The Samantha Project (24 page)

I recalculated my timeline based on Hannah’s revelation that breakfast would arrive at 6 instead of 8. Did Dave know that the breakfast delivery time had been moved up to 6? Was he still planning the lab explosion? The important people attending the meeting wouldn’t even be in the building that early. And without them there, would the guards rush upstairs?
 

I considered the fact that Hannah, rather than an attendant, would be bringing in my meal. The attendants were key to me getting out. I knew that if an explosive went off, they wouldn’t know what to do and their first thought would be to run upstairs. They would forget about me, leaving the door wide open. Hannah was smarter than that. She would know that her number one priority would be to keep me locked in.

I started to second-guess the plan again. I couldn’t communicate with Dave so I had no idea if his role in the plan was still going to happen. And if it didn’t, what was I supposed to do? The guards would stop me as soon as I got outside my door.

I looked over at the necklace that had been delivered to my room shortly after my talk with Worthings. I didn’t dare pick it up because doing so would disable my tracking device, which would alert the guards. I would need to put it on right before I made my way out the door. But just looking at it calmed my nerves. I wished that it truly had belonged to my mother because I missed her and my father so much and I had nothing to remember them by.
 

I decided to give the necklace new meaning. To make it my symbol of empowerment. Wearing it, I would become invincible, like a superhero. I remembered how my mother used to say how powerful the mind was and how people could do far more than they ever thought possible just by changing their thinking. I thought about articles I’d read that described how athletes played and replayed a perfect performance in their head before an event to boost their chances of success. If I needed to play mind games with myself to get out of there, then that’s what I would do. The necklace would be my constant reminder to stay in the game and not give up.

I slept for just a couple hours that night. Right before 6 I heard the guards talking, about to make their shift change. There was more chatter than normal, maybe because they were discussing extra precautions for the day’s meeting. Then all of a sudden the chatter stopped. It got eerily quiet.
 

My door opened and in walked Hannah. She looked flustered—probably from the stress of preparing for the meeting. It looked like she hadn’t slept much either. Her face lacked color and her eyes looked more lifeless than normal.
 

The door closed behind her and she quickly walked over to hand me my breakfast pills and water. As I tried to take them, she clenched them in her hand, looking intently up at the ceiling.

“Hannah,” I said, trying to get her attention. “Are you giving me these or not?” I tried to sound normal but my heart was racing. Hannah would soon go back out the door to wheel in her cart of equipment, and that would be when I would make a run for it. But she had to do it soon. The explosion, if it was still happening, would be in just a few minutes.

I seemed to startle Hannah with my question. “What? Yes, here, take these.” She let go of the water and pills and went over to turn on the digital wall monitors. She was swiping on a screen I had never seen before. It almost looked like a building map with colored lines marking different pathways.

I watched her closely, keeping an eye on my necklace as well. “Where’s your cart, Hannah?” I asked, casually. “You always have that cart with you.” I let out a nervous laugh, immediately regretting it.
 

Hannah ignored me and kept swiping away at her screen.
 

Stay cool, stay calm, I thought. “Hannah, I’m feeling pretty nervous about today. And, well, simple routines make me feel more calm, you know? Like you bringing in that cart each day?” I sounded like an idiot. I was sure she would pick up on my nervous rambling and know something was up. I had to try something else.

“You know, I’m not feeling well. Probably from the nerves. Do you think you could get me . . .”

Before I could finish my sentence, a large boom sounded from above. The room shook like an earthquake had hit. The explosion! That was it! And the door—it was still shut! I raced to get my necklace, not sure what else to do. Just then, another huge boom came from above. Then another. And another after that.
 

The room continued to shake and cracks formed in the cement walls. I ran to the door, but Hannah was blocking it. That was it. My plan was over before it could even start. Now I would either be GlobalLife’s prisoner forever or Hannah and I would both die in the underground cell.
 

“What are you doing? We have to get out of here!” I pleaded with her as she fumbled with the pocket of her lab coat. “The building’s coming down. Everything’s going to collapse on us.”
 

“Calm down and listen to me.” Hannah’s voice was steady and stern. She grabbed my hand and placed something in it. A badge of some kind. It was flashing red, indicating emergency alert status.
 

“Go left out the door. Place this on the wall just below the fire extinguisher.” She pointed down to the badge, which was blinking even faster. “Then run. It will be dark, but I know you can see. Just keep running no matter what.”

I looked at her in disbelief as the booming noise continued above us. Was this some type of trick? Was Worthings pushing me into some trap? I wasn’t sure what to do. But I had a strong feeling that I should follow her instructions. I usually didn’t trust my gut but I wasn’t sure what choice I had.
 

“You can’t wait. You have to go. Now!” I looked at Hannah’s eyes, which were begging me to trust her. Maybe Hannah was actually helping me. But why? Doing so would only get her killed.
 

She opened the door and pushed me out. I looked to the right and saw six guards lying on the floor unconscious. Had Hannah done that? Was that why the guard chatter had gone silent?
 

“Go!” she screamed at me, pushing me to the left, down the hall. It was a long hallway and the explosions above had taken out the power, leaving only the flashing emergency lights. Loud sirens were going off, which to me were deafening because of my superhearing.

“But there’s nothing down here. It’s a dead end. I have to go right to get out,” I yelled back. I started to turn back but she pushed a cart in front of me.

“No, you
have
to go that way! It’s not a dead end. It’s your only way out. You’ve got to trust me, Sam. Please!” She motioned for me to go back to the left. From the look on her face, I could tell that Hannah knew she wasn’t getting out of that building alive.
 

“Come with me, Hannah! Why are you staying here?”
 

“I can’t. I can’t tell you why, but I can’t go with you. You have to go alone. Now please, please go! Or all of this will have been for nothing.”

I paused, trying to understand her words. Another boom sounded and the hallway walls cracked and started to crumble. I turned and ran. The hallway seemed to go on forever. I finally reached the end and saw the wall with the fire extinguisher. I placed the badge next to it. Nothing happened. I moved the badge above it, then below it. Nothing.
 

It was a trick. I knew it. Hannah had sent me astray. But why? Why not just leave me locked up? I tried again, slowly moving the badge up and down the wall. I wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen. It was a solid wall.
 

The booming continued but now sounded less like explosives and more like the building crumbling. What was going on up there? This was not the small lab explosion Dave talked about. Had he changed his plan? How could he even pull off something like that by himself?

I placed my hands against the wall and leaned on it, thinking about what to do next. As I took a deep breath to calm myself, I noticed that the flashing red emergency light on my badge had turned to a flashing green light. And then it spoke. “Hannah Peterson. Level 9 Access. Permitted.”
 

The edges of the wall started to rumble and then slowly opened, like the door to a bank vault. I stepped back to give it room, but it opened only partially. I looked inside. Another dark hallway. But this time, no flashing emergency lights. Just pure darkness. “Run!” I heard Hannah’s directions in my head. I squeezed through the door and ran.
 

My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Hannah said I could see in the dark. How did she know that? I quickly turned my thoughts to what would happen once I got out of the tunnel. Where would it take me? I needed to get to the car that Dave left. But how would I find it now?
 

I ran for what seemed like miles of underground tunnel. I finally came to the end, which was another solid wall. A dead end. Now what? I fumbled for Hannah’s badge, which I had stuffed into the pocket of my hospital gown. I tried placing it against the wall again, back and forth, up and down. No luck.

What had I done before to make this work? I replayed the scene in my head. I had leaned against the door and held the badge there. I tried holding the badge in the same spot as before. Didn’t work. I kept trying other places on the wall until finally, a green light. Success!
 

The door opened slowly. I could see the snow-covered ground outside. I walked out and the door slowly closed behind me. I looked around to see that I was in the woods, somewhere outside of town. But it was nowhere near where Dave had left the car.
 

It was still dark out. But I could see clearly, just as I had in the tunnel. It was freezing cold outside and my bare feet and hands were starting to feel numb. I could hear cars on a road up the hill in front of me. Maybe I could catch a ride from someone, I thought. It was dangerous but the only option I could think of.
 

I turned to walk up the hill and tripped. I looked down to see a large blue backpack, partially covered in snow. I picked it up and opened it. Inside there was a wad of $100 bills, some trail mix, water bottles, and clothes. I pulled the clothes out. Jeans, long-sleeve t-shirt, sweater, hat, and gloves. Sneakers and socks were wedged way in the bottom of the pack. Everything was my size. Had someone left this for me? I quickly put the clothes and shoes on. I shoved the money in my jeans. Not knowing who the backpack was from, I decided to leave it behind. I couldn’t trust that the food or water were safe to consume, so I left them behind as well.
 

At the top of the hill was the interstate. Semi-trucks roared by. It was too early for most cars to be on the road. About 50 feet ahead, a semi was pulled over on the shoulder. I decided to approach it rather than try to flag down a car or truck going 80 miles per hour.
 

A short, heavy-set guy, probably in his midfifties, was on the passenger side of the cab. He seemed to be messing with the door. When I approached him, he fell back into some snow that was piled near the road.
 

“What the hell?” He scrambled to get himself up.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just—”

“What in God’s name are you doing walking along the interstate? And why the hell would you sneak up on someone that way? You trying to get me killed?” He swatted at his pants, trying to brush the snow off.
 

“I need a ride. I wondered where you were headed.”

“You think you’re gettin’ a ride after you pulled that stunt? Heck no! Why don’t you— ”

“I have money,” I interrupted, later thinking that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to reveal.

“How
much
money?”
 

“That depends. How far can you take me?”

“I’m headed to Kansas City. I can get you that far—for the right price.”

“A hundred dollars,” I said, wondering how much money I actually had. In my race to get away I hadn’t had time to actually count that wad of hundreds.

“A hundred dollars? You know what gas costs these days?” He put his hands on each side of his oversize waist and stood up tall.
 

“You’re only taking me to Kansas City. That’s like, six or seven hours from here. A hundred fifty.”

“Two hundred. Cash. And I want it now.” He held his hand out.

“Fine, but you only get half now. I’ll give you the rest in Kansas City.”
 

He thought about it. “I suppose that’ll work. Now give me the hundred.”

I turned slightly to get some privacy and reached into my jeans to pull out a single bill. The man snatched it from me and shoved it into his pocket.
 

“Well, get in.” He opened the door and I stepped into the cab. It had more space than I imagined. There were dishes, blankets, pillows, and clothes jammed into the area behind my seat. His home away from home.

“Your door is rattling, so I hope you don’t mind loud noises,” he said as he climbed into the driver’s side. “I was trying to fix it when you came by. But it looks like I lost a screw so it’ll just have to be like it is.” He shook his head, annoyed that he would now be stuck listening to the rattling. “I’m gonna have to order that damn screw. You know how long that’ll take? Weeks!” I didn’t think he was talking to me, so I kept quiet.
 

We took off down the interstate as the door rattled in a rhythmic pattern. “Damn, that thing’s gonna drive me crazy,” the man muttered to himself. After a few minutes, he must have accepted the rattling because he turned his attention to me.

“So what’s your story? Teen runaway? What are you—maybe 16, 17? What are you runnin’ from?”

“I’m 17. My parents died. I was supposed to go into foster care, but I wouldn’t do it.” I tried to sound convincing. I wasn’t used to making up stories. “I had a friend in foster care. They beat her. Really bad. They put her in another home and it happened again. No way I’m doing that.” The words just came out as I tried to imagine a story this guy might actually believe.

“Yeah, I know kids like you. I got a niece, story just like yours. Parents died. She had nowhere to go and ended up on the streets. But she got it together somehow,” he said, as if trying to give me hope. “I think she’s somewhere in Ohio now. Got two kids last I heard.”