“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds.’” — Jeremiah 30:8

Caisee Pells was relieved when she was left alone again, returned to the darkness.

Blindfolded again after her captors removed it for a while.

The lights turned out.

But at least she wasn’t being smacked around by her kidnappers.

Her face felt the burn of the hard slaps the woman had administered, as though her head were dragged for several feet on shaggy carpeting. The cloth they gagged her with was beginning to cut into the sides of her mouth.

But a battered face and cut-up mouth weren’t Caisee’s only discomforts. Her legs, tied tightly to the chair she was sitting in, were turning into lead, and her hands, bound together behind the chair, were being bombarded by a million tiny needles.

She was losing circulation in her legs, arms and hands, the latter of which she imagined probably more closely resembled the skin of a plum than the hands of a young woman.

Still, she was alive for the moment, and that was cause enough to give praise to God … and ask Him for some sort of way to escape.

In fact, she never stopped praying once her kidnappers left the room. A barely audible stream of confessions, supplications and, yes, even praises and thanksgivings poured continually from her battered and bleeding mouth. Each word was impeded by the gag so that her prayers sounded like soft hums, but that didn’t bother Caisee. She wanted her prayers to be heard, stifled or not.

Caisee Pells had opened a prayer channel, and she was going to keep broadcasting her thoughts to God as long as she was alive. They were short little bursts of muffled pleas, but she heard them unimpeded:

“God, please keep me safe.”

“Please help me to be brave, no matter what happens to me.”

“Please keep Wakeman safe, too. Don’t let them find him.”

“Give Tater peace. I don’t want him worrying about me.”

“I know that You can do anything. I humbly ask that You help me escape.”

“May Your will be done.”

No amens. Caisee didn’t plan to stop praying unless forced to. And if it came to that, she would punctuate her life with a final “Amen.”

Still, while most of Caisee’s focus was on her machine gun-like prayers, a small portion of her mind was formulating an escape plan.

They might have Caisee Pells against the ropes, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop fighting.

But freeing herself from the ropes that fastened her to the chair was out of the question. They were simply too tight. She had read a book once where a heroine tied to a chair freed herself by repeatedly smashing the chair into a brick fireplace until it broke. Caisee didn’t think that was an option. This chair seemed too solid for that, plus the noise would surely bring her captors running. And she wasn’t ready for Round 2 of “Let’s slap Caisee Pells Around.”

The only way out of her nightmare was to be found by the police, who might be looking for her by now if she knew Tate at all. But unless someone witnessed her abduction, the police might not have a single clue where to start looking.

That left one option: She had to trick her abductors into untying her. And Caisee had seen enough crime dramas and cop movies to know the best way to do that.

The bathroom trick.

Does the bathroom trick actually work? It does in the movies. Not that it matters … I don’t have any other option. I have to give it a try. But I don’t think that woman is going to let me out of this chair for all the money in the world. My only chance is if Doyle Logan comes in here alone. I might be able to persuade him.

Her plans quickly turned into muffled prayers, but she could hear the words plain as day.

“Please help me escape, Lord … my plan might only work in the movies, but I still have to try. I have to get out of here and find Wakeman and Tater and bring us all home again.”

Now she only had to wait … and continue praying. Prayers that no gag could stifle. ...

... Caisee shot awake at the sound of a door opening.

How long was I asleep? Can’t believe I dozed off while praying. Sorry, Lord.

She heard slow footsteps approach and a new wave of fear swept over her.

Hold it together Caisee. If they wanted to kill you, they would have done it a long time ago. Besides, they think they can use me to get to Wakeman. But not if I can get out of here first. Here goes…

The footsteps stopped just a few feet away from her. They sounded heavy, so it was probably Doyle Logan and not the woman. What was he doing here, just standing there?

He didn’t say anything, so Caisee broke the silence and strained to make herself heard through the painful gag.
 Even though she could imagine herself saying the words “I have to use the bathroom,” all that seemed to slip through the tight creases of the gag were a pile of “mmmms.”

No response.

Undaunted, she tried again. Another sea of “mmmms” strained to be heard.

“Quiet,” the man finally said, barely speaking above a whisper. “If you make too much noise, that woman is going to come back, and I don’t think you want another visit from her in the near future or any time.”

He has a point. The next time I see that evil woman will be way too soon. But I don’t see any other choice. I have to risk it.

This time she strained against her bonds, too, and tried shaking the chair to punctuate her stifled plea.

“I said quiet,” Logan said, his voice slightly louder and carrying a tremor of agitation. “I don’t want to hurt you. It’s your brother that I want. Your being here is merely a means to an end. I came here to ask you some questions. If you are helpful, I promise to do my best to keep her away from you. How does that sound?”

Caisee could sense a window of opportunity opening. She nodded.

“Now, I am going to take off your gag and blindfold. Are you going to keep quiet? I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you scream or make any loud noise. Do you understand?”

Caisee believed Logan was bluffing. She had seen his reluctance to hit her earlier, so it didn’t make sense that he would beat her now. Still, she didn’t really know what he was capable of. She nodded again.

“Mmmm.”

“Good,” Doyle said. “Here we go.”

He gently removed the gag and blindfold. The room was still dark, but she could see some light trying to seep past the boarded up windows of the old place. Day was breaking. With the Lord’s help, Caisee prayed she would soon be sprinting toward that rising sun.

Doyle waited a moment, apparently weighing his words or ensuring that Caisee wasn’t going to suddenly scream her head off.

She didn’t wait for him to speak.

“I have to use the bathroom,” she said, softly and politely.

“What?”

“I need to go to the bathroom, please,” Caisee said. She wasn’t lying to Doyle. She could use a visit to a restroom, but she just didn’t plan on visiting one until she was safely miles away from her captors. “I have been tied to this chair for hours. I really need to go.”

Doyle rolled his eyes and seemed to ponder the request for a moment.

“You know, I couldn’t go anywhere with my wife without her asking me to find a restroom about five minutes into the trip. But there’s no way that I’m letting you out of that chair.”

“Please. Where am I going to go or run to? I’m not about to fight someone with a gun. How am I going to outrun a bullet?”

Caisee was only guessing about that last part. She had yet to see a weapon.

A slight smile crept over Doyle’s lips, and he reached behind his back and pulled out a gun. He looked at it for several seconds, as if he were trying to determine if it worked.

“You’ve got that right. You can’t outrun bullets,” he said. “But I can’t take any risks right now. I just want answers, to find your brother.”

“Just give me one minute to use a bathroom first, please. I haven’t screamed after you took the gag off, right? I don’t want to see that woman again any more than you do. I’ll be quick and quiet. Please believe me.”

Doyle nervously tossed his gun from hand to hand. He was obviously debating his next move. Caisee hoped he had the safety switched on and that her acting was Academy Award worthy.

Doyle suddenly tucked the gun behind his back again, kneeled in front of Caisee and began untying her legs.

Thank you, Lord. You just tell me when to run and I will run faster than I have at any time in my life.