My Kidnapper's Mistake

Chapter 2: Boy for a day

Anya's P.O.V.

A long term game of Truth or Dare between me and my roommate, spanning over the entire duration of the summer holiday. My first dare had left my roommate with a head of hot pink hair. He did not seem to appreciate that and retaliated by daring me to be a boy for a day. To be honest I suspect that he had only dared me to do that so that I would have to take his car to the auto repair shop, whilst he lounged here in front of the television not missing a second of his Fast and Furious movie marathon.

This dare had taken a few days' preparation. We had to go shopping for a set of clothes and a wig. After I had raided James's closet I found that none of his clothes fit me well enough to be appropriate for me to wear it in public. A pair of too big khaki cargo pants and a simple black T-shirt that was two sizes to big for me, James's reasoning had been that if we wanted to fool anybody, I had to hide the contours of my body. I pulled on a pair of warn out sneakers, not giving a damn that I wore two different socks underneath. I bundled up my mass of wavy dark copper hair into a messy bun and put the black wig on my head, tucking in any stray hairs. The shorter hair made my cheekbones look higher and sharper than they were and the colour made me look pale. On my way out I grabbed a hoodie and my favourite beanie. I made sure that the beanie stayed in place and pulled the hoodie over my head. I took one last glance in the hallway mirror and headed out taking James's car keys. It felt weird not taking a handbag of some kind, however my cargo pants had so many pockets that I doubted that I'd have a problem finding somewhere to stash my phone, wallet and keys.

I stopped on the opposite side of the street in front of Tony's Auto Repair behind a black mustang. The place looked deserted, the heavy garage doors were open but nobody was there, not even someone at the front desk. Looking at my watch I frowned, 11:32, it's highly unlikely that everyone would have gone on lunch at the same time and leave the doors wide open and the shop unattended. I got out of the car and walked across the street to investigate, ignoring the knowledge that I had gathered from every horror and murder movie I had ever watched.

I approached from the side not wanting to be exposed. I peered around the corner into the shop. It was eerily quiet. Then I heard it. The distinct sound of a gunshot. I had never heard a real live gunshot and it rattled me to my core. I knew that if someone saw me right now they would think I was a ghost, because I felt the colour drain from my body.
I fumbled with the zippers on one of the pockets of my cargo pants, cursing my shaking hands and the small size of the zipper. I finally managed to take out my phone from the pocket and unlocked it. I typed in 9-1-1 and my finger hovered over the call button, but I did not dial yet. I peered around the corner again and saw seven men walking out of a back room. The one in the lead had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder just like the five following him, but unlike the others he had a gun raised and ready to shoot. The last man to exit had a machine gun and no bag. I ducked back around the corner and pressed call. The phone rang twice before a lady answered.
"911. What is your emergency?"
"They're at Tony's Auto Repair." I squirmed, my voice trembling.
"Who is there?"
"Seven armed men. They shot..." I was cut off as someone walked into me.
I stared up at the muzzle of the gun pointed at me. I froze for just a split second before dropping my phone and making a run for it. Well at least I knew when faced by danger I only freeze up for a second, that is probably was good thing.

I didn't get very far before I was scooped up by a pair of strong arms and hauled over a shoulder. I kicked and screamed, but the person kidnapping me didn't seem to notice. He walked back to the rest of his gang and dropped the duffle bag into a trunk. I could see that he was walking across the street. I couldn't seem to string together any coherent thoughts.

I got dumped into a trunk and it slammed shut above me. I screamed and bashed with my hands against the trunk but I doubt that anybody would have heard me over the powerful rawr of the engine. I could faintly hear sirens above the sound of the engine and tires racing over tarmac. I struggled to keep up my hopes of rescue as well as my panic down. I could hear the sound of sirens fading and then they were gone all together. I had lost track of time and it felt like we had been driving in endless circles.

Finally we stopped. The engine died down and two doors shut. It was silent for what I guessed to be at least two hours before another car could be heard. I heard voices from outside, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Something slammed against the trunk and I let out a gasp in fright. I prepared myself for what was to come, readying myself to fight tooth and nail, but it never came. The car started up again and we drove off. I let out a sigh. I had been spared for another hour. I might just make it out of this alive, maybe not entirely intact but alive none the less. I caught myself musing to myself: Anya you will survive this, no matter what they throw your way. You are a survivor, a fighter.