TAKEN

“After long consideration, I have decided to publish my first book! It’s called Mystery of The Red River Killer! Ahh, I’m so excited!” I said before realizing millions of people could end up reading this. As my face turns white, I say, “No-no-no. I can’t publish this! There are no good plot people will think its trash.” Like everything I had hoped for now my biggest fear.

               “Hon you’ll be fine!” My mother reassured me, “I’ve read it, you’ve got it all, Romance, Horror, a Happy Ending. Everything a good book should have!”

               “You just have to say that you’re my mom! And don’t you dare say well it’s the truth because you have to say that too!”

               “That conversation was three years ago. So much has changed for one I am in the process of publishing a book, a book based on what happened to me after I published my first book ‘Lonely’ a lot happened.” I said hesitantly worried to open up about my past, “Well for starters I was, as you could say Lonely, some kids thought it would be funny to somewhat recreate what had happened to Julie, the girl in my book, happen to me. This is why my next book ‘Taken’ is based on my story. Thank you, everyone, for coming!” As I walk off the stage I am greeted by people when my mom stops me.

“Hon that was great I am so happy you decided to take up writing again after all that bad feedback! This next book is even greater than the first it really shows how much you’ve grown as a writer, as an author!”

               I walk away from my mom feeling as confident as ever getting ready to I sit at the table ready to sign books, I see the people who kidnapped me three years ago after I published my first book. Then everything goes blank and I start getting flashes of the past, from when I was taken.

               “Hey, you’re that gal who wrote ‘Lonely’ aren’t ya?” The first guy asks

               “Um, Yes! Do you want me to sign something or something?” I asked even though I’m in a rush.

               “Actually yeah, It’s over here by our truck.” The second guy says He has a missing tooth and messy hair like in my book, The same truck too!

               “I should really be going,” I say very nervously.

               “Oh, why Darlin was just getting started!” A third man appears and tries to grab me, I use the moves I learned in Elementary school, Pepper eyes, and kick em low, then run! “Augh!”

               “Hey, you stop there!” He yells as he chases after me.

               “HELP, HELP, HELP ME!” I scream but no one seems to notice. Next thing I know a bag is over my head and I’m in the back of a moving truck.

               ‘What do I do? What do I do?’ I try to hear if the guys are back here with me but its just silent, so I try to take off the bag. Once I get it off I see that one of the guys is back here with me only he looks beaten up and is sleeping. “Ok ok let’s see there’s a piece of glass there so I can try and cut these ropes off!” I mutter very quietly. As I start cutting, I hear the truck come to a stop. I hurry and try to put the bag over my head put the piece of glass in the ropes and act passed out.

               “Wyatt! Wyatt wake up!” One of the men yells.

               “I’m up I’m up ok! Who’s bringing her inside and what are we doing to her?” Wyatt has a slight hesitation and fear in the way he talks. I can sense them looking at me but if I move, they’ll know I’m awake.

               “I’ll bring her inside ya wusses!” I’m assuming that’s the third guy I came into contact with, “and for what we're doing with her why don’t we do somewhat what she wrote about but with a little twist.” He says with a little laugh.

               He picks me up and starts walking, about 20 paces. I find a small hole in the bag and try to see where I am. It’s a modern suburban house but with gates all around the property. I look for the other men and don’t see them. They set me down on what feels like a bed gently and then they leave. There’s whispering outside the door but I can’t pick up anything. I start to take off the bag when the door creaks open. I don’t move.

               “Hey, it’s, a, me Wyatt. I know you're awake. Don’t worry I’m not here to hurt you.” He says with a very calm voice, “Come on Cassie, you can trust me!” I don’t know if I can so I stay frozen. “The others want to do what happened to Julie in your book happen to you, and you and I both know what that means.” He pauses, “I’m sorry but they said If I didn’t wake you, they’d make me do some wrong stuff.” He starts to take the bag off and I shut my eyes, how do I know I can trust him? I ask myself. He starts taking off the ropes I had on, the ropes that were hiding the glass. “See you can trust me, and I know you’re awake I found the glass. Please don’t make me do this to you.” He whispers in my ear, “If you don’t open your eyes, I’m going to have to do some bad stuff I don’t want to do!” He says as he starts to take off my shoes, then my cardigan, and starts to unzip my dress.

               “Ok, ok I’m up!” I say. I look at him as he takes a breath of relief, he doesn’t want to be doing this. “Please don’t do this! Please!” I say with tears in my eyes.

               “I promise that I will do whatever I can to not but if I disobey to many times, they might figure us out.”

               “Figure us out? What do you mean? I’m the one who was kidnapped here, you, you helped them there is no us!” I start to say loud than go into a whisper.

               “If that’s how you feel I can leave the room and let Parker come in ooh or maybe I should let Donald in. You know the one who said what we should do with ya. Yeah, I’m sure he is just dying to come in and do some things you don’t want to happen. I am the boss here. I decide who gets to come in so if you would really rather have Parker or Donald than be my guest just know I warned you!” He says starting to get angry and heads towards the door.

               “Ok! Ok! I’ll do what you want just please please don’t hurt me!” I say crying.

               He turns around and says “That’s what I thought.” He picks me up and gets on the bed with me, he places my head on his shoulder and his head on mine, his long curly hair gets in my face and I just sit there. “You know Cassie, you really are magnificent.” He says then kisses my forehead. We lay there for quite some time and my arm is starting to fall asleep. I move my arm just a little bit and he says “Wow you couldn’t even last twenty minutes.”

               “No, no, my arm was just falling asleep and getting hurt and I didn’t know if you were asleep and didn’t want to wake you! I’m sorry!” I say getting more nervous by the second.

               “I’m just joking.” He says with a laugh. He then looks me in the eyes, his eyes a deep blue pop with his dirty blonde curly hair and tan skin. “I’m going to have to leave soon or the boys will get mad, and could take it out on you. None of them have read your book beside me which means I can lie to them about what happens. What would you like to happen?”

               “Well I would like to be let go, I would like to have food and water, access to a bathroom, and no dirty business!” I try to think of what else I would ‘like’ to happen to me,” I would like new clothes, a new phone, speaking of which where is mine? I would also like some tampons and pads, a window I can open, a puppy, a journal, shoes, umm I think that’s it.” He looks perplexed when I’m done like he wanted me to say I wanted to be hit ten times, stabbed five times, like what did you expect?

               “Umm, well I can’t just let you go, you’ll get food water and a bathroom, there are pads and tampons in there, the closet is full of clothes, your phone was taken when you tripped and no you can’t get a new one, umm” he tries to think of what else I asked for, “ you have a window, you will get a journal, shoes are in the closet, and I’ll see what I can do about a pet. You know I need you to tell me exactly from your book you don’t want to happen!”

               “like I said no dirty business, I don’t want to be shot, I don’t want to be in near death, I don’t even want to be touched or seen by anyone but you know by what you're saying I have to pick what is going to happen while I’m kidnapped,” I say very extremely frustrated.  “I just want to go home, see my mom, drink a coffee, do normal things.” I say now balling my eyes out, “I also need allergy medicine and pain killers!”

               “Ok, ok, we’ll get you your meds ok.” He says now giving me a hug, “Don’t worry I won’t let them hurt you badly. Hopefully not at all.” He says extremely nervous and understanding. As I cry, I doze off.

               I sit down at the table getting ready to sign the books. I take a drink of water and bam there I see Parker. Parker went to jail for two and a half years, I thought it should’ve been more but I’m not the law.

               “Hi! Yes, who would you like this to go out to? Suzi oh what a pretty name. Thank you for coming!” I greet and sign until he is only two people away. The man who had me go to the truck and the one who hurt me first. As I see him, I start to get a flashback.

               I wake up its not a dream, I’m in a room I’ve never seen before. There’s a man lying next to me, it looks like Wyatt. Nervous to move I sneak out of the bed and try not to make any floorboards creak. I get to the door and try to open it, surprisingly it's unlocked. I go out and see the other two men in the other room. Quickly thinking I go the opposite way of all the men, towards the bathroom. Looking around I see that this window has no bars and tries to get out.

               “She’s gone!” I hear Wyatt yell!

               “You let her go! You imbecile!” I assume it is Donald. As they argue I try to quietly and quickly sneak through the window, which is barely big enough for me to fit through. “You go check upstairs, I’ll check downstairs and Parker you check outside and around here.” I’m literally so close to being out the window when I hear doors opening.

               “Come on C you got this” I mumble

               “Yeah C you got this!” It’s Parker! He starts pulling my feet back in through the window.

               “Ahh! Ow!” I scream. I’m getting cut up by all the wood and nails.

               “Come on Cassie. Just come back in. No one’s going to hurt you. I promise.” I start kicking and screaming “You little...” he lets go of me and I fall out the window. I stand up and run, I run as far as I can.

               “Ahh. Let go of me!” He grabs my leg and I fall to the floor, “Let go of me you bastard!” He starts dragging me back to the house.

               “I got her! Oh, Cassie SHUT UP!”

               “Hi C.” It's him. He’s really here what do I say?

               “What are you doing here?!”

               “Oh, I can’t come to a book signing when the next book is about me?” I give him the worst look I possibly can.

               “No, not when you’re the villain, or in this case on of the kidnappers!” I want him to leave! How do I get him to leave?

               “Well, are ya going to sign my book?” Do I have to? I should call security.

               “Um, yeah. There. You can go now. Buh-Bye.” Finally relieved he’s gone I look up and he’s still there. “Can I help you?”

               “You know you could be a little nicer to me. You know I’m the one who didn’t let D shoot you.” I blackout and have another flashback.

                              I get inside and he yells “I got her! She almost escaped because of you Wyatt! You know what she called me? She called me a bloody bastard.”

               “It’s not my fault you guys didn’t hear her when she opened the door… What did you do to her? She’s all scratched up, and bleeding!”

               “She tried escaping through the bathroom window and I tried getting her back and I guess she got cut.”

               “You know I’m right here!” I say regretting immediately after.

               “Hey! Hey! You shut your mouth now!” Donald has come into the room and is yelling at me; he’s holding a gun and aiming it at me.

               “Hey D, calm down ok. No need to shoot no need to shoot. She’s just scared!” Parker is trying to help me with why I don’t know.

               “Move now Parker. Or I swear to God I will kill you. I’ll kill you right now.”

               “Ok, ok, I’ll move just don’t kill her.” I blink as I hear a shot fired. I look and Parker jumped in front of me and is bleeding.

               “Oh, oh my gods he’s bleeding. You shot him? He needs to go to the hospital! Call an ambulance.” No one is moving. “Hey give me your shirt we need to stop the bleeding. Gosh dang, it someone give me their shirt!” Wyatt takes off his shirt, I break it in half. Tie the first one above the top of the wound and the other over the wound. “You need to take him to the hospital or he will die!”

               “You know I’m the one who saved you! Not the other way around you got it now I would like you to leave now or else I will call security!”

               “All right hon I’ll leave.” He walks away and I continue to sign the books. There is no way I will ever fully recover from that trauma.

               Thank you all for coming and that is the end of my book reading!