A Blessing or a Curse?

Chapter 5: Kidnapped and Gift Wrapped

Kera's POV:

I sat up straight in bed, staring at my bedroom door that remained closed as I had left it. I quietly moved to reach for the baseball bat that I kept underneath my bed. My apartment was on the third floor which meant that it creaked in certain areas. Luckily for me I knew where those areas were, and my visitor didn't.

I stealthily maneuvered myself into the kitchen and investigated the broken glass on the floor. The lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the slivers of the now brown window.

I heard a small giggle behind me when all of a sudden I was pinned to the floor and my bat was kicked out of reach. The last things I remembered seeing were two pigtails swinging above me and a bag being shoved over my head.

I could faintly hear a car being started and then movement, so I knew I was in a vehicle of some sort. I tried to remove the blindfold from face, but my limbs were tied so I couldn't move. I accepted that I was helpless at the moment and thought it beneficial to try and sleep. I fell asleep at that moment thinking of what was to come.

>1 hour later at Joker's Hideout

I was abruptly woken up when my head hit the window of the vehicle. I opened my eyes to see, but I was still blindfolded. I shook my head and rubbed it against the window to remove the blindfold, but it didn't work. I sat there in silence, not wanting to let my capture know that I was awake. I could do nothing but stay still and wait.

After what felt like forever, we stopped. A door opened and the vehicle shook, signaling that someone had stepped out of it. I felt the cold breeze of the night on my cheek and immediately sprung forward. I started running blindly to get away, well more like wobbling and hopping. I tried to stretch out my arms but they were tied to my waist. I was almost free, I could feel it. But then I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a woman yelling for help right where I had just came from.

"Please! Don't leave me here! Help me please!", she cried. I almost left her there, and that scared me, but I turned back and ran forward calling for her. There was no reply, but I kept calling anyway, refusing to leave without her. Then I heard the giggling. It wasn't from from a child. No, it sounded unhinged and gave me chills. It was the last thing I heard before everything went black. Again.

>Dream Sequence

"Kera, you better hurry up! We're gonna be late!", my mother called from downstairs. It was all so familiar. I remember every second of this day like if it had just happened.

"I'm coming mom. I'll be down in a second!" I answered before grabbing my bag and running down the stairs. It was a good day at the beginning but it went downhill so quickly... this was the day my life changed forever. The day my mother died.

"Kera, you know your grandparents hate waiting. They're already at the restaurant! Get your butt in the car!", she kept pestering me, so I got in the car in a hurry.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! I left my phone inside!" I quickly yelled as we were pulling away from the house. "Do you really need it for dinner? You can't... " her voice was cut off as I climbed out of the car and closed the door behind me.

I ran upstairs and got my phone from the charger. I was half way down the stairs when I remembered that I needed my ear buds as well. I turned to go back up when I heard the loud screeching of tires and the sounds of glass shattering.

I dropped my bags to go see what had just caused the noise and was met with a car wreck. My mother's car was completely squished between a telephone pole and another vehicle. The white van that had hit her was smoking; I knew exactly what that meant.

I ran to my mom as fast as I could and tried to open the door. "Mom can u hear me!? Mom! Answer me!" I hit the window and tried to get her to move, but she wouldn't respond. I tried opening the door but it was jammed. I quickly pulled my cell and dialed 911.

"911 what is the emergency?" The lady on the other end said in a calm voice, "My name is Kera O' Brian and my mom was just in a car accident. I can't get her to move and she's covered in blood! Please send help!" I yelled frantically into the speaker.

"Kera, I need you to stay calm and tell me where you are. Can you do that?", she spoke calmly and I gave the address. "Please just hurry!" I was crying by now and felt helpless. Then it suddenly hit me that it was all the other driver's fault.

I looked over at the van and saw the driver running away. "Hey get back here! Where do you think your going!? You hurt my mom. You can't just leave!", but he kept running anyway. I took off after him as fast as I could but gave up when we reached the end of my street.

I started running back to the accident when I heard a loud "boom" and smoke climbed up to the sky. It was the van. The gas must've reached the fire and it exploded. I took off like a bat out of hell, straight towards the fire.

When I got there, police were scrambling everywhere and the firemen tried to put out the fire. I saw the ambulance and ran to meet my mom in case she woke up. I didn't want her to worry about me.

"Where's my mom? Is she okay? Can I see her?", I asked as soon as I reached the responder woman. She looked at me with guilt and sadness. She just stared at me and started scrying. She didn't say anything... and she didn't have to. My mom was dead and gone forever...

>End Dream Sequence<

I woke with a start. I could feel the sweat on my forehead and my heart racing in my chest. I wiped off my sweat and noticed I was no longer bound. I was in a cold, metal cage, and yelling could be heard on the other side of a door. I could see footsteps from underneath, then it opened.

The two faces I saw were both slathered with white paint, and one of them had a killer smile...