Finding Madeline

Chapter 13

Madeline:

"Matt?" I asked as I heard a bang at my door.

I walked down the stairs slowly and quietly, fearing that the person at my door wasn't Matt. I regretted having a door without a peephole as soon as I reached the door. I figured it wasn't a good idea to open it. I grabbed my phone and texted Matt to ask him if he was at my door. I soon received a reply back saying it was him and that he left something inside. I yanked the door open and began to joke with him and tell him that he was so forgetful, but the second I opened the door I saw a black hooded figure holding Matt's phone, and Matt in the middle of the sidewalk, motionless. Before I could move, my arm was trapped in the forceful grip of the mysterious figure.

"Let me go! STOP! NOW!"

Before I knew it, my hands were bind in a zip tie behind my back. I flailed in attempt to break free but could not succeed.

"GET OFF ME!!!" I screamed.

I yelled help at the top of my lungs until my hand was covered by a gloved hand.

"Shut up NOW!" A stern whispered voice said in my ear. It was a male voice and I couldn't recognize it.

He kept his hand on my mouth and his elbow was bracing my chest while his other hand held my arms in place. I was stuck and there was no way I could run. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his bulk bicep and I knew I would have no chance at fighting. I knew I had to try anyway. I thought quickly. I knew I could flail and make noise to get away. Maybe I would be able to run and find help. I quickly bit down on his gloved hand and launched forward, ripping my arms out of his grip. I attempted to run as fast as I could with my hands behind my back and began to scream again. I didn't get far before I felt a strong hand push me to the ground onto my stomach. I breathed hard and cried out as I felt my ribs smack against the hard cement.

"Shut up! If you don't shut up right now I will kill you and your boyfriend!"

I froze. I knew this person is capable of murder because of the brick incident.

"Please! Please what do you want with me?" I asked through hysterical tears. I could feel myself shaking.

"Don't ask questions! You better cooperate with me right now! Get up!"

I didn't think twice before standing to my weak and shaking legs.

"Go! Walk! Quickly!" He commanded.

"Please! Please don't do this! I'll do whatever you want just please don't take me! I won't tell anyone what happened tonight!" I begged.

"Get in the van!"

"Please! I'm begging you!"

"Be quiet! Get in the van!" He yelled.

"STOP NO!" I screamed.

As soon as I raised my voice my face was smacked into the concrete. I clenched my teeth in pain, shut my mouth, and stepped in the van.

"Your making a mistake! My family is going to look for me and their gonna find me!"

"Didn't I say shut up? Remember what happens when you disobey me!"

I stiffened as I remembered the graphic scene of the brick flying through the window and hitting James in the head.

"That's it Maddie, that's it," he said in a half whispered, eerie voice.

"Don't call me Maddie!"

"I can call you whatever I want!" He said through clenched teeth.

He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the wall of the van. In the process, my bind hands were bent into the wrong position from the impact. My eyes widened as I opened my mouth to scream. I quickly shut my mouth and closed my eyes. I tried to breathe steadily and calm myself but my breath was shaky. In the process, he bound me even more with heavy duty chains.

"Good choice. See your getting the hang of this! Look Maddie, before we leave tonight, we need to establish a few ground rules. One, you need to always do what I say. Two, you will not try to escape. EVER. If I find out you tried to escape I will kill you and everyone you've ever met."

I nodded and swallowed hard. I couldn't believe this was happening to me right now. He came in close to my face. I couldn't see what he looked like because he was wearing a mask. I wanted to know who it was. I needed to know. I launched forward and grabbed the mask with my teeth and pulled it off.

"NO!!" He yelled in attempt to cover his face once again.

I examined his face and saw brown hair and a beard. He was a Caucasian man with eyes so brown they were almost black. I had never seen him before in my life. I stared, wondering what his motivation was to kidnap me was. He scowled and slapped me with unbelievable force. It felt as if my face was on fire. He stormed to the front seat and took off fast. My stomach churned as he whipped around corners and sped down roads. I was so scared that the car would flip, but also hopeful that his speeding would draw attention to a police officer nearby. I closed my eyes and steadied my breath. I needed to think. My mind was racing and I couldn't think straight but I knew I needed a plan. I figured I needed to figure out how to cut the zip ties off my hands and I looked around for anything sharp. Nothing. I began to loose hope but he whipped a corner and I smacked into the wall and felt something puncture my arm. The chain! I felt all along the chain and came across a portion that was sharp. It seemed as if these chains were old and worn and had been used many times. I shuttered as I thought about the people he may have kidnapped in the past. I quickly shook the thought off and began to rub the zip tie back and forth across the sharp part of the chain. I looked around and saw two doors to the van in the back. All I had to do was push those open and jump. However, I would have to break out of my chains that were securing my legs and body to the walls and floor of the van. I wiggled a little and realized that if I pulled really hard I might be able to slip out of the chains that bound me. After about 10 minutes of trying to break the zip tie, it finally broke. I cringed as I saw my wrists that were rubbed raw from being held together so tightly. I sucked my stomach in and slipped down out of the chains. I was having a surprisingly easy time breaking out of my trap. That's until I got to the ankle part. I was having the hardest time getting my ankles out of the chains. My heel wasn't small enough to slip through. I suddenly realized that I would be punished if the man looked back and saw me halfway out of my chains. I braced myself as I used all my strength to get out of the chains. My foot began to slip up, only to get stuck. My foot was now in excruciating pain and I couldn't control the noise that escaped from my mouth that expressed my agony. Unfortunately that drew the attention of my kidnapper, and he quickly pulled over and rushed back to me.

"You are making so many stupid mistakes Maddie..."

I felt his hand around my wrist as he pulled me out of the ankle chains and threw me against the wall of the van. Anger burst up inside me. I threw my hardest punch toward the face of the kidnapper, hitting him. He shook his head, not showing any signs of pain from my punch. He quickly put his hands around my throat and I felt my throat begin to close. I couldn't die today, not yet. I couldn't die this way. An unbelievable amount of strength built up inside me as I grabbed his arms and dug my nails into him, puncturing his skin and causing him to have many small nail incisions along his arms. This caused him to lessen his grip and I was able to pull away his arms from my neck. I took a huge breath of air and never realized how grateful I was for oxygen. My strength was short lived, but it was enough to allow me to survive. He quickly regained his hold on me and punched me in the face and the stomach. I doubled in pain and cringed. I fell to the ground and he strapped me to the ground of the van. He duck taped my mouth and eyes shut after securing me in the van.

"Oh, dearest Maddie, you have no idea what will hit you if you keep these stupid little stunts up," he said as I heard his footsteps drift farther away from me.

I felt the van take off and I began to cry. I couldn't hold back. I thought about my plans for my life and my family, boyfriend, and friends. I had a feeling that Matt might be dead because he seemed so limp and motionless when I saw him. I knew that unless he woke up and got help, no one was looking for me. No one knew I was gone. Matt was the only one with me tonight. I lost all hope in fighting and I realized there would be no way for me to escape. I could very well be kidnapped for years. Just the thought of this made me cry. I thought about all the stories I had heard on the news about all the terrible things that had happened to the victims of a kidnapping. I was suddenly hit by the realization that I was going to become a victim. This was going to happen to me.