A Deep Slumber

I woke up with a startle, the dreadful nightmare had my insides churning, and I was panting as if I’d just seen a ghost. I tried adjusting to the darkness, but why was it dark, wasn’t it supposed to be morning by this time. I squinted my eyes to look at my watch, it displayed 11:00 AM, then why was it so dark, I wondered. Why did the bed feel so hard instead of being its own plushie self? I looked down and I noticed that I was on the floor. Oh God, how could someone be so stupid as to fall off the bed and not even know how and when they fell? I tried getting up from the floor, but suddenly a sharp pain shot up my leg and I went crashing down towards the floor. I squinted my eyes to see clearer, this place certainly didn’t look like my bedroom. As I realized I was not in my bedroom, panic and anxiety gripped me, engulfing me in like a forest fire. This seemed so similar to the last encounter I had, which had left me scarred for life.

I couldn’t wrap my head around this event, how could all of this be happening again, just how could it? My body tensed under the surroundings, I wrapped my hands around my knees, my whole body shook thinking about where I’d end up after this. I tried taking in deep breathes to battle my anxiety, as my psychiatrist had guided me to do. I tried remembering her peaceful words, I tried zoning out to my happy place, but none of that worked when all I could hear was the hard hammering of my heart against my chest and all I could see was mere darkness.

I started crying violently, 'cause nothing made sense now, all I could hear were my sobs. Why would someone try to harm me? All the teachings from my therapy seemed to go down in the drain. I heard the doorknob click, I had to do something to save myself, it was now or never. I wiped away my tears and I did what I could do in that short span of time. I heard footsteps approaching me and voices in a distance. I just hoped that they think that I am still knocked out unconscious and leave me alone. Then suddenly I felt a hand near my face, and that was enough to send my mind in a frenzy. I wouldn’t panic right now, I had to stay calm. Then the two people started talking to each other and I heard the footsteps going further and further away until there were none to be heard.

I sighed in relief and opened my eyes, the door was closed and my heartbeat hadn’t slowed down yet. I took in deep breaths, trying again what I’d been taught at the therapy. I had to get out of here by any way and I couldn’t give up without a fight. I thought about my friends, about my mom, about my dad, about coding, my work, all those things that brought me happiness, all those things I had to live for. Soon, my heartbeat was back to normal, my breaths were no longer as heavy as they were a while ago, my tears had dried and I felt stronger.

I looked around for an opening through which I could escape this place. I tried with all my might to stand up on my feet, but couldn’t stand up. I tried, again and again, to stand up but I just couldn’t, my leg was wounded, which might have happened when they were traversing me to this dreadful place. I had only one option now, exit through the door through which the kidnappers had entered the room. I was suddenly struck with an idea, it was a highly risky one, but that’s the only thing I could do. My mind was more alert than ever before and the seconds seemed like ages as I waited for the kidnappers to come. I waited, but no one came in, I don’t know how many minutes, hours had I spent sitting like that in one place keeping my eyes hooked to the door. Then suddenly I heard the door click open, I put on my facade and lay down as if I am dead. The men again approached me and a hand again came in front of my face, I heard them talking to each other, that’s when I decided to use the opportunity and punched the guy straight in the face and took the gun from both their holsters and pointed it at both of them. They were taken aback by my sudden act of courage.

When I thought, I had won against them, one of them started laughing, clutching his stomach and said, “Look at that tiny little mouse, she thinks she has won just by snatching the guns from us, do you really think she’s going to shoot us, she can’t even walk, look at the way she’s holding the gun, it clearly depicts she has never held a gun before in her hands.”

His speech had me raging and fuming with anger, and before I knew the bullet pierced his leg and he fell on the floor with a thud and started cursing loudly. I looked at the other guy, his eyes were wide with fear and he was trembling, wasn’t he supposed to be a kidnapper? I shot another bullet, but it missed his leg and before he could start laughing I fired another bullet and the guy was also on his fours now. I tried getting up again and this time I was successful in the task, but my leg hurt like hell. I saw a key dangling against the pocket of one of the kidnappers and immediately pulled it out, still pointing the gun at the two of them.

I reached the door hopping and I realized that there was no room after the door. I was somewhere in the outskirts 'cause this place had a lot of greenery and a clear road. I walked outside the cabin and hoped that this key was the one which they used to lock the stupid place and I put the key in the keyhole hoping that the key somehow fit in and it did. I locked both of them inside. There was a big jeep parked in front of the house, but the keys to them were still inside and I couldn’t risk going inside again. I wobbled up to the gate of the place and waited for some car to come. The place was deserted and eerily quiet. I saw a car approaching me. I went a little forward and waved my hand so that the car would stop. I squinted my eyes to look at the person driving the car and noticed that I knew the person and waved a little more excitedly, thinking about all the things I’d do after I go back, I would definitely get to finish my bucket list after all. I waited for the car to stop, but the car didn’t stop, the headlights blinded me disabling me to see anything, and next I knew, I went flying and landed at a little distance from the car. My head throbbed as if my skull had just split into two, I was smeared with blood all over and a person hovered above me smirking. The person then squatted down beside me and told something to me, to which I had neither the energy to react nor the energy to fight back and then I drifted into complete darkness.

I couldn’t understand why could I not open my eyes, after all where was I? I tried moving my hands but they didn’t budge, why was I tied down, was this some kind of a room? I could hear a weeping sound from nearby, who was this crying? I could hear voices nearing the room, and one of them sounded like my mom’s. I was suddenly pushed into some other scenario, this time I could see properly, I was walking in some kind of a hospital and suddenly a person came in front of me and stabbed me and no one seemed to notice. I fell onto the ground crashing in slow motion as if I was in some kind of a movie. I opened my eyes and noticed I was sitting in front of a hospital bed, I noticed the waveform of the ECG go flat and I plunged into darkness.

Note:

What do you think the kidnapper did with her? Is she dreaming, did the kidnapper throw her back to the same room, is she alive, is she dead? Is her mom the kidnapper or is it a friend, a stranger? Was the kidnapping connected to her past? To know what happens next wait for my next post.