The President's Daughter

Chapter Sixteen

I have not moved an inch when something grabs my attention.

It is morning and it seems that I must've fallen asleep, thankfully, but there is nothing special about that. It is around seven thirty, yet there is nothing special about that either. Thomas seems to not have awaken yet, however, this does not grab my attention either. What does grab my attention though is that it is morning, seven thirty-ish to be approximate, yet it is still pitch-black and seems to be in the middle of the night. I sit up and blink, trying to make sense of things, but what is there to make sense of? This current situation just does not make sense!
I stand up, walk over to my window, and open the curtain. A shock surprises me...

I am boarded in.

I start punching the wooden board that covers my window, cursing my father as I do so. My hand grows sore, so I flop on my bed, tears engulfing my eyes. A go at my own freedom had now been stopped due to my hesitant father who did not want to let me go and envisioned me staying in his residence for eternity. Why did he not want me to go? Had he grown too attached to me, as I was the last family member of his existing family?

I hate him.

Why can't he let his daughter go? Every father does it! My father has gone to the point of boarding my hotel room to keep me contained! How pathetic!

I thump the pillow, yelling, "I hate you dad!" with every punch. Tears are streaming down my face now, making my face wet. I bury my head in the pillow, wishing I had taken a less public approach to getting to Spain. How could have I been so stupid?

I forceful knock on my door disturbs my thoughts; it startles me. I abruptly sit up and face the door, awaiting what could possibly be approaching. The door is kicked open, and light floods the murky room. Two large, beefy men that look more like terrorists than people working for Dad storm in the room and within two long strides, they are next to by bedside.

"What do yo-"

Before I can ask any questions, a cotton bag is placed over my head and I am dragged from my bed. I scream and thrash about, trying to grasp something ahold. My head hits something hard...

...

I can't breathe.

I have just woken up to the drone of what sounds like a car engine, the space of an animal's burrow and the air almost non-existent. A jolt makes me hit my head on something solid above me. I wince as I realise how painful the 'knock' must've been. A roll sends me rolling into something warm and soft.

"Alex!"

I jump from hearing a voice, which causes me to whack my head on the hard surface above me. I let out a small yelp of pain.
"Alex, are you okay?"
This time I am able to recognise the voice as Thomas'.

"Thomas?"

I hear rustling and mumbling next to me.

"I'm okay," Thomas reassures. "This was never a part of the plan if I'm honest."
I roll my eyes out of habit. "Then what has happened?"
Thomas takes a deep breath. "What does it look like, Alex?"
"Pitch blackness to me," I retort.
"Now's not the time for games!"

I stay silent for a while, waiting for Thomas to start explaining things. However, he doesn't, so I intervene.

"We've been ... taken away... to go to the airport?" I ask.
"Not quite," Thomas replies.
"Oh, I know," I say in a tone heavy in sarcasm. "This is some warm welcome to get me back in my father's plane!"
"No you fool!" Thomas hisses back. "Not even your father would treat you like that, given the current situation!"
"What do you want me to expect?!"
Once again, Thomas takes a deep breath, a sign that he is about to say something that will hit me hard, as I've recently discovered.
"We... have... been... kidnapped."

I gasp in shock. The car suddenly jerks to a halt and I hear doors open. The doors are closed and the crunching of footsteps approaching. I hear a clicking noise... and light seems to flood my surroundings. I am dragged out and land on something loose and... gravelly.