“What guy?” I almost shriek, surprised at how calm she is now. She doesn’t look as petrified as when I saw her the first time. It’s almost as if she’s come to terms with what’s going to happen to us.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs her shoulders. “But I wouldn’t ask too many questions.”
Instinctively, she touches the bloodied part of her face, like a warning. I swallow heavily, realizing that I’m parched. I hesitate for a few seconds, remembering how drinking that coffee got me here in the first place, but I’m too thirsty to think rationally now. I open the water bottle, feeling the click of the cap. Hopefully, it hasn’t been tampered with, but I can’t be sure. I can’t be sure of anything right now, apart from my own thirst. I drink half of it in one go, leaving the rest for later.
“Do you know where we are?” I gaze longingly at the window.
“Somewhere out of town,” she replies, looking in the same direction. “You can hear birds chirping in the morning, but no cars. So, we can’t be in the city anymore.”
“Have you been out since you were here?”
“No,” she shakes her head. “Why would they let me out?”
She has a point and for a moment, I feel stupid asking. But I need to talk. I feel like the only thing preventing me from bursting into tears again is hearing this girl’s voice and talking to her.
“Sorry, I’m just trying not to go out of my mind,” she apologizes, with a soft, barely their smile. “I hope this won’t sound weird, but at least I’m not alone anymore.”
I know what she means. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to be in this room alone, for two days, having that guy come in only to bring her food and water. Horrifying.
“I cried the whole first day,” she continues. “I shouted and called for help. That guy came in and told me to stop, that I’m better off here than where I’m going, so I should enjoy it while I can.”
“Oh, God…” I gasp, feeling nauseous. “We aren’t getting out of this, are we?”
We lock eyes for a moment and neither of us says anything. The situation seems hopeless. We’re chained, in the middle of nowhere and no one knows where we are. No one knows where we’ll be taken.
“I’m getting out one way or another,” she suddenly tells me, lying down on the bed and turning away from me.
It’s slowly starting to get dark, but I’m not sleepy. I’m not sure if the girl is sleeping or not, but she obviously doesn’t want to talk any longer. I’m cold now and despite my initial disgust, I take the blanket that was underneath me and cover myself with it. It smells of moisture and sweat and I’m sure it’s not mine. My whole body craves a shower, as if the warm water would wash away all the fear. In a few hours, the room is completely dark. There is no light coming from anywhere. I gaze outside the window. Even the skies are pitch black. I see no moon. With eyes open or closed, it’s the same. I see no way out.
Chapter 5
“Come on, wake up!”
I hear someone shouting and I open my eyes. I can’t believe that I actually managed to fall asleep, but instead of feeling refreshed, I feel even more exhausted. My whole body aches. I quickly kick off the cover, fearing that the musty smell transferred onto my skin and clothes. I glance at the door and see David. He is waiting for us to get up. There is no food in his hands. The girl on the other bed is also awake. She is sitting upright, her hands in fists. She is sending daggers at the guy and I know how she feels.
He walks over to her first. He fumbles with her chains and I hear the sound of a metallic click. The chains drop to the ground, but her hands don’t move. There is another heavy bracelet around her wrists, rendering her chained, even though her legs are now free. I watch her intently to see what she will do, but she does nothing. She is just waiting.
David walks over to me and does the same. Then, he moves back to the door and instructs us to follow him. The girl stands up first, the chain sparkling around her reddened wrists like a promise bracelet she can’t get rid of. I know the feeling. I stand up, mirroring her actions and immediately, I feel dizzy. I feel like I’m about to faint, but I stand my ground. David gives me a questioning glance, but I look down.
“Let’s go,” he tells us.
I want to ask him where he’s taking us, but is there a point? Will he tell me even? Not like I can say no, anyway. I try to be indifferent. I try not to think about all the horrible things that might happen to me after I leave this room, but I can’t stop dwelling on them. Tears are ready to start rolling down my face and I’m surprised that there’s still more to come.
David waits until the girl goes out first, then me. He closes the door behind us and follows us as we walk down a long narrow hallway with no windows. There is only one door at the end and the girl stops when she reaches it. David goes to the front of the line and opens it.
Sunlight hits me hard and I have to squint at first, to let my eyes adjust to the brightness. It takes me a few seconds and dark blurs in front of me start to take shape. I see a dark van in front of us, parked on gravel. In the distance, there is a wooded area and a large uninhabited patch of land that seems like the wilderness, belonging to no one. I turn around and see that we were being held in some barn-like structure and I guess it was the basement, because the one window we had was higher than usual.
I’m happy and frightened at the same time. I’m out of that basement, but I’m still not free. These chains clanking around my wrists are heavy and I know that I can’t run away with them weighing me down. The girl next to me probably feels the same. I look at her and there is a blank stare in her eyes. It’s like she isn’t here any longer. She has left her body and her mind is back with her family and loved ones. I wish I could do the same, but the reality of the situation isn’t allowing me to do that. I’m too frightened, too defeated, too hopeless to be able to think about Vanessa and mom. Whenever I see their faces in my mind, a quiet voice in the back of my mind tells me to take a good look, because it’s the last time I will be seeing them. And, I believe it.
“Get in the van,” David tells us.
He is walking behind us, as we trot slowly to the back. I look around and for a moment, I consider running. But, where? We’re in the middle of nowhere and I’d be running straight into the woods. There are probably wild animals there, maybe even bear traps. What if I step into one? What if I get lost in the woods and starve to death? I try to listen to any sound of a passing car, but there is nothing but the chirping of the birds. I never hated that sound. In fact, I loved it. But now, it means that I’m doomed. We’re probably miles away from the nearest highway and I doubt I’d be able to run through the woods to get to it. My shoulders slump under the realization that I don’t dare run away. Silently, I enter the van and the door shuts behind us, with a clicking sound of a lock.
Neither me nor the girl talk during the trip. The road is bumpy and I have no idea how much time has passed when we finally make a stop. It feels like a whole lifetime of silence, bad choices and regret. The door opens and we are let out. It’s windy and cold, as I look around. We’re in the middle of nowhere again. I see the woods in the distance again and I’m not sure if it’s the same woods we saw a while back. There isn’t a road in sight. This is some off-road path, where these guys agreed to meet someone who is to take us off their hands. I shudder at the thought.
The girl and I huddle together for warmth and security, but we get neither. Still, the closeness of her body to mine offers me some kind of solace and it helps me not to burst into tears. But I know once I start crying, I will probably do it incessantly for hours and hours, until I cry out all my tears.
David is already outside with us and he is leaning through the open window back inside.