FALLEN | The Devil of Caracas

Chapter 17 | Shock

The sudden light is overwhelming. Lexi closes her eyes and averts them away from the, now open, van doors. After enduring a nauseating and jolting drive for over an hour, she has finally regained her sight.

Most of the journey was spent fighting her stomach, as it clenched and complained. The heat, close quarters, and rocking of the vehicle, all made for a terrible experience. She eventually couldn't hold it back and her gut spewed everything out.

Two men dressed in olive drab uniforms reluctantly step into the van. She listens carefully as they speak; their voices don't belong to the same men who grabbed her from the police - they sound like locals. 

"First the kid pisses himself in here and now the girl pukes," complains one man, as the other wraps a blindfold around Lexi's head. She winces, as he tightens the knot, jostling her throbbing headache.

Lexi stumbles forward, as they lead her out of the van. She listens to the crunching of dirt under her boots and hears morning birds singing. The air is just as thick and wet as when she entered the van, but it's heating up now.

She's pulled along by two sets of hands on either side of her. No one speaks. Her right shoulder feels stiff and swollen. They stop and Lexi hears a thud followed by the groan of a heavy metal door opening wide. She's then pushed forward, where the dirt is replaced with a hard floor. Lexi descends a steep slope, before the floor levels out. Her boots echo in the emptiness of this new place. Where ever she is, it sounds solid - made of concrete.

After walking straight for several feet she is turned to her left and forced through another door, which is promptly shut behind her. Grabbing Lexi by the shoulders, one man spins her around, to face the direction she came. She hears rustling, as the men move around her. They're setting something up. Her breathing intensifies.

There's a loud clack behind her, like wood dropping on concrete. The sudden noise startles Lexi. Her heart begins to thump rapidly. Her legs tremble. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done it already. No, they want something else - information.

Something drops around Lexi's neck. It's heavy and course. It rubs against her skin and quickly tightens around her throat. She tries to pull away. It pulls back harder. She panics and fights to spin out of its grasp. Suddenly, she can't breathe. It grips her throat tightly and yanks upward. She's lifted into the air. Her feet kick and her body flails. Her lungs beg for air. The sensation of death overwhelms her mind and body.

Finally, her feet find something. She pushes against it, lifting herself up. Lexi gasps for air, sucking in as much as she can. She coughs and takes in several rapid breaths. Whatever she's standing on isn't quite tall enough and wobbles back and forth, under her shaking legs. She remains on her toes, holding herself up for air. If she relaxes her legs, the rope will squeeze her throat tight, suffocating her again.

Lexi takes a moment to calm herself, pacing her breaths. Her new platform continues to rock back and forth, keeping her unbalanced.

Then someone pulls at her blindfold, suddenly restoring her sight. She frantically looks around herself. It's a dull place, constructed of concrete, and about ten feet by ten feet. The windowless room is only lit by two fluorescent bulbs, hanging from the ceiling. They bounce a green hue off the barren walls. One light continually flickers, adding to Lexi's mental torment. She stands in the middle of the room on a short wooden stool. The zip tie continues to rub into the sore, red skin around her wrists.

Two men stand before her. Their hair is cut short. One adorns a thin, black mustache. The other is clean-shaven. The sleeves of their olive drab button-down shirts are rolled up above the elbows and their feet are wrapped in black jungle boots.