He needed to find out who was holding them now and what they wanted. His gut feeling was that Hannah needed to be freed. If he could somehow negotiate her release, even if it meant he stayed behind, he would do it.
Having settled that in his mind, Ryan decided that the next time he was taken from the cell, he was going to insist that he be allowed to speak to their leader. He didn’t have anything to lose at this point.
Hannah woke slowly, her mind reluctant to leave the oblivion of sleep. Though sometimes she had nightmares, more often than not, her dreams were peaceful. She didn’t remember them, but often she woke with a feeling of peace. Unfortunately, that only lasted as long as it took to recall where she was and why the darkness didn’t disappear when she opened her eyes.
It was hard to find the desire to sing like she did most mornings. Part of it was knowing that she was no longer alone, and she didn’t want to bother RJ if he was still sleeping. But another part was her waning strength and the fuzzy state of her mind upon waking most mornings recently.
She turned onto her back and stretched her legs and arms, trying to work out the kinks from another night on a lumpy mattress. Every day seemed to bring more aches and pains. She didn’t want to complain, but the toll this whole situation was taking on her physically and mentally felt overwhelming at times. Even if it did come to an end some day, she knew she’d never be the same again. The scars on her body would be visible to the world, and she would never be able to forget what had put them there.
After stretching, Hannah sat up and straightened her legs in front of her, bending forward to try to ease the tightness in her lower back. At one time, she wouldn’t have been able to lean forward so easily and touch her toes, but the extra weight she’d carried for so long was gone now.
“Are you going to sing this morning?” RJ’s voice came to her in the darkness.
“I didn’t want to wake you,” Hannah said as she leaned against the wall.
“Don’t worry about that. Waking to the sound of your singing would never be a bad thing.”
“Do you have a request?” Hannah asked.
“What you sang the first morning seems appropriate.”
Hannah smiled even though he couldn’t see her—or maybe it was because he couldn’t see her. “I really like the song because it reminds me that Jesus is my light even in the midst of the darkness.”
“It’s a good reminder. One I’ve needed because my mindset hasn’t been that great since that first time I woke up and realized what had happened.” He paused. “So please, sing for me.”
She was more than happy to grant his request because music was the one thing that gave her joy in the darkness. After singing Heavenly Sunshine, Hannah didn’t stop. As songs came to mind, she sang them, and a few times, she thought she heard RJ humming along with her.
Finally, she had to stop because her mouth was dry. Hopefully, they’d come in with their morning tea soon. Though she’d never really been a tea drinker, she was grateful for the liquid. If it came with some food, it would be even better.
“When we get back to Canada, I’m going to introduce you to my younger brother. He loves to sing, and he plays several instruments. I’m sure he’d love to sing with you. Your voice is amazing.”
“Thank you.” Back in school, Hannah had been told she had talent, but it wasn’t something she’d ever pursued. She sang because she loved music, and for her, the words of the old hymns and certain worship songs spoke to her more than any others.
However, the idea of being back in Canada and meeting RJ’s family only brought on a load of anxiety. Though she obviously longed to be free, there was a part of her that worried. What exactly did she have to go back to? She had no job. No family. No real friends to speak of. Any she had were more of the acquaintance variety than the BFF type.
So while she didn’t want to be where she was, Hannah wasn’t sure where else she could go. But it wasn’t a question she was going to have to answer right then. She was trying not to borrow trouble from the future, so she didn’t allow herself to dwell too much on it.
The door to the cell opened a few minutes later, and to her surprise and delight, in addition to the tea, she was given a small piece of naan bread. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but it was a rarity, so she planned to savor it. From the sound of things, RJ had also gotten a piece of the bread with his tea.
It wasn’t long before someone was back to collect their empty cups. The time immediately following eating was the highlight of her days. The cramping hunger pangs were gone, and her mouth wasn’t parched. It was the best feeling in the world.
When they came back to collect their cups, Hannah was surprised when RJ spoke to the person.
“I want to speak to your leader,” he said. “Whoever is in charge.”
The person seemed to hesitate, and Hannah wondered if they understood anything RJ had said. The urge to try to translate was strong, but she held her tongue to see how the person would respond. In the end, the person left without saying anything, which led to a frustrated response from RJ.
“I’m not really good at languages, but I sure wish I’d taken the time to learn some basics before we came over. One of my friends from work is a whiz at languages. I can’t figure out how he does it, but he can pick up enough to communicate at least a little bit within hours. Meanwhile, I struggle to just make sure my English is correct.”
“I don’t mind languages. French was one of my better subjects in school.”
RJ groaned. “I was horrible at French. My subjects were math and science.”
“I liked English and science the most, but I did pretty well with most subjects.”
“You were a smarty. I guess that helped you to get into university.”
“Yes. I took nursing.” Hannah thought back to the days she’d spent in university and then when she’d worked in a couple of the hospitals before joining with medical aid group.
“One of my sisters is a nurse,” RJ said. “Though she’s on maternity leave right now because she just had a baby.”
Hannah felt a pang at the mention of a baby but didn’t want to think about it. “Did you go to university?”
“I thought about it but then decided to join the military instead. My dad—my biological dad—was in the US military, so I decided to go that route as well.”
“But you didn’t stay on until retirement?”
RJ didn’t respond right away then finally said, “No. That had been my original plan, but things changed. When I made the decision to leave, I applied to a few different places but ended up at BlackThorpe. I’ve been there for a few years now.”
“Do you enjoy your work?”
“I do. I seem to have an innate ability to read people and evaluate situations, which is a valuable skill for a security company like BlackThorpe. I’ve also taken several psychology courses that seemed to complement that ability.”
“So you mean you read body language and stuff like that?”
“Yeah. Basically. It’s grown more complex as I’ve learned more about the mind as well as the body. I love the challenge of it.”
Ryan explained a bit more of what he did at BlackThorpe, then they moved on to another round of five questions. Hannah struggled to focus on them, and gradually Ryan’s words trailed off, as if he too was having trouble focusing. The food had given Hannah a burst of energy, but as time wore on, she could feel it slowly draining out of her body.
In the midst of their five questions, Hannah felt herself falling asleep. Finally, she told RJ that she needed to take a nap, and he quickly agreed that he needed one as well. As Hannah laid down, she found herself appreciating the company in her dark cell, even if it was an unknown, faceless man.
CHAPTER FIVE
Though he was tired too, Ryan sat in silence once Hannah had fallen asleep again. He was glad for the conversation they’d shared earlier, and he’d enjoyed learning a bit more about her. The only frustration was that he’d hoped to have som
eone respond to his earlier request to meet with their leader. It had only been a few hours, but the sooner he could speak to someone, the sooner—hopefully—they’d get out of their cell and be back on Canadian soil.
Though generally, he considered himself a patient person, in this particular case, he was having a hard time waiting to see if someone would talk to him. Hannah’s situation was an urgency that he couldn’t ignore—whether real or imagined.
As he sat in silence, his thoughts went to his family. Though he didn’t know the exact date, he was pretty sure that he’d missed Christmas as well as Olivia’s second birthday. Sammi and Makayla’s little girls would each be turning one soon, too—if they hadn’t already. Who knew what else he had missed.
Had Mitch and Bella finally decided they were better off together or apart?
Were Gabe and Maya about finished planning their wedding?
Had construction started on any more homes on the family’s piece of land?
Were there any new significant others on the scene now?
He hoped that they had carried on with their lives. The last thing he wanted was to hear that they had put everything on hold while they waited for news about him.
What he couldn’t help but worry about was how his mom would have taken the news of his kidnapping. She’d been doing so well in her recovery from the aneurysm, so he hoped that she hadn’t had a setback when she heard what had happened to him. Thankfully, he knew that his dad would be there to support her in whatever way she needed. And not only that, as a family, they would all be there to support each other and to pray for him and for one another. Of that, he had no doubt.
Now if only God would answer their prayers for his release.
Their meal that night wasn’t as tasty as the previous night’s had been, but Ryan ate it without complaint. He savored the tepid water as if it was the finest thing he’d ever had to drink. Once again, they came to take him to the bathroom first, then they took Hannah for a longer time. His concern over the time she was missing wasn’t as great as before, but it wasn’t completely gone.
When they brought her back, Ryan once again asked to meet with whoever was in charge. This time the person—a man, by the sound of his voice—simply said one word. “Wait.”
At least it was an acknowledgment of his request, so there was little he could do but follow the man’s single word instruction.
“What are you going to talk to them about?” Hannah asked once they were alone again.
“Mainly what it would take to get us free. If they have demands, I want to know what they are. If they need me to make a video message to someone, I’ll do it. I can’t just not try to do something.” Ryan paused then asked, “You haven’t met the leader or whoever is in charge, have you?”
“I’ve met a few different people. There was one man—they said his name was Kardaar—who spoke to me when I first came here. His English was pretty decent, but he only asked some questions about my family and the work I was doing, and then that was it. I never saw him again.”
None of that helped explain why he and Hannah were there or gave Ryan any idea of what it might take to get them free. That had become his sole focus. In the end, it really didn’t matter why they’d been taken except for what it meant for them to gain their freedom. For any insight it would give him into what he could use for leverage for their release.
“Did they have you do work again?” Ryan asked, hearing the weariness in her voice as she spoke. “I wish they’d ask me. I could help out, so you don’t have to do as much.”
Hannah gave a soft laugh. “That would never happen. Even amongst prisoners, there is a hierarchy. As a man, they’d never make you do women’s work. It’s fine. I haven’t minded it since it gives me the opportunity to spend some time with another woman. They’ve also made use of my nursing skills.”
“What sort of stuff have they needed you to do?” Ryan asked, curious to see if they were injuries that could have come from fighting.
“One guy had been injured while working on a house they were building. Another man brought his pregnant wife to see me, and then later brought her back so I could help deliver the baby. I’ve mainly helped women and children, but sometimes if a guy is hurt badly enough, they’ll ask me to help him. The nearest hospital is far away, from what they’ve told me.”
“They trust you.”
“I guess so. Part of it is probably because when I first got here, I helped someone’s child who’d cut themselves badly playing with a knife they shouldn’t have had access to. I stopped the bleeding, cleaned them up, then stitched the wound. Apparently, once you help them with their children, they’re appreciative. After that, they stopped chaining me, and I think they’ve tried to give me more food when they can.”
“I suppose, given the alternative, things could be worse.”
Hannah was silent for a moment before she said, “Things could be a lot worse.”
“Well, as nice as it is that we’ve ended up with some decent captors, we still need to figure out how to get free. I’m sure if it’s money they want, my family will come up with it.”
“They wouldn’t stick to the ‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists’ stance?”
“No. I’m pretty sure that if it came right down to it, they’d fork over whatever cash was necessary to gain my freedom. Wouldn’t we all, if the life of someone we loved was at risk?”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
“So you don’t have any family who would have tried to get you released?”
“No.” Hannah’s response was short, and her tone seemed designed to dissuade any further questions, but Ryan needed to know.
“What happened to your parents?”
She took so long to answer that Ryan wasn’t sure if she was going to. “My dad died in a work accident.”
“What type of job did he have?”
“He worked for the province doing road work, and he was killed while on a stretch of highway one summer. A car went out of control and hit him and a couple of other guys on the crew. He was the only one who died.”
“How old were you?”
“I was five.”
“My dad died when I was just about that age,” Ryan said. “I don’t have a lot of memories of him because he was deployed most of that time.”
“I was close to my dad.” Hannah lapsed into silence for a moment before continuing. “It took me a long time to accept that he wasn’t coming home.”
It had been that way for him, Bennett, Makayla, and Sammi as well, particularly since they were used to their dad being away. It had taken awhile to realize what it meant that he wasn’t coming home. Ryan figured he missed the idea of a dad more than he’d missed his actual dad. Given what he knew about the man now, however, he wasn’t sure that their lives would have been better if he’d not been killed.
Not wanting to think about his dad, Ryan asked, “What happened to your mom?”
Again, Hannah didn’t answer right away. Ryan noticed she did that a lot, but he wasn’t sure why. Did she not want to talk about it? Was she formulating her answer before responding? Or was lack of food—and therefore energy—starting to affect her mentally?
“My mom passed away just before I turned eighteen. She’d been sick for a long time.”
“And you didn’t have any grandparents?” Ryan couldn’t comprehend not having any relatives to help in a situation like that.
“Not that I knew of. My mom was originally from Nova Scotia. I think she had some sort of falling out with her parents because she would never talk about them. My dad’s dad passed away when he was younger, and his mom died a few months after he did. Mom said it was because she had a broken heart after losing her only child.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry now. If I go, you go, and then you’re going to meet my parents and siblings, and you’ll find out what it’s like to be part of a large family.”
Hannah didn’t respond to his pronouncement, and once again Ryan was
frustrated by the darkness, leaving him blind to reading her body language. Being unable to use something he relied on in his interactions with people left him floundering with Hannah. He needed to understand her. To help her.
He didn’t understand the drive, but he’d always had a tendency to help people who were unable to help themselves. And if Hannah wasn’t the definition of that, he didn’t know who was.
Once again, the days turned into weeks, and life seemed to settle into a pattern of sorts. The darkness continued, broken only by the small flickering candle when he was taken to the bathroom. He marked the approximate hours by their meal times. Morning was tea and sometimes bread. Evening was stew and water. But it was never enough, so the hunger continued to plague him.
Hannah spent a lot of time sleeping, and she was always away from the cell longer than he was. Ryan managed to coax her to sing each morning and then he’d try to get her to continue their five questions game. Some days he was more successful than others.
He did know quite a bit more about her, courtesy of their little game. She’d been born in Saskatoon and had gone to university there to get her nursing degree. She’d also been working there when she’d joined the medical aid group that had brought her to the Middle East.
Unfortunately, while she readily shared about things like her favorite foods and places she worked, she hadn’t shared more personal things. Sometimes she appeared to be truly perplexed by his attempts to learn more about her. Which, in turn, left Ryan perplexed about why she was perplexed. In his mind, getting to know each other in their current situation just made sense, so her hesitation to share more with him made him think there was something else going on.
Each day Ryan had also continued to request a meeting with whoever was in charge. There had never been a response beyond the one time when the guy had told him to wait. It was hard to just pass each day sitting on a lumpy mattress in the darkness. It left him with too much time on his hands. Too much time to think about his family and worry about how they were dealing with all of this.
A Little Ray of Sunshine_A Christian Romance Page 4
