No Chance of Getting Out

By Micheal D, Coláiste Cholm, Cork, Written in Autumn 2020

KAREEM and ABDUL, two men from the Middle East are sitting in a barren jail cell, looking defeated. KAREEM is smaller while ABDUL is bigger and more muscular.

KAREEM: Well, Abdul, it’s over. We have no chance at getting out. It was nice being your brother and your friend. 

ABDUL: We lived life longer than we should have. We got out of situations that we had no right to get out of. Remember what happened to Ramiyadh? That could have been us. Our time has come, thank Allah it lasted this long. 

KAREEM: You seem resigned to the fact that we aren’t making it out of this jail. We could still try to escape or something. Anything to get rid of the boredom. I am not afraid of dying just Zanhia’s loss. She was right, you know. I should never have gotten involved with this struggle. Even though I don’t regret joining, I wish I had acted differently. I could have developed all of the Strip. I had a scholarship to Stanford. I could have changed the place, but we need independence. 

ABDUL: I know, but you would not have been able to leave me rot in this hell hole. Not that I am ungrateful, but your attempt to break me out was horrible. It had too many parts relying on luck. That is us I suppose. Out of luck and out of time. 

KAREEM: I swear if I get out of here, I am going to kill that snake Julius and then go back to college. One last mission. Then I would apologise to Zanhia and raise a family. You know? What would you do, brother? 

ABDUL: I’m not sure. Probably just fight more. Allah really took my brains and gave them to you. 

KAREEM: You got all the looks and all the muscle. We really were the dream team. I am glad I spent my life with you, brother. We shall enter Paradise together and there is no one I would rather do it with. 

ABDUL: Were? Kareem, we are getting out of here. Or going to die trying. 

KAREEM: Alright, let’s do this. I will call in the guard, say you have collapsed and are foaming at the mouth. But I will hide behind the door and jump on him. I will rely on you to stop him clattering or causing a commotion. Any objections? 

ABDUL: No offence, but I am stronger. I should jump him. 

KAREEM: Good point. Yes, you should do it. Then when we are in the corridor…Do you remember the layout? I was out cold so I don’t know. 

ABDUL: I think it’s a long hallway and that we came from the west. I remember seeing a mountain through a window. Then there’s the locked door. We should be able to get through with the guards equipment. Depending on the guards’ size, one of us will take his clothes. Sound good so far? 

KAREEM: Yes. Then we get through that door and….. 

ABDUL: I remember a guard room with a window on the ground floor. If we break that we will be in the courtyard. We should be able to steal a vehicle and get through the checkpoint. 

KAREEM: What if there is an alarm on the window, a guard in the room, no keys in the car or barbed wire at the checkpoint? You said my plan relied too much on luck? You are skating on thin ice while carrying a torch. There has to be another way. 

ABDUL: Kareem, you know as well as I, I dislike relying on luck but it is our only chance. They execute us tomorrow. As for guards we will have a weapon from the first one and we can ‘subdue’ the others. 

KAREEM: Alright, how far is it to our territory? Would we need to refuel? Could we contact Mahmoud? And what if one of us gets… gets… gets shot? Huh, you expect me to be able to leave you? 

ABDUL: If you do not break out now you are leaving me behind. If we get shot we take care of ourselves. The vehicle will have a FAK. We are within ten kilometres of Delta Base. We would make that with fuel to spare if we were driving at 80 kilometers per hour. It will probably have bulletproof tyres, a cab and guns. If we get past the checkpoint they should not get us. 

KAREEM: Abdul, if I do not make it, please, tell Zanhia that I love her and I am sorry I left her for our fight for freedom. 

ABDUL: You will tell her yourself. Now, get on the floor and start salivating. We have got work to do. 

ABDUL turns around.

ABDUL: (whispers): Please Allah, get him home.

End Scene