No Way Out?

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"Shut up, Chuck. We're not going to die."

If he doesn't quit his whining, I'll kill him myself, Melanie thought as she ran her fingers along the concrete blocks feeling for an opening.

"Katie, can you find any cracks on your side of the room?"

"No, Mel. However Wyatt built this place, he made sure whoever or whatever he put in here wouldn't be able to get out."

Katie tried to clear the dust away from an area on the floor next to Eric and Chuck, who had already resigned to their fate several minutes earlier. "I give up," he sighed, slumping down onto the dirty concrete.

"Melanie, you should listen to Katie and take a break," Chuck groaned. "I'm sure Wyatt will be back soon to let us out. He wouldn't seriously leave us in here to suffocate to death."

"I don't know, Chuck," Eric continued to run his fingers over the concrete wall. "That warning shot he fired at the ceiling looked pretty threatening to me. Then he forced us into this windowless room with apparently no means of opening the door from this side."

"If we could even find the door," Katie said.

"Eric, you're overreacting as usual. When that bullet flew over your head, your freckles nearly jumped from your skin," Chuck teased.

"Look, I know we've both been part of Wyatt's shady dealings, but I don't think he's capable of cold-blooded murder. I know he bragged about how he tricked us into helping him execute his master plan and that he didn't want to leave any witnesses, blah, blah, blah. He sounded more like an actor reciting lines from a very bad horror movie than making an actual threat. You know how Wyatt liked to play practical jokes in high school. I just can't imagine he'd really want us all dead."

Chuck didn't feel as confident as he hoped he sounded.

"Yeah, well when Wyatt pulled that trigger it sure as hell didn't appear that he was joking. He scared the shit out of me," Eric argued. "I'm beginning to think Wyatt is capable of anything. If Katie's hair wasn't white already, I'm sure it would have turned as soon as she heard that thing go off."

Ignoring Eric's insult, Katie tried to reassure the others. "Look, guys.

Wyatt may be a lot of things..."

"Like a liar and a blackmailer..." Eric cursed.

"And a manipulative prick..." Chuck added.

"With an ego the size of Montana..." Melanie tried to lighten the mood.

"...and a few small countries," Katie added with a laugh. "But one thing I know for certain is that Wyatt Gaynes is not a murderer."

"I'm not so certain, Katie. He's isn't the same hot jock high school football star wannabe who dated a different cheerleader every month," Eric began.

"Two or three at the same time as I recall," Chuck added through clenched teeth. "And he always managed to get away with it with that fake boyish charm."

"Still jealous, Chuck?" Melanie said, grinning slightly. "While that might have been true once, thirty years can change a man, and not always for the better. One thing I do know about Wyatt, is that every plan he concocted always contained one major flaw, and that includes the construction of this room. All we have to do is find it.

Get your lazy ass off the floor and help us look!"

"We've been looking for more than three hours, Mel. I'm telling you, it's hopeless."

"Chuck, the only thing that's hopeless in this room is you. Now I know why your software company nearly went bankrupt. You have no backbone for a challenge."

Insulted for the last time, Chuck brought his paunch-bellied frame to full standing. The bald spot on his head brushed against the three dim light bulbs dangling from the concrete ceiling causing a spotlight to alternately shine on the desperate expressions of his three former classmates' faces.

"Dammit," Chuck cursed, "You sound as if this is all my fault. Eric and I were doing just fine before you girls showed up."

"You're right, Chuck," Eric immediately joined sides with the only other male in the room, "If you and Melanie hadn't interfered with our plans back in the computer room, we wouldn't all be locked in this damn dungeon, running out of air."

"We have plenty of hot air with the two of you blaming us for your predicament," Katie shot back. "At least we're trying to find a way out of here."

"Girl," she said to her friend, "you look exhausted. Ignore these jerks and take a break."

"I think you're right, Katie. We need to conserve our energy. If you two useless men will just be quiet for a few minutes," Melanie gave

Chuck and Eric a piercing stare, "I'm taking five."

Melanie leaned against the cold concrete and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her shirt sleeve. The dampness in the cramped space had turned her wavy auburn hair into a wild frizzy rat's nest. Every muscle in her almost fifty-year-old body was on fire from her thwarted attempts to break out of their prison.

“I’m telling you idiots, It’s hopeless. We’re ALL GOING TO DIE!!”

Chuck's desperate cries pierced through Melanie's respite, bringing her back to their present predicament.

"Once again, Chuck, we're not going to die. Would you please just shut up already?"

Katie was continuing to feel for any cracks in the concrete.

"Dammit. If only that bastard hadn't taken our cell phones," he yelled.

"I doubt we'd be able to get any service from within these walls, anyway," Eric added. "We're so screwed. I never should have trusted Wyatt."

"Eric, let's face it, Wyatt played us all from the start and we fell for it. We'll deal with him after we get out of here."

"IF we get out of here," Charles cried.

"SHUT UP, CHUCK!" Melanie and Katie yelled in unison.

"Now I know why you followed us into Wyatt's offices. You two were playing spies, like when we were kids. You always did have quite an overly active imagination back then. No wonder you wanted to be an actress, Mel" Eric shot back.

"You tell her, Eric," Charles joined in the verbal attack. "See where all your stupid playing around got us. We're locked in a basement by an egomaniac with a loaded gun pointed at our heads. Let's see if your spy movies can get us out of this one, Agents Tyler and Conner."

"That's agent O'Brien, Chuckie." Katie said. "I have an idea. Melanie, you still have that cigarette case, right?"

"Yes, Wyatt didn't think to check my front pocket."

"Good, give me one."

"Katie, you don't smoke. I know you're upset, but now is not a good time to start."

"I'm not going to actually smoke it, just light it."

"You won't inhale, right." Eric snapped.

Ignoring his comment, Melanie took the cigarette case from her sweatshirt pocket and handed it to Katie. She opened the case, took out a cigarette, and pulled apart the cover, revealing the knife. Eric and Charles stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"That's real cute, Mel," Eric snapped, "What else do you have hidden under your sweatshirt?"

"A hell of a lot more then you have inside your pants, Eric," Melanie replied.

"That's for sure."

Katie wasn't accustomed to sexual innuendos, and she was grateful that the darkness in the room concealed her embarrassment.

"Ignore them, Katie. With any luck we'll be out of here in a few minutes. I don't know what I hate Wyatt for more, putting us into this room, or putting us into this room with those two."

"The feeling is still mutual on that point," Charles said. "What exactly do you think you're doing, Katie?"

"Just be quite and watch."

Katie lit the cigarette with the lighter on the case and lowered herself to the floor. She exhaled the smoke on the cracks between the floor and the walls, until she found the one place where the smoke went through to the outside.

"Here, I found the opening. Mel, take the blade and follow the smoke up the crack, hopefully it will release the latch."

"Like using a credit card to break open a door." Eric said.

"I'm sure you would know all about that, Eric." Katie snapped.

As Katie continued to exhale, Melanie traced the line of smoke with the blade until she heard the click of an opening latch. She gave the case one hard pull and the door opened, letting in welcoming light of freedom.

"Let's get out of here!"

Eric yelled. He and Charles nearly knocked over the women as they scrambled toward the stairs.

"Sheesh, not even a thank you." Katie said, handing the cigarette case back to Melanie.

"Don't let anyone ever tell you that smoking will kill you. Sometimes, it will actually save your life."