Wrong Place

Captivity

The van came to a stop hours later and I felt fresh air rush past my body as the door on my right was opened and the occupant of the seat next to me climbed out. A hand roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me sideways out the open door and onto something hard, most likely concrete. Another hand was placed in the center of my back and guided me forward and a couple of steps before I felt a change in the temperature that almost certainly meant I was inside. A couple of more steps and the ground fell away unexpectedly, causing me to pause and wonder whether they were going to throw me into some kind of pit.

"Keep moving" Came a voice from behind me. "It's just stairs."

Hesitating a moment longer, I felt the barrel of a gun pressed into my back again. Deciding I would rather take my chances with a pit then a gun, I slowly lowered my right foot over the edge of the drop off in front of me and felt firm ground beneath it a moment later. Relieved that I wasn't going to have to jump into a pit, I carefully placed both feet on the first step before searching for the next one with my left foot. As I descended I kept careful count of how many steps I went down, in case I ever got the chance to escape back up these stairs. When I got to the bottom, I was unprepared for the lack of another step causing me to stumble and fall. My elbow scraped painfully against the rough ground and my knee banged something cold and hard to my left. A metallic clang reverberated through the air as someone pulled me to my feet again and pushed me forward. A few seconds later the hand on my shoulder jerked me to a stop and I heard the squeak of rusty hinges to my left. The hand withdrew from my shoulder and was placed on my back to none too gently turn me and shove me through what I assumed was a door way. A moment later the bag was pulled from my head and light blinded me for the first time in what felt like forever.

As my eyes adjusted, I saw that the room I had been shoved into was not made for comfort. The walls were white washed without a trace of color anywhere and the floors were white marble that looked like it hadn't been washed since it had been lain down. The only furniture in the room were two rickety chairs, shaky looking twin sized bed against one wall, and a metal desk against another.

"Lovely" I muttered. A second later I heard the door slam shut behind me and turned to find myself alone. Not really expecting anything to happen, I walked over to the door and tried the handle. Locked. Unsure of what to do next I wandered over to inspect the desk and found that it had been bolted to the wall. without even thinking about it, I unslung my messenger bag from my shoulder and let it fall to the floor. The thud cleared my head and I stared at it, realizing for the first time that they hadn't taken it from me or even bothered to search it.

Feeling hope flicker in my chest for the first time since the intruder bells had gone off, I rummaged around in the front pocket until I found what I was looking for. A pocket knife, a short length of rope, and a small flashlight. None of those things would help me get out of my current situation but just knowing that I had them with me brought some level of comfort. Even if they couldn't help me right then, an opportunity to use them to my advantage might present its self in the future and I might just be able to escape this dreary prison. Taking one last look at the objects I started to put them back in my bag but reconsidered at the last moment. What if they decided to search it or confiscate it completely? I would be left with nothing to aid in an escape attempt and that thought frightened me. No, I needed to find a better place to hide my tools, a place that they wouldn't think to search.

The rope I wound around my waist, just under the waist line of my pants so that it was accessible but not visible. I looked at the pocket knife and flashlight, able to think of only one place to put them but hesitating all the same. Telling myself that these items may very well save my life in the very near future, I quickly shoved them down to the very bottom of my bra. The metal was cold against my skin but I figured they would warm up soon enough any way. All I could do now was hope that whatever they were going to do to me didn't include taking off my clothes. The thought sent a shudder through me but I quickly repressed it. Be scared later, I told myself, after you're out of this mess. Fear is as crippling as any physical injury and only serves to hinder one's ability to think clearly.