Trapped

"Trapped" is the 5th episode of Sweet Escape.

Plot
Tensions are high in the car as Mary Castillo emotionlessly drives the van along Route 66, holding the steering wheel with her hands that still have some dried up blood on them. Liz is sitting in the back of the van, curled up with Rocky, avoiding contact with everyone after her traumatic experience. The rest of the group just sit in between, silently. Rena, who is sat in the passenger seat, turns to Mary and takes a deep breath before asking “So…what exactly happened?”. Mary turns her head slightly to the side, indicating that she heard him, but then turns back to look out the windscreen. Rena doesn’t ask again and just sits in silence with everybody else. “A man…err, grabbed me” she explains, grabbing Rena’s attention, “I was thinking about running away from you all. I needed to get away… So I snuck away from everyone and ran into the woods. He just came up behind me…grabbed me” she continues. Rena doesn’t know how to respond so simply asks what happened next. “He, ugh, he hit me over the head a few times…knocked me to the ground” she explains, tears forming in her eyes, “He tried to rape me” she finishes; Liz overhears these words and a shudder is sent down her fragile spine. “I’m sorry” Rena tells her. Tears of sadness and anger suddenly fill in Mary’s eyes “So…I managed to get up… I, I scratched him. Scratched him and scratched him and scratched him… I c-cut his throat open” she cries, looking down at her blood-stained hands and broken fingernails. Rena gives her a look of sympathy and assures her that she did the right thing because he was going to hurt her. “No. No! It wasn’t the right thing” she hisses. Rena is shocked and doesn’t reply. “I was innocent!” she yells, “I didn’t do anything! I was turning my life around! Now…now I’m no better than any of you!” she continues to rage at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Rena asks, offended. “I killed a man! I’m a murderer. Now I’m not innocent anymore…my life is over!” she roars. “Well, if what Josh and Ali are doing for us works…then your life won’t be over” Rena says comfortingly. “But it won’t be my life! I’ll be lying until I die! What kind of a life is that, lying to everyone you care about? My life is over…and so are all of yours. Now I’m going to get us to this place…but after this is done…I want nothing to do with any of you” she tells him, turning away as she’s finished talking. The awkward silence returns to the car as she keeps on driving.

Its night time in a flashback as Mary lies in bed, exotically having sex with an unidentified man. Mary’s nude body is laid on its front as the man sits atop of her, arms rested back on the bed to support himself as he thrusts his penis into her asshole. She reaches her arm behind her and starts to stroke his penis, but he pushes it away before leaning forward and sucking on his own cock. Mary gets out from underneath him and then sits atop of him as he lies on his back. He slots his penis into her vagina and she jumps up and down on him; both moaning in pleasure. Suddenly there is an eruption as the man ejaculates. Mary howls with pleasure, as does he, and then she slides off of him, lying next to him to catch her breath. “Wow…oh, my God” the man smiles. Mary looks at him and smiles back “That was good. You were good” she winks. She gets off from the bed and puts on a thin robe “Just good?” the man asks, chuckling. “I was better” she teases as she heads to the door of the room. She opens it and looks outside, revealing that they’re both in a small motel. The man worriedly looks at his penis and comments that the condom snapped. Unfazed, Mary rolls her eyes, “Ugh, you better not get me pregnant. I hate kids” she sighs. She looks down both sides of the hall to see of anybody is around and then she heads back to the bed. As she and the man get dressed, she turns to him and asks “What was your name again? Sam?” he shakes his head and corrects her, stating that he’s called Simon. “Right, Simon, I knew that. Well anyway, yeah, you were great, you should come find me again sometime” she says confidently. Simon smiles and asks her for her name “Oh sorry, sweetie, I don’t reveal my name…it’s against policy. That’ll be two hundred dollars” she tells him bluntly. The man is shocked at the amount of money he owes the whore “Are you sure you said two hundred before...? I could have sworn it was half that”. Mary shakes her head, “Nope. It’s two hundred” she says as she holds her hand out to him. Simon reluctantly reaches into his pocket to retrieve the money from his wallet, but when he brings his hand out he smacks her across the face before dashing out of the room. Mary falls back onto the bed, clutching her face in pain. When she sits back up, she timidly touches her cheek, which has been cut, and tries to hold back her tears of sadness. She can’t hold her tears back anymore and the salty droplet slides down her face and over the cut on her cheek. “I hate my fucking life” she sighs.

Back in the van, as Mary continues to drive, Ali makes her way towards Liz in the back and sits awkwardly beside her. The ginger just lies there with the dog, not paying attention to her childhood friend. Ali struggles for words for a few seconds before finally blurting out “I’m so…so sorry”. She has a sad and guilty look on her face when Liz doesn’t reply, “I understand if you don’t want to talk to me…this is all my fault. Just, just know that I am really sorry” she finishes. Surprisingly, Liz turns around and looks at her friend. Her eyes are wet and red from the tears, “It’s not your fault” she assures her. A comforted Ali gives her friend a smile. There is an awkward silence for a few moments before Liz suddenly blurts out “Thomas raped me”. Ali is shocked, “What?” she gasps. Tears begin to form in her eyes, “D-During our marriage…he just got worse…and worse…and worse. He was so physical” she cries. Ali is in shock for a moment and then uneasily asks, “Is that why you…killed him?”. Liz shakes her head. “Honestly…? I didn’t. I didn’t kill him” she confesses. Ali is confused, “But…you plead guilty” she points out. Liz begins to tear up again as the memories are brought back to her, “At the time of the trial there was so much evidence against me that I just thought it’d be useless to even try and defend myself” she states. Ali points out to her friend that if she was innocent then she should have fought for her right for freedom because the truth always comes out. Liz shrugs, “I also guess that some part of me wanted to believe that I actually did kill him” Ali doesn’t know how to respond. “I’m just so thankful for the person who killed my husband…if they didn’t do it then I probably wouldn’t be alive today” she continues. Ali is left speechless at what her friend is saying.

We see Matt and Noah driving in a fast black car down Route 66. They drive past the Texas sign, following the trail of the fugitives. They follow the trail to the side of the road where the group took a small break. Matt and Noah get out of the car to investigate for any clues. They begin to search the area when Matt calls out that he’s found some tracks. “Looks like a kid” he states, pointing at some small footprints. He follows the footprints until they stop near a bush. Matt smells something strange and looks down at a small damp liquid on the floor next to the bush. He dips his finger into the drying puddle and then licks his finger so he can examine what it is. He gets a curious look on his face…and then sticks his finger in again for another lick, this time for pleasure. A while later, the black car that Matt and Noah are driving pulls up outside the farmhouse as they’ve followed the tracks there. They make their way inside and they begin to examine the area. “Matt, look over here” Noah calls out, getting the attention of his colleague. Matt walks over to his friend and then they both stare down at the ground. They look down at the corpse of James and smile delightfully, “Looks like our friends have been busy” Matt grins.

Back in the van, Josh, who’s sat in the back, shares a glance with Rena, who is sitting in the passenger seat. He indicates that he wants to switch seats so he can talk to Mary; Rena agrees and they both swap over. Josh asks her if she’s alright and she bluntly replies that she is fine. “Do you maybe want me to take over driving?” he offers, “You look tired, get some rest” he smiles. “No, thank you” she says in a huff. “Are you sure…?” Josh asks awkwardly. Mary gives him a quick glance, “Yes. I’m sure. Thanks” she states. “Mary, you’ve obviously been through something traumatic, you seem frustrated and tired, it’s probably best if you get some rest” he says, trying to convince her. “Look, I don’t want to stop? Okay?!” she snaps at him. Josh is shocked, “Okay…that’s fine” he assures her awkwardly. “I don’t want to stop. I can’t stop. I need to keep going!” she cries. Josh is speechless. “I just killed a man, Josh… It’s driving me crazy! I’m losing it…! I can’t lose it” she says loudly. “Then take a rest, you’ll feel better for it” he tells her. “There is only one point in my life that I have ever felt anywhere near this bad. One time. It nearly ruined me…I was going down some bad and dark paths. If I don’t keep doing what I’m doing and stay occupied…If I don’t get away from the pain then I’m going to lose my mind” she explains to him, holding back her tears. Josh nods “Okay…okay. I won’t stop you” he says. “I need to keep going…” she tells herself quietly as she continues to drive the car.

In a flashback, its night time as Mary stands in a deprived area of California on the cracked and dirty sidewalk. She walks down an alley nearby, carrying her sparkly purse on a long chain, and she finally comes to a stop. She puts her purse on top of a metal garbage can and then opens it, removing a cigarette. However, it contains heroin. She begins to smoke the heroin and once she is done with that, she takes out some powder and lines it up on the sticky garbage can lid. After snorting it up in one big go, she wobbles back to the sidewalk, waiting for a man to pick her up. She gets to the pavement and then waits for a few moments, knowing that a man will come eventually come as she’s in the place well known for having prostitutes. Lo and behold a man in his car pulls up on the side of the road, whistling in Mary’s direction. She smiles and then wobbly walks towards him. “Not you!” the man yells, disgusted at the sight of Mary, “Her” he says, pointing towards a beautiful young blonde prostitute. Shocked, Mary stands speechless as the blonde prostitute walks towards the car. However, before she can get inside, Mary tackles the prostitute and begins scratching at her and punching her in the face. The terrified customer speeds away in his car, leaving the poor blonde to get beat up. Mary is relentless as she punches and punches until suddenly there is a horrifying cracking sound. “Ah! You broke my nose!!!!” the blonde girl howls. Mary gets off, kicks the bloody girl in her gut with her heeled shoe and then struts away.

The next morning, in a flashback, Mary has sobered up from the drugs, but she’s feeling very ill. “And that’s why I want and need to turn my life around, doc” she says after just telling a therapist the story of what happened the night before. The therapist gives her a stern by comforting look, indicating he knows what must be done. “Well, it’s excellent that you have come to me and decided yourself that you want to change your ways. I’m not going to lie, it’ll be difficult at first to overcome the drug dependencies and to find a real job that’ll get you on your feet…but I have one hundred percent faith in you that you can do it” he tells her. Mary smiles at the therapist.

Back on Route 66, Mary continues to drive the van, completely ignoring anybody that talks to her now. Liz continues to lie in the back of the van, stroking Rocky for comfort and he licks her in return. Once again, everyone in the van is in an uncomfortable silence, unsure what to say…that is until Joanna suddenly blurts out “Oh my fucking tits it’s so awkward in here”. Everyone looks at her, shocked. “What? Well it’s tenser than my ass in here” she adds. “Surely you can understand…” a surprised Ali says. “So she got raped” Joanna shrugs, pointing at Liz, “When me and my boyf joined our gang my initiation was this fucking huge gang rape on me. You don’t see me cryin’ like a little bitch!”. Everyone is speechless. “And so she killed a guy” she continues, pointing at Mary, “I’ve killed a dozen men in my time! When I killed my first, this dumb slut named Lampquisha, I celebrated with a rape!” she howls. Joanna sighs, “I just wish I was back in the hood, with my man gettin’ high. Man, I miss those days, you know?” she says, nudging Joe. He gives her a scowl. “I fucking know what you mean” Ben interrupts, “I wish I was back home in the back of my limousine…driving around Beverley Hills, smoking a cigar and drinking my MacCutcheon, laughing at all the useless working class citizens. Scum of the earth I tell you”. “OOOH you sound rich dude!” Joanna smiles with glee, “So you ever killed a guy?” she asks him. Ben shakes his head “Never. I would never sink that low!” he replies, offended, “I had my killers hired!” he finishes. Suddenly, the car slams to a halt and everyone looks to the driver, Mary, with confusion. “Why we stop bitch? You run over another dog again?!” Joanna asks. Mary ignores the fat black woman and gets out of the car. Nobody follows her.

In a flashback, it’s around a year after Mary started seeing her therapist and changing her life around. She is now off the streets and clean from drugs. She has a pleasant job as a secretary which helps pay for the pretty little apartment she’s living in, in downtown California. It’s a beautiful morning as she gets ready for work, putting on her jacket and heading down the stairs, drinking the remaining sip from her coffee cup. She puts the cup on a counter near the front door and then opens it, ready to leave, however, she sees two police officers headed towards her. One of them is Officer Balk. “Mrs Castillo?” Balk asks. “Yes, this is she” Mary replies, confused. Balk pulls out a piece of paper and explains that they’ve been given a warrant to search the house. Mary is shocked, “Can I ask what you’re looking for exactly?” she wonders innocently. “Step aside, ma’am” Balk smiles condescendingly. Mary does as she’s told as she doesn’t want to get in trouble with the law. Balk and his colleague head inside the apartment and begin their intensive search. They search through the entire apartment including the small kitchen, the living room, the bathroom and finally the bedroom. Balk’s colleague heads into the bedroom alone at first and begins searching. Balk heads downstairs and smiles at Mary, telling her everything seems to be in shape so they’ll be on their way soon, but before he can finish his sentence, his colleague shouts out that he’s found something. Balk rushes upstairs and Mary follows, wondering what it is that they could have possibly found on her. They enter the room to find the colleague holding dozens of pictures of a naked young girl which were apparently hidden in the drawer, and dozens of pictures of the girl on her computer. Mary drops to her knees in pure shock. Balk turns to the woman and begins handcuffing her, telling her the rights she has.

The sun is setting on the horizon of the dry desert. There is a slight chilly breeze in the air as the cold night prepares to arrive. Mary walks through the desert area on her own, a far distance away from the van, looking down at her feet as she walks. In her head, she begins to recall all the horrible events that have happened in the past twenty four hours.

She pictures flashes of being grabbed from behind by her attacker and then being thrown to the ground by him. She recalls as he was about to rape her and then imagines what it must have been like for Liz to actually get raped by one of those men.

She pictures flashes of her getting up from the ground and starting to claw at the man’s throat, virtually ripping it open, causing blood to splatter all over her hands. She looks down at her hands in the present day and looks in horror and disgust at the dried up blood that remains.

She then recalls the things Joanna was saying about murder and then what Ben said about people like her - she begins to call herself “useless” and “scum of the earth” in her head. She drops to her knees and begins crying uncontrollably. “I can’t take this anymore…” she says faintly to herself. She shakes her head, trying to hold back her tears, and them manages to stand to her feet. She wipes away her tears from her eyes and cheeks before retrieving a gun that she had hidden in her pocket. She stares down at it with cold, dead eyes. Clutching it tightly in her right hand, she raises it up and points it straight at her head. She closes her eyes.

Inside the van, Liz sits up and suggests that Rena go and talk to Mary, stating she must be going through a really hard time and she’ll need comforting. As she says this, she strokes Ali’s hand gratefully, thanking her for her help earlier. Rena agrees and begins to get out of the car, but before he opens the door, the popping sound of a gun is heard. Everyone looks at each other with pure horror. Ali checks her holster and sees her gun is still there, but when Josh looks, he realizes his has been taken, “Oh god…” he says.

Outside the van, Mary, who is pointing the gun at her head, is suddenly grabbed from behind by Matthew and Noah. They grab her arms and cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming. As she’s dragged away, she pulls the trigger of the gun, causing it to shoot into the ground. They drag the young woman into their fast black car and then immediately speed off down the road, leaving the van in their dust