Released

The steady rumble of an engine eased her back to consciousness, but the harsh vibrations of her body against an unforgiving surface jolted her back to reality. Anna’s eyes shot open to darkness. Complete darkness. Panic spread through her veins like wildfire. She tried to move, but her arms and legs refused. She struggled against her restraints until her wrists and ankles burned in desperation. A sudden jerk forced her head to hit the floor, knocking a memory loose. The image of a man standing in the dim lighting of the dingy parking garage flashed before her. Anna didn’t recognize him. He was wearing a black ski mask, but his icy blue eyes pierced through her, even now in her mind.

A sharp pain radiated from her left temple as she bounced brutally in confinement. The hostile grinding of gravel beneath her meant the man was taking her somewhere. Somewhere far away from her office downtown. How long had she been unconscious?

Tears stung her eyes as she squeezed them shut. She was trapped. Her heart threatened to break through her chest. The rushing of blood in her ears made it hard for her to keep her thoughts straight. Despite the increasing weight of hopelessness, Anna opened her eyes and pushed herself to focus. Her vision was fuzzy in the dark, so she used her sense of touch instead. Together, her hands felt around and worked their way across the scratchy carpeting. Her fingers followed the sliver of light poking through from the outside world. She searched for a latch or a lever but couldn’t find one. Anna’s pulse quickened as she desperately probed for a way out. Short, shallow, suffocating breaths of hysteria consumed her limited air supply.

About to admit defeat, Anna’s breath caught as her fingers glided across a small piece of metal hidden in a crevice above her. She pulled herself up to get a better grip, but as she did, her stomach lurched sideways, and her body slammed against the walls of the trunk again and again. She tumbled as the car rolled off the road, plunging downward. For a split second, in complete free fall, Anna floated in mid-air, somehow suspended in time, leaving her to wonder if she was still alive. An abrupt impact stunned her for a moment, her ears ringing and her body aching in agony.

The hissing of gas, the popping of metal, the crackling of flames. Adrenaline rushed to the surface, prickling her skin. She needed to get out. Now. With all of the strength she could summon, Anna kicked the top of the trunk with both feet still tied together. It wouldn’t budge. She let out a frantic wail as the heavy smoke from the engine saturated the small space, slowly singeing her lungs. Coughing, she kicked relentlessly until the trunk burst open. A rush of fresh air overwhelmed her before she managed to worm herself out of the trunk and onto the soggy ground.

By the light of the fire, she could make out a debris field of shattered glass and dented metal. She didn’t dare look in the direction of the driver’s side door. With her tied hands in front of her, she winced as she bent forward and clumsily untied the rope at her ankles. Delirious, Anna stumbled and clawed her way up the steep embankment. She couldn’t see clearly, but the red and blue flashing lights above her were enough. She was safe.

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Author's Note: This is an expansion of the original microfiction story, Taken, which was written last year for the microfiction challenge.