The Hostage

Prologue

Eileen was waiting in the family living room for her brother Damon to turn up. She was all dressed up in her fluffy panda pyjamas.  Her dark brown wavy hair was tied up in a bun and she laid on the couch, with her legs stretched out and a bowl of popcorn at the ready. Eileen was only fifteen and her brother was thirty but it didn't stop the two of them from enjoying movie night together where they watched Damon's movies he created for his university masters course.

Tonight he was going to show her his latest piece that won first place in the university competition for 'best animation'. It was a short movie called 'heart songs'. All Damon told Eileen was that the movie was about a lady who finds herself in a land where songs for the hearts are created for people to live. Damon told her it had a similar style and story to the ones from Studio Ghibli in Japan but had his own personal elements like his own songs that he created from scratch. 

"Next week we can go in my friend's yacht before the holidays end and we can hopefully go to the places that inspired me. I looked up the path the yacht would go and it will be passing some of them." Damon had told her as he dropped her home from school before driving off to his university to attend his final class. That was the last thing Damon said to her that day.

It's been almost two hours... Eileen thought to herself after she looked at the clock. I wonder where he is. I hope he is still coming and didn't get caught up in traffic or work...

Eileen pulled out her mobile phone and dialled Damon's personal mobile number. The phone rang out. There was some soft thumping noises coming down the stairs. A few minutes later Eileen's mother Jane came in. Her appearance was similar to Eileen's except she started having a few wrinkles on her face and a few grey strands started coming through.. 

"Hasn't Damon come yet?" Jane asked Eileen curiously as feelings of worry began to creep in.

"No. He hasn't. He promised he would and it's been two hours...he's usually early or let's me know if he is late. I haven't heard from him though." Eileen told her mother, trying to hide the worry and disappointment in her voice.

Jane looked at the clock then to Eileen, a deep sigh escaping her lips. "You have soccer practice tomorrow. Get some sleep, I'll wait up for him and let him know you went to bed. He'll understand." 

Eileen nodded, feelings of disappointment began to overwhelm her. It was not like Damon to be late. Deciding not to wait up as she began to nod off to sleep, Eileen made her way up the stairs, her hands gripping to the handrail as she struggled to pull herself up step by step.

When Eileen was out of sight, Jane saw her husband Dan walk down the stairs. "Damon came late?" he asked as he scanned the room for a sign of his son.

"He hasn't turned up. He usually does. I'm worried, I haven't heard from him." Jane confessed. She sat down on the chair next to the home phone, her head turned to the door waiting for Damon to come through. "What should we do?"

Dan picked up the phone and dialled the police. "Hello? I would like to report a missing person."

The next day after her afternoon soccer practice Eileen saw her dad waiting for her by the car, appearing stern and dark that day. Eileen felt uneasy as she got in the car and looked at her dad, who hadn't said a word. 

"Dad  you're scaring me. Is everything okay?" Eileen asked her father as she saw her father's face look stone cold like a statue in a cemetery.

"Eileen...there's something I have to tell you." Dan told his daughter after taking a deep breath, resting his stern expression towards Eileen a little.

"Is it Damon? Did he turn up? Is he okay?" Eileen asked her father, wondering what was on his mind that made him look cold. Her father would only make that face when something serious involving her or the family is involved. This was one of those times.