London Escape by Cacey Hopper

Brothers, maybe even twins. My breath seems to catch in my throat and my feet falter. It’s all I can do not to break out into a full run in the direction of the exit. I want nothing more than to run as quickly as my feet will carry me. The only problem is I’m not sure exactly where the exits are right now, and I’m positive I will get tackled by TSA before I make it to the door. They don’t exactly appreciate people running full-tilt in an international airport.
    I keep moving, with my head down and my thoughts reeling. Another glance over my shoulder tells me they’re beginning to close the gap, herding me away from the crowd. I don’t even need to wonder who they are and why they’re following me. It’s clear they somehow knew about the locker and were after whatever was in it. I try not to think about how they might have gotten that information. Besides me, Jason had to be the only one who knew about it.
    I spot a entrance to my immediate right. It looks like a hallway containing bathrooms or a service entrance of some sort. My hope is that it’s an emergency exit. Either way, I try to take them by surprise as I make a break for it, cutting quickly to my right and dashing down the long hallway.
    They’re paying more attention than they let on, and I can feel more than hear their heavy footsteps thundering behind me as they follow me down the hall. My hope for an exit fades and to my dismay the hallway is a dead end. With my back pressed against the wall I turn to face my pursuers. I had hoped we might have caught the attention of a curious passer-by, but the hallway remains empty behind the two figures looming ever closer to me. There’s nothing between me and the two massive goons who are heading my way and no possible way of escaping. Suddenly all the moments of fear and panic I have felt so far in this journey seem like mere twinges. What I feel now is nothing less than utter, bone-shaking terror.
    As they step closer I start to notice the differences in their appearances. One is tall and lean, while the other is shorter and stockier. Both have deep set, pale eyes that are too close together and heavy, jutting foreheads. The effect is they look equally unintelligent and frightening.
     I flinch as one of them reaches for me. He grabs a hold of me, spins me around and presses me up against the wall roughly. My scream is silent in my throat, I’m far too afraid to open my mouth. Next he snatches my backpack roughly from my shoulder. Turning my face to the side I see him unzip it, dump the entire contents onto the floor and begin to sift through it all. His brother keeps me pinned to the wall, unmoving, with a firm hand to my back.
    The shorter brother shoves my clothing and toiletries aside and begins to paw through the books, the two red volumes and my journal. He thumbs through one of the red books and tosses it aside with a grunt. I’m still looking around the second man, whose massive frame blocks my view, frantically looking for someone to come down the hallway. But there is no one in sight. Meanwhile the shorter brother is still riffling through my things. He picks up the second red book and examines it as well. I know my journal is next, where I’ve scribbled all the clues and codes Jason has left me so far. These guys don’t seem too smart, considering they’re probably just hired muscle, but the last thing I want is them figuring out that Jason is leaving messages for me. I wonder for a second if they actually think I have the jewels, assuming I might have found them inside the locker. Either way, I don’t want them picking up that journal.
    So when he drops the second red book and reaches for it, I summon all my courage and speak up. “What’s the matter? Can’t read?”
    Instantly the brother closest to me shoves me again, harder this time and my forehead smashes into the wall. For a moment I see stars and I’m forced to remain silent. I had hoped to provoke him enough to make him drop and