First Visions: Second Sight Book One

Chapter Nineteen

As Kate opened her eyes, she wondered if she had been run over by a truck. Her entire body felt paralyzed and the pounding in her head made her speculate that her brain was about to explode. She was lying on her left side and felt cold concrete against her bare arms. Although she felt her eyes were opened, all her surroundings were still steeped in darkness. A groan sounded from her throat and she heard a shifting sound nearby.

She attempted to move, but found it impossible. Her hands were secured behind her back and she couldn't get control over them. Shaking her arms, she felt the dangle of handcuffs on her wrists. When she tried to flex her legs, she was startled to discover her ankles were bound as well. It felt like some type of tape was wrapped around her legs. Pushing against the tape to try and loosen it proved fruitless.

After scraping her elbows against the concrete, she was finally able to get into a sitting position. Being upright did nothing to help orient her. It was so dark wherever she was, she could barely make out the outline of her own body. She swallowed hard and attempted to yell. "Help." Her voice was meek and it was barely a whisper.

Drawing her breath, she was about to call out again when a voice from the shadows whispered urgently, "Don't yell, he said he'll kill us."

Kate thought for a second she was having another psychic vision. It threw her off balance to hear Cori's voice in person and not inside her mind. "Cori? Is it really you?" she asked with awe in her voice.

"Yeah, who are you?"

Kate blew out a long breath of air. The haze was clearing from her mind and she was beginning to sense the horror of her predicament. A part of her wanted to sink back to the floor and cry hysterically. She was in the terrible basement from her visions and probably would end up killed by the crazy man who had abducted Cori. After taking a moment to calm herself, she resolved to pull it together. It wouldn't help either of them for her to freak out. At the very least, she had to remain strong to keep Cori from growing more fearful.

"My name is Kate, I'm a friend of your sister's....er, boyfriend." No need to get into semantics at the moment and mention she had been horizontal with Jared only a few hours earlier.

Following the sound of Cori's voice, she scooted on her bottom towards her. On closer inspection, she was able to barely make out the girl's blond hair through the darkness. Cori had her back against the concrete wall of the basement and sat with her knees drawn to her chest in a fetal position. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm hungry and I want to go home," Cori sobbed. "My hands hurt, he keeps them tied up."

"Has he done anything to you? Has he been feeding you?" Kate demanded urgently.

"He keeps me locked in here all day long. He had my feet tied up, too, but they got all purple and he cut them loose. When it isn't so dark in here, I'm able to walk around. At night, it's too scary to move. Some days he gives me food, but not always."

She sounded very tired and terrified. Weeks had gone by since Cori was taken. Kate felt guilty over the fact she'd been warm and comfy in her own bed and eating like a glutton during the time that Cori had been suffering.

Cori meekly added, "He's been acting real crazy the last few days, screaming and throwing things. Something must've gotten him real mad."

Kate had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as Cori relayed this information. A few days ago, Kate's involvement was revealed and the sketch she drew of him published in the local papers. She wondered if he had been stalking her movements and that was how he came upon her outside of the house. Maybe he had decided to get rid of her before she could reveal any more information about him.