Waking up in an unknown room bound and gagged can be… disconcerting, to say the least. There are a few things you have to remember in this scenario. Stay calm, the longer you panic, the longer you’ll be trapped. Second, fear is normal, but don’t let it overtake your decisions or your actions. Parience is key to escaping a dangerous situation. Last, don’t draw extra attention from your captor until you’re ready to take them.

This is how we do things in my line of work. It’s what they drill into our heads from day one. And people who don’t follow this advice end up worse off than the ones who do. Training isn’t essential to escaping, but personal restraint is. So, i slowly start to survey the scene, not making too much movement. Just observe, no action until i have a solid plan.

There are (obviously) no weapons on the floor, and i’m handcuffed to the chair. Surprisingly though, there didn’t seem to be any cameras either. There’s nothing on my wrists, no bracelets or hairties. My hair is down so no hairpins either and my jewelry was all removed. Whoever this was, they were thorough. I decided there was nothing i could do as of now, so instead i waited for my captor to pay me a visit.

When they did they were wearing a mask, so i couldn’t tell anything about them. They brought me food, ungagged me, and watched carefully as i ate to ensure i didn’t break the utensils to escape. Afterwards i was informed of a ransom put out, that i already knew my bosses would refuse to pay. Not out of heartlessness, they just knew i would be alright on my own.

So i waited a few days, and i made small talk and tried to seem as harmless as possible, anything to make them slip up. Then, finally, they did. I managed to keep a plastic spoon without them noticing, and as soon as i was sure i wasn’t being watched, i broke it and slowly, methodically used one of the pieces to pick the handcuff lock.

Then, i waited for my captor to come back in, and i quickly took him down. I had no plan from here, but there wasn’t much opportunity to get one either, so as quietly as i could, i snuck around trying to find an exit. I quickly found one, and thankfully it didn’t require any identification to unlock.

The door opened onto a city street of some kind, and i went to the nearest store. The cashier gave me an odd look when i asked what city we were in, but i couldn’t care less about something like that right now. Thankfully, it was a sister city to where i had been. I had no money, so stopping somewhere would be necessary, and then i would finally be on my way home. This had been… eventful, in a word. But it was time for me to report back home.