Kidnapped

The first day

I remember long ago, when me and Jonas were just kids, my parents were watching a movie. It was a scary movie and we weren´t supposed to watch it really, but Jonas and me hid behind the couch to watch it anyway. I didn´t understand what it was about since they spoke English and I couldn´t read the subtitles, but I was still facinated with the colors and the sounds.

Years later, I watched the same movie with my best friend Matilda. I remember her saying, "My God, Manda, that guy James Johnson is hot!"

Yes, he was hot. Tall, muscular in a slim kind of way, and those green eyes ... And his blonde hair that fell down over the eyes, it made you want to run your fingers through it. He had a kind face, soft and caring, but so strong at the same time.

And he was sleeping right there, next to me, with his head resting on my shoulder. His face was shifting in colors. Black, blue, purple and yellow. He was swollen and was bleeding from a wound on his forhead that I hadn´t seen before. Somehow I felt calm, just sitting there, looking at his face.

But that was when the door opened over our heads and someone walked, slowly, down the stairs. I quickly woke James up and pointed at the stairs. He nodded and I think I could se my own fear reflect in his eyes. 

That was the first time that I actually saw the man in the denim shirt. Let me tell you, it wasn´t a pretty sight. First of all, what was with the denim shirt? Second of all, there was just something about his face. It is hard to explain, but somehow his face just radiated evil. His skin was pale and looked almost yellow in the dim light. He had this smile on his face that made it clear to me that he was enjoying himself. He was really skinny, so skinny that he looked sick. What really frightened me though was his eyes. They were black, matching his short, greasy hair. I´ve never seen black eyes before but they reminded me of oil.

He had a gun at his side, clearly visible. The message was clear. He would shot us if we tried to escape. Otherwise I think James would have easily overpowered him. Me too probably. But I think that it was the fear that made it impossible for us to act. And maybe the fact that my ribs were so bruised and battered that I could barely move. I guessed that James was in the same condition as me.

"Good morning, sweethearts", Denim Guy said and gave us an ice cold smile that sent shivers down my spine. "Sleep well?"

None of us answered. James put a protective arm around my shoulders and I could feel how the both of us were shaking slightly. 

"I just thought that you should know that you were on TV this morning", he continued. "That man whose number you gave me, he went to the police." Then he turned to me and his smile got wider. James´s grip around my shoulders hardened. "You, darling, were not on TV however", he said. "No one seems to miss you."

His smile was pure evil and I could feel how my heart started to pound in my chest. Apparently he didn´t know that I wasn´t from America. Not yet anyway. I wondered if that was a good or a bad thing.

He pointed at something behind him, still with a smile on his face. "Toilet is over there." Then he left, started to walk up the stairs and then locked the door behind him.

James waited until we could hear the him lock the door before he removed his arm from around my shoulders. Then he slowly raised to his feet and walked, or limped, over to the place that Denim Guy had pointed to. There I could see something that I hadn´t noticed before. A dark drape and behind it, a toilet and a roll of toilet paper. James laughed and walked in behind the drape.

"Thank God!" he shouted to me from behind the drape. "I really needed to go!"

I suddenly realized that it was probably over twentyfour hours since the last time I ... went to pouder my nose. I really needed to pee.

So as soon as James appeared again and was done, I too went behind the drape to deal with my buisness. The toilet was old, and very dirty. It smelled. But at least it was not a bucket, and I really needed to go. I sat down and sighed of relief. From the bed I could hear James chuckle.

The rest of the day past quite slowly. There was absolutely nothing to do and we realized pretty soon that not only had we needed to use the bathroom, but we were hungry and thirsty as well. Maybe it was the fear that had taken over before, but as the day went on it got worse and worse.

Sweden is a wealthy country and my family has always done okay. I´ve never gone hungry before. However, that would change over the next couple of days.

There was no way for us to know what time it was so when we started to feel tired, we decided to go to sleep. There was the issue with the bed of course. There was only one bed and two of us. Sleeping sitting up against the wall for one more night wouldn´t work, it was way to uncomfortable.

"I can sleep on the floor and you can take the bed", he said and stod up from the bed.

"No I can´t let you do that", I told him and shook my head, which was a mistake, because it hurt like hell.

"How about if I sleep on the floor tonight and take the blanket, then if ... if we still are here tomorrow night, then you can sleep on the floor."

That sounded fair but I still felt bad when he laid down on the floor and put the thin blanket over him. I guess that he could see that I felt bad about it because he smiled up at me and winked.

"This is just fine, Amanda, don´t you worry. Now, sleep tight."

He closed his eyes and didn´t say anything else. I knew he was just saying it to make me feel better, and I tried to tell myself that it was fine because he was going to take the bed the next night. Something told me that there would be more nights in the basement. Many more.

James rolled around on the floor and turned his back on me. I couldn´t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I could se flashes from the day before. I saw things that I thought I had been unconsious when they happened. I could see a boot coming closer and then the pain in my side as it kicked me. I could hear James scream for them to stop. And every time I opened my eyes again, James was there, on the floor. My body was aching from laying on the thin mattress and I could only imagine how he must have been feeling.

Eventually I couldn´t stand it anymore. Maybe an hour had past and I just couldn´t sleep knowing that he was hurting next to me on the ground. I felt guilty for allowing him to sleep on the floor after he had been so sweet with me.

"James", I whispered. "James, are you awake?"

"Yes", I heard him say.

"Come and lie next to me, you can´t sleep on the floor like that", I said and moved closer to the wall, trying to give him as much room as possible on the small bed.

He rose from the floor and laid down beside me. We both had to lie on our sides to fit in the bed and he covered us both up with the blanket. 

"Thank you", he just said and I smiled and closed my eyes.

The warmth of his body and his breath on my neck made me feel a strange feeling of safety. It didn´t take long until I was drifting off to sleep, without any dreams.