The Tinted Windows

I looked out the window of the Smart Glass cage.

The sun was shining. Or maybe it wasn't.

The glass had gone opaque. A milky, translucent white that let in light but blocked any view of the outside world.

It was 10:00 AM on Friday.

Or maybe it was 2:00 PM.

I checked my phone. It was dead. Graham hadn't let me charge it.

I checked the clock on the wall. It was stopped at 12:00.

He had cut the power to the clocks.

I was untethered in time.

"Graham?" I called out.

No answer.

He had left for the office early. To "tie up loose ends."

I was alone in the house.

With the locks. And the tinted windows. And the silence.

I walked to the control panel in the living room.

*Climate Control: 68°F.*
*Window Opacity: 100%.*
*Override: Locked by Administrator.*

I pressed the button.

*Access Denied.*

I hit it again.

*Access Denied.*

I was in a cloud. A white, featureless cloud.

I couldn't see the trees. I couldn't see the road. I couldn't see the sky.

It was sensory deprivation.

Designed to make me lose my grip.

To make me question if the world outside even existed.

I sat on the floor. I closed my eyes.

I listened.

The hum of the refrigerator. The drip of a faucet. The settling of the house.

But no birds. No cars. No wind.

The soundproofing was working too well.

I felt a panic rising in my chest. A flutter of wings.

*Breathe, Merritt. Breathe.*

I needed an anchor. Something real.

I went to the kitchen. I opened the fridge.

The light was off.

I felt around in the dark.

Milk. Eggs. Leftover soup.

I grabbed the milk. I drank from the carton. It was lukewarm.

The power had been off for hours.

Why?

To spoil the food? To make me sick?

Or to disable the security system?

If the power was off... the locks might be on battery backup.

But the batteries only lasted 24 hours.

If I waited... they might fail.

And the doors might open.

Or they might fail-safe. Locked forever.

I couldn't wait.

I needed to get out.

I went to the garage door. The interior one.

The keypad was dark. No lights.

I pressed my thumb against the sensor.

Nothing.

It was dead.

But dead meant... locked? Or unlocked?

I turned the handle.

Locked.

The fail-safe was engaged.

I was trapped.

I went back to the living room.

The white windows glowed with diffuse light. It was like being inside a ping pong ball.

I walked to the window. I put my hand on the glass.

It was warm.

The sun was out there. Burning.

I tried to scratch the tint.

It was embedded in the glass. Electrochromic.

I couldn't scrape it off.

I needed to break it.

But I had tried that. The safety glass was too strong.

Unless...

Unless I used heat.

Extreme heat.

Thermal shock.

The glass was hot from the sun. If I could make it cold... rapidly... it might shatter.

I ran to the kitchen.

The freezer.

It was off, but still cold.

I grabbed the ice tray.

Melted. Just water.

Damn.

I looked around.

What else was cold?

The fire extinguisher.

Under the sink.

Compressed CO2. Freezing cold.

I grabbed it.

I ran back to the window.

The glass was warm to the touch.

I pulled the pin.

I aimed the nozzle at the center of the pane.

I squeezed the trigger.

*WHOOSH.*

A cloud of white gas hit the glass.

It hissed. Crackled.

I emptied the tank.

The glass frosted over. Ice crystals formed on the surface.

I dropped the extinguisher.

I grabbed the heavy brass lamp again.

I swung.

*CRASH.*

The glass shattered.

Not just a crack. An explosion.

Shards rained down on the floor.

Fresh air rushed in. Sunlight.

Blindingly bright.

I squinted against the glare.

I could see the garden. The trees. The sky.

It was real.

I climbed through the hole.

I dropped onto the grass.

I was out.

I ran to the edge of the woods. I looked back at the house.

It looked like a skull. The broken window a missing tooth.

I needed to get to the storage unit. To Leo. To Elena.

But I didn't have a car.

And the golf cart was gone (Graham must have found it).

I started walking.

I kept to the tree line. Avoiding the road.

I walked for an hour.

My feet hurt in the stolen sneakers. I was thirsty. Hungry.

But I was free.

I reached the storage facility.

The gate was closed.

I punched in the code.

*Invalid Code.*

He had changed it.

Of course.

I looked at the fence. Razor wire.

I couldn't climb it.

I walked around the perimeter. Looking for a weakness. A hole.

There.

In the back corner.

The fence had been cut.

Recently.

The wire was bent back. Just enough for a person to squeeze through.

Who had cut it?

Gavin?

I squeezed through. The wire snagged my shirt. I tore free.

I was inside.

I ran to Unit 402.

The door was closed.

But the padlock...

It was unlocked. Hanging open.

I lifted the door.

It rolled up with a screech of metal.

Empty.

The cot was gone. The lamp was gone.

Leo was gone.

And on the floor...

A message.

Written in chalk.

*TOO LATE.*

My knees gave out. I sank to the concrete.

Too late.

He had moved them.

He had taken Leo. And Elena.

Where?

To the house? To the attic?

Or somewhere else?

I looked around the unit.

There was something in the corner.

A piece of paper.

I crawled over to it.

It was a flyer.

*Insight Crisis Solutions Annual Retreat.*

*Location: The Lodge at Black Lake.*

*Date: October 23-25.*

This weekend.

Graham was taking them to the retreat.

A corporate retreat. Isolated. Private.

Perfect for a disposal.

"The Lodge," I whispered.

I knew where it was. Up in the mountains. An hour away.

I stood up.

I needed a car.

I walked back to the cut in the fence.

I squeezed through.

I walked to the road.

I needed to hitchhike.

A truck was coming. A logging truck.

I waved my arms.

It slowed down. The air brakes hissed.

The driver looked down at me.

"Need a ride?" he shouted over the engine.

"Yes," I said. "To Black Lake."

"That's a long way, miss. You okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "Just... late for a meeting."

I climbed into the cab.

The truck rumbled to life.

We drove.

Up into the mountains. Into the trees.

The signal on my burner phone came back. One bar.

I texted Toby.

*Me: They're at the Lodge. Black Lake. Meet me there.*

*Toby: On my way.*

I looked out the window.

The sun was setting. The sky was turning red.

Like blood.

We were going to a party.

A celebration of life.

And I was going to be the uninvited guest.

The truck dropped me off at the turnoff for the Lodge.

"You sure you want to get out here?" the driver asked. "It's a three-mile hike."

"I like hiking," I said.

I got out. The truck drove away.

I started walking up the gravel road.

It was getting dark. The trees closed in overhead.

I heard an owl hoot. A branch snap.

I kept walking.

I reached the gate of the Lodge.

It was guarded. A security booth. A man in a uniform.

I couldn't go through the front.

I went into the woods.

I circled around the perimeter.

The Lodge was a massive log structure. Lit up like a christmas tree.

Music drifted from the windows. Laughter.

The retreat was in full swing.

I crept closer.

I saw Graham.

He was on the deck. Holding a drink. Laughing with a group of men in suits.

He looked happy. Relaxed.

Like a man who had gotten away with murder.

I scanned the grounds.

Where were they?

I saw a cabin. Separate from the main lodge. Dark.

A guard stood outside the door.

That was it.

The holding cell.

I needed a distraction.

I looked around.

The generator shed.

It was behind the cabin.

I crept toward it.

The door was unlocked.

I went inside.

The generator was humming. A massive diesel engine.

I looked for the fuel line.

There.

I grabbed a wrench from the wall.

I loosened the nut.

Diesel fuel started to drip. Then pour.

I backed out.

I grabbed a handful of dry leaves. I piled them near the fuel.

I took out the lighter. (The one I had used to break the window).

I lit the leaves.

The flame caught.

I ran.

I ran back to the edge of the woods.

I waited.

It took two minutes.

*WHOOSH.*

The fuel ignited. The shed went up in a ball of fire.

The alarm blared.

The guard at the cabin looked at the fire. He hesitated.

Then he ran toward the shed.

"Fire!" he shouted. "Fire!"

The path to the cabin was clear.

I ran.

I reached the door. Locked.

I kicked it.

*THUD.*

It didn't budge.

I looked for a window.

Around the back.

I smashed the glass with a rock.

I climbed in.

"Leo?" I whispered.

"Merritt?"

A voice from the corner.

Elena.

She was tied to a chair. Leo was on the floor, tied next to her.

They were alive.

"Oh god," I said.

I rushed over. I untied them.

"We have to go," I said. "The shed is on fire. Graham will be here any second."

"He has a gun," Elena said. "He took it from the storage unit."

"I know," I said. "Come on."

We climbed out the window.

We ran into the woods.

Behind us, the fire roared. The sirens wailed.

Graham was shouting orders.

"Find them! Don't let them get away!"

We ran.

Through the dark forest. Over roots and rocks.

Leo stumbled. I picked him up.

He was heavy. But I didn't care.

We reached the road.

Toby’s van was there. Waiting.

"Get in!" he shouted.

We piled in.

Toby floored it.

We sped away. Down the mountain.

Away from the Lodge. Away from Graham.

I looked back.

The fire was a red glow in the sky.

A beacon.

Or a funeral pyre.

I looked at Elena. She was hugging Leo. Crying.

"We made it," she whispered.

"Not yet," I said.

I looked at my phone.

The text from the unknown number.

*Check the beneficiaries.*

I still didn't know who sent it.

Or what it meant.

But I was going to find out.

Tomorrow.

Tonight