For Ransom

One

(a/n: i'm so excited for this one! i haven't even posted it one fictionpress yet. anyways, i've always wanted to write a kidnapping story and i got the idea for this last night while laying in bed.)

Rayne woke to total darkness. He was laying uncomfortably on his side. He was stiff; his shoulder ached. His head was spinning; his mouth was dry. His throat felt raw as though he'd been screaming, but he had no recollection of ever doing so. Rayne wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, or could he fathom why he was laying on the floor. Giving his head a small shake to try and clear some of the spinning, he made to sit upright, perhaps to find a light switch so he could see where he was, but found he couldn't. Confused, Rayne moved his hands only to find that he could hardly move them. He couldn't extract them from behind his back. Then a horrible thought occurred to him: he couldn't possibly be bound, could he?

Trying his best not to panic, Rayne clamped his eyes shut - it seemed ridiculous because it was already pitch dark - and tried to remember what happened that lead to him waking up, bound, in an unknown place.

It was just after nine o'clock. Rayne recalled hurrying home from his girlfriend, Jean Lawson's home. Mr. Lawson, Jean's father, had offered him a ride, but Rayne had politely declined because he didn't leave that far away. Rayne and Jean had been studying for a History test they'd be given on Friday - or rather making out when Mr. Lawson, who saw to it to closely supervise them because he didn't trust Rayne with his daughter, left the room. Rayne knew he was going to get a scolding from Mom the instant he walked through that front door. He had promised her that morning before leaving for school that he'd be home before eight-thirty. Time had simply faded away, however, and before he knew it was already past nine. About a block from his home he started coming up with excuses for his lateness, hoping Mom would believe him for once, even though he knew she wouldn't and ground him anyway. 

It was around then that a beat up white van pulled over. Rayne had hesitated for a moment before stopping in his tracks. The driver rolled the window down. From the light of the nearest streetlamp, Rayne could see that the driver was a middle aged man with thinning auburn hair, a scruffy beard, and round pale grey eyes. He was also wearing a brown leather jacket despite the warm night. The man leaned slightly out the window and started to ask for directions to... Rayne strained his memory but he couldn't remember. He did remember kindly giving the man directions to wherever he was going, thus failing to see that something something black had suddenly shot out of the window. 

Rayne had felt paralyzed. He took a few staggering steps back, needing to get away. The man got out of the van and grabbed him. He tried to resist and push away, but the paralyzing feeling returned combined with a strange electrical zapping sound. No longer able to resist, Rayne had allowed the man to pick him up and shove him into the back of the van. Rayne's brain had felt fuzzy. And it wasn't long before he'd passed out.

Rayne's eyes snapped open. His heart pounding fast against his chest.

No, he thought wildly, no, no, no, no! This couldn't be happening! This couldn't be real! He had to be dreaming because he couldn't have been kidnapped. He refused to believe it. Absolutely refused!

Suddenly the door to the van opened, consuming Rayne in sliver moonlight. The man who'd taken him roughly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out. Rayne's legs wobbled beneath him.

The man pulled the hood of Rayne's jacket over his head, obscuring his face from the view of the neighbors. Forcing his head down, they crossed the lawn at a swift pace. Angry shouting could be heard from the neighbor's house on the right. Fear consumed Rayne. It willed him not to cry out for help. It wouldn't have done him much good even if he did have the courage. Not only were the neighbor's yelling too loudly to hear him, he was scared how the man would react. Would the man murder Rayne on the spot if he needed to?

They ascended the weather beaten front porch. The steps creaked beneath their combined weight. The man opened the door and pushed Rayne over the threshold and into the house. He caught the strong smell of cigarette smoke.It clung to the curtains, dying them a pale yellow; to the sofa and carpet as well. The man closed and dead bolted the front door. Rayne barely got a good enough look around the tiny living room before he was lead down the short, dark hallway where they entered a room a bedroom at the end of the hall. The room was also small. It was empty, expect for a bed. A thick dark blue blanket was nailed over the window. 

The man carelessly went through Rayne's pocket taking his iPod, phone, and wallet, dropping them onto the floor. Rayne had the urge to protest because this guy had no right going through his pockets, but found he couldn't because his throat had literally closed from fear. Then the man pushed Rayne onto the single bed where he took Rayne's old shoes. From the inside of his own pocket, the man withdrew some black material and stuffed it into Rayne's mouth. Without a word, the man left the room, taking Rayne's stuff with him.

Rayne was beyond scared. He laid on the bed shaking like a leaf. He couldn't help the tears that burned at his eyes and threatened to fall from the corners of his eyes. Despite being a fifteen year old boy, in that moment Rayne wanted his mom. He wanted her to wiped away his tears, hold him in her arms, and tell him everything was going to be alright. He wanted to go home. Why was he here? What did the man want with him?

Recently Rayne had heard that kids around his age (mostly girls) had started disappearing from around the area. Some of them had been sold off in something called "human trafficking". Admittedly, Rayne didn't know much about it, but he knew it had to be something horrible. He hoped that wasn't the reason he'd been taken. (Did human trafficking even involve boys?) Or did the man take him to have his fun with him before killing and disposing of his lifeless body?

Rayne's heart sank at the thought. He had to get out of there before the man returned to the room. He didn't want the man to do anything nasty to him. He wasn't ready to die. He was only fifteen. There was so much he still wanted to do in life; so much of the world he wanted to see and experience. 

Closing his eyes, Rayne hoped desperately for a fast rescue; an easy escape.