As he opened his eyes, a massive headache flowed over him, and he suddenly became aware of the fact that he didn’t know where or who he was. In fact, he couldn’t remember anything at all. His eyes eventually adjusted and became focused on the nearest corner, where he swore he saw a shadow moving. With a sharp intake of breath, he started coughing at the smell of wet mold. Water dripped from the ceiling above him onto his head, and he gasped at the frigid temperature.
He began wracking his brain for any memories previous to this, but nothing came to mind. Rubbing his fingers over a lump on his forehead, he realized that he must have been kidnapped and thrown in here for some unknown reason.
I feel so stupid, he thought, that’s such an obvious answer. I’ve probably had a concussion or something and that’s why I can’t think straight… also obvious.
The small window on the wall perpendicular to him cast an eerie moonlight glow over his new predicament.
The window!
He jumped up and dashed to the window. There’s got to be a way out of here, he thought, running his hands over the windowsill. It was too high off the ground for him to kick the window pane out, but he thought he could break it with something else. That was if he could even find anything else. He scanned the area from where he was standing, but couldn’t see much. He walked over to one corner and conveniently found a rock that fit inside his hand.
“High school baseball is finally paying off,” he muttered, as he pulled his arm back. He flung the rock toward the window with all his might.
WHACK!
The rock bounced off the window and onto the ground, leaving a big web of cracks in the window pane. Well that’s better than nothing, the man thought. He picked the rock up to try again, hoping nobody could hear him.

The window finally broke, and the man was able to climb out. The closest thing was the forest. He concluded that this building must be hidden in the middle of nowhere, and that the forest might be a good place to hide from the people who tried to hold him captive here. Here goes nothing, he thought as he started running toward the trees.

WHACK!
The girl’s eyes flew open. She sat still for a moment, then-
WHACK!
Pause.
WHACK! Another pause, followed by the sound of glass shattering. She stood up instantly and began climbing the tree nearest to her. Please don’t let them find me again, she thought desperately. A man ran past her spot in the tree below her and she gasped. There was another escaped prisoner besides herself! She couldn’t help the growing feeling of hope inside her chest as she quickly formulated a plan.

With his hands on his knees and his breathing heavy, the man laid his back against a nearby tree.
I think I’ve run far enough, he thought, I can just take a little rest. His head was pounding and he suddenly realized how very tired he was when he heard the sound of light footsteps coming toward him. He looked up and shook his head.
“Hi there!” the girl said.
“AAHH!” He tried to scramble backward to get away from her but he tripped and landed next to the tree. She warily took a step closer, slightly smiling.
“Sorry,” she said, suddenly embarrassed, “I don’t do well with confrontations… Um, so, hi. I saw you run past a while back and I thought you must have escaped also and I just… I’ve been so… It’s…” Her shoulders fell and she stared at the ground.
“Hold on,” he said, “Do you know what’s going on? I just woke up in a cellar or something a little while ago, so I broke the window to get out and now I’m here. I don’t remember a thing and my head hurts really bad...”
“Same!” she exclaimed, “But… then... so… what can I call you?” She turned her head to the side.
He raised one eyebrow. “Uh… I have no idea. I don’t remember my name.”
“This is kind of cool,” she said, “We get to, like, make up new identities for ourselves.” She began pacing, and continued, “I wonder if there’s other prisoners that have escaped, or if we’re the only ones. Or maybe this is some sort of experiment where they’re studying us and they expected us to escape, so we really haven’t escaped. Or maybe we’re just the first ones out. Oh, I wish I knew what this was all about. Maybe-”
The man held up his hands, “Listen,” he chuckled nervously, “You can just call me Scott. For now. I plan on figuring this all out eventually.” He started to pick himself up from the ground when the strange girl offered him a hand. He took it, stood up, and began dusting himself off.
She looked at him. “All right,” she replied, “Scott. I’m Jennifer. For now.” She held out her hand again and they shook. Suddenly Scott remembered an obscure fact he had learned once: shaking hands passed more germs than kissing. Or something like that. He decided that sharing this with “Jennifer For Now” would not be a good idea.
“Okay then,” Scott cleared his throat, “So do you remember anything at all?”
She shook her head, “About the same situation as you. Except I escaped yesterday. I woke up, couldn’t remember anything. I broke the camera first, then when someone came to check on me, I closed the door on him and knocked him out.”
“You knocked a guy out?!” Scott asked, incredulously, “How did you manage that?”
“He was one of the scientists,” she shrugged, “Wasn’t that hard to do; he was a small guy. Anyway, so I hit him in the face with the door, then took his clothes and put them on myself. Walked around looking all official until I found the exit and left, easy as that.”
Scott just stared at her.
“What?” she asked.
“Remind me to not get on your bad side…”
She threw her head back and laughed, “Oh come on, I was relying purely on instinct.” Scott started to chuckle himself, until she suddenly stopped. “I wonder if… there are other prisoners. Maybe we could get them out. I still have the lab coat. We could sneak in and-”
“That’s a lot harder than it sounds,” Scott interrupted, “We’d have to plan and think about it a lot, but I guess if we find out that there are more people, we can try it…”
Jennifer nodded. “Deal.”

The next morning, the two unlikely friends came up with a plan.
“Alright,” Jennifer said, “I say we keep an eye on the lab today, then maybe tonight we can sneak in - you can wear the lab coat - and we’ll go check things out. Get others out if we can, then sneak back out.”
“Quit making it sound so easy,” Scott scoffed, “It’s not that simple. What if we get caught?”
“Hmmm, you’re right,” Jennifer tapped her fingers on her chin, “And they’ll probably have people looking out for us too, to see if we try and come back so they can catch us again.” She paused and scratched her head. “Personally, I think it’s worth the risk. I want answers. And returning back to our previous lives isn’t an option. It’s not like we can just go join as normal members of society again. For all we know, they could be controlling that too. So I say we just go for it.”
Scott thought for a moment. “I think you’re pretty crazy,” he began.
“Well at least you think I’m pretty and crazy. It might be just crazy enough that it could work,” she said stubbornly, folding her arms.
Scott couldn’t help but smile. “I guess it’s worth a try. Let’s do it.”
Her eyes lit up and she smiled back at him. He wanted to say more, about how lucky he was to be in this situation with someone like her, and how he really did think she was very pretty, but the words never came. Instead, he cleared his throat and said, “Well… then, uh… shall we get going?”

The moment sunset ended, Scott and Jennifer moved closer to the lab. They found large rocks to take out surveillance cameras, if it came to that, and crept up to the back door.
“Hold on,” Scott whispered, “I want to check out my cell and see if they’ve done anything to it.”
“Okay,” Jennifer replied, “I’ll keep watch. You be careful.”
When Scott reached his old cell, he found that the window had already been replaced. Carefully looking through the glass, he could see another person in there. Squinting, he cleaned off a spot on the window so he could see clearly. Suddenly, it was as if someone had dropped a rock into his stomach. He could see his replacement.
It was a little boy.

Jennifer sat up straight and slowly stood up, c***ing her arm back, ready to throw the rock at whoever was coming nearer, when suddenly, Scott stumbled into view. “Scott,” she breathed, “I thought… you were…” She stared at him. “Is something wrong? You look like you’re going to throw up.”
“There’s a new prisoner,” he croaked, “There’s a new prisoner in there, except this time it’s… it’s a little boy.”
Jennifer gasped, and brought a hand up to her mouth. “Oh no,” she whispered, “That’s terrible! We have to get him out. Right now. Oh, he must be so scared…” she trailed off.
Scott looked at her. “I’m fully on board now,” he said in a low voice, “Let’s do this thing. Whoever is doing this will not get away with it any longer.”

Jennifer pushed the door open and stuck her head in. The inside looked just like a hospital, with white tile floors and white walls, and about twenty doors going down both sides of the narrow hallway.
“The coast is clear,” she whispered back to Scott, “The hallway is completely empty, and I don’t see any surveillance cameras.”
“Good,” Scott replied, “Let’s get going.”
They stepped into the hallway and shut the door quietly behind them. Scott grabbed Jennifer’s arm and said, “We should check each of the rooms. I’ll take this side, you get that one, and we’ll let each other know if we find anything unusual. Most of the scientists have left; it’s mostly just the night workers here, so keep an eye out for them also.” She nodded.
At each room, Scott would carefully open the door, stick his head in, and quickly look around. And at each room, he found nothing. He fell deep in thought as he moved quickly, feeling personally responsible for the little boy. What if, after he had left, they went out and found a new prisoner to replace him, ruthlessly picking up the first child they came upon?
Maybe I shouldn’t have escaped in the first place, he thought guiltily, I would rather be the one suffering right now. That little boy is all alone...
Jennifer’s voice broke through his train of thought.
“Psst! Over here!”
Scott looked around and went to join her. Jennifer stepped closer to him as he approached.
“There’s a woman in there.”
“Should we just go in and get her?” he asked.
“She looks pretty weak,” Jennifer answered, “You should do it. Think you can carry her?”
“Probably,” he said, “Did she notice you?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, “She was pretty out of it.”
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
He carefully opened the door and quietly stepped inside. The woman lifted her head slowly to look at him. She looked so helpless and terrified.
“It’s okay,” Scott started, as he took a step closer to her, “I’m here to help you.” He extended his hand out to her, but she began whimpering and scrambling backwards toward the corner. He paused for a moment, and continued to walk closer to her, but she only became louder and more restless. Scott looked down at what he was wearing and realized that she probably thought he was one of the scientists. Suddenly, the door opened behind him.
“We have to go,” Jennifer said firmly, “Now. They heard that.”
Scott and Jennifer clasped hands and dashed out of the room to hide in one a few doors down.
Jennifer kept her ear against the wall trying to pick up any of what was going on, but all she could hear was a man’s muffled speaking and the woman’s whimpering. When it went finally went quiet, she straightened up and said, “I think he left. Should we find other prisoners and then come back for her or try and bring her with us?”
“I don’t think she has the strength,” Scott said, shaking his head, “We can pick her up on our way out. I don’t think they know we’re here yet.”
“Alright,” she replied, “Let’s continue our search. Be extra careful.”
They checked the rest of the rooms in the narrow hallway, finally reaching the one that used to be Scott’s cell.
“I’m pretty sure this is the one,” Scott said.
“You go on ahead, I’ll keep watch.”
“Wait,” he said, taking off the lab coat, “Take this. I think it’s why that woman was so scared of me.” Jennifer nodded and took it from him with wide eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, “I should have realized-”
“Hey,” he cut in, “It’s okay. Really. We’re still alive, aren’t we?”
Jennifer gave him a small smile. She wanted to say more, about how courageous he was or how much she admired him, and how she felt safe when she was with him, but the words never came. Instead, he turned to face the doorway.

Scott slowly opened the door and stuck his head inside, scanning the area for the little boy he had seen. As soon as he spotted him, he stepped fully into the room and went to the child.
“Hey buddy,” he whispered, placing his hand lightly on the boy’s back, “We’re here to rescue you. Will you come with us?” The young boy turned to look up at his savior and nodded. Scott tried to hold himself together as this young boy gazed up at him with a tear-streaked face and helpless expression. Scott scooped the child up in his arms and walked toward the door to leave.
“What’s your name?” Scott asked. The child looked confused for a moment, then said quietly, “I don’t remember…”
“That’s okay,” Scott reassured him, “We’ll find out. Don’t you worry.”

Out in the hallway, they discussed what to do next.
“We’ve been here almost 45 minutes,” Scott said, “I think we should get going.”
“You’re probably right,” Jennifer sighed, “But what will we do once we get out? I’m also worried that this has been too easy. What if it’s a trap?”
They looked at each other for a long moment.
“Let’s hope it’s not,” Scott finally said.
“But that doesn’t mean-”
Scott turned around and started down the hallway to get the other prisoner without a word, all while holding the little boy. Jennifer watched him start to leave, then sighed and began walking slowly to join him.

When they reached the room, Scott handed the boy to Jennifer and went inside the room to get the woman. He knelt down beside her and she looked at him with drooping eyes. She must have been in her late thirties. She looked extremely exhausted. Her short blonde hair hung loose and limp around her face. She must not have recognized him from earlier, because she made no move to get away from him this time. That, or she simply didn’t have the energy.
Scott held his hand out to help her stand up. She looked at it and slowly took it, leaning on him for support.
“I can carry you,” Scott said, “You’re safe; we’re gonna get you out of here.”
He lifted her with ease and left the room.

Once they were officially outside the facility, they trudged up to the forest and walked in far enough that they wouldn’t be seen or heard. The woman, who still hadn’t said a word, and the child fell asleep beside each other on the forest floor; Jennifer and Scott sat next to each other nearby the makeshift campsite.
“Is something bothering you?” Scott asked quietly.
Jennifer stared blankly at the ground. Shaking her head, she said, “Maybe I’m just being paranoid. But my escape was the only one that involved any sort of struggle with the people who imprisoned us there. I don’t get it; that was way too easy. I just feel like… I don’t know. Maybe that woman could tell us more, but she won’t say a thing. And the kid is just scared and confused, so I feel like we haven’t accomplished much… informationwise. I mean, yeah, it’s huge that we got two more prisoners out, but what if it’s a trap? I just… was really hoping to find out who I am, or was, before all of this happened. I get the feeling that I’m not the same.” She let out a deep breath.
“Which brings us into my next train of thought.” She turned to face Scott.
“It’s partly because of meeting you that I’m not the same person I was three days ago. And I’m sure that that would be true of anyone who came along. But I’m so grateful that I met you.” Tears started to fill her eyes and stream lightly down her face. Thank goodness it’s dark, she thought, At least he can’t see me like this.
“You’re so brave and I think very highly of you,” she continued, hoping that her voice didn’t waver, “You make me feel safe and comforted, and I just-” She stopped, taking a moment to compose herself.
“I’m sorry,” Jennifer sighed, “It’s just the stress of the past few days. And I couldn’t have done it without you. I shouldn’t complain or worry. Just like you said: we’re still alive.”
Scott put his arm around her and she leaned into him. “Hey,” he whispered, “Everything's gonna be alright. And… I feel the same way. I wouldn’t want to be in this situation with anyone else.”
Jennifer and Scott stayed there for a long time, until they heard the woman start to whimper again. They both got up and went to kneel beside her. Scott rested his hand  on her shoulder lightly, and she suddenly jerked awake, breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?” Jennifer asked.
The woman looked up at Jennifer, terror written all over her face.
“I… remember,” she breathed, “I remember!”