by Lilly Wilder
*
I was about to leave without telling Rachel. I knew it was bad of me, but I also knew that she’d understand. We had been friends long enough to allow certain misdemeanors to pass without comment. I just couldn’t face going into that bar again, not with all those people and all that swirling music. Now that I was free in the fresh air I didn’t want to return, I just wanted to escape. My skin prickled with goosebumps. I wore jeans, a casual top, and a denim jacket. It was hardly the most glamorous outfit, but it was comfortable and offered some protection against the elements.
Then I heard them. Their footsteps were heavy. Fear slithered down my spine even before I turned around to see them. The three figures were cast in shadow, looking huge and looming before my eyes. I gulped and hurried my pace. I didn’t care if I was just being paranoid. Sometimes being paranoid saved lives. But my small strides were nothing compared to theirs, and they closed the distance between us without any trouble at all. Within moments they were upon me, their tall bodies blocking out the rest of the world. The light of the moon illuminated their faces and cast them in an ethereal glow.
One of them was taller than the others. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his biceps bulged. He wore a leather vest that left his arms exposed, and I saw a tattoo curling all down his right arm. His hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and he had a goatee. A single earring dangled from his ear. The man in the middle had his hands resting by his sides. He leaned slightly forward. His hair was lighter and wavier, looser. He was clean-shaven, and wore a heavy jacket. His lips were soft and sensual, his eyes were filled with mystery. The third was the shortest of the trio. His hair was the longest and he let it flow down past his shoulders. It was almost as long as mine. He had a long beard too, one that was braided, and he wore a peace symbol around his neck. His black shirt was open at the collar and the pendant nestled against a thick bed of chest hair.
“What do you want?” I asked in a trembling voice.
“We just want to know your name,” the man in the middle said with a charming smile. “I’m Jack, this is Matt and Buck,” he said, gesturing to his left and then his right respectively. Matt inclined his head and his long hair framed his face like a veil. Buck just nodded and grunted.
“I’m Trish,” I stammered. I tried to keep my voice even, but it was difficult. My eyes darted around, looking for an escape route. I knew that I wouldn’t have been able to flee into the night because they would have been able to outpace me, but if I could wriggle past them and make it back into the Honey Pot I could seek refuge with Rachel. There was safety in numbers, and I suddenly realized how much I hated being alone.
“We just wanted to thank you for the song you sang. It was amazing. Where did you learn to sing like that?” Jack asked.
“My Mom taught me,” I replied. Maybe I was just being paranoid. They might have been fans after all. I shouldn’t think the worst of people, but I couldn’t ignore the alarm bells that were ringing in my mind. All I wanted was to get home.
“She must have been a hell of a woman,” Jack said.
“Yes, she was. But look, I have to go. I was just heading home. It was nice to meet you and I’m glad you enjoyed the song. I’m sure there are going to be plenty of other people performing for the rest of the night. I doubt you’ll want to miss any of those,” I said, and tried to walk away, tried to peel myself away from the conversation. I wished that they would let me go and walk back into the bar. We lived in a world where men were supposed to respect women when they walked away politely, when they gave off signals that they weren’t interested. I thought I was as plain as I could possibly be, short of saying that my Mom had died and I was grieving and I didn’t want to be with anyone. I couldn’t think of anything that would have been more of a buzz-kill than a dead parent, but at the time I wasn’t thinking straight and I couldn’t form coherent words. I stepped back, but they stepped forward, and I knew in that moment that I was in danger.
“None of them would sing like you. You’re a real star,” Jack said. My gaze shifted between the three men. Jack was doing all the talking, but the other two moved with him. It was as though they were all linked together. They moved as one, in complete harmony. I had never seen anything like it before and it was entirely unnerving. I tried to swallow my fear but it rose and swelled and grew. My lips parted as I stumbled back. I twisted my neck to look behind me.
“We don’t want to hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid. We just want to get to know you a little better,” Jack said. There was something about his words. They seemed so slick and charming, so much so that I was almost enthralled by them, but one thing Mom had always taught me was to be careful, and to listen to my instincts whenever I felt afraid. My eyes were so wide with fear I thought they might pop out of my head. I managed to summon enough courage to cry out for help, but as soon as I did so Buck moved with surprising speed. He clamped a hand around my mouth. His skin was hot and leathery, and I struggled in his grip, but to no avail. His strength was bestial and I could no more escape his grip than I could escape being buried by six feet of snow.
His hand was upon my mouth and I could barely breathe. My eyes flared with panic as I tried to look beyond them, tried to catch the attention of the people who were smoking at the far end of the building, but my screams were muffled and my body hidden by these three men. My flailing arms were pinned to my side.
“Don’t worry, it’ll all be okay,” Jack said. It was the last thing I heard before everything went black. His whisper echoed around my mind as Matt pulled out a small vial and wafted it in front of my nose. I breathed it in, struggling as I was for air. The smell was sweet and tempting and I felt a wave of serenity wash over me before I passed out, falling limp into Buck’s arms.
Chapter Three
When I awoke for the first time I thought I was in a dream. The world rumbled beneath me and, as my vision became clear, I noticed that the world was a blur and upside down. My stomach lurched as panic gripped my heart and I remembered what had happened. I tried to scream, but my mouth was gagged and my hands were bound behind my back. My hair streamed out, whipping my face as the air made it dance. Roaring engines were loud in my head and drowned out my thoughts. The road was dark and empty. Exhaust fumes played havoc with my mind. I managed to twist around enough to see that I had been put in a side car. Jack was above me, leaning forward, his eyes on the road ahead. Matt and Buck flanked him. I pushed myself up and tried to catch the attention of anyone else on the road, aching to find some kind of salvation, but there was none to be found. The roads were dead. We were the only ones still alive and there was no hope for me.
I whimpered and by this point my movements were enough to catch the attention of Jack. He looked over at me and smirked. His eyes twinkled and for a moment I could have sworn that they turned golden. Then I fell unconscious again. Whatever concoction Matt had presented me with had played complete havoc with my mind. I couldn’t think straight and I fell back into unconsciousness.
*
I stood on the stage again in the Honey Pot. This time there was no band behind me. I looked to the wings and my mother wasn’t there either. I was on my own, by myself, feeling so small. I wrung my hands together in front of me and felt like a little girl going for an audition for a part that I knew I was never going to get. Those were the ones Mom always told me were the winners. People performed better when the pressure was on and you might as well shoot for the moon because you might catch a star or two on the way back down. But I always felt the pressure, and those were the worse auditions of them all.
I looked up to see who was going to be judging me and the breath caught in my throat as I saw it was them; the three men who held my life in their hands. Their gazes were inscrutable. In the dim distance there was the faint roar of motorcycle engines, and as I turned to look out of the windows of the bar I saw the outside scenery running by in a blur, as though the real world was bleeding into my dream.
Now
was my opportunity to scream, I thought. Perhaps if I screamed in my dream, it might bleed back and I could free myself of my gag and escape. All it took was one person to hear me, to stop this terrible crime.
But when I opened my mouth fully and got ready to let fly the most desperate, soulful plea that has ever been heard, I was met only by silence.
“Sing for us,” Jack said.
“You must sing,” Matt added.
Buck grunted.
I tried to sing, I tried my hardest to make any sound come from my throat, but my voice had been stunned into silence. I gagged and choked and even reached into my mouth, as deep as I could, as though all I had to do was claw down, deep down into my soul, and pull out the words that had been lost inside. But there was nothing inside. The men frowned and looked disappointed with me. I could not speak. I could not scream. I could do nothing but stand there and feel like a failure.
I looked around desperately for Rachel, but she was nowhere to be seen. There were only the men there. I hoped that I might at least be reunited with the spirit of my mother, but the area was devoid of any other presence. I was alone, truly and utterly, and I didn’t know how I was going to cope. I looked to the men and waited for them to tell me any kind of reason why they had brought me here, why they wanted me to perform for them, but they just sat in silence and said nothing. Tears streamed down my face. I looked down at my feet and noticed that my ankles were shackled to the stage, as though I was destined to stay there for the rest of my life, unable to move until I sang, but the song had been lost in the caverns of my soul. I tore my blurred gaze away from them and faced the wide window.
Outside in the blurred world that rushed by so quickly, so quickly it appeared as though I was being left behind, there was but one thing that was constant; the silver moon. It throbbed and pulsed, and seemed to expand in my mind. Its silver light was blinding and it filled my vision. I had to blink, but even then the flash overwhelmed everything. It filled the bar and the men disappeared into the bright brilliance. I winced and begged for mercy, but then the light engulfed me and I wasn’t sure I would ever be the same again.
*
A fragrant scent drifted through my mind and my eyes fluttered open. I felt groggy and my hands immediately fell to my aching stomach. I coughed and spluttered, feeling as though I wanted to throw up the contents of my stomach, but nothing came out. I gasped for breath as I brushed the hair away from my face.
“Drink this,” Matt said. As soon as I was made aware of their presence I scrambled back, getting as far away from them as I could. I hit a wall and clung to it for dear life. My eyes were still wide with panic and I could barely speak. I shook my head and tore at my hair.
“Please,” he continued, “this will make you feel better. I promise.”
His tone was kind, as were his eyes when I dared to look at them, but how could I believe him? He had tricked me and my senses somehow, stolen my consciousness and goodness knows what they had done to my body. I patted myself down and almost groaned with relief when I realized that my clothes were still intact and that nothing felt different about my body, but I knew that could all change within an instant if I wasn’t careful. My guard was still up and I pressed my lips together tightly, shaking my head, letting Matt know that I wasn’t going to take anything he gave me, willingly.
“How long is she going to be like this?” Jack asked.
“Unless she drinks this it’s going to take a while for her system to work through the other drug. I did tell you it was risky,” Matt said.
“It was a risk we needed to take. And it was safer than Buck whacking her over the head.” Jack frowned and his eyes bore into me with white hot intensity. I wasn’t sure that I had ever been scared of anyone as much as I was scared of him in that moment.
“What do you want with me?” I asked in a trembling whisper. My voice was so quiet it was barely audible.
“You’ll find out soon enough. The sooner you drink that, the better. I’ll tell you everything when you have your mind back, but don’t worry. You’re safe with us,” he said.
“I don’t believe you,” I replied.
Jack didn’t say anything to that.
“Leave the drink with her. She’ll come to her senses soon,” Jack said. Matt seemed uncertain, but he followed Jack’s orders and left the plastic cup by the door. Buck’s absence was noticeable.
“Do you really think she’s…” Matt said as they left the room, but they closed the door, cutting off the sentence before I could hear what they were going to say. I groaned as I fell against the wall. My body was rigid with tension and I was exhausted as so many thoughts whirled around my mind. I breathed deeply and tried to remember all the lessons I had learned. Mom had taught me from a young age that the world was not kind to women. Predators were everywhere, always trying to take what they wanted even when you didn’t want to give it to them, but this…I never thought I would have been in this situation.
No.
I had to think.
They hadn’t done anything to my body yet. I still had time. There was a way to escape. There was always a way to escape. My mind was still haunted by the dream. The blinding moonlight was still there when I blinked and I was so afraid that when I opened my mouth no words would come out. My throat was raw and scratchy, as though I had swallowed glass. My muscles ached. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious or where we were. We could have been travelling all night as far as I knew, and that meant we could have gone over state lines. I thought of Rachel and wondered if she had realized yet that I had gone missing. I cursed myself for leaving the bar so hurriedly. She would have probably assumed that I had gone home and wouldn’t bother checking on me until the morning, and I was notoriously bad at shutting myself away, so she might not realize that I had gone missing at all for days.
I was paying the price for my isolationist tendencies. I didn’t even have my cell with me as I hadn’t bothered to take it to the bar. I’d wanted a night away from people bothering me.
I had no way to contact the outside world. I was completely alone, at the mercy of these three men, and I had no idea what they wanted.
I breathed deeply and tried to compose myself. The first thing Mom taught me was that I had to remain composed no matter what. If I panicked then they were winning. I had to ensure that I was of a clear mind so that I could get out of this situation. I closed my eyes and practiced the breathing techniques that Mom had taught me. They had never worked to calm me down before a performance, but this time they did. I counted to nine as I inhaled and exhaled, filling my lungs with air, and gradually my heart rate slowed and I was able to have a better grip of the situation.
After this, I took the opportunity to take measure of my surroundings. The room was dark. There was a small, narrow window high on the ceiling, which was about ten feet high, and the walls were sheer, so there was no hope of me climbing up to at least get a glimpse of my surroundings. There was a single bed in the other corner of the room. I pulled myself over to it. The blanket was scratchy and the mattress creaked as I placed my weight on it. I looked to the window and gripped the cast iron bed frame, groaning as I tried to pull it towards the window, but it was far too heavy for me to do anything with it. I put all my strength into it, but it barely budged.
The floor was stone and the room was devoid of anything else, aside from the cup of drink that Matt had left. I gazed at it cautiously, warily, and eventually made my way over to it. My throat gasped for some kind of relief. I whimpered and sobbed, despite my best efforts to not show any weakness but there was only so much resolve a girl could muster. I licked my lips as I got closer to it and wrapped my hand around the mug. The liquid was gold in color and it smelled sweet. As soon as I brought it to my lips I was filled with the irresistible urge to taste it, even though I was afraid that it was another kind of drug that would render me unconscious.
But they already had me imprisoned. There was no need for them to drug
me again, especially not like this. They had me and they could easily overpower me. I know that when things seemed too good to be true they usually were, but in this instance I was inclined to at least take a chance on trusting the drink. After all, what else could happen to me? What could possibly be worse than my current situation?
I tilted the mug towards me and the thick liquid, which had the consistency of a smoothie and the taste of honey mixed with fruit, slipped between my lips and settled over my tongue. I gulped down one mouthful and then, when I didn’t immediately vomit, I finished off the rest of it greedily, wiping away the trickling remnants that lingered around my mouth. In fact I was so thirsty that I ran my finger inside the mug to get the last drops, and then sucked them off, surrendering to the relief that ran through my body.
I placed the cup back by the door and retreated to the bed. I sat with my legs pulled into my chest and watched the door like a hawk, waiting for any of them to come in. I thought about my next move. I could either try to fight them and make life so difficult for them that I was more trouble than it was worth to them. That was a solid plan, but it also led to the possibility of getting very, very hurt, and possibly killed. The other way was to act as though I had been defeated, to follow whatever orders they had for me and to surrender completely until I found a way to break free and survive, if such an opportunity presented itself.
As I thought about these possibilities I realized that in some ways I had been training for this all my life. Mom had always wanted me to put on a captivating performance and now I was going to have to do exactly that for the benefit of my captors. But first I needed to understand what they wanted from me, and why they had kidnapped me.
Chapter Four
“I’m ready to talk!” I yelled, as I beat my fists against the door. I shook my hands as pain throbbed. I’d been at it for a while now, and nothing had happened. I kicked and screamed, and then, eventually, gave up, frustrated. I sank on the floor, resting against the bed. I dared not lie down even though the lumpy comfort of the mattress was enticing, afraid that if I lay my head down I would fall asleep and be at their mercy, even more than I already was. My hands clawed at my hair. I dragged my eyes down, but thankfully my throat felt a lot better. Whatever had been in that strange liquid had been a healing elixir and I didn’t feel any ill effects, although part of me was waiting for the other shoe to drop and all the pain in the world to flood through my body.