Part 5
Every muscle twitches as my eyes slowly open. The blow to
the head caused me to go blind. I open my eyes wider but can’t even discern shapes
in the darkness. The tangy scent of gasoline fills my nose and seeps down into
my lungs. My knees almost touch my chin. My legs try to straighten but have
nowhere to go.
Muted, red light illuminates my surroundings as an engine
comes to life. I roll over and an obstacle pushes me back onto into my
original, cramped position. I push off the object a few more times before
admitting defeat. Under the whir of the engine, voices in heated conversation
make a soft murmur. I strain to listen. I can distinguish two voices, but they
remain too muffled to guess at gender or make out words.
The faint sound of my ringtone calls out to me. It goes off
twice before the owner of one of the muffled voices makes it stop.
“You didn’t turn off her cell phone?” A harsh male voice raises
enough for me to hear.
The other voice still comes through as an unintelligible
murmur. I push myself as far forward as I can. Placing my feet at the back of
the trunk, I hold myself as close to the front as possible. Square corners dig
into my back as the obstacle at my back resists my gymnastic efforts.
“…GPS…” Only those three letters cross the barrier of the
back seat.
Comfort flows through me for a brief moment. I relax a
little until the sound of an electric window rolling down follows harsh words.
“Then they can trace her to this highway. It’s nowhere near the warehouse.”
Roaring laughter obscures the driver’s response. My legs
buckle and I fall back into an unnatural position under the intermittent glow
of brake lights. The soft murmur of voices eventually falls into silence. The
throbbing in my head slowly lulls me back into unconsciousness
*
When I wake again, a harsh yellow light slowly oscillates
above my head. My shoulders ache. As I try to move them, the rope knotted
around my wrists tightens. A moan of pain slips out of my lips before I can
stop it. The silhouette of thick shoulders and a smooth, round head blocks out
the light.
“She’s awake.” The silhouette steps back to be replaced by
another equally stocky man.
With the harsh light framing their faces, I can’t make out
specific features just round shadows framed by tufts of hair. The halo of harsh
yellow causes mousy brown hair to take on a coppery gleam. My eyes begin to
water as I strain to discern some semblance of humanity.
“You’re right.” The second man nods in agreement as his
low-pitched voice chills me.
“Ready to talk?” The first man leans in to grab me by the
shoulders.
The first man’s warm breath caresses my cheek as he leans
down to help pull me to my feet. His face comes into focus. He frowns
disapprovingly at his companion. “You know the boss wants to ask the
questions.”
“But we’d get leverage…”
The other man shakes his head as they drag me across the
floor on rubbery legs. “You’d get dead. Just help me tie her up.”
As the first man pivots me to face away from the heavy
wooden chair and forces my stiff limbs to bend into a seated position, I gasp.
“I saw you at the library. You were following me.”
“Yeah. Good thing you’re slow on the uptake.” He grins as he
lashes my ankles to the chair with heavy ropes.
His friend ties my wrists so tight that they begin to go
numb. As he walks away, the knots loosen a little and my fingers tingle.
“So what now?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“We wait, sugar. Our boss wants to chat with you. If you say
the right thing, maybe you can work out an arrangement.
The slow grin that crosses his face fails to reassure me. My
fate, or my death, has already been decided.
Back to being a mature adult who meets deadlines. Is this early or do I have high hopes of posting more tomorrow? That's a nail-biter question. I shall answer easier ones. Yes, I plan to finish this story. Yes, I appreciate your feedback. Yes, I am silly enough to get distracted by crafting, cooking, and chomping. I shall be better. If not, you can always complain in the comments and call me to repentance. Keep reading and responding, my friends.
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