Abducted Life

by Patricia Josephine

  Abducted Life

  Patricia Josephine

  Copyright 2015 by Patricia Josephine (Patricia Lynne)

  http://www.patricialynne.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places of incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by: S.A Hunt; http://www.sahuntbooks.com/art.html

  Acknowledgement

  I want to say thank you to all my cheerleaders. The writing friends I’ve made, who pushed me, and Story Dam on Twitter who never let me slack off. Family and friends who bugged me about the next book. My hubby for putting up with me when all I wanted to do was write and not worry about dinner.

  Thanks to S.A. Hunt for the beautiful cover. I’m in awe of your skills. Thanks to my beta readers and critique partners, Christine, Elsie, and Marie. Your feedback was invaluable. Also, thanks to Chrys Fey, my editor. You helped me polish this story so it shined. A big thanks to everyone who helped me promote and spread the word about this series.

  Lastly, thanks to everyone who has read my stories, whether it be this book or my young adult novels. I’ll eat an IC friendly cookie in your honor.

  Other books by Patricia Josphine

  Michael: Path of Angels Book 1

  Zadekiel: Path of Angels Book 2

  Jophiel: Path of Angels Book 3

  Gabriel: Path of Angels Book 4

  YA under pen name Patricia Lynne

  Being Human

  Snapshots

  Influence of Love

  Chapter: Xxxx

  White-hot light stung his eyes. The roar of an engine shook his eardrums, threatening to burst them. His arms and legs were pinned to the cold ground. Above, a massive craft hovered. It was black and sleek, like a giant Porsche with wings instead of wheels. Turbines beat out a frantic rhythm, and yellow lights flashed along its belly. With a low warble, the craft lifted up, vanishing among the stars in a matter of seconds.

  Silence settled over the field. He rose to his feet. His only thought was to reach the girl lying motionless nearby. He stumbled across the flattened grass to Savannah. Her skin was washed white in the moonlight, and her strawberry blond curls were in tangles. She didn’t respond to his touch, but her breathing and pulse were steady. He gathered her into his arms.

  In the distance, sirens wailed. Headlights raced down the road toward them. Panic lodged in his throat, and he bolted up. If they saw him…

  The unconscious girl sprawled at his feet made him pause. He reached for her, but the dark green stripes coloring his arm made him recoil. He couldn’t allow her to see him either. She wouldn’t remember and would be repulsed with what they had done to him. He curled his fingers into a fist and ran to the edge of the field where the trees promised safety.

  Hidden, he watched the police cars turn onto the field, kicking up dust in their wake. They skidded to a stop. Their headlights illuminated Savannah. Officers hurried to her with their hands on their guns. One knelt next to Savannah and placed two fingers on her neck.

  “Call an ambulance,” he said. “She’s alive.”

  “Is it her, Jimmy? The Janowitz girl?”

  “I hope so.”

  “But where did she disappear to? It’s been a year since she and Evan Sullivan went missing in this field.”

  The officer beside Savannah shook his head. He stared at the starry sky. “Dunno.”

  An ambulance’s red and white lights flashed in the darkness. Its call was mournful. The paramedics tended to Savannah. She woke as they worked. Tears blurred his vision when she whispered his name.

  I’m here, Savvy.

  But he wasn’t. He sank into the shadows of the forest and vanished.

  Chapter: Savannah

  Four years later

  The wine glass tipped, and its red contents sloshed. Savannah’s hand flashed out and caught it before the base could leave the table’s surface, sparing the beige carpet. She placed the cup on a coaster, far from the table’s edge.

  “Whoa, Savannah. Nice catch.” Mandy’s jaw hung open. Disbelief widened her hazel eyes. She was still reaching for her drink.

  Savannah gave her roommate a tight smile. “It was luck. Besides, we’re not supposed to have alcohol in the dorms.”

  Mandy pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh. We aren’t drinking wine. We are indulging in a fruity beverage.”

  “That makes you tipsy.” Savannah grinned and settled back.

  Mandy grabbed her glass and took a swig. Her cheeks were flushed red and she swayed slightly in her seat. “You’re tipsy too. You’ve drunk as much as I have.”

  Savannah straightened up. A lump formed in her throat. Her hands were steady, though, as she sipped her drink. The alcohol tingled through her, giving her a fleeting, lightheaded sensation before dissipating. “I hold my juice better than you.”

  Mandy snorted. She downed the remainder of her wine then gathered her notebooks. “I’m done studying tonight. Gonna go to bed. Night.”

  “Night,” Savannah murmured.

  She finished organizing her notes and packed everything up. Tomorrow she’d finish her paper. Her feet dragged as she plodded to her room, and a yawn escaped. The pink and purple blankets on her bed called to her as she changed into an oversized shirt with the word Shiny in gold across the chest. Briefly, her fingers paused on her stomach and the marks stretched around her belly button. Other marks marred her body; tiny pinprick scars on her legs, and burns down her back, but none of those filled her with longing as the ones on her stomach did, as if something had been ripped away.

  Shaking the emotion off, she burrowed under the blankets. The muffled voices of students in the hallway of their dormitory floated in the air. She shut her eyes, ignoring the noises, and drifted to sleep.

  The room was cloaked in darkness when Savannah’s eyelids popped open. She sat up, grabbing her phone. The time was just before two in the morning. Looking around her bedroom showed nothing out of place. What had disturbed her wasn’t there. She tilted her head, listening. The halls had become silent in the dead of night, but if she strained hard enough, she heard the sounds of the other students sleeping in their dormitories.

  A whispered moan turned her toward the far wall. On the other side was Mandy’s bedroom. She heard shuffling then another moan. With a grimace, she slumped back. That’s what woke her? Mandy’s boyfriend coming over for some late-night sex?

  Savannah covered her ears. She was tempted to bang on the door and disturb them for waking her, but they were being quiet. If only her hearing wasn’t so freaking sensitive.

  Then again, everything about her was more sensitive.

  She saw her bedroom as if a light was on: the desk and dresser with photos of family and friends adorning the top, prints of Van Gogh’s paintings and works by artists she discovered online hanging on the wall, and rumpled clothing by the desk that she hadn’t bothered to throw in the hamper. She smelled the tang of sweat and bodily fluids coming from Mandy and her boyfriend, and felt the electric pulse as their orgasms drew closer. Their pounding hearts also indicated it’d be over soon. Quickly.

  Her stomach flopped. She felt like a dirty pervert. Grabbing her phone and earbuds, she put on a soothing melody with violins. The song wouldn’t drown out the smell or tingle against her skin, but it muffled the sounds. From under her bed, she pulled out a scrapbook her mom made for her before she left for college. A smile pulled at her lips at the memories of her chil
dhood: summer camp with friends, family vacations, cheerleading competitions, and school dances.

  The happiness was snuffed out when she turned the page. Images from a formal dance put a lump in her throat. She had worn a sky-blue dress. It matched her eyes, he had said.

  She traced his face, remembering how silky his honey brown hair had felt in her fingers, the softness of his lips against her neck, and his deep, purring voice. Adoration for her had burned in his amber eyes. Whenever he had seen her, a goofy grin had lit his face. So many vivid details that made her life empty without him.

  They had been childhood friends, meeting on the first day of kindergarten and getting into trouble for not listening to their teacher. He had always been there for her, defending her from a bully, and she for him by helping him with homework. It took a while for their friendship to grow into something more. A few boys distracted her along the way, and other girls had caught his attention, but they had always reunited. One balmy summer night––when she was sixteen, and he was fifteen––they had shared their first kiss. Her heart had belonged to him from that moment on.

  A tear trickled down her cheek. She closed the book and clutched it to her chest. Their fairytale romance ended the night he went missing without a trace. She had disappeared, too, but somehow, she had returned. No memories, save one: a bright light, a pain in her neck, and the boy she loved screaming her name.

  ****

  Savannah leaned against the bathroom sink as she brushed her teeth. Fatigue weighed down her limbs. Mandy’s boyfriend had lasted a lot longer than she had expected. She needed to invest in earplugs. Or maybe soundproof her walls.

  “Mooooorning,” Mandy greeted when Savannah padded into the living room. Her short, auburn hair was a mess, as if she had stuck her head in the dryer. “Wow. You look tired.”

  “I didn’t sleep well. Tossed a lot,” Savannah lied. No way was she letting her roommate know she heard the nighttime romp. How would she explain it? Her fast reflexes could easily be shrugged off, but not elf-like hearing.

  “I have coffee in the pot, if you want some.”

  “Thanks. Sounds good.” Savannah poured herself a cup, but caffeine was like alcohol; the hyped-up jolt it caused faded after a moment or two. She couldn’t get drunk if she wanted, nor could she get a caffeine high.

  What happened to me when I was missing that made me a freak?

  Savannah had no memory of her missing year. Hours spent with therapists had revealed nothing. The most the doctors had achieved was helping her deal with the nightmares. After she had reappeared, she’d wake at night crying for him, thrashing at invisible bonds, and terrified of disappearing again. Sometimes, she missed the nightmares. It was messed up, but he was there, reaching for her and trying to reunite.

  A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Mandy bounced to answer it and threw her arms around the athletic brunette in the doorway. Todd looked tired as well, but he had the strut of a man who had gotten laid.

  Savannah cleared her throat, reminding her roommate she was still there. “I better get to class. See you, Mandy. Todd.”

  Both gave her a distracted goodbye.

  Hadn’t they had enough of each other last night?

  Savannah paused in the hallway and rubbed her face. She shouldn’t be bitter toward Mandy and Todd. It wasn’t their fault she had lost someone she loved. She’d cope eventually. Somehow. She came back. He didn’t. And he wouldn’t want her waiting to see if he returned. He’d want her to live her life. It was why she finished her senior year and enrolled in college. She had dreams and plans and a future to look forward to. Maybe she’d meet someone…

  But what if you forget him?

  Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them back. “I won’t,” she whispered.

  Lifting her chin, she walked outside and into the throng of students. Life awaited.

  Chapter: Xxxx

  The flow of students surged past the clock tower. They smiled and chatted. Their laughter rang out. The sound grated against his nerves. They took their freedom for granted, unafraid of interacting with each other. He wanted to wipe the happiness off their faces.

  Spotting Savannah among the crowd distracted him from the bitterness simmering in his gut. Her blond hair glowed in the sunlight, and her cheeks were tinted pink. She tipped her face back, closing her eyes. Her content expression made his mouth twitch, a smile trying to form. Seeing her was bittersweet. He was forced to stay away, unable to do anything but watch and yearn for her.

  He turned away with a hand to his chest, as if he could stop the pain seeing her caused. He needed to stop stalking her like some sicko. She was safe and moving on with her life.

  Had she met a guy?

  Heat pulsed through his veins. He tried to clamp down the jealousy. She needed to meet another guy and get over him.

  He won’t love her the same.

  A hiss slipped past his teeth. It didn’t matter. She was living a normal life. As she should.

  Unlike him.

  The hiss turned into a low growl. He slumped to the dusty floor. His fists trembled at his sides. Normalcy was beyond his grasp now.

  Beneath his clothing, his skin was covered in dark green markings. Porcupine-like quills along his spine ached from being bound, causing muscles in his back to twitch. His fingernails were razor sharp. Despite the warm weather, he wore a black toque that soaked his hair in sweat. Breathing was difficult with the scarf covering the lower half of his face, but it hid his mouth and the gills on his neck. If people saw…

  They had changed him, and he had learned to survive. The only comfort he had was the fact they hadn’t done the same to her. They had wanted something different.

  The disgust and anger receded to the pit of his stomach and became the familiar knot that always sat there. He crept down the stairs and peeked out the door. Students mingled, but he didn’t intend to stay holed up in the clock tower until nightfall. The risk of someone stumbling upon him was too great. Then he wouldn’t be able to escape. The door he hid behind was marked “Authorized Personnel Only.” He was better off if he walked out during the day. People might stare, but he had become accustomed to that whenever he dared to venture out of the woods near the college.

  Straightening, he strode into the light as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  Chapter: Savannah

  The thump of the bass vibrated through Savannah. She gritted her teeth to stop them from rattling. Her head ached from the blasting music and voices shouting to be heard. The smell of sweat saturating the living room made her gag. Across from her, on the couch, Mandy and Todd were engaged in a tonsil hockey contest.

  “I gotta get out of here.”

  Mandy pulled back, giving Savannah a wide-eyed look. “What? Why? We’ve barely been here fifteen minutes.”

  Savannah struggled to hear herself think over the noise. “It’s… It’s hot. I need some air, okay? I’ll be right back.”

  The floor felt uneven, and she stumbled like a drunk as she wove through the people filling the cramped room. Finally, she burst free of the house and made it outside. The air was cool, like a gentle caress that wiped away the sweat dampening her skin. The grass was still wet from the recent rain, and she breathed deep the smell of petrichor. She slumped against the porch railing. She didn’t want to go back inside. A dull pain throbbed behind her eyes. She massaged her temples while plotting excuses to bail on Mandy.

  “You look like you had a little too much to drink.”

  Savannah eyed the man as he approached. He looked her age, maybe a year younger, with ebony hair and gray eyes. He smiled hopefully.

  “Needed some clean air. The party started early tonight,” she replied.

  He leaned against the wall with his arms folded casually. Savannah caught the shift in his scent and heard his heart pick up pace. He was nervous. “Yeah, it always starts early on game night. People are hyped up from the win, or they’re trying to drown their disappointment.”

  �
�Not a football fan?”

  “I enjoy a good game. You?”

  “I was a cheerleader in high school, but I’m not a big fan of crowds.” Not anymore. Not when it played havoc on her senses.

  “Why come if you don’t enjoy parties?” He cocked his head as if mystified by her.

  “My roommate dragged me here. Said I needed to get out because I’ve been studying too much.” She smoothed out a tangle in her hair with her fingers. “I have a sneaking suspicion she’s trying to hook me up with one of her boyfriend’s friends. She kept talking about how we’d ‘get along great.’”

  The guy stepped closer, and a sweet and faintly sour aroma surrounded her. “I hope she doesn’t succeed.”

  An ember of heat glowed to life in Savannah’s belly. It pulsed through her like an electric current. She tensed at the sensation and looked up. Clouds covered the evening sky.

  She moved away from the guy. “Yeah, me, too. Look, you were right, I drank too much. I’m going back to my dorm.”

  “What about your friend?”

  “I’ll text her I’m leaving.”

  “I can walk you. Make sure you arrive safe.” His expression was hopeful, like an excited puppy.

  “Won’t be necessary. It’s not far.” She pointed to the cluster of brightly lit brick buildings next to a full parking lot across the street. “There’s campus security.”

  He snorted. “Rent-a-cops. They can’t protect you.”

  She glared. “I don’t need protection.”

  He held up his hands and backed off. “I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself. Just trying to help.”

  Savannah forced her hands to unclench. This guy wasn’t bad. He was only flirting. Briefly, she entertained the idea of flirting back and seeing where it led. A boyfriend was part of moving forward with her life, after all, but her pounding headache and the heat in her stomach made her want to get back to her dorm ASAP. If she were being honest with herself, she’d admit her main reason was because this guy wasn’t him. “I appreciate the gesture.” She managed a smile. “Thank you.”