The opportunity arises faster than I thought it would.

My captor, he told me his name but I couldn’t care less, brings me a bottle of water and holds it against my mouth for me to drink. I drink the water quickly not knowing when he’ll deem to give me some again. At the back of my head there is a tiny voice that tells me that it might have been spiked, but I didn’t have the time for caution.

I had already planned what I was going to do, and this was the perfect opportunity to try out my first escape attempt. If this time didn’t work, I might not be able to try again. The thought was a steel beam that straightened my spine and gave me confidence. He wouldn’t kill me. No way I'm letting that happen.

“Hey. I need to ask you something.” I say, as he uses a paper towel to wipe around my mouth. I barely even register my disgust, as I keep my focus.

“What?” His smiles broadly, a smile that is not a smile so much as him baring his teeth in an animal like approximation of a smile. “What do you need?”

I take a deep breath to steady myself.

“I need to use the toilet, please.” I ask. He frowns, like I’d expected, as he gets suspicious.

“Do you really? Are you trying to escape?” He says, his voice toneless.

I shake my head, no. “I really need to relieve myself. You don’t have to release my legs, just my hands so I can pee.”

He frowns. “No,” He says, “I’ll remove the rope around your legs. Your hands will stay tied.”

I try not to show much of a reaction. I just nod.

He bends down carefully and unties my legs, moving out of the way quickly in case I planned on kicking him. The blood rushes back to them in a flash and I wiggle my toes rapidly, not having the time for pins and needles. My feet are damp with sweat in my old Vans, but the unpleasant sensation of my socks sticking to my skin is a welcome relief to the complete numbness I'd just been experiencing.

After my feet are free he stands up. It’s then that he notices his error. He had tied my wrists to the arms of the chair, to let me up he’d have to free them. I stared up at him, feigning innocence. He looks away trying to think of another solution.

He suddenly turns back to me and shakes his head. He has realised that the only way to proceed is to tie my legs up again and free my hands one by one and to then tie them behind my back. He comes closer, playing right into my hand.

He bends down, less wary this time, and as soon as he’s close enough I kick my foot out catching him right at his temple. The sound of canvas smashing against his head resonates through the room as he stumbles away stunned and I quickly stand up, bent over due to the chair still attached to me. I didn't know I could kick that hard. I guess all those soccer games I'd played as a child are finally paying off.

I run quickly, aiming for the door. He had left the key in the lock, not expecting me to get out of the chair. My foot hits the top stair, when suddenly I’m pushed from behind. I fall face first, bound arms unable to break my fall.

My head bangs against the corner of a step, and my vision is filled with spots. The blood running down my face from the cut above my eyebrow fills my vision, and I have a hard time focusing.

I try to stand up, but as soon as I move my head I am overcome with dizziness. I force myself to get up regardless, and finally am able to stand on weak knees. I turn back, expecting another blow but am surprised to see my captor on the other side of the room. I’m momentarily confused until I notice the weighted plank on the floor. I stare in confusion wondering how he’d thrown it so fast, and with that much force.

My captor laughs as he too struggles to his feet.

“Tripwire.” He says.

At first I’m confused, but then I notice the fine wire at my feet. I follow its length across the mechanism that I had undoubtedly tripped.

I don’t have time to be wasting been shocked, as I realise that the trap was there in case someone tried to escape. I hadn’t noticed it before because the whole mechanism was the same dull grey as everything else in the room.

I didn’t pause to think about it further as I turned around, bent over and tried to run up the stairs. I just reached the top, when suddenly he reached me, grabbing hold of my hair and trying to throw me back down the stairs. I only just catch myself on the wall preventing another head injury.

I turn back to him, just in time to dodge the fist aimed at my head. His fist flies past my face, and I don’t think about it before I lunge forward and bite down hard on his forearm. He screams out in pain, and I sink my teeth in deeper breaking through skin. He uses his other hand to try and dislodge me, but I bite down harder ignoring the bile that rises at the taste of his blood. He has tears streaming down his face as he howls in pain.

He uses his other fist against me, and it’s only when he slams it into my temple that I let go. Taking a piece of him with me, of course.

I spit out the surprisingly big chunk of flesh onto the floor as my captor bends over his injured arm trying to stop the rapid bleeding. The piece of flesh on the floor is about half the size of my palm, and I’m shocked that I was able to do that. I quickly hurry past him, aiming for the door. He makes a half-hearted attempt to stop me but the extreme pain written plainly on his face shows that he won’t be doing anything to stop me any longer.

I pull my leg back and use all my strength to plant a kick on his right knee. There is an audible crack as he releases another howl and he falls backward down the stairs. I quickly turn back to the door, taking a cue from horror movies where the monster refuses to stay dead. I turn awkwardly to the side and use my one bound hand to unlock the door.

The door leads to another set of stairs that lead upwards. I only just remember to lock the door behind me before I hurry up the stairs, back hurting from the position I’m bent in. I stop at the door at the top, finally realising that if anyone is out there that they might just take me back to that room.

I press my ear to the door, but besides the sound of Dolly Parton singing about her broken heart there is no other sound. I finally hear a sound that is familiar, and when I place it, not even the gates of hell can keep me from going through the door.