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Chapter Six

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my wrists were stuck together in front of me. My eyes were so heavy that I could barely manage to open them. I could not tell the difference between them being open or shut because either way all I could see was a coal-black darkness.

A cloth was wrapped around my face, trapping my mouth. Nausea sat in my belly, and at the base of my dry throat was a lump. It held a burning sensation as if someone had shoved sandpaper down it. I had a bad case of cottonmouth, a nasty taste sitting at the back of my tongue.

If there had been contents in my stomach, they certainly would have been all over me in mere seconds upon waking. A throb etched my skull, a migraine spreading so bad it felt like a heart beating in my head.

Scratchy carpet itched my skin as I tried to move my stiff body. A humming noise filled my ears, my body vibrating as it embraced me. My back ached, reminding me of my injury. I could feel a bandage stuck to my back, all the blood that had tainted my body missing.

Where am I?

My anatomy was still, but I could feel that I was moving. A pathetic, raspy croak was muffled by the cloth as I attempted to call out to ask if anyone could hear me. My vocals refused to work.

All at once my body flew up, my frail frame landing on my injured back as I was tossed around like a rag doll. The deep rumble of an engine accelerating made me realize that I lay in the trunk of a car.

Recollection of being chased by a man surfaced, sending me into a panic.

He got me. How did he get me? Why did he even want me?

A zip tie held my hands together with no slack; sore feet were tied together with a rope. Fingers felt around for the trunk latch to find that it was missing. I kicked random parts of the car with my bonded feet in anger, not knowing where I was even kicking.

I began to weep, feeling trapped in this suffocating trunk. It was never my nature to get in small spaces; they made me panic. Shoes that were too tight even made my skin crawl when I could not move my toes.

My nose was stuffed, leaving me only able to breathe in and out through my mouth. The cloth held my hot breath in, warm air meeting my lungs. I felt as if I was not getting enough air as my hot breath ricocheted back to me. It was almost as if the trunk started shrinking.

I am helpless. I am trapped. I am going to die.

I was never a positive person. My aunt would always say that would be my downfall. Anytime I would say something pessimistic, she would call me 'negative Nancy' for days. I hated when she would mock my words but I knew she was right. Ever since I lost the people I cared about the most, life did not exactly seem like rainbows and unicorns. If I thought of the worst in every situation, I would prepare for it. Well, as much as I could. Because right now, my mind would not allow me to. This 'situation' is different than the ones I am used to. It's not like I have ever been kidnapped.

My thought process and the reality of the circumstances became too much. I did not know where I was being taken or what was going to happen to me. I tried to speak again between panicked breaths.

"Can anyone hear me?" I whispered through the mask, hoarsely.

The knot that held the material to my mouth came undone from me continuously working on it. I gasped in the stale air. It was still better than breathing on my own.

My throat was so dry. I coughed unwillingly, my eyes watering. A cold sweat covered me even though I felt like I was a million degrees. My toes were cold, likely due to the lack of circulation from the tight ropes that squeezed my ankles.