Soul Bender

One

My deep brown eyes fluttered open, trying to adjust to light that wasn't there. I had to blink a few times before I realized that they were actually open. The darkness was so extreme I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Panic welled up inside of me. Where the hell was I? I struggled to remember what had happened before now. My brain was straining under the pressure. My body squirmed trying to move but it was all in vain, I had been tied up. I tried my best to fight back the anxiety that followed, but it was in vain, I was calling out for help. It was useless, wherever I was Couldn't tell if there were any people. Every instinct in my body was telling me to fight, to try and find a way out. I tried to move my hands but realized those were bound together too. Wherever I was, they did not want me to move. Screaming at the top of my lungs, adrenaline rushing through me. I was doing everything in my power to try and break free. Tears were streaming down my face. What I had done to deserve this, I had no clue. Struggling to remember anything, even the faintest of memories was becoming a war between unbearable pain and the curiosity of what had happened. Struggling as hard as my body could to stay awake, sleep finally swallowed me into a dark and cold nightmare.

"hello? You can wake up now. You're safe now. Where those people were taking you, I don't know but it wasn't good" A soft, sweet voice cooed. When the world finally came back into focus, a short, blonde, and plush looking girl was standing over me, wearing a black dress that fell a little past her knees with a white cardigan covering her shoulders. Her green eyes glinted as they looked down at me with concern.

"where the Hell am I?" I mumbled, still groggy from the uncomfortable sleep. I could tell that the girl was laughing a little to herself, most likely because of how confused I seemed.

"Would you like a hand?" The blonde girl outstretched her hand, offering to help me up. I noticed now that I was laying on cold concrete. I reached out and grabbed her hand, her skin was as pale as snow, almost translucent I joked to myself. She pulled me up and I steadied myself, I was so weak. My head was throbbing and my knees felt as though they were about to buckle. The look of concern returned to the girls face, I knew she could tell I was not feeling well.

"hey, you can sit down again if you want, there's no rush" Her lips parted into a warm, genuine smile. Her emerald green eyes held so much sympathy. I nodded in response and she helped my back down, this time onto some much comfier grass, rather than the chilly concrete. The girl sat herself down beside me.

"By the way, I'm Stella" The short, blonde girl introduced herself with cheer in her voice.

"thanks for all your help Stella, I'm Alecia" I thought it would be appropriate for me to thank her, after all... she said she took me away from... other people? What other people? Right now we were sitting on what seemed to be the side of a high way. Was I in a car when she found me?

"So... mind filling me in on what's happening? I remember I was in a dark room all tied up, now I'm on the side of a highway" I cocked my head towards Stella. I hoped she had answers.

"Well for starters, you were bound with rope on your wrists and hand in the trunk of a van. Parked in a rest stop, the driver must have been inside the store, I heard screaming coming from inside the van, so I decided to investigate, it didn't look like the driver was coming back anytime soon. I broke open the trunk and found you there passed out, so I hauled you out and put you in my car, not in the trunk mind you. A long time of waiting had passed, and looking as if you were regaining consciousness, I brought you outside again to get fresh air. Now we're here" Stella spoke fast, almost never taking breaths between sentences. However she did clear some things up, but now the question was why the hell was I tied up in the back of a van at a rest stop?

"Wow. That's a lot to take in. Thanks for saving my life by the way. You must be quite strong for being able to break into a trunk, haul me into another car, and back out again!"

"Yeah well, I help my dad sometimes. He fixes cars and so I sometimes help him with that" Stella explained, her cheeks going a bright shade of pink.

"That's cool. So, where are we going now?"

"Well, that's where things get a little... complicated"