Lights, Camera and Love

Taken

I have had comments saying that if it's winter in Japan, how come there are flowers and cherry blossoms. Yeah, I forgot to mention that there was a huge greenhouse there haha!

"Who are you all? WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO TO ME?!" Tears welled up on my eyes, but the blindfold prevented it from spreading down my cheeks. I am now alone somewhere and it feels like I am surrounded by complete strangers who plan to defile everything that's me. I am restrained and helpless.

Some of them spoke Japanese, but it seems that they can understand English to figure out what I was saying.

(In Japanese) "Look, we will not hurt you unless you calm down and do as we say. We are hired to kidnap you and keep you here until Okada gives us what we want." The guy sounded like he was in his thirties. His voice was menacing and it scared the hell out of me.

How did I end up in this situation? It all started yesterday...

A day before...

I feel so much better than yesterday. My fever is gone but my throat is still a bit itchy. Snow started to pile up outside and the three of us plan to take a stroll. Of course, we are still guarded by the three musketeers: Jack, Taylor and Miles.

Mia decided to go back to the house after a while. Erin and I talked about random stuff while we walked.

"We will be graduating in two years, Liz. There's something I wish to ask," he said. "I want to take you to England after graduation. You can study there. You don't have to accept the scholarship from that creep Alex."

"Why are you so against him? He seem nice. You are hiding something, so why not just tell me?"

"Nothing. He is not who you think he is. It is much better if you stay away from him. Come with me and you will be safe."

Not answering further, I let go of his hand and started walking by myself. I don't understand why he insists on taking control of my life.

It was getting cold so I decided to go inside on my own. There was tea ready and I took it upstairs in my room. I locked the doors and turned on the television. There was nothing good to watch so I just turned it to the news channel. Half of what they say sounded gibberish but I still paid attention.

There was a knock on the door; it was Erin. I ignored it and turned up the volume instead.

I woke up in a sudden jolt. It was getting dark outside and I slept through the whole afternoon. My stomach was telling me that I was hungry so I went to the kitchen to get some snacks. One of the maids has informed me that my Aunt is away on a business and she will be home tomorrow night.

"Hey, sounds like you had a nice sleep. You still have bed hair." Mia came in the kitchen and was followed by Erin. I avoided him as much as possible. Mia seemed to have noticed this but she restrained herself from asking.

All three of us decided to explore the woods near the house. Of course, we are still closely guarded. The snow is still at least two feet thick so it was difficult to walk. Mia and I stayed close together while Erin followed us from behind.

"Did you two have a fight? Erin's been looking really down since this morning," Mia whispered just so the two of us can only hear.

"Erin said that I should stay away from Alex and turn down the scholarship. He wants to go with him to England when we graduate."

"That's great then! It just means he wants to be with you. Why reject him?"

"I did not reject him, yet. He is too irrational. He won't tell me why he wants me to stay away from a guy who is very nice to me."

"I don't know, Liz. When I saw that guy, I felt something strange and mysterious about him. He doesn't seem like the safe-kind-of-guy. I think he is hiding a lot of things."

"Not you too," I whined.

"I'm just telling you what I think. I will always be here, Liz. No matter what happens, you can always come to me in times of trouble." Mia gave me a one arm hug and we both giggled.

We did not stray too far but we were already getting deep into the woods. "We should head back," I suggested. I tried looking for the bodyguards but they were nowhere in sight. "Where are they?"

"Who?" Mia asked.

"The guards."

Erin interrupted. "We have to go. I think someone is watching us." He pulled my arms and went to the opposite direction where we were going.

He was kind of right. I can feel that we were being watched. But I can't see anyone here besides us. We headed back to the way we came from. Thirty minutes later, we finally realized that we are completely lost. The three bodyguards are still nowhere to be found.

"I forgot my phone in my room," Erin pointed out as he rummaged through his pockets.

We are lost and there are is no way to contact anyone at the moment. The wind is cold and I was shivering. Erin came close to me and held me by my waist. Mia kept close too. I can hear my teeth chatter as we walk. The only light we have is from the moon, everywhere was dark.

"Hello!" Erin yelled. "Help us!"

"Hey, don't shout. It's scary enough that we can hardly see anything here," I told him. But he ignored me.

"Liz is right, Erin. I think you shouldn't shout. There might be someone dangerous here," Mia pointed out.

All we could here are the leaves of the trees moving through the wind. I am at my limit. The fever is back again and I fell on the ground butt first.

"I can't take it anymore," I told both of them. Mia kneeled and helped me sit straight.

Erin is now restless and told us, "Wait here. I'll get some help. I will be back in a few moments."

"No, wait!" It was too late. Mia tried calling him back but he ran too fast. "Your stupid boyfriend doesn't know how to think. We should always stay together at times like this."

I nodded. We sat near a huge tree where the snow did not pile up. The roots were good enough for someone to sit in. The surrounding was too quiet. We both gasped in panic when we heard someone approach. We can hear it because of the crunch of his/her foot on the snow.

Mia and I waited for someone to show up but the footsteps suddenly stopped. "Mia, this is creeping me out."

Before we realized, two people grabbed both of us from behind and covered our nose and mouth with a cloth. My vision went black in an instant.

I cannot hear Mia anywhere near me. It looks like I am alone with these men in a damp smelling room. I was sweating too much and my arms and legs are both tied which left me unable to move. The sense of touch and hearing are the only ones reliable at the moment. I can tell that someone must be smoking because the cigarette smell can reach the place where I was.

(In Japanese) "The boss will be coming in a few minutes. Look sharp," I heard one of the men tell his accomplices.

Where the hell am I? Help, please. Someone! "What did you do to Mia? I was with someone earlier. Where did you take her?"

One of the men who seemed to be fluent in english answered, "She is not here. We were told to only take you."

Silently, I prayed and tried removing the rope tied around my wrists, but it was no use. It was too tight.

After what seemed to be an hour a heard a door open. "How is she?" Someone asked.