He would then search high and low for it and would not rest until he found it. He would certainly not go to sleep and leave her unattended if he didn’t have the key. He wouldn’t risk that. So waiting till bed time was not a good idea. That meant if she was going to use this key, she would have to use it right now. The thought of going up the stairs while they two were up there, filled her with dread. She could get caught so easily. Yet what choice did she have? She opened her hand and looked at the key. It was now or never.
Jesus help me!

With shaking hands Laura unlocked her handcuff and dropped the cuff and the key onto the floor. For a brief second, she thought of the trained elephants that didn’t move even when they were strong enough to.
I’m not a trained animal, I’m smarter than
that and I can move.
Laura moved towards the stairs and started to climb them, listening carefully for signs that Gerhard or Hilda might be on their way back down. She looked at the two doors at the top and knew that one led to the garage. That would be the best one to take, and then she could go directly outside and run for help. She hadn’t thought to put on shoes or a sweater but she wasn’t about to go back to her room and get them. She was wearing slippers and a sweatshirt and that would have to do. She reached for the doorknob that led to the garage but it refused to turn. She tried as hard as she could but the knob would not budge. She looked for an inside lock, a padlock or anything she could turn that would open it but the door appeared to be sealed up tight and there was nothing she could do. She turned and looked at the other door, the one that led to the upstairs of the house, where Gerhard and Hilda were.
I can’t go through that door, that’s
where they are!
Laura trembled with fear but she knew it was either go through that door, or go back down the stairs and put the handcuff back on. She thought of Gerhard’s threat to Lacey, she also thought of her future here and she knew she had to step through that door.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
She repeated His name over and over in her mind, unable to formulate the words to a prayer. She turned the door knob and very slowly opened the door. She was standing in what looked like a pantry and she could hear Hilda and Gerhard’s voices, she knew that they were close by. They were discussing a roast they had in the oven and what vegetables they wanted to cook to go with it. Laura cautiously peeked through the pantry door and she could see that they both had their backs to her.

Her heart was beating so hard, she was sure that at any moment they would hear it and turn to see what the noise was. Gerhard opened the oven door and pulled out the roast to check its progress and as they were both bent over the pan looking at it, Laura tip toed out of the pantry, eased out of the kitchen and through the dining room.

Laura had no idea what the layout of the house was so she didn’t know where the nearest exit was. She did see a patio door in the kitchen area but she clearly could not go through there so she turned and looked for another way. She walked quickly through a large living room knowing that if Gerhard or Hilda turned around they would have no trouble spotting her. She saw a dimly lit hallway and quickly turned into it.
I made it; I
got past them without them seeing me! Thank you Jesus!
Laura saw a few closed doors before her and saw that the hallway took a turn at the end. She wondered if after the bend at the end of the hallway there might be a front door to the house. She wanted to run down the hall and find out but at that moment she heard Gerhard’s footsteps and it sounded like he was coming her way. She quickly turned the handle on the door nearest to her and ducked inside, closing the door quietly behind her. There was a desk in the room with a small lamp on it that was lit so she was able to easily see that she was in an office of sorts. She assumed it was Gerhard’s home office and she quickly looked for a place to hide in case this was where he was coming. There was a couch in the room against the far wall and she ducked behind it. Gerhard did indeed come into the office and Laura thought her heart was going to explode, it was beating so hard.
This is how it’s
going to end. I will have a heart attack behind the couch in his office and he won’t have
to worry about what he’s going to do with me any more.
Gerhard was in and out of the room quickly, much to Laura’s relief. She heard him walk over to his desk, open and close a drawer, then leave. She cautiously peeked over the couch and was glad to see the door closed. She looked around and seeing the window she went and checked it to see if she could open it to escape that way. She was disappointed to see that it wasn’t the type of window she could open and crawl out of. She could take something and break the window but she knew that would make too much noise and Gerhard would come running, she might not escape in time. She couldn’t risk that so she turned away from the window.

It was then that Laura saw Gerhard’s lap top computer sitting on his desk, plugged in and turned on. She took a quick look at it and noticed it was connected to a phone jack. A phone jack, of course! She could call 911. Laura looked for a phone but all she was able to find was the base for a cordless phone, the phone itself was not in the room.

Laura thought about her options. She knew how to use a computer. She could sit down and send an email to her family, or she could head for the door and try to make it to an exit. Her mind raced at the risk either way. Gerhard and Hilda were only a few feet away and she could be caught at any moment. If she went for the door they could nab her the moment she opened it, so perhaps she should send an email first. If she took the time to send an email first she could ruin the chance of getting to the front door. She had no way of knowing which would be the best choice. It would only take a minute to send an email but that minute could make the difference between a successful escape or not.

Lord what should I do!?
Inside she cried out for an answer. In a split second she decided to send an email, she sat down at the desk and with trembling hands she placed her hands over the keyboard. Her ears strained for sounds coming from the kitchen hoping she would hear if Gerhard came towards the office. She had no idea how to access Gerhard’s email and thought that if she had time, she would be able to figure it out, time was something she didn’t have. The kids had talked her into getting a hotmail email account a few years ago so that she could easily email back and forth with them when she was away from home on vacations. That was something she could easily access now so she went to the hotmail web site and prepared to send an email. She typed in Josh’s email address, thankful that she knew his address off by heart. With her heart pounding and her hands shaking she began to type.
I’m alive! I’m trying to escape now and will hopefully be
home soon. I love you and miss you so much.
At that moment Laura heard Gerhard talking to Hilda and it sounded like he was right outside the office door. She panicked and hit the ‘send’ button as she got out of the chair ducking under the desk. She crouched under the desk as she heard the two come into the office. Laura was frozen with fear, praying they wouldn’t come around behind the desk. They were discussing a recipe for some type of torte that Hilda wanted to make. Gerhard took a book from the bookshelf and showed his mother a couple of different recipes. After the two discussed the matter for, to what Laura felt like hours but was actually only a few minutes, they went back to the kitchen. Laura got out from under the desk and quickly exited from the hotmail site so that Gerhard would not know that an email had been sent. Now it was time to find that exit and she had to hurry. It wouldn’t be long before one of them went downstairs and discovered she was missing.

Laura opened the office door slowly and peeked out into the hall. She could hear Gerhard and Hilda in the kitchen but couldn’t see them, she stepped out into the hallway.

She opened the next door she came to and saw only a dark room, assuming it was a bedroom and would probably have a window similar to the one in the office, Laura decided not to bother exploring it further. She closed the door and moved on down the hallway. She ignored the other closed door and went for the bend in the hallway. She turned the corner and was thrilled to see a main door at the end. The front door, the entrance and therefore it was also the exit to the house. Her freedom was only a few feet away.
Please Lord don’t let this be a dream. Let me open that door and run down the
driveway to freedom!
Laura turned the doorknob and thought she would faint when the handle wouldn’t turn. It was locked, but then she almost laughed at herself when she realized it was locked from the inside! She quietly turned the deadbolt and opened the door. A blast of cold air hit her in the face and it was the most wonderful feeling she had ever felt. She saw in front of her a wide stretch of white that was the Bloone front yard.