Above and Beyond: A One Direction Story

Chapter 16: Sophie

SOPHIE: September....?

I hate nightmares. Especially the ones where you can't escape. It's like those running dreams of drowning dreams.

I'm claustrophobic so my worst scenario is being kidnapped and put into a small space where I can't escape at all.

When I was really little, I used to have the drowning dream every night and I became scared to swim and even take a bath. I stopped having them when I was sleeping with my parents.

Everything was better when I was little in my family. It was just me and my parents. I was an only child. I was their pride and joy.

I worked so hard to please them with so many achievements like straight As and honor roll recognition since I could remember.

No matter what I did, they would fight. They would fight about me ad just stuff in general. I thought by making them proud of me that everything would be better. I thought wrong.

I wish I actually wrote this Journal down. It would have been a good one. Sometimes I just sit up and think about my life in retrospective. Even though I never enjoyed having parents that constantly fought, I had parents and that's what I miss most about my old life.

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SOPHIE: I wish I could tell you....

The beds at Berkely are absolutely awful. They feel rock hard. I wouldn't know the difference if I was sleeping on the floor. I always sleep without a pillow on my face. What's weird about now is that my hands aren't under my face supporting it.

What the....?

I can't move my hands.

I still feel tired so I can feel the yawn coming and open up my mouth to feel sticky resistance. Just close your eyes Sophie. You are imagining being in your dream again. One of those crazy vivid dreams....

I close my eyes and take a deep breath and open to find myself in te same scenario. I hear a soft groaning sounds and turn to find Liam sleeping beside me.

I lift my leg and kick him. He twitches slightly but is still sleeping.

"Limmm?Limm!" I mumble through the tape. Everything comes out so distorted. I give him one last kick to the quad and he shifts over. He obviously felt in. He turns his body to the other side and is now facing me.

"Limm? Waahk ooppp!!"

He finally opens his eyes in shock.

"Sofmmm?Sofmee!" He pulls his shoulders forward out of attempt to hug me but is unable.

This is worse that a nightmare. It's real.

"Taff! Taff!"

I look at his expression in confused.

He looks at my mouth. Oh! Tape!

My hands are untied... I feel so helpless. Click!

I lick my lips furiously and eventually get my tape loosened from one side. The tape comes off from one side and I push the rest off with my tongue. Free at last.

"Liam what's happening? Why are we tied up?" He just shrugs and his eyes start to tear up. How am I supposed to get his tape off with my hands all tied up?

I reach forward and collapse onto Liam. He widens his eyes and I bite the tape off of his mouth. I try to rip it off gently but there is no possibly way.

His lips swell slightly and he frowns.

"Could you have made that any more painful?"

"I didn't have to take it off! I could have left you speechless. Now that I look back, I regret my decision."

"Thanks."

He closes his eyes firmly and opens them again.

Our fate? I don't even want to think of that now. I intend to fight for my life until the last breath leaves my lips.

"Sophie. I don't know what's going on. I'm scared. We were just shoved in here. I have no idea where we are or what has been done to us."

My eyes begin to tear up again.

"I just want to go back to my dorm,Liam." I put my head on his shoulder and he puts his on mine.

"Annie?Harry? I see their shadows moving in the corner.

"Sofmee? Limmm?"

Harry!

We hobble over to take off their tape. I get off Annie's while Liam gets off Harry's.

Harry squeaks,"Painful!"

"Well you could have more often Hazza."

"I know we are all confused and dazed and we don't know where we are but we need to set a goal. Let's get our Arms free.

We wiggle around in frustration for the next couple of minutes.

"I think I got mine kinda loose!" Annie wiggles her left hand free and takes off the rest from there.

"Help us Anne!" I whisper over and she helps Harry to undo his knot. Eventually, we are all free.

I look around the van to see that we aren't in darkness, there are blinds shielding the sun. We have only had a little bit of visibility for the last couple of minutes.

With my newly free hands, I open all the blinds to see.... Desert. How long have we been out? I look across the landscape. It looks vaguely familiar and I get a déjà vu moment.

The rest look out the window in shock. Annie begins to tear up and Harry wraps his arm around her. We are moving along some freeway.

"Lovelock: 15 miles.

Salt Lake City: 258 miles"

I know where we are! I know that I have been here before! It's the Western Nevada desert. We always take this route to visit my cousins outside of Salt Lake! We must have been driving for over 10 hours. Where could we possibly be going?

"Eastern Nevada. I saw a sign we are 258 miles from Salt Lake. Middle of the desert."

Annie's tears are flowing freely now. She thinks that we have lost all hope. I can't afford to think like that.

"He is going to have to stop for gas sometime. Maybe we can just wait out until our escape."

I sit against the side of the can and wait for more answers. There is a wallow talkie sitting against the other side of the wall. I grab it and push the talk button immediately.

"Ahhhh I see you have gotten your hands free and got light back there. Anyways, it's your captain speaking and my friend over here is going to throw you back some goodies so be prepared."

Within a minute of that statement, a giant box falls down from above and we open it. It's full of graham crackers, top ramen, goldfish, and nutella. Typical college student stapes. That gives me a clue with whom we are dealing with.

The walkie talkie starts again.

"You are probably all wondering why I gathered you here today. Well it's simple. My dad is in jail for a crime that he didnt commit. His bail is set at 750,000. I have 50,000 saved but that isn't enough now is it? All I want is to get into Colorado and Mr. Styles is going to wire me one million dollars from his mum and pa. They won't even notice its missing. Well we will be stopping in about three and half hours in Salt Lake where you will all find some nice beds at a hotel courtesy of moi."

We don't say a word. I just take the batteries out and slide the walkie talkie away. We begin to eat the food cautiously. I didn't even realize how hungry I was before.

Harry sits there emotionless. He doesn't eat he just sits there contemplating something. I open the top ramen to discover it to be uncooked. Still edible. Save that for last.

"Harry. Why are you the one that is going to transfer the money? Why not any of us? Is there something that you are hiding?" I hand Harry a box of goldfish and wait for a response.

"He wants me because my parents won 27million dollars in the New York State lottery when I was fourteen."