Blood of Youth Chapter 2: Escape from the Slanted Prison

When he awoke, his head throbbed as though a million needles were piercing his brain. It was day. Light seeped in through a small skylight window in the sloped roof that formed the ceiling of the room to which he had been consigned.

Recalling his last ghastly moments of consciousness, Li Wei gingerly touched his throat, fully expecting to find the flesh torn from the beast’s fangs. It wasn’t. Had it all been a mad dream? No! He could still feel the hot saliva drooling down on his cheeks, hear the husky panting of the animal.

He gained his feet, stumbled to the one door the bare room boasted. It was locked. Li Wei looked up at the tiny window. There was no way of reaching it, except by climbing, fly-fashion, up the sloped roof. Ordinarily, he would never have dared try it. But the necessity for breaking out of this prison, for finding Li Mei spurred him on. Slowly, tortuously, he lifted himself up, clung to the cross beams.

Twice he reached a point within two feet of the slanting window, lost his hold. By now three of his nails were almost torn out by the roots. Blood streamed from his finger-tips. The pain twisted the nerves in his arms, made him want to scream with the agony of it all. He rested, tried again. This time he hung on for dear life despite the dragging, leaden weight of his body pulling at his arm muscles. Another inch! Another inch! His encarnadined fingers touched the sill. One last, body-wracking effort and he was there, hanging fifteen feet above the floor, gasping for breath.

The rest was comparatively easy. The window swung back on a hinge. Li Wei squirmed out on the roof, lay flat on his stomach until his torn muscles ached only dully. It was a gray day, without sun. A light mist hung over the hill on which the gabled house was built.

Careful lest he lose his balance and hurtle to the ground below, Li Wei crawled down the roof on his stomach. His goal was a small balcony with a curtained window opening out on it. He reached it, dropped down on the soles of his feet, noiselessly.

Each moment was precious. There were none to waste. God only knew what horrible things were taking place in this house of madness.