Evolved

Dusk time late in the day. The stars starting to come out into the violet sky. Slightly overcast and cool. The day is ending with beautiful weather with a nice breeze to make it just the perfect way to end it with the trees rustling and the birds chirping. Still slightly damp from the heavy storm the night before. The smell of spring dew in the soil and wet grass. It is a part of upstate New York that is recovering from almost a whole month without rain. The Catskills is alive with many woodland creatures enjoying the reprieve from Mother Nature's three month drought.

Among the trees and animals running around their homes lies a cabin where smoke rises from the chimney signaling that it is occupied. 

It is a distance from anywhere with civilization nearby but a main roadway about a quarter of a mile away.

Inside is pretty bare. A table to one side and a set of four chairs. Some shelves here and there. Wood floors, wood walls. It's a cabin. Though not a cabin that seems fit for living in from the looks of it from the outside. Very utilitarian looking structure as if a corporate entity owns it not anyone with a family. Inside there is a row of shiny silver tanks against one wall. Quite a few books relating to medical research and psychology training on a series of bookshelves and among them a book of sign language and another on martial arts.

A wheelchair, a pair of crouches and leg braces are leaning against one wall. A photograph of the couple is on a desk. A display of happier times. Some music plays in the background to set the mood for a special occasion. A wedding cake is on top of the table in the corner to the back.

A couple was preparing to leave but before then they wanted to celebrate. A short male figure in a suit is running around looking for something in a rush walks towards the sink in an ungainly manner. Getting plates and forks. Two cups are filled from the tap and rinsed. He walks to the fridge and opens the door looking for their favorite beverage. Inside on a shelf is a clear plastic container with a pair of eyes kept preserved in dry ice in fabric.

Then with a starling shout a man yells through a vent through the floor from the basement.

The vent on the floor next to a wall leads to a hidden room. The door to the room is quite concealed in the floor boards. Barley noticeable unless you knew it was there.

"You really believe you can call yourselves people?" "Those suits don't make you people" 

"You don't belong here. All your kind belong behind bars."

"You think you can just take what's not yours."

"What gives you the right to take one of my eyes?"

A frozen eyeball is dropped through the vent in the floor. He screams in rage and cries at the same time. He falls to the floor whimpering.

"WHY!!!"

Kept in the basement sincerely arrived just before the storm he has been trying to find whatever he can get his hands on to get away from his capturers. He is out numbered two to one and out strengthened. They are too strong for him. Like dealing with crazed bodybuilders. 

He can hear them walking around above him.

The male upstairs wearing his favorite suit goes to the fridge to get a pitcher of iced tea for his wife. They are newlyweds. Still in their wedding clothes looking to leave.

"Hey husband?" Emily asks Oscar. "Do you know when?" 

He walks to the table with the plates, knives and forks and the cups. "When we can get out of here that's when." He tells her. She holds out her gloved hand for comfort from him, he drops the stuff on the table next to the wedding cake. He reaches out to her and caresses her hand with his. He too is wearing his white gloves from the wedding.

Dave swearing to himself for being tricked for being too trust worthy to them. He thought he should have trusted his instincts much more then he did and this is the thanks he gets.

With a bandage over his left eye he searches for a wire or something that he can hook the latch with to unlock the door. Going through the boxes of medicine and some supplies that the owners keep down here. He just can't help feeling how foolish he feels about himself. Never trust those who look innocent. He keeps thinking to himself in anger and desperation. Getting back to the present he can tell this basement is an emergency shelter as he can see from the cot off to one side and a freezer nearby. The owners didn't want anyone or thing coming through that door. Looks like a heavy door from the extra very hard wood on the door and the large hinges. But why would a door to a shelter have a heavy lock on the outside as well?

His only guess is, is to keep something or someone hidden. Like himself. How would I thought that I would be taken hostage? He asks himself another question in his head. 'Dave. Now is not the time to be sorry for yourself. You have to keep your wits. You need to get out of here. NOW!'

Looking through some more boxes he finds flares and smoke bombs. The sight of the smoke bombs holds his attention. 'Smoke bombs? What are these people up to? Well it's their mistake to keep it in here. Their lost my gain.'

Now with a new plan in mind he looks for a way to make them open the door. How can he use these things to get them to find as a last resort to let him out? Staring at the smoke bombs he starts to think about getting the smoke upstairs to where they're at. Knowing they can't get out, that would make them have to come down here to put it out and try to get the key from him.

I'm too smart for them. They're no match for my wit he thinks to himself. Sweating through his polo shirt he's getting anxious. He doesn't like enclosed places. Leading to his urgency to quickly find a solution to escape.

In the corner of his good eye he notices something in the ceiling. Stepping over the boxes unevenly stacked he moves closer to what's hanging down. It is an emergency pull cord. Looks like it opens up a vent to the floor above and at the same time setting off a fire extinguisher. Looking back at the smoke bombs and the stack of boxes. He gets an idea that maybe it's the key to getting him out.

Oscar. Pacing back and forth with the crowbar dragging on the floor. He's getting anxious too. There's no way of getting out. "I'm angry and I'm stressed. I want to get out." 

"Walking around like a monkey after some bananas won't help you." Emily tells her husband. 

"Thank you for the joke. Sweetie." Oscar stops to look at her. "It's obvious I'm no monkey."

She retorts with a "Duh." "Then stop acting like one." 

"You have any ideas bright eyes." Oscar realizes his mistake and quickly apologizes to her. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Nearly forgetting she lost her eyes.

"You should think before you speak. More so with your wife." Emily turns from him.

Dave. Listening smiles to himself. Overhearing what Oscar just said. He's been analyzing the psychology of his capturers to find any way to get by their weakness to fool them to open the door. 

Quickly he moves the stack of file boxes to the spot underneath the vent. An unmade box flattened leaning against the wall is now a container for the smoke bomb to put underneath the vent to direct the smoke upwards through the ceiling and into the floor above.

Once everything is in place he pulls the pin drops the bomb into the box flips the flaps up wedging them against the ceiling and moves aways.

As soon as he hears it go off he quickly as possible moves to a safe spot where he can see and wait.

Oscar immediately notices the smoke coming through the vent in the floor. Emily asks him. "What's that?"

"Smoke." He replies. Looking at oriental rug in front of the TV. He quickly grabs it and brings over to the vent to cover it.

Dave now sees the smoke billowing from the box. "They blocked the vent. Clever."

Running over to the stack of boxes he tries to move the top box to unblock the vent in the process the smile bomb accidentally drops the box to the floor.

"Shit!" Now he's in trouble. Grabbing the broom stick he pushes the handle through the vent to move what ever it is that's blocking it.

In the meantime Oscar sees the rug moved aside tries to put it back over the vent but the stick keeps poking through pushing it back. He gets mad and tries to grab the stick.

A tug of war between captive and capturer.

Dave is not as strong as his capturer. Realizing this, anything pulling hard enough will bring it's inertia against itself. In other words once he let's go his capturer will flail backwards from pulling very hard causing the broom to pull through the vent opening it up with no way to put it back in place.

As soon as he does...

Oscar yanks the stick so hard causing him to fly along with the vent straight to the table. Shaking his head clear he gets enraged and runs back to the opening and starts poking the stick back through the floor. Emily screams back. "Please stop!" Oscar looks back at her and resumes his attack.

Dave smiles. Yes. This is going to work. In an instant a big fear overwhelms him. THE BOMB! THE TANKS! OH NO! Then an explosion causing the floorboards to buckle. The fireball erupts through the vent and the newly made cracks in the floor. The shockwave instantly expands through the room knocking Dave against the wall.

Emily screams in terror. Oscar drops back from the hole in the floor as flames shoot from everywhere through the floor. He runs to his wife. She tells him. "We need the money to run from here. No more bars." He reassures her that it's not going to happen.

Oscar knowing from his training either he dies in here with his wife scared to death or face the danger below him. He didn't want to do he had to do. Open the door to the room below. Fearing the worse the flames and the heat licking the floor beneath them. The heat is becoming very intense and knows he has to do something to get out of the house.

In the meantime Dave awakens. With the smoke thick throughout the basement, coughing and choking he grabs the nearest object in his reach. A sledge hammer. Climbing up as far as he can in desperation he begins whacking at the door's locks. His fight or flight instincts that normally work by themselves in an given emergency to either get away from or to attack the threat when backed against a wall are working together to attack what is now preventing him that's above him to get away from the danger that's around him in the room.

In the main living area, smoke is building as well. Oscar tries to hit the door with the broom.

Trying to scare the threat away from below and tries to build his mental energy to go after what he needs. Whack after whack after whack the broomstick breaks. He continues hitting with his fists. He grabs the door latch and with a hard turn to the right it unlocks. He heaves the with all his might opens the three hundred pound door. A sudden rush of smoke followed by flame fed by fresh air shoots through up the steps. Looking hard through the dark emptiness below him sometimes illuminated by flames underneath a piece of steel attached to a bar flies at him into his chest knocking the wind out of him momentarily.

Dave sees his way out finally. His moment to go to reclaim his freedom and with a rush to get out suddenly a blow to his head knocks him down on the last step straight to the floor. He gathers his senses quickly to get try to get away as fast as possible.

Oscar runs passes him down the steps into the basement room to get what he has been looking for. A satchel laying on the counter it contains the money for a free life. Without a moment to waste he climbs back up the steps but to his greatest fear the door slams shut in his face. With the feeling of deep down dread that he knows too well he now bangs as hard with all his might to break the door open.

Dave satisfied with one capturer down he turns to the female of the husband, wife team.

"You think you're so clever. You think you could get away with this." He tells her and shows her the keys to her freedom. "It's time to pay what you've done to me. You're not getting out of here. Ever! With a quick turn he heads straight to the door but not before another blow to him strikes with a surprise. Straight to the floor he falls down once again. He turns around instinctively to see his threat. He takes his telescoping baton extends it with the flick of his wrist and he squares off with his enemy. Emily, now, for the first time without the protection of her husband, is on her own. She too squares off as well with blind eyes.

Dave looking at her face sizes her up and down and figures. just a lucky strike from a girl. Turns around and walks to the door in a confident manner since she can't see there's no reason to waste energy and time with someone who poses no danger when he needs to escape. Then a second blow. To his back this time from below smashes him against the door.

She's someone to be reckoned with. But how? She can't see. Now a blow to his chest came as a surprise as well. He back swings over her head just narrowly missing her. To his second surprise she performs a roundhouse kick to his ribs breaking one of them. She chargers him. He quickly steps to the side and allows her to go past him straight to the front door almost knocking her out. He drags her to the basement door. Another explosion from the room blasts through the floor causing the front door frame to twist and creating a gap that just a push is all that's needed to go through to freedom.

Dave is finally outside in the fresh air and freedom. Off in a distance sirens approach the house. He waves his hands to get their attention. A cop car arrives from behind the fire engine charging down the road. Smiling to himself he collapses to the ground in relief.

A police officer runs up to him. Dave meets her with a smile. "Hey officer. You don't know how glad I am to see you." 

"Well I'm glad to see you're safe too sir." One of the two police women let's him know.

Just as she tell him. A woman runs by her. 

"Hey. There's people here!" One of the fireman jumping off the emergency truck.

As soon as they open the door two figures step outside. They are met with both police officers. Who orders them to stop and put their hands up but the woman steps in front of him causing the officer to run after her for her safety.

At that time Emily yells to her. "Momma?"

"Yes it's me. Emmy." They both embrace each other.

Now the officers are confused. One of them inquires. "Are these you kids ma'am?" A firefighter asks.

She confirms to them that they are. "We've tried to rescue them from this mad house of a research facility."

The officer in total shock of what she said. "Lady. You're meaning to tell me that they do research on children?"

"Hey. Young man" the officer yells over engine sounds waving the smoke from her face as she squints to see the boy. She smiles at him as Oscar walks up to her. "I'm Oscar and this is my wife Emily." The police officer's jaw drops open. Shelly further explains they love movies and T.V. That's why I named them after the award trophies.

Oscar continues "That man" as he points to Dave who was getting medical treatment from the paramedics tries to nonchalantly with a limp walk away to avoid capture. "He took us here to steal us from our momma." 

The other office runs after him before he can get any further and cuffs him.

"They're bonobos officer. Cousins of the chimps. They are able to speak through these voice boxes that they where fixed with specifically for their type of communication. We put GPS in them to follow them. We also trained them to defend themselves."

Oscar tells the officer that his wife saved his life.

The officer mentions. "But she's blind."

"These are her sees." Oscar says.

Shelly. The owner and mother explains to her as she fights back her tears. "He means. Her eyes. They were tortured for some time. The voice box speech isn't perfect but close enough." The female officer is left speechless. "And as far as being able to fight without her sight. I can't explain it myself." 

Emily. Walking up to cop. Oscar guiding her. Everyone nearby looking at the two "I love my husband." She touches the officer's right hand and feels the wedding band on her finger. "Like you I would do what I have to do to save my family." As she rubs her belly. Oscar double takes at her. Shelly too in shock. "You're with baby?" Oscar proudly stands with his chest out and hands on his waist.

Shelly further explains to the two officers. "I have taught her to fight." She pauses with the biggest smile a grand mom could have. "Well that wasn't the intention exactly. I was trying to help her to stay calm without getting disturbed by the males around her when we were preparing her for her release back into the wild." 

A van from animal care and control suddenly arrives to meet the newly married couple.

Emily shouts "You promised no more prisons." She points to the van.

Oscar assures her that. But before anyone knows what happened. He grabs her to pull her to the side and throws a piece of meat that he had in the cooler he grabbed while getting the satchel into the back of the van and and roars. A pack of wolves from the woods charge them. Everyone scrambles away from van leaving the two time to escape to freedom on the motorcycle that was parked nearby with a sidecar attached to it that was made for him when he was in the circus.

Everyone jumped behind the vehicles look up to see Oscar and Emily take off into the darkness. A whoop of joy arises from the darkness everywhere with trees waving and leaves falling all around scene.

Shelly continues to look on down the road that her children just took to a future who knows what brings them. 

From behind the hills the sun rises breaking through the last of the storm clouds. 

One of the men from Animal Care and Control comes up to her "Ms Stein. We need to go after them. We have the police here to help us. 

With a stern stare in his face "Don't you dare think about going after them. You hear me?" The woman officers stand too with smiles on their faces.