Captured

Chapter Twelve (Part Three)

Chapter Twelve (Part Three)

Abriana

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“Abriana,” shouted an unfamiliar man’s voice.

Huh?

“Abriana,” shouted a different voice.

Forcing open my eyes, I instantly panicked. I can’t see! I can’t see!

Feet stomped on the floorboards above my head, forcing a warm sticky substance to drip on my face.

Oh my God! It’s someone’s blood! Whose blood is it? Is it Easton’s or the other person’s blood? Oh my God! Is someone dead?

“Abriana, where are you? It’s the police!”

Is it really? What if it’s just the attacker? Easton said it was a she and that is definitely not a female’s voice. What do I do?

My heart slammed in my chest and my hands trembled.

“Abriana, we’re here to help you. Please if you can hear us, say something!”

What if it’s really the police and they leave because they can’t find me?

The footsteps left the kitchen and headed into another part of the house.

Deciding it might be my only chance, I stood up and pushed on the small door. As a sliver of the kitchen appeared, my eyes focused on a pair of black shiny boots.

Without warning, someone pulled the door the rest of the way open, blinding me with a beam of light focused directly on my face. “Abriana?”

Letting out a shrill screech, I covered my eyes and crouched down back into the small space. “Please don’t kill me!”

The light moved from my eyes to the small hole I had shrunk into. “Abriana? Is that you?”

Knowing that this was either the end of my kidnapping or the beginning of the end of my life, I gathered enough courage to look up at the person holding the flashlight.

“It’s her!” shouted a man with a thick southern accent. “It’s her!”

He dropped the flashlight and offered me a hand. Extending my own, he grasped on to me tightly and helped pull me from the crawl space.

As soon as I emerged from the darkness, my eyes immediately landed on the badge of the police officer pulling me to safety. A wave of relief crashed over me as tears filled my eyes. “You found me.”

He nodded and gave me a warm smile. “We’ve been looking for you for quite awhile.”

Unable to speak, my eyes scanned the room in disbelief. A small group of officers stood by the entrance to the kitchen. Looking down, my heart sank. The floorboards were covered in blood, as were my hands, arms, and my tattered dress.

“We need a medic,” said one of the officers in the background.

The detective gently placed his hand on my shoulder. “Are you hurt? We have another ambulance on the way.”

Still struggling to process the situation, I repeated, “Another ambulance?”

“Yes,” said Detective Lock with a grim face. “We took a man we believe to be your kidnapper to the hospital with a life threatening gunshot wound to the head.”

My stomach lurched and bile crept up the back of my throat. “She shot Easton?” I asked in disbelief. “He’s dying?”

The detective looked into my eyes. “Excuse me, but did you say, she shot Easton?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly as the room started to spin. “The person behind my kidnapping. Didn’t you find her?”

One of the police officers standing near the kitchen sink raised his radio to his mouth and walked out of the room.

“Abriana, how do you know there’s another person involved and why do you think she was here?” asked the detective.

As the room continued to sway, I swallowed and tried to fight off the nausea. “Easton told me,” I whispered. “He told me to hide in the crawl space. He even unlocked my handcuffs.”

His jaw dropped opened and then he quickly closed it. “Abriana, are you saying that you didn’t shoot Easton?”

“No,” I said shaking my head quickly. “No, the other person did it. She did it!”

A moment later, a medic rushed in and covered me in a blanket. “She’s going into shock! You’re going to have to finish the questioning later.”

Detective Lock nodded. “I’ll ride with her to the hospital. Her family is going to meet us there. One more thing, what does she look like, Abriana? What does your other attacker look like?”

The unsettled feeling in my stomach worsened. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I never saw her. I had to wear a blindfold when she was here the last time.”

A concerned look crossed his face.

“I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I-”

“Now,” interrupted the medic. “We need to get her out of here now!”

As the medic helped me out of the room, I heard Detective Lock bark out orders to the nearby police officers. “Call in the K-9 team! Search this house and the woods! If there is someone else out there, find her NOW!”

By the time we made it outside, I collapsed into the arms of the medic. Unconsciousness soon overtook my body and for the second time that night, everything went black.