I awoke in the dark. The floor beneath me was slightly warm. I opened my mouth and took in a deep breath.
Someone clamped a hand over my mouth. It smelled of death. I let the air out of my lungs slowly.
“There are five of us in this thing and yes, I believe it is your worst nightmare. However, if you scream, you will panic the other woman with us. I am not sure they counted on Lucas’s size when they tossed him in here. I also think if you keep your calm, you can help us find a way out. Right now, the metal is only warm to the touch. We have some time.” Xavier whispered to me.
“I’m bleeding,” I whispered back.
“The bullets were small caliber, but they seem to have sedatives in them or on them. I’m not sure. The sedatives are wearing off slowly. You, I and Gabriel are awake. Lucas is still out, but they shot him twice. The other girl is also still out. There is room to move around, but not as much as there would be if Lucas wasn’t with us.”
“I will warn you, I heard screaming a little earlier. I believe they have the other bull filled.” Gabriel added.
“Not helpful,” I told him, placing my hand against the metal as I rolled over onto my side. It was warm. It wasn’t hot. We weren’t yet baking. My skin wouldn’t blister and fall off anytime soon. My inner stillness took over. I looked and found the air holes. The nostrils of the bull were pretty close to my head.
The holes were large, large enough to stick my arm through. However, I had a horrible suspicion that if I did stick my hand out of the bull’s nose, someone would chop it off. I put my face close to it. It was dark outside. The air was cooler, cold even. I took a deep breath of the fresher air.
“That’s why it isn’t warming,” I said very quietly.
“What?”
“The weather. The Brazen Bull was Mediterranean in origin. This one is bronze. Bronze doesn’t heat evenly,” I whispered.
“You said something about a stabilizing mechanism?” Xavier whispered back.
“Yes, a bull of this size would need a stabilizing mechanism.”
“What kind?” Xavier asked.
“Cross bars most likely.”
“I don’t remember seeing cross bars on the surveillance video Michael found.” Xavier answered.
“Ok, then perhaps it doesn’t have any.” I felt around.
My fingers found a seam. I traced the line with two fingers, moving around as much as possible as I did. The seam ran over my head and down, under me.
“The head moves,” I told Xavier.
“What?”
“The head opens.”
“Is that important?”
“Think of the shape, it would require its own latch and hinge. We might be able to force it forward. If it falls forward, the bottom hinge might give, based on the amount of weight in this thing and its own momentum.”
“I only sort of understand.”
“When we get out, I’ll explain why the heads didn’t open. Until then, how long before Lucas wakes up?”
“I don’t know. I’ve checked him as best I could, but...”
“It’s dark and cramped.” I finished for him.
“Pretty much.”
“Anyway we can speed the process or drag him over here?”
“Not really,” Gabriel joined the whispering.
“Whatever we do, Lucas needs to be the one in the head. I and the other woman needs to be near the rear. If we knock it forward, I don’t want to be on the bottom of that pile.”
“Can you climb towards the back now?” Xavier asked.
“I can try.” I began wriggling and wiggling inside. I pinned my body against the side and felt the bull move ever so slightly from the force of my weight moving. I found Lucas and climbed over him, my back scraping against the top.
“Well?” Xavier asked.
“I’m there.” I answered.
“Is there room for the rest of us back there?” Gabriel asked.
“Only if Lucas moves,” I found I could almost sit up in the belly of the beast. Back here, the metal was cold to the touch. I checked on the other woman. She was like me, breathing but bleeding. I touched my shoulder. The blood had clotted. It had been a while since I had been shot, snatched and shoved into this thing.
“Ugh,” Lucas moaned. I gave him a good kick to the arm. The pain shocked him, he yelped.
“Don’t yell,” I told him.
“Where... This is bad.” Lucas answered his own question.
“True, but we have a plan. You need to move away from me. The front of the bull has a hinged head. If we can get it to fall forward, the hinge might give. If not, they certainly aren’t going to get it standing with us in it.”
“What about the stabilizing mechanism?”
“They weren’t intended to have hinged heads. Aside from the air holes, the heads were solid. This one isn’t built that way. The head is hollow. We can get weight in it and empty the back. Put it off balance. Let our weight and its own carry us to the ground. It is going to hurt like hell, which is why I am not going to be in the head,” I hissed almost wordlessly to him.
“That will work?”
“If it doesn’t, we’ll have to figure something else out. We need our fifth here to wake up though.”
“Put your finger into her wound like you did me with your heel.”
“Oh, good plan.” I found the wound and stuck my finger in it.
The woman woke up. She was screaming. I covered my ears. The sound resonated and echoed in the tiny metal chamber. I heard someone swear and she stopped. Or rather, it became quieter.
“My name is Aislinn Cain. I’m a US Marshal and there are five of us in this torture device. I think I have a plan to get us out. But you’ll need to stop screaming and help us.” My fingers searched for her face. I found it. There was a hand clamped over her mouth.
“I’m going to let go, please don’t scream,” Lucas said gently.
Chapter 54