Chapter 62: Free/Panic

Tom stretched his aching back. The small bed had been one of his best night sleeps in a long while, maybe because it was comfortable or maybe because he was finally free. A headache started to brew at his temple. He touched the small light that illuminated the cabin and tapped it a few times to make it dim. Two men still slept in their bunks. The last one was empty.

He stood and stretched again. He tried to keep the breath escaping his lips from making too much noise, but it just felt so good. He reached towards his toes and stretched again, feeling the pull of his hamstrings. After the first two years of being trapped, he had given up. He felt he would be a lab rat forever, but within the last year, he'd had this feeling. Somewhere deep inside he knew somehow that he was going to be free and when he was, he was going to be needed. Since that moment, he'd been preparing, stretching, doing sit-ups and push-ups. Anything he could do to get his body moving. The food they gave him hadn't