Leave No Trace

Chapter 7

Allison

Her eyes fluttered open to a room filled with dim light. She had to blink a few times, her contacts feeling like they were glued to her eyes. She almost felt as though the room was swaying, dizzyingly so. But she assumed she was imagining it. Going crazy with whatever they'd drugged her with.

She couldn't remember much about how she came to be in this room. She couldn't remember much of anything. The last few hours had been hazy, but she did remember being moved several times. Think Allison, you've got to remember something.

She could only remember fragments of the Nickelback song she'd been listening to upon being snatched.

And yet, here she was, thinking about Nickelback when she had been abducted and could be killed at any moment. So stupid, Allison.

She looked around again. It was a short room, in all definitions of the word. A window along the way was covered by a sheet. She tried to move, and found herself restrained, her wrists tied with primitive knots to iron circles sticking out of the wall. She was a prisoner. Her legs were free however, and she struggled to move, to stand, anything, but found herself unable to do anything. She slumped against the wall in defeat.

Cue sigh. "Well.... This sucks." Allison winced at how stupid she sounded out loud. She wanted to move, to give her arms a rest. They were falling asleep in the air, the way they were tied.

She rubbed her wrists against the restraints, wondering how the knots could hold against her considerable body weight.

120 pounds, you can do better than this! She struggled again, but to no avail.

"Hello Allison." A door at the end of the room opened. Her vision went fuzzy for a second, as she turned to look at the newcomer, moving her head too quickly.

She inhaled the musty, damp air, and wondered exactly how much mold was in every breath she took. "Who are you?" She asked.

"You may call me Alex," He said courteously. He walked over and kneeled in front of her. "You seem to have recovered from the effects of the sleeping drug."

"That was you." She said, staring at him. "You won't get away with this!"

"They always say that, it is such a cliché line... Do you not agree, Miss Perry?"

She looked down, taking a deep breath. "What do you want from me?"

"Why, whatever I can get." His smirk took her breath away- it scared her. He looked almost familiar, but she didn't know why.

"You won't get any ransom money from my parents- they wouldn't be able to afford a ransom payment. My daddy is barely hanging onto his job. My mom is working part time." She said. As she said it, she wondered if her parents had even noticed she was missing. "How long have-?"

"It has been two days. You vanished from existence two days ago. There is a frantic search occurring."

"Really?" She asked, not allowing hope to even come near entering her voice. "Are you being honest?"

"Miss Perry, I would honestly have no reason to lie to you. But I have a few questions. What are the names of your closest friends? I need to know, so I know I can trust you."

"Why, are you hoping to kidnap them too?" She asked savagely.

He leaned forward. "Miss Perry, unlike most of the gentlemen you have been acquainted with, I will not hesitate to hurt you."

"You mean torture me?" She asked, her voice accusing, "How would you know I'm lying? I could lie to you and you would torture me, is that how it goes?"