The shadowy figure stood beside the bed watching the girlsleep, as the other figure moved silently through the small apartment grabbingvarious items. Picking up a few pieces of clothing laying across the foot ofthe bed the figure moved stealthily into the bathroom collecting every bottleand toiletry before depositing them into the awaiting suitcase. The slightshift in the covers and small exhale as she changed positions captured theother man’s gaze. She was beautiful. Beautiful dark golden skin, long darkhair, soft gentle trusting eyes, he could stare at her forever.
The figure reappearing at the bedroom entryway drew hisattention back to the task at hand. Giving him a nod, he wordlessly told himthey were ready. Tonight, all their waiting, all their longing, and all theirwatching would be over.
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So warm. Too warm, she frowned sleepily. Not wanting to wakeup, Everly tried to push off the hot blankets, mentally she scolded herself fornot changing out of her work clothes before she fell asleep. Slick unfamiliarfabric met her hands like a wall, not budging at all under her movements. Stillhalf asleep, she moved in frustration. Everly was too hot and tired for thisright now. Again, she tried to push the oddly slick material back, and again itwould not budge. Tiredly her mind began to react to her body’s mountingfrustration, she slowly started to awaken her other senses.
The tight unmovable sensation around her mouth sent the lastneeded spike of awareness to her sleep mired brain. Opening her eyes, Everlyblinked into the darkness as she tried to move again. Trapped. Her arms andlegs were trapped! Opening her mouth to cry out, cold seizing panic flooded herbody when she realized she couldn’t. The tape on her mouth trapped her screamsin her throat and behind the tape. Clawing at the material around her Everlytried to remove the cocoon trapping her down.
“Try to calm down Everly,” the deep voice from the darknessfroze her blood and her movements. With wide terrified eyes, she lay absolutelystill as the dark figure materialized from the shadows of the room.
It was him. Oh God, it was the masked man from the bank.
Wearing exactly what he had on before, including theempty-eyed black mask he stepped forward. Seizing terror sliced through herveins and pooled in her stomach. Tears ran down her face as she tried toscream, shifting frantically in her bed trying to put space in between herselfand him. Movement from the corner of her eye stopped her cold, another figurewearing the exact same thing stood at the left of the bed. Were the other twomen here too, she thought with a sickening feeling in her stomach.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” the calm, quiet voice didnothing to stifle her growing panic.
Icy numbing terror coiled in her stomach as her mind workedfrantically. Why would they follow her home? She didn’t do anything or sayanything to the police that the others didn’t say.
Kneeling onto the bed, the first man leaned over her,sliding his hands underneath her legs and back, picking her up from the bed andinto his arms. Desperately, she thrashed and screamed in his grip as he walkedwith her out of the bedroom but nothing she did fazed him. Stopping in themiddle of the living room he turned with her in his arms towards the othermasked man. Grabbing something beneath her head the second man pulled more ofthe slick fabric around her head and synched it like a hoodie around her face.She realized then she was trapped in a large sleeping bag. Continuing walking,they exited the front door of her apartment.
Everly’s muffled screams made no difference in the quiethallway of her apartment building, it was too early in the morning and thedoors to the other apartments were too thick. Carried down the exit stairs, Everlywatched helplessly through her tears as they exited through the empty loadingdock, to the waiting black van.
“No,” she screamed with everything she had. They were goingto take her and hurt her and she was powerless to stop them. Sagging in hisarms, Everly cried harder.
“Sweetheart please,” the deep voice rumbled from the hardchest beneath her in an almost plea. “You are safe with us, we won’t hurt you.”
Lies. He was lying to her she thought weakly, as she layexhausted in his grip. They were going to hurt her and her baby. The awfulthought helped her renew her spent energy. Wiggling harder in the large cocoonlike sac, Everly whimpered when the man laid her down on the long bench in thevan, strapping her down. Completely restrained, from any movement, Everlycouldn’t even turn her head, she was forced to stare at the roof of the van.Hearing the back door close Everly listened to the men as they opened andclosed the driver and passenger door before starting the engine and drivingaway.
The thrashing beat of her pulse pounded in her ears as asense of terrifying hopelessness settled over her. What were they going to dowith her? Answering the dark question, horrible images began to populate in hermind making her tremble all over.
Eventually, the vehicle slowed down before pulling to acomplete stop. How long have they been driving? So deep in her escalating fear,she wasn’t even mentally present for the journey. The sound of the front doorsopening and shutting echoed in the silent van. Seconds eked by as Everly laidperfectly still waiting.
The van’s door opened at her feet and she could feel thevehicle rock as one of them stepped inside. Towering above her, from herposition on the bench, Everly whimpered and tried to shrink away as the man reachedfor the buckle securing her in place. Again, she was lifted despite her muffledscreams. The grip he had around her was tight making it nearly impossible tomove in his arms.
The cold breeze of the night’s air hit her face with ashudder. Moving quickly the man jumped deftly down from the vehicle and turnedquickly on his heels, the world around her seemed to blur past her. Blinking tofocus, Everly peeked a quick glance around. It looked as if he was carrying herthrough an empty field, just endless stretches of the dark night sky and grassunderneath their feet. Squinting, she could swear she could make out the tall,darker shapes of trees in the far distance contrasting with the horizon, butshe couldn’t be sure. Adjusting her in his arms the man pushed her tighteragainst his chest blocking her view as he carried her up what felt like anincline. Struggling against the smothering position, Everly heard the sound ofhis boots hitting metal. Were they switching vans? Pushing at his chest again,this time she was able to peek out and see the metal paneling of the vehicle.
This space was much smaller, but there was more light comingfrom the front. Setting her down on yet another bench and strapping her in, helingered over her. Silently the black void of his eyes in the mask stared ather before he reached up and cupped her face with his leather gloves. Swipingthe tears from her cheek, Everly realized that he was the same one who tied herup initially in the bank. Confused she just stared back in return. Standing uphe stepped back before leaving her field of view. Blistering winter air lickedat her face as the men quickly moved back and forth through the open cargo doorcarrying and loading various items.
The heavy clunk of the cargo door closing and the equallyloud noises of the front doors opening and closing told her they were about toleave again. Pushing, kicking, clawing, nothing worked against the cocoon’smaterial. The vibrating thunder of the engine starting made her jump. Theengine sounded much louder than a car, the whole place started to pulsate andshake.
Voices talking over the loud noise caught her attention,they were speaking to one another but not in English. There was never a timegrowing up where she heard people speak anything else but English, but when sheleft her isolated community and entered college, it was like stepping into awhole new world. Different languages not only being spoken but for anyone tolearn. The husky melodic cadence of the two men’s words were undeniably French.
The vehicle began to move and the talking stopped.
Faster and faster they move forward until there was a briefweightless feeling then nothing. Everly could feel the tilt of her body and theincreasing pressure around them.
Dear God she was on a plane she realized, her body goingclammy. Though she had not yet had the opportunity to be on a plane, the factspointed to that being the only conclusion. Ears popping, accelerated take off,the feeling of weightless suspension all equaled plane. First, she was takenfrom her home and now she was being taken to God knows where.
She was going to die; her breathing became heavier. Theywere going to abuse and kill her. It was becoming harder to breathe, shecouldn’t seem to catch her breath through the tape. The simple beautiful lifeshe dreamed of with her baby was gone. Her chest began to heave in a quickshort burst as she tried to breathe through her nose. Would they torture herlong? She prayed if anything they would at least be quick. The black edgesaround her vision crept closer like a slowly closing aperture.
“Everly!” One of the masked man was above her, bending downbeside her doing something with her straps.
Was this it? Her chest rose and fell faster as he pulled herfrom the bench and swung her into his arms. Was he going to hurt her now? Maybeit was because she showed Taylor where her phone was back at the bank and theywere angry with her still. Sitting with her in his lap, she could faintly feelthe vibrations from his chest as he spoke, staring up at his black mask withscared eyes. It didn’t matter though, she couldn’t hear him, she couldn’t hearanything. She was drowning in her own panic.
The tape was peeled away from her mouth, cold air painfullyfilled her lungs as she inhaled deeply. Unhindered now, she began to breathefaster as she stared at the void eye holes of the mask.
“Slowly Everly,” the deep even command was like a ballast ina storm, slowly her mind started to come back from the vortex of fear shecreated. “Breathe slowly sweetheart. We won’t hurt you.”
