Taken

by Sarah Jayne Harry

  We spend the next couple of hours, talking about school work and boys.

  "So, how are you and Josh?" she asks with a smirk, and I know what she's really asking.

  "Josh and I are very well, thank you very much." I poke my tongue out at her but that only makes her pout.

  "Aww come on, give me some details." she begs.

  I laugh and shake my head, "There are no details to give." I say to her. I am only 16 years old, I am in no way ready to start having a sex life like she is, "Don't worry, you'll be the first to know when there is." I grin and she doesn't ask anything further.

  "Oh, whatever happened with Tommy? I never asked." I cover my ears just in time as she lets out a high-pitched squeal.

  "Well, I told you we danced at the party?" I nod my head, "Well, we danced together for nearly an hour. He kept getting me drinks too. Anyway, it was just past midnight and we went outside for some air." she gets that dreamy look in her eyes again and now it's my turn to smirk.

  "And?" I ask when she goes silent.

  "Oh, sorry." she laughs, "So, we were sitting on the porch, talking, nobody else is around. With the stars glistening in the sky and a gentle breeze, it felt so romantic. Then," she squeals again, "we kissed. He kissed me. It happened so fast, I was so surprised. He is a fantastic kisser." she grins at me.

  "That's awesome." I tell her, "So what now? Are you going to see him again?" her face falls slightly and she shrugs her shoulders.

  "I don't know, he left shortly after. We didn't exchange numbers or anything, he just said he would see me later.”

  "Well, I'm sure you'll see him again. I mean, you do have one class with him." I tell her.

  “You’re right. I do.” she grins.

  Ten minutes later and I'm standing at the front door saying goodnight. It’s almost 11 pm and I need to get home.

  ✽✽✽

  Outside, the sky is dark and the night is cold. I wrap my arms around myself as I start the walk back to my house.

  This time, I take my time making the journey. With the fresh, sea air blowing gently across my face, the shining moon high in the sky, the stars sparkling and the only noise is the sound of your breathing, there's no better time to be outside than this and I enjoy every second of it. It's one of the few things I enjoy, perfect for when you want to be alone with your thoughts.

  As I walk, I think of how I am going to tell my parents that I'm being followed by a mysterious stranger. Mum, always the calm one, will ask a lot of questions. Dad, however, tends to get angry first and ask questions later. Whichever way I tell them, it won't end well. I just need to get it over and done with so we can try to catch this creep and I can get back to my life.

  I'm just turning the corner that joins our streets together when I get that feeling again. Something doesn’t feel right. I look around and again see nothing, but the feeling of unease only grows. I quickly walk the distance that separates the two streets. There are no houses here, it's nothing but a large, empty piece of land. There is only one streetlight nearby so it's almost pitch black.

  Not a moment later and I hear a noise, like car tyres screeching on the road in the distance. I don't have time to wonder what's happening because, all of a sudden, a white van quickly comes speeding around the corner and screeches to a halt in front of me and then the doors at the back open.

  I have just turned onto my street and as I am debating whether or not I should cross over to the other side of the road, something stops me in my tracks. In front of me, I notice a familiar figure walking towards me and I start to panic.

  It's him.

  I turn around to go back to Karen's house since it's the closest of our houses, and almost collide with a second man who’s standing right behind me. Where did he come from? He's looking down at me with an ugly grin on his face.

  I quickly move to the right and sidestep him, taking off back the way I came. It works only for a second and then a hand grips my arm tightly and I'm suddenly pulled backwards, I would have gone down if not for the pair of arms that catch me and trap me to their chest, holding me so I can't move.

  Just as I'm about to scream, a small cloth is placed over my nose and mouth, there's a slight sweet smell to it. I struggle to free myself as breathing gets harder and a few minutes later I start to feel sleepy. I know I've been drugged. I try to keep my eyes open, to stay awake, but it's no good, soon my eyes close and everything goes black.

  CHAPTER 6

  When my eyes open, it takes a minute to remember what happened. I try to move but my hands are bound at the wrist by rope so tight that it burns into my skin. Not knowing what else to do, I do the next logical thing, I scream as loud as my lungs allow, hoping someone will hear. A few seconds later though, a piece of cloth is tied around my mouth, cutting off my screams.

  I look up along the arm that put it there. It's him, the man who's been following me. I start screaming at him, telling him to let me go, of course, it’s all muffled by the gag in my mouth so only incoherent words come out. I decide to conserve my energy in case there is a way to escape later on.

  I look again at the man in front of me. His skin is tanned and smooth, his dark hair falls down to his ears and he has the most beautiful light brown eyes. My eyes drift further down to his chest, I can see the subtle muscles bulging under his t-shirt.

  I look up at his face again to find him staring at me with a smirk. I quickly look away, letting my eyes rest on the space between my feet. A few seconds later and I get jerked forward and I realise I still don't know where I am. I take that moment to look around my surroundings. I know I'm in the back of a van, we must have gone over a bump in the road. There's nothing in here except a small bench attached to the side, which my kidnapper is sitting on. There's some rope in one corner but that's it.

  Up in front, I can see two more guys. The one driving has a shaved head and an earring in his left ear. I can just about see the man in the passenger seat. He has short, cropped hair, dark eyes, dark features and a scar running from the corner of his mouth to just under his eye and a few other small scars on his cheek. He turns and looks at me then and I shrink back, his eyes are full of anger and he has a constant frown on his face. This is not someone you should mess with, he's terrifying.

  I try to look out of the front window, hoping to see something to indicate where I am, but all I can see is the tops of trees and the dark sky. I try to think but I don’t know anywhere with this many trees.

  Suddenly, I find I really need to pee. I don't know if they'll stop and let me out or make me go in a bottle, either way, I can't wait much longer. I try and talk to my kidnapper, hoping he'll understand. After a few minutes of ignoring me, he groans and rips off my gag.

  "What do you want!" I flinch at his tone and bite my lip before speaking.

  "I need to pee." I tell him quietly. He stares at me for a minute before looking around the floor of the van before sighing, then he leans over to the driver and says something that I can't hear. A minute later and I feel the van come to a stop.

  "You got two minutes, don't try anything." he grabs my arm and pushes me outside the van. Standing a few feet behind me, he waits. I walk to the tree line and pull my jeans down and relax my body. I take a second to look around. We have stopped on a long stretch of road surrounded by trees that go on for miles.

  As I pull my jeans back up, a thought comes to mind. I wonder if my parents have noticed I am missing yet, surely they know, I was only supposed to be at Karen's for a little while, they would wonder where I am. I decide these men can't take me any further, I have to escape. As I walk back to the van, a plan forms in my mind.

  "Hurry up, will ya." the man shouts, his eyes look back and forth down the road, probably looking out for any cars that may pass.

  As I get back to the van and stand next to him, I act quickly. As hard as I can, I knee him in the groin, and as he crouches over in pain, I make a run for it. I head into the trees, staying parallel to the road and run as fast as I can.

>   I can hear their shouts close by and I know I need to go faster but it’s difficult to run in the dark with tied hands. I dodge between trees and jump over roots sticking up out of the ground. My legs quickly start to ache but I carry on.

  I run a little further before something slams into my back. I fall down hard, landing awkwardly on my wrist. My head slams into the ground and everything goes fuzzy. There's a man kneeling next to me. The one with the scars, Scarface, I'll call him, seems only fitting. I try to catch my breath as I'm pushed into the ground, I feel the rope as it gets knotted around my ankles and then I'm lifted and thrown over his shoulder. I try to kick at him and punch his back but my wrist burns from the movement and I realise I've probably fractured something.

  I'm thrown into the van with a thud and the door is slammed shut. A minute later, Scarface gets back into his seat and we start moving again. I use my legs to sit up against the other side of the van away from the man with beautiful eyes. I can feel the hatred coming off of him as he holds his groin and fidgets uncomfortably, there is his usual smirk in place on his face though, as if he enjoyed what just happened.

  "I told you not to try anything." he says, "Now you got a nasty cut on your head that's going to scar. You're not going to be pretty anymore." another smirk. I roll my eyes and ignore him, gently touching my fingers to my temple, I see they are covered in blood.

  "We are almost there, get her fixed up." the gravelly voice of the driver comes from the front. A horrible feeling settles into my stomach. Where are we?

  ✽✽✽

  I am standing on the dock ready to board a small boat. My face has been cleaned up, a plaster slapped over the wound on my head and my clothes have somehow been replaced, it’s like they keep a bunch of things a girl would need and that just terrifies me even more, they have done this before. To anyone watching, I may just look like an ordinary person, someone who's waiting to board this boat with her family.

  The man who was driving the van stands in front of me and scowls, "Now, I’m not supposed to use this on you, but if you try anything else, you'll be sorry." he gently lifts his jacket away from his side and I see a small handgun tucked into his trousers. My stomach drops and I know the others must have one too. He gives me a knowing look and I know they have no problem using them. He turns then and quietly leads us onto the boat.

  For the journey, I'm locked away in one of the on-board rooms, that way I wouldn't bring any attention to myself or my kidnappers, that's what Scarface said. I was going to try and catch someone's attention, to get them to help me but now I just have to sit in this cramped room for who knows how many hours. I'm allowed to freshen up though, I heard the driver tell the cute one to make sure I looked presentable. I didn't care at that point, I just wanted a shower and a toothbrush. I'm also given an ice pack for my wrist, it helps soothe the pain, I don’t think its fractured or anything, just badly bruised.

  I'm just getting out the shower when I realise, there's no towel. I look around for my clothes and scream when I see a figure standing in the doorway, the smirk on his face tells me who it is. I try to cover myself but it’s too late, his gaze travels down the length of my body.

  "Here, thought you'd want this." he throws a small towel at me and I quickly wrap it around my body. It just about covers everything. I look back at him to see him smirking still, his eyes reveal his want, so does the tent in his trousers.

  "What's your name?" I don't know why I ask, but standing in front of someone in just a tiny piece of cloth does something to a girl.

  His eyes narrow slightly but then his shoulders shrug and he answers, "The name’s Damien." he smirks again before throwing a pile of clothes at me, "Get dressed, we leave in 10." he then turns around and walks into the other room.

  I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding then look at the clothes in front of me. A pair of dark denim shorts and a light grey t-shirt. I don't want to know how they know my size.

  15 minutes later and I'm on another dock, it’s still dark out but there is a slight glow in the sky suggesting it’s only a few hours till dawn. That means I have been travelling for hours. I still have no idea where I am but it’s clear I'm not in England anymore. I say a quick prayer to all the gods before I get pushed into the back of yet another van and once again my hands are bound.

  CHAPTER 7

  I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I'm getting pulled out of the van. My body is exhausted and my legs give under my weight, making me fall to my knees on the concrete. My stomach rumbles loudly and I realise I haven't eaten anything since before I was taken, however long ago that was.

  With my arms still bound, I get pulled towards the large warehouse in front of me. Nothing but steel and plastic and a door can be seen, no clue as to where I am. I can't go in there, I know I might not come back out if I do, but I know I'm too weak to try and run.

  Inside the entrance is a long, cold corridor. Doors leading to smaller rooms, I assume, line the wall. I try to get a look in some but the windows have been blocked. I can hear water running through pipes ahead but other then that, it seems abandoned. How wrong I am.

  We turn some corners and go down some dimly lit stairs and through another door. I almost vomit. The smell is horrendous, it’s like rotten eggs. When my eyes stop watering, I glance around the large room and I almost pass out.

  All around the edge of the large dungeon like area, are 30 prison like cells just big enough for two people. Half of the cells are empty, inside the other half, a young girls sits, they are probably around the same age as me. I gasp at the sight of them. Long matted hair is covered with dirt and blood, smudges of god knows what covers their skin, but it’s the eyes that cause my heart to stop. Dull and lifeless. I can't imagine what they've been through.

  My body must have some fight left because the next thing I know, I'm screaming and running towards the door, I know it’s pointless but I try anyway.

  "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" I scream at the man guarding the door as I try and get around his large frame, "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

  I'm thrown over someone's shoulder and a few seconds later I get tossed into a cell of my own, the door slams behind me. Scarface looks down at me with a frown on his face.

  "LET ME GO!" I scream as I pull on the bars.

  "Shut ya face will ya, you’re giving me a damn headache." I scream, pushing my arm through the bars in hope of catching him, to hurt him in some way, any way, but he easily steps out of reach.

  Suddenly, I'm knocked across my small cell by the water coming from a large and powerful hose. I scream as my bones feel like they're being crushed.

  When the water is switched off, I lay on the floor, shivering. My emotions must have finally caught up with me because the tears start falling over my cheeks. I stay like that for what seems like hours.

  "Hey." I hear a voice say. I wipe at my cheeks and sit up. "Hey, are you OK?" I hear again. I look around and to my right, through the bars that separate the cells, I see a girl, a couple years older than me I think, staring at me.

  "Who are you?" I ask, "What is this place?"

  She smiles at me, a look of pity crosses her features. "My name is Laura." she tells me, "Are you OK?" she asks again.

  "No." I say, who would be OK after what I've been through? "I just want to go home." I tell her and I find myself edging closer to her.

  "We don't know what this place is, or where we are." she answers my other question.

  "But why have they taken us?" I almost scream in frustration. Someone must know something.

  "All we know is that once every couple of months, a group of men come in and looks at us all before picking one of us. Someone gets taken and we never see her again." my blood runs cold as I hear this. Taken where? Is this some kind of holding site? is the worst to come after? What happens if we are picked? I pray that I never find out. Somehow, I know I would prefer it here then at wherever comes next.

  I look at Laura again, "Laura, how l
ong have you been here?" I dread the answer.

  "14 months." she tells me sadly.

  My mouth falls open and I struggle to breath. Just over a year? No, that can't be right. Surely people are looking for her. Looking for all of us. A new determination settles inside me.

  "How do we get out of here?" I ask her. Surely there must be a way. Laura looks at me again, her face portrays great sadness.

  "We don't." she says, "For months I have watched girls like you come and go. They try to escape but they don't get past that door." she indicates to the door we came in, "If there was a way out, we would have found it by now." she turns away then and lays down on the floor. "Get some sleep, you need your strength." I sit back against the wall of my cell and think about what Laura told me. I don't believe there isn't a way out, there must be, we just need a plan.

  ✽✽✽

  All around me are the moans and wails of the other girls. I look at each of them, all have different colour hair and eyes. Some are so skinny you can see their ribs and some have a little bit of weight on them. There's dark skinned and light skinned. The only common factor is age, everyone looks so young.

  A small stream of light flows into the room from the window high up on the wall. It's finally day time, I find a small stone in the corner and make a mark on the wall. I need to keep track of how long I'm here. My eyes slowly drift to a close and only when I can’t stay awake any longer, do I let myself sleep.

  I wake a few hours later to the girls chatting and finding ways to pass the time. Time passes very slowly, we are mostly left alone, except for the two guards in the middle of the room.

  Soon, it's dinner time. We are each presented with a small bowl and something unidentifiable moves around inside like jelly and I almost throw up. I look around and notice all of the other girls chowing down on the food like there’s no tomorrow. I guess you get used to the food when it’s all you have to survive.