Paul froze. Any movement now would alert Dr Mac of his presence and shatter his carefully thought out plan. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and one of the nurses walked in to inform Dr Mac that his attention was needed in one of the wards. Dr Mac immediately got up and followed the nurse out of his office. Saved by the Whiskers, Paul thought as he crawled out from under the desk.
Being one who was friendly and good with people, he had beforehand succeeded in bribing two of the hospital’s security guards into getting him a clean pair of their uniform that he would use as a disguise to escape the \’dungeon,\’ as he often referred to the hospital while with other patients. The guards had left the uniform behind the toilet inside a stall, in one of the restrooms. Without any delay Paul quickly changed into the uniform inside the stall. Then he proceeded to his room where he carefully laid his bed over a well tucked in pillow, to assume a human shape.
When he was done laying his bed, he quietly slipped into the hall again; his heart beat racing with each step he took. He had almost made it past the hallway, when he bumped into the Chief Security Officer. With a very jittery smile he exchanged pleasantries with the CSO but just as he turned to walk away the CSO grabbed him by hand. Paul could’ve sworn he had been caught and was about to make a break for it when the man simply grinned, adjusted Paul’s cap and patted him on the back. Paul stared in disbelief as the man, who just now could’ve been his captor, whistled a tune as he headed down the hall in the opposite direction.
Outside, the wind blew swiftly. With hands tucked in his side pockets, Paul walked towards the blue salon car. Using the key, he got in and fired up the engine. Getting past the hospital gates proved less eventful than he had anticipated; the gateman simply smiled at him and told him to have a nice day as he let Paul out of the compound.
Paul drove fast down the highway, checking his rear view mirror from time to time. A few minutes later, when he was sure he wasn’t being followed, he relaxed and breathed in the cool breeze, thinking ‘air had never smelled sweeter.’
I am free, Paul thought happily, and he vowed to make sure he stayed that way.
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