Force You Down

Chapter Five

Jacklyn

I'm being jostled around in the back around of the van. I've been trying to use my saliva to loosen the duct tape on my mouth, and it's slowly working. We've been driving for ten minutes and I don't know how much time I have to get free out of this damn tape.

Finally the duct tape falls off one cheek and I use my shoulder to pull the duct tape off completely. I laugh in success and immediately start biting the tape on my wrists. It takes a good two minutes to wriggle out of it, and once I'm out I squeeze my hands to get the circulation back. I easily pull the duct tape off of my ankles and I pat myself on the back.

I scoot to the back of the van to see if I could find a latch on the door to open it. Judging by the movement of the van, there's a lot of traffic, which means frequent and long stops. Perfect.

I finally find a latch on the door but I'm not sure if it will open the door. Music is blaring through the van so if I open the door and run out they probably won't hear me.

I wait until we come to a complete stop and quickly pull on the latch, and I want to scream in happiness when it squeaks open. I peer out in the bright light and see the person stopped in front of me staring at me in shock. Without wasting time, I bolt out of the van and start running on the lane divider through traffic. After I pass a few cars I start to run on the sidewalk as fast as I can, thankful that I knew where I was.

Mike shouldn't have gotten cocky and left the van unlocked. He shouldn't have underestimated me, because I've got to admit, my survival tactics are pretty damn good. A huge smile forms on my face when I imagine the rage on his face when he realizes I'm not in the back of the van anymore.

I'm not much of a runner, but I didn't stop sprinting until I got home, where I saw Allan's car parked in the driveway. I jog up to the porch and am confused when I see the door ajar. I walk inside, where I can hear Allan throwing things around and screaming my name. Extremely out of breath and legs shaking, I take two deep breaths and yell for him. Allan stumbles down the stairs frantically, and when he spots me he runs to me and tackles me in a hug.

"Where did you go? I was so worried!" He sounds angry and I'm still trying to regain my breath.

"Mike kidnapped me." I huff out, and Allan pulls away and looks at me strangely.

"When I got out of the shower he was waiting for me on my bed. He threw me over his shoulder and he's ridiculously strong so I couldn't do anything. He threw me in the back of a van and duct taped my mouth, wrists, and ankles. I managed to get out of the duct tape and the stupid bastard got cocky and left the van unlocked. I could tell that there was lot of traffic so I waited until we were stopped and found a latch on the door, so I jumped out and sprinted away until I got home." I say in-between breaths. Allan looks shocked and proud.

He grins, "Outsmarted that fucker twice in two days, I'm proud of you lil sis." But his grin twists into a frown. "But I should've been here to protect you."

I shake my head. "I'm okay Allan, and you needed your school supplies to do your work. You're here now, so don't worry about it." I can tell he wants to protest but he stops himself.

"Okay, the cops should be here any minute, so help me clean up a little? I kinda trashed the place looking for you." I nod, and together we clean the downstairs quickly. By the time we finish there's a knock on the door.

"Perfect timing." Allan mutters under his breath and I follow him to the front door. Two men are standing outside in expensive suits.

"Are you Allan Cordy?" The taller one asks.

"Yes I am, and this is my sister Jacklyn." He gestures to me, and I nod at them with a smile.

"I'm Detective Bremerton, and this is my partner Detective Pallar." The taller introduces, and me and Allan takes turns shaking their hands. I lead them into the living room, where they sit on the couch across from Allan and I.

"So you had some intruders yesterday, is that right?" Detective Pallar asks, and I nod in confirmation.

"And I know this sounds crazy, but they just kidnapped me an hour before you got here." I say, my thumbs twiddling together. They both raise their eyebrows.

"Lets start from the beginning, yeah?" Detective Bremerton suggests, and I tell them everything, from when I was fifteen to today, and they both take notes throughout all of it, asking questions in-between. By the time I finish, Detective Pallar sit backs against the couch.

"A series of crazy events, is it not?" He says, and I shrug in agreement. They both stand up, and I shake hands with both of them.

"Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it." I thank them, them nodding and smiling in response. I show them out the door, locking it after it's closed. I walk back in the living and plop down on the couch.

"I've got assignments to do all day, but I don't want you out of my sight." Allan tells me, sounding tired.

"I'll read a book so I don't disrupt you." I say, and bolt up the stairs to my room to grab my book. I quickly shut and lock my window, pulling the curtains close.

Now that I think about it, I had no idea how Mikes managed to get into my house three times without doing any damage to anything.

I run back downstairs and sit on the couch from Allan.

"She was kidnapped today Mom. I'm tired of you not taking her safety seriously. We're lucky that she's clever and got away from him two times." Allan nearly yells into the phone angrily. He listens to what my mom says before continuing.

"No, I doubt that she wants to talk to you." He says and my eyes flicker from my book to him. I sit up and mark my page and watch him. He sighs in irritation and holds out the phone to me, giving me an exasperated look. I take from him and hold it to my ear, really not wanting to talk to my parents.

"Mom." I acknowledge shortly.

"Hi sweetie, how are you?" She says cheerfully, and I purse my lips.

"Shaken up."

"You didn't respond to me or your Dad's texts, why?"

"Didn't feel like it, and my kidnapper threw my phone out of my window earlier today so I can't respond anyways." I say in a monotone voice. I know what I said was disrespectful, but wouldn't you say the same if your parents put their work before you?

"Jacklyn, we really are glad you're okay... we'll be back on Monday." She trails off.

"Funny way of showing it. I'm done talking to you." I hang up the phone, knowing that Allan didn't want to talk her any longer. I hand him his phone back and we both sigh at the same time. It was only one o'clock.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, me finishing my book and starting another, Allan writing multiple essays.

By eight o'clock I close my book and eat some leftovers. I brush my teeth and get ready for bed, going back downstairs when I'm done.

"I'm going to bed." I inform Allan, and he nods, still typing away on his laptop.

"I'll be up in an hour." So with that I walk upstairs, my legs screaming in agony with every steps. I collapse onto my bed and curl up on one side of the bed, leaving the other side for Allan. I didn't want to sleep alone tonight, and he didn't want to leave me alone. Asleep, I didn't hear Allan come in and lay beside me.

I also didn't hear the raging tantrum Mike was throwing a city away.