There was opportunity… but there was also risk.
Her back was turned.
He was free of her ever-hungry gaze, which devoured some distant sight he dared not spy.
His only thought was of freedom.
A vision of life; one unburdened by constant suffering flitted past his mind’s eye.
He willed himself to be silent. And he prayed to every god he’d ever heard of and several more besides.
But his hopes and entreaties weren’t enough to stop the floorboard from creaking—and they held no answer for the look of murderous rage she wore as she spun on her heel and turned ‘round to face him.