An Impossible Task

Chapter 14

TW: swearing, violence, kidnapping, tension, anxiety.

She stretched her arms out to John as far as she could. As he held the telephone cord around the man's neck with his one hand, he made a motion with his other hand for her to remain quiet. Cassie nodded.

John dragged the man to the opposite corner from the doorway and took the gun that was strapped to his side. He checked the magazine to see if it was loaded, quickly replaced it and silently made his way to the door. Opening it a crack, he listened for any noise. Looking back at Cassie for a moment, he walked through the door and closed it behind him.

Adrenaline from the mixed emotions of fear and relief came flooding into her blood steam and Cassie began crying and shaking uncontrollably.

"Oh, shit," she said to herself. She tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, holding them and then exhaling but she was only partially successful.

Fortunately, with the adrenaline came some strength and Cassie sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Still shaking but not crying anymore, she listened intently but heard no sounds from beyond the door.

Planting her feet on the floor, she attempted to stand up, her knees wobbling underneath her and causing her to fall back onto the bed. Breathing deeply, she tried again and again to stand up, her emotions on a roller coaster of laughter and fear, all the while wondering what was happening to John. Waiting and worrying about him was making her anxious and only make the shaking worse.

She ran a jittery hand through her hair. Besides the sedative, she hadn't moved from the bed in 5 days except to be helped to the bathroom and Cassie knew this contributed to her weakness. She also hadn't eaten in days but she knew she had to pull it together if she wanted to get out of here. Her head pounded and her body shook, but she continued to try to stand up, finally being successful by locking her knees and pitching herself forward.

Stumbling on stiff legs, she made it to a dresser near the door and leaned her ear against a small opening to see if she could hear anything. John had left her what seemed like ages ago but the only thing that came back to her was complete silence.

Cassie wasn't sure how long she stood there, but suddenly she heard footsteps outside the door. Looking around frantically, she grabbed a stone carving of a duck that sat on the dresser and held it over her head by the door. Her arms shook with effort, but she wouldn't move from the spot.

Finally, the door opened and John's eyes met hers. She was wild-eyed and shaking, causing John to slowly take the stone duck from her hands. Cassie looked at him but didn't move.

"It's okay now," he whispered cupping his hands gently around her chin. "You're safe."

Kissing her lightly on her lips caused her to blink her eyes several times and reach her hand out to carefully touch his face.

She blinked again and then seemed to really see him. "You're hurt," she finally said in a voice she almost didn't recognize.

"I'm okay," he assured her. "But we have to get out of here."

Cassie suddenly became panicky. "It was Edwin Baker, John. It was Edwin."

"I know," he said to her tucking her underneath his arm and leading her forward. "I know."

She wrapped her arm around him, suddenly stopping as she felt the gun in the waistband of the back of his pants. "John..."

"Cass, we need to get out of here. I'll explain everything, but for now, we need to leave," he said urgently.