After

Chapter 2

Normani wakes up to complete darkness. She tries to pick up her head from the cold surface but feels dizzy and lays her head back down. Suddenly, she hears a cough. "Hello?" Normani says, her voice laced with fear.

"Mani... It's me: Dinah." She pauses, "Where are we?"

"I think we're in the back of vehicle." Laurens' voice comes from the shadows.

"Oh my gosh, Lauren, are you okay?" Normani whispers.

"No Mani, I'm not okay. I was just kidnapped with three of my closest friends by a man I know nothing about. My wrists ache from the chains tied around them, I can't feel my legs, but what I can feel is my headache. A headache causing me even more pain and more distress. So no, Mani. I. Am. Not. Okay."

"We'll get through this." A barely conscious Ally states, obviously trying to convince herself of the words she just spoke.

Suddenly, a door opens and light crashes into the girls' eyes, leaving them practically blind for a moment. They each are eventually able to make out two figures, one in a mask and the other, their security guard.

"Look at me." The man in the mask yells, his voice deeper than it should be, obviously it is connected to a voice modulator. "I said look at me!" He screams again, growing impatient. The girls look at him, fear evident in their eyes. "First rule: obey me immediately." His voice is suddenly calm again. "Now, I am about to show you what will happen if you do disobey me. Trust me, you're going to want to see this." He places the gun to the back of the unconscious security guards head and pulls the trigger. "No!" They all scream in unison. Tears beginning to fall from their faces as the realization hits them that they may not be getting out of this situation alive.

"Allyson, stand up. Everyone else, get back." He is obeyed immediately, Ally shakily stands up. The chains around her wrists are removed by the mysterious man as she is picked up easily, and thrown to the ground outside. A groan escapes her mouth as the man smirks behind his mask. "Come with me, idiot." He harshly states as Ally picks herself off the ground only to lose her balance and fall once again. "You know what? Stay right there for a moment." The man steps back into the vehicle, retrieving the chains Ally was just untied from, "Put your hands out in front of you." He grabs her hands and forces the chains around them as Ally suppresses another cry. Suddenly, he begins to drag her behind him. Ally disappears from the others sight as fear settles like a thick cloud over them.

"We have to get out of here. We need to find a way to get these chains off." Normani speaks.

"How would we do that? He's obviously been planning this for a while. What makes you think he'll even slip up." Lauren spits out, "And even if he does, what makes you think we will even be successful in getting away?"

"Guys, stop." Dinah speaks up, "If we turn against each other, we have even less of a chance of getting out of here."

"She's right." Normani states, "What this guy wants is for us to turn against each other. But we still need to form a plan, we can't just sit here waiting for someone to come get us."

"I guess you're right, Mani. But what is there for us to do?" Lauren questions.

Just then, the man appears in the girls line of sight once again. "Lauren, you're up. This will be the same drill as Allyson except your hands will remain tied up, lessening the likelihood of this escape you and your friends attempted to plan." Lauren can tell the man is smiling behind the mask as he pulls her outside. He drags her behind him as she trips and her skin meets the dirt containing rocks harshly rubbing against her skin.

Meanwhile Normani and Dinah grow even more afraid. "He killed a man. He killed a man right in front of us, Mani." Dinah whispers, growing louder with each word, "I saw a man have a hole put through his head while he was still breathing. Then, just like that, he was gone." Dinah inhales slowly, trying to calm her nerves, but she is unsuccessful, "He had a family. A family he was looking forward to seeing again after following us everywhere." Dinah scoots as close to Normani as the chains allow her, "Mani, I have a family too. They think I'm going to be away for three months. That means it will take three months for anyone to figure out we're gone." Dinah sees tears running down Normani's cheek as she continues, "By then, who knows what kind of state we'll be in. He killed that man, what makes you think one of us isn't going to be next?"