neck.
Then she opened her mouth to scream. Her
captor was stupid, she thought. He didn't gag her.
"Help!" She yelled. She could tell it
wouldn't be heard too well outside the trunk of a moving car. She
started to feel her lungs starving. Panting and gasping for air,
she struggled harder and tried to scream again. Nothing much higher
than a nasal screech came out.
Rapid breaths from her nose weren't enough
to sate her lungs. She started to feel light headed.
What did I get myself into? The
reality of the situation hit her like a head-on collision. She was
tied up in a trunk. A victim of a kidnapper, or worse. And she'd
just killed someone.
Deeper breathing was keeping her awake. She
had to stay alert. The weight of the situation felt too heavy to
carry.
The car hit a bump in the road. Her shoulder
flared up in pain making her wince.
She wished she could pull. Find some hair in
a sensitive spot and drag it out slowly. That would help to calm
her down. She needed to get untied so she could pull.
The engine started to wind down. Either he
was approaching a traffic light or he was stopping the car.
A bead of sweat rolled into her eye. She
clenched her eyelid closed and shook her head. A mild headache
flared.
It sounded like gravel crunching under the
tires moments before it stopped. She struggled to hold her breath
so she could listen to sounds from the outside.
The car door opened. She felt the weight
adjust as the driver got out. Her heart beat a rhythm in her ear
canal.
The trunk lid popped open. It remained an
inch above the lock until fingers slid through the crack and lifted
it.
She didn't know what to expect. Would he
shoot her in the trunk?
What she didn't expect was the flashlight.
The man standing there flicked one on, instantly blinding her.
"Never try to scream from the trunk again.
There are many ways to die. You don't want the messy, painful
ones."
Then a flash of lightning flared in her head
when she felt something like a brick hit her. The pain was almost
unbearable. Her whole face was on fire now. She couldn't help it.
She screamed in retaliation of the pain.
The other side of her face had bumped the
bottom of the trunk when the force of whatever hit her drove it
down. She had never known such pain in all her eighteen years.
A coppery taste was in her mouth. The taste
of blood. She opened her eyes. They still worked. Things would look
different if an eye socket or cheek bone were broken.
"Rules. That's one thing my brother taught
me. Follow the rules."
Rough hands grabbed her shirt and lifted her
up a little. Her arms and legs screamed in protest. She couldn't
suppress the moans that found their way out her throat.
His face was less than a foot from hers
now.
"I've broken a few rules for you already
today. You weren't the intended target. So I expect you to follow
the rules I set. Rule number one; no screaming. The next time you
scream for anybody, I'll teach you what screaming really is."
He shoved her backwards. Her head smacked
the back of the open trunk lid right where he'd removed the clump
of hair. She landed awkwardly on her arms, twisting her left elbow.
By the time she could think to right herself, he'd shut the trunk
lid.
In that moment, with the pain coursing
through every nerve, an odd thought struck her; what was rule
number two?
She could hear a cell phone ringing. Through
the thin metal of the trunk she heard him answer it.
"Hello."
Then a pause. She waited, straining to hear
more.
"Matt's dead...I know, but I got that girl
from six months ago...I have no idea why she was there...this is so
fucked up...what am I going to do without Matt. I've never done
this alone."
She heard his voice decrease in volume. He
was moving away from her.
"That's just it...where do you want me to
dump her body?"
Then he was too far away.
She curled into a ball and wept.
The car door slammed shut moments later and
they were moving again.
Sarah cried in the darkness until she fell
asleep.
Then she opened her mouth to scream. Her
captor was stupid, she thought. He didn't gag her.
"Help!" She yelled. She could tell it
wouldn't be heard too well outside the trunk of a moving car. She
started to feel her lungs starving. Panting and gasping for air,
she struggled harder and tried to scream again. Nothing much higher
than a nasal screech came out.
Rapid breaths from her nose weren't enough
to sate her lungs. She started to feel light headed.
What did I get myself into? The
reality of the situation hit her like a head-on collision. She was
tied up in a trunk. A victim of a kidnapper, or worse. And she'd
just killed someone.
Deeper breathing was keeping her awake. She
had to stay alert. The weight of the situation felt too heavy to
carry.
The car hit a bump in the road. Her shoulder
flared up in pain making her wince.
She wished she could pull. Find some hair in
a sensitive spot and drag it out slowly. That would help to calm
her down. She needed to get untied so she could pull.
The engine started to wind down. Either he
was approaching a traffic light or he was stopping the car.
A bead of sweat rolled into her eye. She
clenched her eyelid closed and shook her head. A mild headache
flared.
It sounded like gravel crunching under the
tires moments before it stopped. She struggled to hold her breath
so she could listen to sounds from the outside.
The car door opened. She felt the weight
adjust as the driver got out. Her heart beat a rhythm in her ear
canal.
The trunk lid popped open. It remained an
inch above the lock until fingers slid through the crack and lifted
it.
She didn't know what to expect. Would he
shoot her in the trunk?
What she didn't expect was the flashlight.
The man standing there flicked one on, instantly blinding her.
"Never try to scream from the trunk again.
There are many ways to die. You don't want the messy, painful
ones."
Then a flash of lightning flared in her head
when she felt something like a brick hit her. The pain was almost
unbearable. Her whole face was on fire now. She couldn't help it.
She screamed in retaliation of the pain.
The other side of her face had bumped the
bottom of the trunk when the force of whatever hit her drove it
down. She had never known such pain in all her eighteen years.
A coppery taste was in her mouth. The taste
of blood. She opened her eyes. They still worked. Things would look
different if an eye socket or cheek bone were broken.
"Rules. That's one thing my brother taught
me. Follow the rules."
Rough hands grabbed her shirt and lifted her
up a little. Her arms and legs screamed in protest. She couldn't
suppress the moans that found their way out her throat.
His face was less than a foot from hers
now.
"I've broken a few rules for you already
today. You weren't the intended target. So I expect you to follow
the rules I set. Rule number one; no screaming. The next time you
scream for anybody, I'll teach you what screaming really is."
He shoved her backwards. Her head smacked
the back of the open trunk lid right where he'd removed the clump
of hair. She landed awkwardly on her arms, twisting her left elbow.
By the time she could think to right herself, he'd shut the trunk
lid.
In that moment, with the pain coursing
through every nerve, an odd thought struck her; what was rule
number two?
She could hear a cell phone ringing. Through
the thin metal of the trunk she heard him answer it.
"Hello."
Then a pause. She waited, straining to hear
more.
"Matt's dead...I know, but I got that girl
from six months ago...I have no idea why she was there...this is so
fucked up...what am I going to do without Matt. I've never done
this alone."
She heard his voice decrease in volume. He
was moving away from her.
"That's just it...where do you want me to
dump her body?"
Then he was too far away.
She curled into a ball and wept.
The car door slammed shut moments later and
they were moving again.
Sarah cried in the darkness until she fell
asleep.
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