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Then a worried thought crashed through my mind. What if I had already been shipped away to another land? It was always Eastern Europe in the movies. Maybe that’s why I felt so groggy. They had already taken me away. It was the perfect crime; pluck a girl away from the forest and nobody would know any better. Sure, people would look for me, but there would be no leads. It wasn’t as though I was important.
I rushed to the window and gasped. This place was unreal. The sky burned a deep orange and the land that surrounded me didn’t look like America. I must have been hundreds of miles from home, maybe even thousands, and I had no idea how to get anywhere.
But that didn’t matter. I needed to get out of this place. I could probably fumble my way back to an embassy or something. All I needed to do was get to a place where I could make a phone call. They spoke English, so that was a good sign. I just had to leave before they noticed I was gone.
I went to the door and tentatively pressed a button. It opened with a whoosh and I stepped inside, trying not to hyperventilate. The buttons had writing that I did not understand. I pressed the central button, hoping that it was like the elevators I was used to and would take me to the ground floor. I waited painfully for it to descend. When it came to a halt, I pressed myself against the wall, hiding in case anyone was passing. When nobody entered, I peeled myself off and slipped through the corridor, feeling a soft breeze outside. I crept low and moved as swiftly as possible, feeling like an intruder the entire time even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. They were the ones who had brought me here after all. They were the ones who had some explaining to do!
I heard voices approach and threw myself into the shadows, pressed flat against the ground. It was warm and soft, the grass holding a strong scent. When I looked up, I saw a huge fire crackling and an old village standing there, looking as though it had been plucked from a medieval fair and dumped here. I had heard that some places in Eastern Europe were behind the times, but this was ridiculous. I didn’t see any roads, or any vehicles for that matter, and the land around us was flat. If I tried running then I would be seen immediately.
I was going to have to wait.
I wasn’t about to head back into the tower, which was giant by the way, and looked incongruous compared to the rustic village. I wasn’t about to try and solve the mystery now though. I was happy enough to leave this behind and never tell anyone about this at all. I thought of Peter, and how he might feel about my disappearance. Would he just think that I had run away because I really didn’t want to marry him? I might never see him again.
I might never see anyone again.
I took a deep breath to steel my nerves as I circled around the tower. There were various crates and things stored around the edge of the tower, affording me places to hide. I went to the far side where the village disappeared from view. Above me the tower winked as it caught the fading sunlight, the glass windows gleaming. I noticed that there were two doors below me, leading to some sort of storage. I wondered if it was to store old equipment. Perhaps it was a place where nobody ever bothered to go. I needed a better hiding place than crates, so I heaved open one of the doors, which were about as big as the entrance to a cellar, and cringed when it creaked. My plan was to wait there until darkness fell and then I could try and escape. Since I didn’t know where I was, I couldn’t get lost no matter in which direction I fled.
Whether my logic was watertight or not I had no idea, but it seemed good enough to me.
I slipped into this small storeroom and closed the door carefully behind me, making sure it did not clatter. The storeroom was a stone room with a table inside. There were old bottles covered in dust, and I actually had to hold my nose to prevent myself from sneezing. Dust was good though. Dust meant that this place probably wasn’t used all that often, which meant that I should be safe here. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even a crumb of food to be had, so my stomach was just going to have to gripe for the time being. My throat was parched as well, but I huddled down in a small corner behind the table and waited, looking through the sliver of a crack in the door to see when it was dark enough to leave.
However, that of course was not the only door in the room. There was one that led back into the tower. A short while after I had found this perfect hiding place (it brought to mind a cartoon I had once seen of a skeleton sitting slumped against a wall in a tomb with a sign reading ‘hide and seek champion’) I heard footsteps outside. The door creaked open and two figures entered. From the voices I could tell that one was a woman and one was a man, although I did not dare peek to make out any finer details in case they saw me. I kept my breathing low and held my knees against my chest, hoping that the darkness of the earth that had stained my clothes would help shield me in case their gaze passed this way.
“Did you talk to him about it?” the man asked.
“Yes!” the girl hissed. “I’m always talking to him about it, at least as much as I can without raising suspicion. He’s still not convinced though, but I’m trying. I just need more time.”
“Time is something we don’t have. You need to act. We can’t wait too much longer, otherwise the opportunity is going to pass us by. We either need his agreement or his blood. You told me that you could do this.”
“I know, I know, and I will. But you know what it’s like. He’s his father’s son. He’s not that easily persuaded.”
“Well, he will be. He-” the man stopped speaking. I heard my stomach rumble. “There’s someone else here. Have they found us?” his voice streaked with panic. I glanced up at the door through which I had entered. They blocked the other one. I had no idea who they were talking about, but I knew that nothing good waited for me if they captured me. It wasn’t dark enough yet, but I was going to have to chance it. I had been fairly good at track, maybe I could make it. I summoned all the courage I could muster and flung myself towards the door, clambering out and trying to fling it shut behind me. As soon as my feet met the ground I sprinted away, not daring to look back because then at least I could pretend that I was escaping. My aching muscles screamed for relief, while the fear pumped adrenaline through my body. I kept my gaze on the horizon, while the hope that existed in my heart quickly dwindled as I noticed shadows falling across the ground around me.
Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, nails digging into my flesh.
“Anything you heard back there, forget it,” the girl with the black hair hissed. Her eyes were wide with anger and I barely had a chance to register my surprise before others were around us.
“Oh, you found her!” a man’s voice said. I turned to see one of the men who I had seen before. I knew there had been something off between them. I wrenched my arm from around the girl and staggered back. I held up my arms and opened my mouth wide, shaking my head.
“Please, I don’t know what you want with me, but please don’t hurt me. I just want to go home. I’m an American. Take me to the embassy and I’ll be on my way and I won’t tell them about you, I promise. I mean, it’s not like I can tell them anything, anyway? I don’t know anything about you. I just don’t want to be hurt. Please.” Tears began to flow down my cheeks as my gaze shifted between all of them. A whole group of them had gathered, all to stop me from leaving. Why were they so insistent on keeping me here? I didn’t think that I would be able to convince them by just being pathetic. I doubted these people had an ounce of mercy within their hearts, but it was the only thing I had left to try. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t fight. All I could do was beg. My shoulders shuddered and all the sorrow began to pour out of me. I wanted to sink into the ground and be all swallowed up, but their eyes were upon me and I knew I was lost.
“You don’t have to worry,” a soft voice appeared. I looked up and as I blinked away my tears, I could see that it was the same woman that had been in the room with me at the top of the tower. She looked graceful and wise. She wore a flowing robe and her hair was tied in a braid. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
I flinched, not willing to believe her. I shook my head. “Why… why did you bring me here?” I stammered.
She glanced towards the guy I recognized. He looked at me curiously and had the hint of a smirk on his face. Was this all a joke to him? I did not understand why he found this funny.
“Please, I know you’re upset and disoriented right now, but we should get you back inside. You’ve suffered a head wound and you need rest. My name is Kara, and nothing bad is going to happen to you. I promise you that as soon as you’re well again you can leave for home.”
“Why… why am I here? Why did you take me?” I asked.
She sighed and walked towards me. She took my arm and waved away all the others, glancing towards the other boy, who kept his distance. “My sons saw you and were afraid that you were hurt. They didn’t know what else to do with you, so they brought you here.”
“They couldn’t have taken me to a hospital? Why did they bring me halfway across the country?” I asked, although now I was beginning to doubt whether I had left America at all. They spoke perfect English, but the surroundings were like nothing I had seen before. None of this made any sense at all. Kara smiled thinly and looked towards the tower.
“I think perhaps you should come with me. We’ll get something to eat and I’ll tell you everything,” she said.
We went back into the tower and took the elevator upstairs, after she had ordered someone to bring us some food. I wasn’t in the mood to resist, because what was the point? I figured I could walk up there of my own accord or I could be dragged, and at least if I seemed compliant then I might be treated better. The last thing I wanted was to be in a cage.
