The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 13

"This is it," muttered as we took a sharp left and pulled through a narrow gateway to reveal a small, abandoned building. The windows were bordered-up, the walls covered in stains and graffiti, and on the left hand side, what was left of the tiled roof had completely collapsed.

The warehouse was at least half an hour away from any form of civilisation, so yelling for help was simply not an option: nobody would hear us. It was located down narrow, twisty, country lanes - a perfect secluded spot for anyone wanting to do something... In private. Just the very thought of what Daniel had in mind was enough to make me gag.

Tom parked his car against the thick hedge so it was sheltered from the wind and rain, and cut the engine. He sucked a deep breath in.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said, and slid out of the car. I spotted Daniel's van parked just to to left of the warehouse - well at least we'd come to the right place. I shivered and pulled my collar up around my neck. As we trudged towards the building, I glanced at my phone - it had just gone 8:30pm. Hopefully Jack had gone to the police and they'd be here soon.

I didn't have a plan. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know why Daniel had kidnapped them. I didn't know what we would do if and when we found them. I didn't know what he'd done to them. I didn't know what he was planning to do to them. I didn't even know why we came here. All I knew was that Daniel was not a nice man, and without us, Anna and Robert were in for torture beyond belief, if not death.

And that was enough to drive one foot in front of another and to push the intense fear to the back of my mind. I had no doubt that Tom felt the same - but he hadn't questioned coming here or what we were going to do. We both said nothing - for fear of losing all sense of will, and driving back home right now. But we both knew that just wasn't an option. This is my best friend's mum and my best friend's Dad. And though they'd never been high up my list of priorities, they were now.

The heavy metal door was shut, so we decided to clamber through a gap between two collapsed walls. We went through a small doorway and into the only part of the building that was completely under-cover. It was draughty and cold, but dry. We walked along the the narrow corridor. Neither of us could bare thinking of what may lie ahead. However I could hear quiet sounds coming from the end. As we neared the door, the sounds became louder. They were sounds of ragged, short breathing. Then came a loud shriek, followed by wailing. It was a woman's voice: Anna's voice. And I knew exactly what was causing them.

We reached the door and stopped. The noises were unmistakable, and piercingly loud. I was just about to turn the handle when I had an idea. I unlocked my phone, opened the video camera icon and pressed record. Then I carefully slipped it into the pocket of my leggings so that the camera lens was just poking out of the top.

I took a deep breath, and threw the door open.