Dire {h.s.}

4

Ava Manakova

There is no moon tonight, nor do I even know what time of the day it is. Not a single window is built in one of these barricading walls. My stomach clenches in a twist of pain from hunger, and it rumbles with almost a plea for food. I'm too afraid to ask him for any thoughts. I'm too afraid to ask him for anything right now. I don't know how long it has been since the last time he was here, but it's been too long. My head throbs in an overwhelming headache, and my entire body is so weak from everything it's been through in the past hours. I want to believe that things will get better, and despite the trust I put within myself, my hope is slowly breaking away. I don't know if I have the strength to withstand him and this torture any longer.

To my surprise, the door opens and my head lifts up from my stare at the ground, to find him walking through and inside the room. My heart skips a beat with excitement at the sight of a plate in his hands. I nearly choke on a sob of relief when I spot food on it.

"They said you need to eat and get cleaned up." He says quietly, but I ignore his words, despite the fact that he said 'they', and inch myself towards him, still on the ground, too weak to stand myself up.

He squats down to the floor and sets the plate down onto the floor at my feet. A sandwich stares up at me, along with an apple, and a yogurt. After a few moments of staring down at the meal that my stomach grumbles for even harder, I sense him standing back up from the corner of my eye and walking out of the room in silence, leaving me alone again. I barely notice it though, before my hands are quick to dig in. I instantly grab the sandwich and start to take big bites. It's bland, but I work with what I can get.

The empty plate sits in front of me with only a few crumbs scattered across it. My knees are pulled to my chest, despite the burning pain across my entire side from the blow I took yesterday. I stare down at the ground in bored silence, finding nothing interesting to focus on. My mind is blank, not a single thought runs through. There's nothing to think about. If I ask myself a million questions, I have no way of answering them, so there's no point in asking them.

I don't know how long it's been since I've eaten or last seen the mysterious no-named kidnapper, not that I expect him to give me his name. In the movies, the kidnapper never exposes his identity to the victim unless they know the victim is planned to be killed off. At least there's a chance I won't be killed, right? If he isn't giving me any information as to who he is or where we are, that means he doesn't plan on brutally murdering me for no reason.

I shouldn't have worn this outfit, now that I'm trying to think of anything but this situation. It's crazy to think that yesterday morning I chose this outfit of light washed high waisted shorts, a white crop top and a lilac sweater, only to never know it would be my last outfit. I'm cold, and the draft of freezing wind coming from the air conditioning vent isn't helping.

There could be so many reasons for why I'm here. Many of those that I would rather not think of before I begin to feel sick. He's already hurt me in more ways than I could ever imagine. The worst injury I've had before him was maybe a really bad scrape to the knee during a game of volleyball with my brothers on the streets in front of our house.

Oh my god. My family. I haven't even thought of them until now. My poor family––they must be worried sick. I never came home last night, and the thought alone is probably making them go insane. Did they call the police? Are they already looking for me? Tears escape my eyes before I can even think or control them. I toss my head back with my face scrunching up in a desperate cry at the thought of them. I miss them, and I didn't even get to say goodbyes––not that I planned on getting kidnapped.

Never did I expect my life to take such a turn. I mean, who does? Sitting on the cold concrete floor of what looks like an abandoned building. The dark corner hiding me away from him and taking comfort in it from danger.