Ransom X

by I.B. Holder

  *****

  Shivering on the floor of her cell, Laura huddled in a thin blanket ripped off the bed. The restraints kept her arms wrapped behind her. It was a special precaution; she’d heard Blue talk about it. They knew that they weren’t dealing with a helpless victim, and Laura sensed that they liked taking her power away. They’d bathed and prepped her body while she’d lain still as a cadaver. She hadn’t answered the blue one as he’d carefully painted a tattoo onto her inner thigh. She knew that she had less than twelve hours to escape.

  Laura found a rough patch of splintered wood on the floor, and she scraped it across the nylon that held her shoulders locked behind her like some kind of iron embrace. It wouldn’t be long now. Like a set of shoelaces the ropes were loosening at the center and she’d soon be free.

  That’s when Laura heard the noise.