STALKED AND STOLEN

Chapter 4

Time seemed to tick by slowly as I rolled back and forth in the back of what I guessed was a van. I felt every bump and turn in the road. I kept hearing muffled voices, but nothing clear.
The tape around my mouth loosed with the wetness of my tears, and I could taste the saltiness of my own sweat between my lips. I kept trying to pull my hands apart, and my feet, until I held my breath so long I almost passed out.
I sucked warm air into my lungs through the fabric bag, trying desperately to get any air I could, but it only made me panic more. My heard sped up and with every passing minute my breaths became shallower. I thrashed around like a fish out of water, unable to bear the claustrophobic feeling any longer. But I quickly stopped dead still again when I felt strong fingers grasp around my arm.
“Calm down,” he said. I could tell it was the second man by his raspy voice.
All I could think about was not being able to breathe. I felt trapped, like my head had been shoved under water and held there against my will. I couldn’t keep calm, as he so nicely asked, I felt I was dying.
I let out a sound that resembled a dying cat, and I felt his grip tighten.
“Calm down and I will remove the bag,” he said. He was close. I felt hyper aware of all my surroundings, and I knew he was there, hovering above me, closer than comfortable.
Everything in my body told me to scream and punch and kick and wriggle, but I was on the verge of passing out, and that’s the last thing I ever wanted in my situation.
I hold my breath and keep my body as still as the dead. My tears streaming down the sides of my face and into my ears.
“Right. I’m going to remove the bag, you have to stay calm or it’s going straight back on. I can’t be bothered with all that shouting and screaming. Got it?” he said.
I did my best at a nod, my lungs ready to explode. I felt the bag slide up up my face and off my head. Although there wasn’t a breeze, I felt the cool air hit my face like a slap. My surroundings at first blasted my eyes like I had stared straight at the sun, but in reality, when my eyes adjusted, the back of the van was dimly lit. I lie like a stuff plank of wood, my long hair soaked and matted against my face.
When I blinked and opened my eyes, I stared straight back into another set. His eyes were rather striking, a lightening blue colour surrounded by thick, black lashes.
I huffed and puffed through the now wet tape that did its best at clinging to my skin, and I shuffled my body away from him like a seal. He didn’t move. He stayed kneeling on one knee, an arm hung lazily over his other one. He looked like something from a video game. Tall, wide shoulders, dark aura.
“Breathe,” he said. “You want the tape off?”
I pressed down on my elbows and pushed myself up into a seated position, nodding frantically.
“You can’t scream, got it?”
I nodded again and he slowly reached out. My heart pounded against my ribcage. He gripped the side of the tape from my cheek, and pulled without hesitation. I expected to feel a sting, or a pull, or something, but the tape was too wet for that. It flapped around in his hand like a wet fish, before he balled it up and tossed it into a bag in to corner.
I suck in large, lungs full of cold air. It felt like heaven, like breaking the surface of the ocean after being held down for so long. Blue eyes stayed in his kneeling position, staring at me intently, like he was studying a creature from the unknown wild. He narrowed his eyes, tilted his head, then stood up and walked to the front, mumbling something to the driver.
With his back to me my eyes scanned every inch of my surroundings. I desperately hoped there’d be a window I could leap out of, even though my hands and feet were still tied. Maybe the two large back doors would open.
Everything looked dull, the only light source was the moon that shined through the front windscreen. A dark blue carpet had been fitted to the floor of the van, which I was sitting on, and in the corner was a large blue box and to the side, two large holdall bags. Next to that the bag which he’d thrown the tape into.
Time seemed to drag slowly. Minutes really did feel like hours. Hours felt like days. Finally , the van did pull to a stop, knocking me sideways. I caught my fall with my elbow and pushed myself back up. My breathing had calmed dramatically, but my body felt on high alert. I leaned forward in an attempt to look out the front window, but I didn’t see anything but darkness.
Mr blue eyes turned and walked towards me. I pulled myself further back into the corner until I was pressed against the interior wall. Behind him, out stepped Mister Evil.
Me against two large men, I was doomed. They stood side by side near the centre of the van like a solid wall, staring at me like I was a giant, walking germ.
“How we gunna play this, then?” Evil asked. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked to his right. “I don’t fancy being on Princess duty. I’ve got the rest of the stuff to sort out.”
“So, I guess that’s me then?” Blue eyes huffed. He held both arms out at his sides, irritated with his fellow kidnapper.
Mister evil snorted, and punched him in the arm.
"This shouldn't take longer than a few days," Evil said, leaning into blue eyes. I didn’t know if that meant I’d be home in a few days, or if it meant I’d be dead. Mister evil smirked behind his mask. He walked back to the front of the van, climbed over the seats and pulled down a black shutter that blocked all incoming outside light.
I stared up at blue eyes, every muscle in my body stiff. The only light we had now was the two artificial lights on the ceiling. I pressed my back against the wall and whimpered like a dog. He took large strides towards me with his long legs, and dipped his hand inside the pocket of his pants. He pulled out a small, sharp flick knife and I started to cry. There was nowhere to run, nothing I could do. I hid my face behind my hands and prayed it wouldn’t hurt.