Kidnapped

Lisa

When I wake the room is dark and I can hear Kocco's snores next door.  I peek out the window and see the moon. It's a full moon tonight. I roll over and try to sleep. But I can't. The argument I had with Kocco keeps on rushing back with the sadness and anger turned on full blast. We've never fought before and right now the memory of it is killing me. It's like we're no longer two kids with the same shadow, but merely just siblings. My eyes start to burn with hot tears but I blink them away.

My mouth is parch dry and my tongue feels like sand paper. I get up for a drink of water. The floorboards creak slightly under my weight even though I'm creeping on tiptoes. I fetch a glass from the cupboard and turn on the tap. The cold water sloshes into the glass. I turn the tap off and start to drink. I hear a low rumbling noise and stifle a laugh. Kocco mustn't have had enough to eat. I place the now empty glass next to the sink and start back to my room. Suddenly the whole room lights up. I freeze. As quickly as it came the light disappears. I stand rooted to the spot for a good minute or so, my heart thumping louder than a bass drum in my ears. No one drives cars around here, much less at night. The floorboards seem to grow ice on them and my feet start to get cold. I can smell the nervous sweat coming off my hands and I really hope whoever flashed the light can't smell it too. The water I just drunk churns around in my stomach like liquid snow. I can still taste the coolness in my mouth. I start to shiver. Gathering up my courage I take one step, then another. Slowly I reach my bedroom. I take the last step and turn the corner. My breath catches in my throat. Standing in front of my window stands a man. He's silhouetted against the moon so I can't see the details of his face. But I've seen enough. I turn and run.

The freezing night air splashes over me as I throw open our screen door and race down the road. The dirt is still warm. But only just. I glance behind me to see the man sprinting after me. He's gaining. I run faster than I ever have before, my heels getting battered and bruised by the hard thumps against the earth. My breath turns raspy as I start to run out of oxygen. I can hear his footsteps behind me now. I try to go faster but I can't. I'm already at full pelt. I look up and see headlights of a car. Damn. I just ran into a trap. I stagger and nearly fall but quickly cover up and return to sprinting. But the mistake has slowed me down. The man jumps and knocks the wind out of me. He pins my arms behind my back and knocks my legs from underneath me. I bite his arm harder than I did to Kocco (I guess biting is my speciality) and he yelps like a scared dog. He whacks me over the head with a metal pipe and everything goes black.

I wake up in a dark room. The walls are concrete and in the dim I can faintly see the outlines of empty cans and bottles. It's smells stuffy. I try to stand up but I'm tied to a chair. The rope digs into my skin and when I try to call for help my voice is muffled by the tape that's over my mouth. I scream and scream until my throat is raw. No body comes. Black spots enter my vision. And then I remember.

Kocco was in that house as well. Have they got him too?