Of all the things on my bucket list for my gap year, being abducted wasn't one of them. I thought I had it all planned out. I knew I was flying to Mildura and spending a few weeks hiking through the greenery. My canvas was all prepared, and dad was meant to call me about finishing the treehouse. I was meant to receive my Amazon Express delivery with water colour paints, since I'd run out on my previous trip to Adelaide. There would also be a copy of 'Life of Pi', a crossword puzzle, and some scented erasers I got for free. The delivery guy would ask for my signature, and I'd proudly sign myself as "Bri Z.". I would be free from my old life. Nobody would know about who I had been. Old me was gone. I was going to be in a different state, in a different university and live a better life.
But that continued to be a dream. Here I was, sitting on a wooden floor so cold my flat butt and feet felt detached from my body. The trinity - parts of a whole, but separate. The air was humid, sweat emulsified on my skin like oil when you make lather. There was a gagging towel in my mouth, drooping with drool as if I was a pug dog leashed to a den on a hot day.
The man guarding the door held a cold bottle of soda in his hand. I know it was cold, because there were tiny droplets of water on the glass surface of the bottle, like sweat on my skin. I knew it was soda because for some reason my senses had doubled in strength. The damp towel in my mouth rubbed against my face chafed against my patched cheeks as I vicariously saw the cool dew sweep into his mouth, soothing his sandpaper tongue like honey. I felt the webs in my throat untangle as the water moistened the soft tissue on my tongue and rolled down my throat in sips. The burning knots in my throat slowly came undone. I heard him gulp. The coolness spread across my stomach like fire. Our eyes met. His eyes reminded me of a ragdoll I owned as a kid. There was no emotion to them. He was an empty vessel.
I passed out again.
YOU ARE READING
Breezing through it
Mystery / ThrillerShe knows she's dead, but it all feels like a forgotten dream. She's conscious now, aware of the world, but all that is left of her are feelings. She doesn't remember who she was and how she got here, but there's a man examining the body on the floo...
