Hostage

3: Van

I slowly wake up with a pounding headache. I can hear voices around me, but I push them out of my mind as one thought enters my mind:

Where am I?

I try to put my head in my hands, but I find that they're tied behind me. My ankles are also tied in front of me, and my mouth is taped shut. 

I start to silently panic, wide-eyed and looking around to see if I can recognize any of my surroundings. I notice that we're in a van and I'm in the back; it goes over a speed bump, and I fall over and bang my head against the side.

I grunt as my head makes contact with the hard metal. Suddenly, a girl in the back looks over in my direction. "Guys, she's awake!" she calls out.

I recognize her from her eyes. Her ski mask is off, and I take note for the first time of what's she's wearing: baggy clothes, chains, and her black hair with green highlights.

It's Billie Eilish!

I look at her, my eyes even wider as I back up as far as I can from her. Billie starts climbing over the seats towards me. As she crouches right in front of me, her hand moves to my face, and I flinch.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," she says in a soothing voice. "I promise." Her hand moves up to my forehead; I watch her movements carefully. The back of her hand makes contact with my skin, and it feels hot. I shiver a little bit.

"You're cold," she says to me. Billie reaches near her and grabs a fleece blanket. "We're a few hours away from our house. Make yourself comfortable." She sits beside me and wraps me in the blanket.

How can I make myself comfortable if I'm literally tied up in the back of a van that's taking me farther and farther away from my life and home?

Sleep engulfs me. I lean my head onto her shoulder and close my eyes and drift away into dreamland.