Vanished

Chapter 2

 My eyes slowly opened, I could feel my chest rising and falling. It felt heavy and it was a struggle to keep the tedious rhythm going. I could feel my head spinning, the dark room going around and around like a wheel, and I was in the middle of it. A voice could be heard off in the corner of the room. I couldn't make out what it was saying, but there was not just one voice, but many. All of them were talking in hushed voices, like they were little kids in a quiet church trying not to let their parents hear them. A cold hand startled me when it grasped my shoulder. My eyes widened when I saw a shiny, gold plated badge near my face. The scent of hand sanitizer and rubber gloves filled my nose, making me gag. By this point I was more aware of my surroundings. My hands rubbed along the side of cotton bed sheets, the cotton rough with wear. The ceiling was no longer spinning, and I had noticed a poster hanging from it that read, "your only limit is you." I smiled inside, my mouth too swollen and in pain to show expression. A lady came over to where I was laying and whispered something in the officer's ear before she laid an ice pack on my head and gave me some type of little, red pill. My thoughts were clouded and still wasn't sure of what was happening. Was I dreaming? Where is Carl? Surely he would be worried about where I was. I mean he always knows where I am and what I'm doing. A more important question arouse though. How did I get here? The last thing I could remember was seeing a large, cut up hand swing at me. My head started to spin slowly, speeding up with each passing second, my body felt heavy, like dumbbells were attached on each limb. Then everything went black.

Yelling. Lots of yelling. 

"Can you please tell the jury what exactly happened the day that you were kidnapped again?" The judge asked me. Her dark brown hair tied in a tight knot on the back of her head. A pair of thin black glasses perched on top of her chocolate colored face. Her deep brown eyes giving me a coaxing look, like I was a child that needed help to speak its first word, or a baby bird taking its first flight. 

"Well, I was sitting on my porch looking at the passing cars when I saw a beat up Ford car, I can't remember the model, pull up the the curb. I saw a man who looked like he was in his early 30's. I had lived in a safe neighborhood where it wasn't unusual for someone to stop and ask for directions. And that's exactly what he did." Before I could say another word the judge cut me off.

"Could you please describe him? What color was his hair? What was he wearing? Did he have any tattoos?" She questioned.

"Well...he was wearing a....a..." I tried to think, I really did. But my memory was so broken from all the abuse that I hardly knew my own name. I could only tell the story like if it was a movie playing back in my mind. I couldn't remember what clothes he was wearing or any details like that unless I told the story like it was a movie, and I was the main character.

"I'm sorry, your honor, but I can't remember. My memory is almost completely gone. If I told the story like a movie playing I'm sure that details would come back." I explained. She gave me a little nod and told me to continue.

"I approached his car to give him the directions when a funny feeling came over me. It was unsettling. The man's face held a smug grin. I started to explain how to get to the nearest gas station, like he had asked, when he told me that he couldn't hear and asked me to come closer to the car. With weary steps I did just that. That's when the smirk turned into a toothy smile, the kind that you see in horror movies. He pulled me by the shirt and yanked me through the open window."

 By this point my eyes started to tear up. I gave a little sniffle and continued with the recollection.

"I tried to scream but a rough hand covered my mouth. It all happened so quickly that before I knew what was happening the man was driving away and I was in the back seat, a blindfold over my eyes and a scarf around my mouth. He turned on the radio, which I thought was quite odd. A pop song was playing, the name I can't remember. He was humming along, I was still trying to scream."

"Ok." The judge nodded and looked at me. Then at the jury. "And about how long was the car ride?"

"I would say about an hour. But then again I'm not quite to sure, I was so scared that a minute felt like an eternity. I knew that it was a long ride though because I could feel the car bouncing on rocks. It seemed like a dirt road. Then the bouncing stopped and the car stared to drag a little, as if we were on grass."

 I tried to pull my thoughts together, but all that came out of my efforts was a throbbing headache. Every time I would see what happened next it went fuzzy again the moment I opened my mouth to speak and tell the jury. My head felt light, the room stared to spin. I fought through it though, I need to tell them, my life depended on it. I could feel my throat closing, the anxiety starting to set in, for this was the worst part of the story. Never the less, I fought the lump in my throat and the hammer smashing my brain. My story needed to be told.

"The car stopped and he turned off the radio. I had given up the fight between the cloth around my mouth and my voice trying to scream through it. The door swung open, my eyes wide with fear as I saw the man approach me, his hand reached out toward the cloth tied tightly around my mouth. As soon as the cloth was removed from my mouth, almost instinctively reached out and bit his rough, dry hand. The man let out a slight scream and started to cuss me out. I couldn't make out what he was saying, all I could hear was the adrenaline pumping in my ears. Energy and adrenaline replaced fear as I jumped out of the car, only to fall face first on the hard ground. I had forgotten that my legs were tied. I looked up at the man, blood rushing from his hand. I must have bit him harder than I thought, pride filled me, only to be replaced by terror as he came storming over to me. His face held a menacing  look, his thick eyebrows almost touching, his mouth still yelling at me. I never knew that someone could yell so much, I finally could understand what he was saying, I wished that I wouldn't have.  He picked me up, I tried to resist, thrashing in his arms. His grip tightened, I gave up the fight. 

I had to stop and catch my breath. Tears welling up in my eyes as I tried to pull my thoughts together for what seemed like the hundredth time. I made the mistake of glancing at the table in which Carl sat with his lawyer. How someone could defend a kidnapper, a murderer or a robber completely baffled me. Then it hit me, money. 

 The judge cut off my thoughts. 

"And with that this meeting is adjourned. We will meet back here tomorrow at the same time. Thank you everyone."

I let out a deep sigh and stood up from the soft, worn out seat.