7:06 p.m.

7:06 p.m. (part 24)

The box truck was extremely uncomfortable: every bump on the road, every pothole, I felt. It tossed me around like a rag doll. It was near impossible to untie my hands and feet. I twisted and turned every which way, with no luck. To be honest, I felt completely and totally hopeless right now. Tears were streaming down my face as I desperately thrashed against the ropes. Eventually, I knew I had to calm down. I was just making it worse.

I knew I had to get the cloth bag back on, or risk being hurt again by the people who had taken me. They didn’t want me seeing who they were, at least not yet. When I threw the bag off, it had slid across the floor. Cautiously, I scooted my way over to the other side.

I got onto my knees, bending down my head and picking up the cloth bag with my teeth. I then sat up against the wall again, letting the bag rest in my lap.

How on earth would I get this back on?

I attempted to grab the bag with my knees, putting it between my legs and bringing it up to my face. But I couldn’t get my head into it. Once again using my teeth, I tried opening the bag and sliding my head in.

No luck.

I panicked, feeling the car slow down and turn. We had arrived at our destination, I thought, as the car came to a stop.

Frantically, I tried again and again to pull the bag back over my head, but I simply couldn’t. My heartbeat began to race, as I heard the car door shut and footsteps coming. Tears began streaming down my face, and I could feel my body trembling.

I flinched away as the back opened, and my kidnappers were revealed.

“Well, look what we have here,” One said. I slowly turned my head, seeing their faces for the first time. “I see you got your mask off?” he said, coming into the truck and picking it up off of my lap. “Ah, Jordyn. You think you’re clever don’t you?”

The man was tall and thin, with gray hair and an unshaven beard. He smiled at me, but not in a friendly way. It was a devious smile- one I was afraid of.

“Are we taking her in or what?”

I turned my head to the sound of the other voice, to find a much younger man. He was medium height, with dark brown hair.

“Relax. We’re taking her in. Come on princess,” He said, pulling me up harshly. I tried to look back and get a look at the car’s license plate, but the man pushed me along. I kept tripping, my legs were bound. I had to almost hop to make it into the house.

I came into a small house, dimly lit. It wasn’t disgusting, but it definitely wasn’t pleasant. Everything looked very…old. He shoved me down onto the gray, worn couch and stood back.

“Well. Now that the mask is off, I don’t see the point on putting it back on. You’ve already seen us,” He said. “Any questions?”

Though I had thousands, my mind was blank. I could only manage one word. “Why?”

He looked at me, eyes narrowed. “Why? I had the same question when your father died. And when my son died,” He said. Hate seemed to be practically radiating off him, directed completely at me. He then turned towards the other man. “Leave, Leo. This is my talk,” He walked out of the room obediently.

“Your son?” I asked, a bit confused.

“Ah, yes. My son, Derek. You don’t remember the other victim in that crash? Of course you don’t, why would it matter to poor little Jordyn,” He said, glaring at me. “You know why your father was coming home don’t you? Don’t you remember?”

My eyes widened. “He…he was coming home from work to see Stacey and I before he left on a business trip. It was our birthday party.”

“Ah, yes. Maybe I need to refresh your memory. The last anyone had heard from him was when he called your mother. He was going to buy your little friend, Stacey, a present for her birthday, which apparently was coming up. That’s why he rushed to get home- after shopping he wanted to get back quickly to give the presents to his precious daughter, and her little friend," He said, waiting for it to sink in.