My Worst Nightmare

Chapter 3

After we completed our errands we were on our way home when the radio played the song Run For Your Life by, of course, The Fray. I sort of knew this song because Amber sang it all the time. Nicole sat beside me in the drivers seat. I noticed how even though we were cousins, we looked so different.

She was a red head, with cloudy green eyes. She never wore makeup, and she didn't really need it. She was naturally pretty. She was also older than me by 2 years. Her auburn hair flew out the open window. The sky was getting darker and it was getting late. She smiled at me when she noticed me staring and I blushed, turning away.

She turned back to the road and we listened as the singer sang, "Seventeen years by her side Broke the same bread Wore the same clothes and we said We're sisters with nothing between If one of us fall The other will soon be following." 

The song grew into a crscendo, the chorus flowing from the speaker, sounding staticky because of the car's old age. Nicole hummed along, her head rocking back and forth. 

Then, just as suddenly as it'd come on, the song was cut off abruptly. The car slowed to a crawl and I heard Nicole grown in frustration, swerving over to the side of the road to avoid getting hit. 

The car was sputtering and weezing, smoke was coming from the dented hood. It was too dark now to see what'd happened. The only light provided was from the streetlights and the moon.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"It must've overheated. Crap." She said in frustration.

I looked from the car to Nicole. "We aren't that far from the house, we could just walk the rest of the way." I suggested, even though walking after grocery shopping sounded like an annoying idea.

"What are we gonna do with the bags?" Nicole asked, biting her lip and looking back at the Wal-Mart bags piled in the back seat. 

"Just throw them in the trunk and lock the doors." I replied.

"But it's really late and there could be some thugs around here, and the food'll probably go bad by tomorrow." She said sounding on edge. Nicole wasn't exactly the best in stressful situations. I sighed, pushing my fingers through my thick hair and tried to think. 

It was about mid-November, so it would be cold enough for the food for a while. 

"It'll be fine. We'll just get my dad to come and drive us to get them, and then we can call the auto repair company." I said with a shrug. She looked anxious for a minute before groaning in agreement.

We got out of the car with the bags in hand, walking around to the trunk to throw the bags in. She locked the doors and checked her phone to call someone so we didn't have to walk alone in the dark. I hear her whimper.

"My phone's dead. Check yours." She whined, her face looking more nervous by the minute. I nodded, pulling my phone out of my pocket to check it, but it wasn't there. I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets but those were empty to.

"Not with me." I muttered, sure I had brought it to school. It was really cold. I wrapped my jacket tighter around my body. We only had to walk a few blocks to get home, but it seemed like such a long way. 

She sighed "I guess we're gonna have to walk and risk getting kidnapped or raped or mugged." She threw her hands up in exsasperation. Her tone was sarcastic but it still wobbled in fear. 

I stopped "Shhhhh, you're gonna jinx it."

"Oh, sorry" she said and then we started walking again.

We walked for about five minutes before we realized we were going the wrong way. The place we ended up was dark and had no streetlights. I could hear Nicoles teeth chattering and every few minutes she would let out a scared wimper. 

The only car in sight was an old yellow van. It was slow, crawling behind us at a speed that made my heart go cold with fear. Something wasn't right here. I pushed Nicole, forcing her to turn the nearest corner, just to see if the van would follow. I looked behind us, and sure enough, it did. 

"Nicole, don't freak out," I started, knowing that freaking out is exactly what she would do "But I think that van is following us." I whispered. She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening as she looked back. "What do we do?" She whispered back, her voice shaking with the tears i knew were coming. 

"On the count of three, run. One..... Two ... three!" She took off like a track star and I had to push to keep up with her. Behind us we heard car doors slam and feet slapping the pavement after us. The boost of fear and adrenalaine made us go faster. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs and my breathing was rough and ragged. 

We ran as fast as we our legs would go. I tried to kick it up a notch but I could go no faster. I was trapped. I felt a firm hand grab my upper arm and jerk me back. I screamed and looked for Nicole and saw another man throwing her in the bed of the truck, her hands tied behind her back and she looked terrified. Her cloudy green eyes were wide in horror. Her auburn hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat and she was screaming. The man holding me started dragging me in the direction of the truck. I screamed and sobbed, snot running down my face, but he didn't even flinch. I needed to break free of his hold. I tried to kick him but he just grabbed a chunk of my blonde hair and pulled me hard. I scratched at his hands but it was no use. I was losing. He threw me into the truck and I hit my head on the side of the bed of the truck. He shut the opening and locked it, leaving us with no way to escape. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. I heard breathing that was not my own. I looked around and whispered, "Nicole? Is that you?"

I heard a raspy voice I knew was Nicole's say, "Yeah. It's me."  Her voice cracked as she tried to keep it together.

"What are we gonna do?" I asked, breaking into sobs again. My head was pounding and I felt like I was going to pass out. I was so tired and scared. 

"I don't know. Come here." She spoke softly.

I crawled over to her and she wrapped her arms around me as we sobbed together. We both knew there was no way we could escape. I couldn't imagine never seeing my family, my friends, my boyfriend. I knew that this was the end, that my nightmare was becoming a reality. My sobs quieted as I slipped into darkness, not sure if I wanted to wake up.